witchcraftˈwɪtʃˌkræft, -ˌkrɑft
witchcraft (n)
witchcraft
English Definitions:
witchcraft, witchery (noun)
the art of sorcery
witchcraft (Noun)
The practice of witches; magic, sorcery or the use supernatural powers to influence or predict events.
Witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of magical faculties, most commonly for religious, divinatory or medicinal purposes. This may take many forms depending on cultural context. The belief in and the practise of magic has been present since the earliest human cultures and continues to have an important religious and medicinal role in many cultures today. "Magic is central not only in 'primitive' societies but in 'high cultural' societies as well..." The concept of witchcraft as harmful is often treated as a cultural ideology providing a scapegoat for human misfortune. This was particularily the case in Early Modern Europe where witchcraft came to be seen as part of a vast diabolical conspiracy of individuals in league with the Devil undermining Christianity, eventually leading to large-scale witch-hunts, especially in Protestant Europe. Witch hunts continue to this day with tragic consequences. Since the mid-20th century Witchcraft has become the designation of a branch of contemporary Paganism, it is most notably practised in the Wiccan traditions, some of whom claim to practice a revival of pre-Abrahamic spirituality.
Witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have used malevolent magic against their own community, and often to have communed with evil beings. It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by protective magic or counter-magic, which could be provided by cunning folk or folk healers. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. In some regions, many of those accused of witchcraft were folk healers or midwives. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment. Contemporary cultures that believe in magic and the supernatural often believe in witchcraft. Anthropologists have applied the term "witchcraft" to similar beliefs and occult practices described by many non-European cultures, and cultures that have adopted the English language will often call these practices "witchcraft", as well. As with the cunning-folk in Europe, Indigenous communities that believe in the existence of witchcraft define witches as the opposite of their healers and medicine people, who are sought out for protection against witchcraft. Modern witch-hunting takes place in parts of Africa and Asia. A theory that witchcraft was a survival of a European pagan religion (the witch-cult hypothesis) gained popularity in the early 20th century, but has been discredited. A newer theory is that the idea of "witchcraft" developed to explain strange misfortune, similar to ideas such as the evil eye. In contemporary Western culture, most notably since the growth of Wicca from the 1950s, some modern pagans and followers of New Age belief systems may self-identify as "witches", and use the term "witchcraft" for their self-help, healing or divination rituals. Others avoid the term due to its negative connotations.
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"witchcraft." Kamus.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 3 May 2024. <https://www.kamus.net/english/witchcraft>.
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