Magic, Neopaganism, Voodoo and The Renaissance

Emily Danaher

Nicole Barker

Jeanne Champagne

Mariah Legault

Abstract Piece

Oct. 17^th 2010

Magic, Neopaganism, Voodoo and The Renaissance

Witchcraft took went under many changes during the Renaissance Era. This era introduced the idea of Elizabethan witchcraft and witches (Elizabethanera). Elizabethan witchcraft was the belief that witches and witchcraft were the cause of things that could not be answered (Grimassi 265). During this period there were many cases of The Black Death, a disease with no known cause or cure. People blamed a bad harvest, or if a house burnt down on witches, and witchcraft.

Though there were 273 documented Elizabethan witch trials, only 23 of these trials included men. The ideal ‘witch’ was a single, or widowed woman; who was old, poor, and unprotected (Luminarium). During this time period things were starting to change. Men had held all the power before, and women relied greatly upon them (Luminarium).

Now that the convents were starting to change, and the churches defined any one with knowledge of herbs as a witch, witches became associated with the Devil. Due to the convents closing there were a lot more poor women that needed to be taken care of; rich people often feared that these poor women were witches.

Also during this period, Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press. The first books printed were bibles and religious themed documents, a lot of the books included ideas about witches and witchcraft (Western 135). This increased the knowledge about witchcraft, and made witch hunts more popular. As the knowledge spread about witches and witchcraft, so did the fear (Elizabethan). More than one hundred thousand people during the Renaissance period were tried for having some connection with witchcraft.

While witch hunts were increasing in popularity, the 1562 Elizabethan Witchcraft Act was passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was an act “against Conjuracions Inchauntmentes and Witchecraftes”(Spielvogel 367), or better understood as; against enchantments (spells), and witchcraft. Queen Elizabeth ordered that all women accused of witchcraft were to be sentenced to be hung, instead of burned. Also she ordered that they not be tortured during the investigation. Thanks to Queen Elizabeth, England was a lot less harsh than Spain, maybe it had to do with the fact that her mother was accused of being a witch (Elizabethan). Today modern “witchcraft” is no longer a death sentence, but a type of vastly misunderstood religions.

How wrong can one be when discussing the new-age religious movement of Neopaganism? With knowledge of only our popular media’s view on people who practice this religion, our society has been ill informed of Neopaganism, and witchcraft.

Neopaganism is a religion of “modern faith, which has been recently reconstructed from beliefs, deities, symbols, practices, and other elements of an ancient religion” (Religioustolerance). With the goal of recreating something from the past for their own purposes, participants of the religion believe in the importance of being inclusive of all, possessing unity, being relativistic, having a respect for nature with the focus of female deities (Jorgensen 327). Neopagans believe that everything has value and no harm should be done unto others and living things (Jorgensen 327).

The rejection of Christianity and other religions has lead many participants to Neopaganism (Wilkinson 8). With the belief that all things are connected, Neopagans celebrate the changing of the seasons and have a religious connection to the form of the circle. The circle is a symbol of rejecting hierarchy and instills that all are equal (5). Additionally, those who are involved with Neopaganism are interested in feminism, occultism, science fiction, ecology and view sexuality as not only natural but sacred (Jorgensen 332).

The influence of Neopaganism in the United States began with the revival of British witchcraft popularity in the mid-century (Jorgensen 326). The British form of Wicca, “claimed to be a surviving remnant of a pre-Christian, European religion” (326). A most notable historical relationship of Neopaganism is that of Hermeticism and Kabbalism in the Renaissance period, the study of supernatural powers (326).

Who is a Neopagan you might ask? Through a survey study produced by Professor Danny Jorgensen and Scott Russel an MBA graduate in Religious studies, they cite that the average Neopagan is young to middle-aged and “participants in this movement still are slightly more likely to be female than male” (Jorgensen 330). The majority of participants are white urbanites, which do not make more than the median income in relation to the US population (330). Neopagans work both white collar and blue-collar jobs and nearly all people were once members of another religion (331-2).

It was once noted early in the investigation of Neopaganism in scholarly notes that those who Neopaganism appeals to were, “alienated, counter cultural, white, middle-class, young urban women” (Jorgensen 327). It was hypothesized that, “witchcraft fulfilled these socially marginal participants' needs for social identity and power” (327). To what extent this can be proved is unknown for the religion of Neopaganism is young in age and continually changing. With an increased interest in Neopagan research, Neopaganism and witchcraft will become better understood.

Witches, spells and torture. Your neighbor, gardens and unity. Through research on the demographics of the population of Neopaganism, “...Neopagans appear to be entirely ordinary Americans, not at all unlike members of much more conventional, mainstream religious denominations” (Jorgensen & Russell 334). While Neopeganism does include its own rituals, there are other traditional magic rituals found around the world.

Magic refers to “methods that somehow interface with the supernatural and by which people can bring about particular outcomes” (Stein 136). This was seen in how witches performed their tasks, and how the people would counter spell the witches. It involves a direct manipulation of the supernatural. Magic is learned through parents, grandparents, ancestors or the next of kin (Stein 139). The key component of a magical act are the words that are spoken, for example, a common magical term that we are familiar with is, “Abracadabra” (Signs), which is indeed, a real magic word. These words that are spoken are called spells. “The spell is often an oral text that is transmitted without change from generation to generation… the slightest deviation from the traditional form would invalidate the magic” (Stein 140). Along with spells, a special material or objects are needed or required for the magic spell to work. This is usually performed in magic rituals; they usually contain a material object that can be manipulated in set ways. Another important factor in making these spells work is the location in which they are performed. “Rituals can often be performed only at special places at special times” (Stein 141). This sometimes means that the one carrying out the ritual must observe and be aware of certain restrictions they may have in order to execute it properly.

Magic follows certain principles, which was first described by James Frazer in his book The Golden Baugh that was published in 1890 (Stein 143). Frazer was a classic philosopher and one of the founders of contemporary anthropology. His purpose was to prove that magic was a mistaken mode of thinking (Greenwood 47). The principles that Frazer articulated on are the Law of Sympathy, which states “magic depends on the apparent association or agreement between things” (Stein 143). There are two parts to this sympathetic magic; they include the Law of Similarity and the Law of Contagion. The Law of Similarity states that things that are alike are the same, and the Law of Cognition states that things that were once in contact continue to be connected after the connection in severed (Greenwood 47). The Law of Similarity gives rise to the homeopathic or imitative magic, and the Law of Cognition gives ride to contagious magic.

Contagious magic, like said before, is based on the premise that things that were once in contact always maintain a connection. “An example, of contagious magic is rabbit’s foot” (Stein 145). The rabbit is a successful animal, not because it is intelligent but because it’s lucky. It’s lucky because, if it is not smart but still gets away from it’s prey, then it must be lucky. The contagious magic comes into play because if one carries part of this lucky animal, the luck will rub off on them, making them lucky.

Homeopathic or imitative magic assumes that there is a causal relationship between things that appear to be similar. The most familiar of the homeopathic magic is image magic, which is “making an image to represent a living person who can be killed or injured through doing things to the image, such as sticking pins into the image or burning it” (Stein 144). A commonly know example of homeopathic magic would be Voodoo practices with Voodoo dolls.

Voodoo or Vodu (Kissell) in America is often associated with having a negative reputation. A long history of black magic has turned a spiritual religion into a modern prejudice. Voodoo originated in Africa and its beliefs traveled with the slaves that were traded throughout the world starting in the 1500’s (A Brief History of Voodoo). While still practiced around the world, Voodoo is more popular in nations that were once involved in the slave trade. For example, places such as Haiti, the Caribbean Islands, and New Orleans. While voodoo has a rich history, its practices differ around the world.

The general concept of voodoo is a spiritual one. Believing in one supreme God called Bondye (Kissell), who is not personified but seen as a force within nature. Under God are spirits or Lwa who watch over the natural world (Kissell). People of the Voodoo religion would pray to Lwa or Loa (A Brief History of Voodoo) about their problems, comparable to the saints of the Catholic Church. Voodoo is about healing through nature and spiritual rituals and sacrifices. Voodoo also consists of many tales, which are passed down from one generation to the next through story telling (A Brief History of Voodoo).

Voodoo, outside of the media, is a real religion deeply involved in being spiritual and connected to the earth. The media has greatly influenced the negative associations involved in the voodoo prejudice. Today voodoo is practiced all over the world. While there are many types of Voodoo, bad and good, each person practices their beliefs in their own way through rituals. The practice of voodoo is to find harmony within the natural world and the universe.

Witchcraft, Neopeganism, magic and Voodoo religion all come together in the relationship to our studies of the scientific revolutions in the twenty-first century. Through historical examples of witchcraft and misunderstood religions, we have come to our current day acceptance of previously rejected ideas.

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