Embracing The Dark Beliefs: History Behind The Black Magic

Embracing The Dark Beliefs: History Behind The Black Magic

From the times of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to present times in Haiti, Australia, Africa, and anywhere else, people that are healthy have switched ill and died because a hex, curse, or maybe spell was placed upon them. There's a significant body of literature on the topic.

The techniques of declaring the curse are varied and many. It may be accomplished by doing an effigy of the target and also piercing it with pins or even burning it. Wax, cloth, clay, wood, and straw have almost all been utilized for the job. Hair or even fingernail parings from the target could be ritually hexed. Chants and singing might declare a curse. Weapons or stones might be magically charged, or maybe a container of magically endowed herbs or powders could be utilized to cast a spell.

Although approaches differ, the magic functions when there's adequate trust in its power. The sorcerer should have complete confidence in the powers of his, the victim should think that his secret is unassailable, so the community, in particular, should subscribe to the perception. The latter is particularly crucial. One can easily think of the outcome in the countries in which the society looks upon the target as dead from the second the curse becomes known. The victim might cease eating as well as a drink (as befits the dead), that serves to accelerate the end. One well-documented method of killing by suggestion is "bone pointing," a form of ritual execution occasionally practiced by the aborigines of Australia. There's no bodily contact with the target, though his fate is typically as firmly sealed as in case he had been run through the center with a spear. The pointing tool may be created of bone, wood, and stone. Belief in its magic is the thing that matters. A graphic explanation of the influences of bone pointing is provided in Dr. Herbert Basedows reserve The Australian Aboriginal, released in 1925;

A man who discovers that he is being boned by an enemy is, indeed, a pitiable sight. He stands aghast, with his eyes staring at the treacherous pointer, and with his hands lifted as though to ward off the lethal medium, which he imagines is pouring into his body. His cheeks blanch and his eyes become glassy, and the expression of his face becomes horribly distorted... He attempts to shriek, but usually, the sound chokes in his throat, and all one might see is froth at his mouth. His body begins to tremble and the muscles twist involuntarily. He sways backward and falls to the ground, and for a short time appears to be in a swoon; but soon after he begins to writhe as if in mortal agony, and, covering his face with his hands, begin to moan. After a while, he becomes more composed and crawls to his wurley (hut). From this time onwards he sickens and frets, refusing to eat, and keeping aloof from the daily affairs of the tribe. Unless help is forthcoming in the shape of a counter-charm, administered by the hands of the “Nangarri,” or medicine-man, his death is only a matter of a comparatively short time. If the coming of the medicine-man is opportune, he might be saved.

A possible biological reason for the victim's reaction to bone pointing is recommended. The effects of severe fear resemble those of great rage: the adrenal glands increase the production of theirs of adrenalin, decreasing the blood source to the less crucial areas of the body to ensure an ample source to the muscles, upon whose efficiency, for fight or flight, the lifetime of the topic might depend. Adrenalin yields this particular outcome by constricting the tiny blood vessels in the body parts which may temporarily survive a lessened blood supply.

The edge acquired in this manner, nonetheless, is accomplished at a number of prices. When blood supply is lowered, so will be the availability of oxygen, that is taken in the blood by the white corpuscles. If the fine capillary blood vessels are deprived of oxygen, they start to be far more permeable towards the blood plasma, which seeps into the tissue surrounding the blood vessel. The result of this, in an extended state of anger or fear, is a general decrease in the amount of circulating blood. This, in turn, lowers the blood pressure, in addition to a potentially disastrous cycle could subsequently be started. The lessened blood pressure levels adversely affect many areas of the body responsible for keeping the blood flow of the blood, as well as the reduced circulation further lowers the blood pressure. This particular sequence of events, if unchecked, is going to be deadly.

That a hex, spell, or maybe curse is able to rate such biological problems is mystery enough. Even more puzzling arc instances of death where medical evaluation reveals absolutely no proof of either decreased blood pressure or maybe an abnor¬ mal buildup of white blood cells. An example would be that of Kinjika, the Mailli tribesman whose death is discussed on pages 107 08. Yet another is a report by a Dr. P. S. Clarke concerning a Kanaka tribesman in North Queensland, Australia, that believed he was going to die shortly because a spell was definitely placed on him. The doctor's examinations revealed zero health issues, though several days later on the male was dead.

It'd appear that in societies where consequences of a curse are recognized as a known fact, there's no doubt that the spear of consideration is able to destroy.

#magic #darkmagic #blackmagic #darkbelief #occult #spiritual

About Witches and Such: An Objective Peek by Jean Cirrita

Witches by Denise De La Rue

We will attempt in this and ensuing columns to explore the world of the occult in all its forms: Witchcraft, Sorcery, Lycanthropy, Druidic lore, spells, enchantments, the 'Daily Strange. ' All manner of phenomena will be closely examined, including, perhaps, some that have not seen the light of day since the BOOK OF THOTH was supposedly tossed into the Nile River. . . Your questions, suggestions, and tid-bits of information (to add to our own) will be most welcome. Also you can send us an email: email@dailystrange.com - info@dailystrange.com

The history of witches in the Western World is similar to the history of other more recent minorities in that the information available was usually written by others. Witches have been portrayed both as frolicking winsome creatures of joy, or as fulsome wretched old hags of defeat and despair depending on which 'expert' one reads. Little has been recorded on pre- Christian witches. And, unfortunately, data on Christian era witches has in the main been recorded by their persecutors who were anything but unbiased.

Witches' Flight Spanish: Vuelo de Brujas Photo by Francisco Goya

Witchcraft was and is an old-established cult, with its own rites, rules, devotions, hierarchy, and holidays, similar to any other organized religion. Anthropological study has traced witchcraft back to the ancient cult of the Horned God, which recurs historically throughout Western Europe, openly or under- ground, from Paleolithic man to the present time. Some of the feast days and rituals tend to identify witchcraft with the pagan fertility religion of Europe: the old religion. There is also a belief in Diane as the Goddess and her daughter as the female Messiah. Diane has always played an important role in fertility rites. Still others-more Catholic in their religion than in their attitudes-feel witchcraft was a blasphemous invention of the Devil to win Christians to his evil will and should be dealt with as a moral problem with a final solution.

THE WITCHES by WILLIAM EDWARD

The origins of witchcraft may be as buried as many of its practitioners, but its ancient claim to being a legitimate religion cannot be discredited. One needs to study the testimonies and confessions of countless men and women derived from the witch trials, the great period of persecution, to realize that they were serious in their devotion to their God. Throughout the trials the accused consistently referred to their leader as God or Grandmaster or some like name. The idea of the Devil as 'grandmaster' was purely a Christian tactic, with the name of the Devil being superimposed over any god who did not answer to a Christian name.

Henry Fuseli The Shepherd’s Dream, from ‘Paradise Lost’ 1793

Although witch hunts began with Pope Gregory I in 600, it was not until the 13th and 14th centuries that church, state, and anyone else who stood to gain from it, organized frequent and serious attacks on witches. The Inquisition blamed witchcraft for anything it could get away with, condemning many innocent men and women as well as those who actually took part in secret rites. A few of the more important papal bulls against witches were Eugene IV, who stated witches who caused bad weather were to be punished, Gregory IV equating demon worship with debauchery, and Innocent VIII (Summis Desiderantes, 1484) which amounted to open warfare on witches. The recorders at the trials were of course court re- porters who had to constantly reassure the Church of their loyalty, therefore the records left are un- sympathetic to the religion of the people involved. Constant references to Devil, Demon, Evil One, Prince of Darkness, and especially Fiend, tend to damage the quality of the records. Today we would call such procedure yellow journalism. Despite the name-caMing, a clear idea of the cult can be recreated. Through the words of the victims one can obtain all the information needed to acquaint modern readers with a religion that was able to withstand so much.

In England, for example, the area with which we are best acquainted, each group of followers, or congregation, had a coven. Coven is the term used to identify the thirteen members of the elite who decided policy, attended all meetings, performed the ceremonies, and generally took the lead in all matters concerning the whole group. The coven consisted of twelve male or female witches, and their leader. The leader was the Devil or their god depending on your point of view. To his followers he was God incarnate and evidence records that he appeared as a man or a boy or a goat with horns. He either attended meetings in person or had a substitute who acted in his place depending on the nature of the meeting. The substitute was the officer of the coven whose duties included summoning members to meetings, and keeping attendance records, as well as aide- de-camp to the master. Every coven had a musician, sometimes two, as dancing and merrymaking were important parts of any meeting. The rest of the coven members could be considered as elders of the faith. More than one coven could exist in a district, depending on the size and needs of the area. Each coven was independent but not autonomous in that all covens were under the one master. A coven could sometimes unite with one or more other covens when a special effort was needed, as in the case of the witches who 'confessed' to participation in a plot to kill James VI of Scotland. Three covens combined their powers to raise a storm so that James would not complete his sea voyage from Oslo to Leith with his bride. There seems to have been a division of labor and talent, however, since one raised the storm by casting a properly prepared cat into the sea, while the others prepared a potion of toad poison, and worked on a wax image of the King. There are additional recorded instances of covens working together. As a rule, however, a single coven was able to work successfully, or unsuccessfully, alone.

Tam O'Shanter and the Witches - John Faed

Much of the magic witches practiced, such as preparing potions, divining, healing, or cursing, was done in private. Favorite herbs were hemp, cardamon, chicory, flax, coriander, and anise. Other ingredients more familiar to modern readers of fairy tales or folklore were toads, spiders, and the innards of doves, hares, spar- rows, or swallows. The concoction used by the witches to fly to meetings were usually ointments made from belladonna and aconite. These drugs produced excitement and hallucinations.

The Witches’ Sabbath à la Mode

Witches gatherings on a yearly basis were divided into weekly meetings (Esbats) attended by the members of the coven, and four great Sabbaths to which the entire congregation came. The business affairs of the coven were discussed and settled at the Esbats. The members gave a brief account of their week's activities to the Master or his substitute. He in turn gave advice or instruction to his followers. Information regarding new converts was also discussed at the Esbats. After the business was completed, the sacred dance was performed, then the feast, after which the meeting came to an end.

Witches: Five Silhouetted

The Sabbaths began at dusk and ended at dawn. The business part of the Sabbaths was generally the same as it was for the Esbats with less detail since all of the members of the coven did not have to attend the Sabbaths, although most did. Since the whole congregation at- tended the Sabbaths, the after business part was more animated. The great quarterly Sabbaths were joyous occasions for the followers. They danced, feasting, paid homage to their master, admitted new members, and celebrated rites which included sacrifices and orgiastic ceremonies. The latter activity has made witches perhaps more interesting than they would have been.

Carman is the Celtic goddess of evil magic. This malevolent witch roamed around Ireland with her three evil sons: Dub (“darkness”), Dother (“evil”) and Dain (“violence”), destroying all in her path.

As in the Esbats, dancing often began and ended the Sabbaths. The first dance performed was the processional, with the Master, or his substitute, leading the others in a kind of free-form follow-the-leader to the side of the more important sacred ring dance. Here they would form a circle with their backs to the center, hold hands, and dance to music supplied by flute, violin, and pipes. Whatever the religious significance of worship the dance symbolized, it did tend to relax every- one, to put them in the proper frenzied mood for the all night revelry that lay ahead.

The feast varied with either the master or the members supplying the food. When the members supplied the food it reflected the wealth of the particular congregation plus the culinary gifts of the ladies (an Iowa Methodist picnic?); the foods including the usual meat, cheese, cake, and wine.

he Witch On Her Broomstick is a drawing by Vintage Design Pics

The devotions to the master came at the beginning of the meeting. The master, dressed in a grand array, carried a lighted candle on his head which the congregation used in turn to light their candles. They would then offer their burning candles to the master singing hymns and chanting his praises. Children of members were admitted into the congregation while in infancy. This ceremony usually followed the devotion to the master.

This illustration from a 19th-century novel about the Pendle witches depicts a witches’ gathering like the one that allegedly occurred at Malkin Tower on April 10, 1612.

The mother would simply dedicate her child to the master. When the child reached puberty, he had to re- peat his dedication to the master in his own words. At this time he received a mark as a symbol of his tie, and so that all could see he was now a full member. The marking seems to have been a form of tattooing since it was permanent.

When an adult was admitted to the congregation, the ceremony was more complex in that the initiate was questioned at length and then made to renounce the faith of his birth. After this the convert dedicated himself to his new master with words and a kiss wherever the master stipulated-which was not always, as the church would like us to believe "under the tail." The new member would then receive his mark. The mark could be made anywhere. The significance of the location is debatable; that their master was imaginative in his selection is certain. Sometimes the novice received a new name, but this depended on local custom and did not always occur. The member was also given an animal, designated by the master, to be his familiar. He then received full instructions for divination.

Preparation for the witches' sabbath. Etching by D. Vivant-Denon after D. Teniers the younger. Teniers, David, 1610-1690.

Sacrificial rites usually involved the shedding of blood. The followers often drew blood from themselves to offer the master as a private gift. Animals were used for conjuring, and casting but rarely killed as a sacrifice at a meeting, although they could be sacrificed in private. In certain areas the cult was accused by the Church of sacrificing infants and eating their flesh: the flesh of an infant being considered sacred, magical.

When the trails of the various inquisitions were at their peak, witches were said to have eaten the flesh of infants to obtain the secret of silence, since the infants had never spoken. The witches supposedly believed that they would also be able to withstand torture and not confess or betray if they ate the flesh. This ritual is called sympathetic magic.

David Teniers - Witch scene 2

Whether or not the children were actually killed, no one can truthfully say today. It is not our purpose to excuse a possibility of infanticide or, conversely, to hypocritically moralize as so many otherwise competent writers in the field have done. We deem it sufficient to the situation to say that the infant mortality rate of the times was such to have supplied the cultists with ample offerings.

Another example of sympathetic magic were the orgies. During these ceremonies the followers believed that the land and the animals were making it more fertile. The master took part in these ceremonies as either incubus or succubus depending upon which role he performed in the sexual experience.

Black & White ¥ The Witch

A later addition to the Sabbath was the Black Mass. Before Christianity offered more interesting ceremonies to parody, the religious rites were actually less formal if not less important.

Modern witches have added four feast days to the yearly total to de- note the solstitial divisions of: autumn equinox, winter solstice, spring equinox, and the summer solstice. The tools of the cult remain basically the same. Each witch has an athame or sacred black-handled knife which they still make themselves. The circle, an ancient symbol of eternity, is used as the center of a serious activity. The idea of the circle is repeated in the round garter that the witches receive during initiation. The garter is worn around the waist and is similar to the belt in Judo in that color identifies rank. The women wear necklaces made of pearl or glass beads. The higher- ranking women have a silver bracelet (color of the moon) which they wear on their arms.

Other accessories include a silver chalice, candles, a wand of hazlewood, a small cauldron, a censer, a pentacle which is a flat piece of metal engraved with witch signs, a length of cord, a scourge, and a bowl filled with salt. Each item is symbolic. The cauldron represents water, the wind fire, the salt and scourge purification, the pentacle earth, the athames air, and the length of the cord, in a continuation of the circle symbol, is the spirit that unites all of the elements.

Witches' Sabbath late 16th–early 17th century Jacques de Gheyn II Netherlandish

Through the years nature seems to have replaced the master as a direct worship figure. Members of modern covens still genuflect, however, to a god who represents fertility rather than a promise of eternal bliss. To quote a modern English witch: "We worship nature which does not change because of the atomic bomb or television. We believe in helping people and most of all we believe in joy." Most witches apparently were condemned to death for their faith rather than their acts. Today, their inheritors enjoy a semblance of acceptability. Unfortunately, however, this seems due more to a change in the nonbelievers among us rather than of the believers.

#witches #witchcraft #sorcery #lycantrophy #lore #spells #magic #blackmagic

Editorial News: Editor's Cauldron by Mabel Pamplona (Supernatural Things, Witchcraft, Dark Magic)

Editorial News: Editor's Cauldron by Mabel Pamplona (Supernatural Things, Witchcraft, Dark Magic)

For most web editors & content writers caught in the trap of deadlines, conformity, and making similar content, simple survival for themselves and their website is an end in itself. To innovate is to invite risk and possible disaster. To actually drop out of the milieu of our huckster-dominated media, and into the real world of this 21st Sick Century, could induce sheer trauma. In the U.S.A. and Turkey's Dominant Media is very aggressive to their political opponents in a cruel way. These two countries have mutual crisis just because each of them has a dangerous leader. We can say clearly, tyrannical governments frequently put their political opponents in prison. So that's not a surprise for Turkey and its citizens.ens.

Yet one need not be a crusader to suggest that somewhere along the line those who control the media must do just that. Recognition must be given to the realities of this new world, else the media, in all its forms, will not only have faulted the finest generation of young people this country has produced but will have simultaneously denied them an arena for meaningful dialogue.

The question may be asked: just what in the hell does this pontifical tub-thumping have to do with a quality-contents of the witchcraft, horror, world mysteries, dark poems, gothic tradition such as Daily Strange?

Arturo Fuente Cigars Since 1912

We would suggest, in fact, that the problem of a direct confrontation with reality especially applies to our magazine, since we deal with particularly with the occult, the supernatural, and phenomena usually opposed by established religion. We would point out too that this same established religion sector of the metaphysical world is the sector most fearful of any kind of reality.

If we were to follow the sterile practices of their conformity, our witches and sorcerers would then all be evil; vampires would cringe solely before crosses despite the myriad religions other than Christianity; voodoo drums invoking Dambala would be presented with obvious racist overtones, werewolves would all resemble Lon Chaney, Jr., our doctors and scientists would all be mad-and our total efforts would be directed toward not offending the power of the status quo. Instead, we would defend it. We would not dare contribute to the destruction of popular myths for fear of the cretins among us. We choose not to conform to patterns of nonsense. In terms of the 'realities' which the others fear, let us make a few points.

Any honest approach to an examination of witchcraft and related religions in this time of advanced sciences, for example, poses no contradictions. Indeed, it is only under this new and comparatively free conditions-devoid of persecution by state religions and their hierarchies that the black arts et al. can be objectively examined. The contradiction here-for it does exist-is that those who would mock the black arts as nonsense, themselves attend a denominational church service on Sundays, and involve themselves in the parallel trumpery of the very arts and religions they decry.

DAILY STRANGE's position is a simple one. We would, in the interest of honest research, examine all religions and mythos equally and objectively; neither denying nor subscribing to their pretensions or claims. We would, however, à la Voltaire, fight for their right to parallel existence with each other-no burning stakes, gentlemen; no Ramadan holy wars; no Inquisitions, and no 'Chosen People.' All are equal in the DAILY STRANGE.

As a matter of fact, to extend this thinking into the area of shock for some of you, let me say this. If your editor were hauled into court tomorrow on some charge or other, he would ask that he be allowed to swear on the Necronomicon of the so called 'mad Arab,' Abdul Alhazrid, as a pledge of his veracity. You see, we hold this and other books, such as the Torah, the Kama Sutra, the Book of Thoth, or whatever, as equally as potent and sacred as our highly-touted King James Version of the Bible. . . We suggest that a truly free society could do likewise-even to the point of allowing a detainee to swear on nothing at all.

Are we reaching you?

In terms of this real-world we're talking about, may we further suggest that it is, no historical accident that today-with the mass emergence of witchcraft and a hundred related sub-culture religions throughout the Western Hemisphere, that these same arts and religions identify with progress. They opt, as it were, for the free society for the simple reason that they can function in that free society, whereas until quite recently, in the controlled society of the Judeo-Christian world, they were not free but persecuted.

We all wish that the Corona-Monster will be collapsed but don't kid yourselves for a second. Our cute little hippy witches were damned serious. And they remain serious. And you editor, for one, takes them quite seriously-along with the equally serious attitude of the majority of the clergy who also protest Iraq and the Syria war. And that, too, is a part of our reality.

For DAILY STRANGE all religions exist as phenomena of the world of the unknown-if there be such-of the parallel world, as it were, of the real world. These religions exist, they are in motion. And they reflect quite strongly, from their particular points of view, the reality of the times in which we live. Conversely, and to a considerable degree, they also directly influence that reality.

DAILY STRANGE is vitally concerned with being knowledgeable of these phenomena, for they are, essentially, what we write about. An axiom for us is that the closer we are to both the phenomena and the world as it is-and not as the plastic people tell us it is-the more sophisticated, the more literary, and the more meaningful the work or the story. We absolutely subscribe to the theory that there is no content in stereotyped nonsense.

DAILY STRANGE will present no ridiculous, freaked out monster mummy to gurgle tuna leaves, and to drag itself along at 1/8 of a mile per hour, through the fuzz patrolled, well-lighted suburbs of an American city: and no fruity Corona-Monster will grace our website to threaten the peace and quiet of our populace and thereby distract them from their real problems. We would suggest that the only King Kong's among us today are those not evidenced by their size but rather by their neanderthal thinking.

In effect, we say this: we do not suggest to any author that a werewolf, a sorcerer, a ghoul, a poltergeist, or what have you, be anything other than what the author wishes it to be. But! And here's the 'rub.' What we do say, is that the phenomenon must be viewed, to the best of the writer's ability, against the real background of the world in which we live. In effect, you can create a ghoul. But to create a non-sense world to support the existence of your ghoul-uh-unh. . . Our mail addresses, by the way, indicates this possibility.

info@dailystrange.com

email@dailystrange.com

We will wind this up with the salute of: yours for fat Trolls under bridges-and how they got there; and for poltergeists in the attic-and just what makes them so damned cantankerous. . . . Yours on the DAILY STRANGE

MABEL PAMPLONA

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#editorial #witch #witchcraft #magic #darkmagic #dailystrange