so what is all this about witches not actually being burnt, then?

[FillyjonkTheQuarkSlayer]

just out of curiosity?

Hmm, guess this is aimed at me then

Only a fairly small number of witches were actually burnt at the stake - and they were in mainland Europe not the UK.

The relatively few that were actually tried over here under the witchcraft laws were tortured and then hung.

It is a big fallacy in history when people talk of The Burning Times and claim that hundreds of thousands were burnt at the stake. Research now pins the numbers at less that 10,000 all over mainland Europe in a period of time spanning more than 50 years.

Any burning that went on here was related to the religious Catholic/Protestant arguments that went on for years as the Royalty of the day kept changing sides, so to speak.

I seeeeee. how interesting.

is it true that midwives were tried as witches?

err - only 10000, well that's ok then

Bloody hell, 10,000 is loads

I hadn't really realised it was that many, tbh :(

Apparently, in this country we usually burned people for heresy and not mere witchcraft on its own. In the 1500s in the city where I live, they used to burn women, tied up with rope in a pit. On one occasion the rope was burned through and a witch climbed out of the pit screaming for help. Lots of onlookers pushed her back in. She crawled out four times and was pushed back in four times before she died.

Days later a shocked and horrified bailiff announced that this should never be allowed to happen again. From that day on, witches were chained up instead.

Over 50+ years though it is a fairly small number compared to the figures usually quoted for the Burning Times.

Yes to the midwives bit but surprisingly few of them considering they were probably the ones who were witches. They understood rudimentary health care and had knowledge of herbal/natural cures. The women who acted as midwives were often also the ones who laid out the dead. That’s what scared people – they were in on the start and end of life.

Many women were tried for really stupid reasons, a lot of it was to do with land rights and society becoming increasingly patriarchal.

Compare 10,000 to 9 million which is one of the figures quoted for the Burning Times. 10,000 is a pretty small number then.

Oooh, didn't know that. Fear is the root of all evil, always causes deaths, regardless of how many :(

Ok now for my next question....

What actually is a witch? Its always confused me. How do witches define themselves?

bloody hell, this beats learning about leptons....

SaintGeorge - how did you know the thread was aimed at you? Are you a witch?

Yes, good question SaintGeorge. How did you know?

(I did meant to put your name in the title actually but I forgot)

Is she then? Is she?

also...were the people who were burnt actually in any way witches or were they just members of the "wrong" religion?

Yes I am.

Can only answer that one from a personal point of view.

To me a witch is someone who follows the old ways and learns from the wisdom of the past (witch is based on an old word meaning wise or wise ones).

I respect the Earth as mother to all life. I learn from her teachings and use her gifts in the form of herbs and natural remedies.

I believe in some larger spiritual force outside of the Earth and the power that said force possesses. I worship (for want of a better word) that power in the form of the Sun and the Moon as visual signs of the God and Goddess.

I'm gonna be extra nice to you on all the threads now!

There used to be a few white witches on Mumnset, I wonder what happened to them?

hi SG :D

Phooooooo there are many many interpritations (sp?) of what a witch is

to me its a person who practises the craft with use of herbs and other natures gifts to enhance their own lives and others. The use of the yearly cycles and seasons included when practising the craft. Some carry out rittuals to a number of dieties (gods and goddesses) but not all. It's all really about working with nature.

There are alot of varied opinons on this and this is just mine.

Hope your ok hun x x x x x

And yes probably some of them were witches (see my comment on midwives) but the majority would be just people who followed the 'wrong' religion.

Catholics and Protestants were always having a major go at each other at that time. The Catholics mainly held the upper hand so vast numbers of Protestants lost out in the Inquisition.

For many others though they had simply pissed off someone who held power or sway over the authorities.

SG, seriously, thanks for answering all this.

Just so you know I am seriously interested have done quite a lot on religion, esp anthropology view at degree level and specialised in folklore stuff, but I've scarcely come across much about witchcraft, except stuff like umbanda, spiritsme etc, and esoterics...

Is it kind of like goddess worship? (am trying to connect it to something I know about that isn't Buffy)

Am actually shocked at my ignorance here!

Hiya meg - long time no chat

Doh - yes I should have mentioned the wheel of the year. Everything flows in cycles and the seasonal wheel is our calendar.

or like being connected to the earth, but with an extra belief that the earth/seasons/biosphere was alive and poweful?

very interesting.

and meg too!

A lot of witches are very Goddess oriented. I think that probably comes from the feminist backlash in the 60’s and 70’s

I like it to be more balanced though. The Goddess does hold immense power, but so does the God. Without the male input (oo-er) there can be no continuation and the cycle would stop.

I supposed the matriarchal side comes out in the fact that the Mother is the root of everything.

TTFJ this is a good website for info if your intersted :)
www.spiralgoddess.com/

&

www.witchcraft.org/

There are a few more witches on this site than people realise.

I just happen to be the most vocal