Witchcraft is the use of alleged supernatural powers of magic. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic or supernatural powers to inflict harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. [1]

5 days ago · Witchcraft is a term usually applied to harm brought upon others through the use of supernatural or occult powers. The person engaging in witchcraft is called a witch, while the act of causing harm may be termed cursing, hexing, bewitchment, or maleficium.

Sep 12, 2017 · Early witches were people who practiced witchcraft, using magic spells and calling upon spirits for help or to bring about change. Most witches were thought to be pagans doing the Devil’s work.

Oct 15, 2022 · From the Wicked Witch of the West to the Sanderson Sisters from "Hocus Pocus", women using magic for evil (and in some cases, good) has shaped cultural understandings of the craft. But these, among...

Witchcraft and belief in magic have been around since the beginning of time. Learn the history of witchcraft, modern witchcraft, Wicca and Wiccan rituals.

The general definition of witchcraft is the practice of magic in a negative or harmful fashion (whatever that may mean at the point in history you’re looking at). Where a source may refer to a sorceress, medium, or wizard, more recent translations will use the term “witch”.

Witchcraft involves the idea that some people have magical powers they can use to heal or harm others. Anthropologists (scientists who study cultures) are interested in witchcraft because it plays a big role in how people interact, deal with problems, and make sense of bad things that happen.

More than 200 people—mostly women— were accused of witchcraft; 20 were executed, and five more died in prison. What led a quiet New England town to turn against itself, and why, three centuries...

Wicca (English: / ˈ w ɪ k ə /), also known as "The Craft", [1] is a modern pagan, syncretic, earth-centered religion.Considered a new religious movement by scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esotericism, developed in England during the first half of the 20th century, and was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant.

Jan 7, 2025 · Jacob Sprenger’s involvement in the Malleus Maleficarum is a subject of significant historical debate. He was also a Dominican inquisitor, and while his name appears alongside Heinrich Kramer’s on the 1484 papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus, which authorised the two men to combat witchcraft, it’s not known to what extent Sprenger actively contributed to …