How Did Wicca/witches Become Associated With Devil Worship?

I've heard that some people still have the misconception that Wiccans worship the devil. Does anyone know how this belief originated? Someone told me once that it's because at some point in history Christians accused Witches of being servants of the devil in order to delegitimize Wicca and other pagan religions. Does anyone know if this is true or not?

 

Exodus 22:18 - Thou shalt not allow a witch to live.

Leviticus 20:27 - A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood [shall be] upon them.

Leviticus 19:31 - Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I [am] the LORD your God.

Revelation 21:8 - But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

 

First of all, you may disagree but most scholars think Wicca is a twentieth and twenty-first century phenomenon. It originated in Britain from amateur anthropologist and occultist Gerald Gardner's rendering of the "ancient Witch Cult" hypothesis provided by archaeologist/anthropologist/ folklorist Margaret Murray. Murray claimed that the witches persecuted by the Christians were remnants of pre-Christian pagan cults that had nothing to do with Satan. Most scholars think the ancient Witch Cult hypothesis is unfounded and that Wicca is a syncretic, synthetic neo-pagan movement of modern times. So whatever the Christians were persecuting, it wasn't Wicca as we know it today. The term "wicca" derives from the Old English word for wizzard of sorcerer (wicca+male sorcerer, wicce=sorceress). Robert Graves saw a connection to the willow (Norse: vikker), sacred to the Greek goddess of sorcery, Hecate; hence the name wicker.

Yggdrazil provided Biblical citations which would predispose Christians to a negative attitude toward witches. Note that the first three are pre-Christian Judaic beliefs, and quite typical of beliefs found in many ancient and primitive societies where misfortunes were attributed to sorcery or black magic. I'd add anothereuteronomy 18:14 (NAS) "For those nations, which you will dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so." Practitioners of sorcery or black magic were called witches and regarded as evil. And as the idea of evil supernatural beings developed, the witches were identified as their servants. The Pharisees and Sadducees accused Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub. The Christian book of Revelation sees them as minions of Satan, to be destroyed during Armageddon. And Christians came to regard all pagan deities as demons. They are further denounced in Acts 8:9-11, where Simon Magus is said to use sorcery.

But the big persecution of witches began after publication of Malleus Malleficarum (Hammer of Witches) by a clergyman in the late 15th Century, calling for the mass extermination of witches. The Church initially discouraged it, but it caught on and spread across Europe and the American colonies during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. And fundamentalist Christians today still take those bible versus literally and have trouble understanding why Wiccans aren't Satanists. When it became known that a Wiccan had entered our community, a woman at a local church called for the community to take action to drive her out. The Wiccan went to the police, and they made it clear they weren't going to tolerate any efforts to go after Wiccans for their religion. It seemed to defuse the situation. Sometimes,, I think we're still living in the sixteenth century around here.

 

Q. Who do Witches Worship?
A. There is a single power defined as the One or All, which is composed of everything it has ever created. This supreme energy force does not rule over the Universe, it IS the Universe. Since most find it difficult to talk to or call upon a faceless mass of Divine energy, this supreme power is personified into male and female aspects as the Goddess and God. This simply makes the concept easier for the human mind to comprehend and relate to. Some take this concept a step further and use actual names, like Astarte, Isis, Odin, Pan, Dianna, Cernunnos, etc., when invoking the Goddess and God. In the end, it is a personal preference and what a Witch uses depends on what "feels" right for them individually.

Source- https://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/faq.htm

 

Can a man be a witch? I think I might naturally be one.I don't want any of that wizard crap.Naff.But being a witch is not something you want everyone to know about in real life.Some Muslims would want to off you for it.Not that I'm against most peaceful Muslims,but some of them take it a bit too seriously in my opinion.I wanna get bitchin' with this witchin'.

The witch trials:

Fear of feminine powers and intuition.

Fear of menstruation,the sensual body.

The dominance of the Appolonian over the Dionysian.

The ascendancy of the Patriarch.

Etc.

 

Yes, they can be and they are called "witches" just like women are.

 

Psychologists have noted that about every eight years their psychotic patients switch from talking about devil worship to focusing on aliens invading the earth and that this trend closely follows that of the Hollywood movies produced. According to the National Science Foundation in five Americans insists the sun revolves around the earth and, like parakeets, they repeat whatever they're told that sounds the least bit plausible explaining why the government and mass media are now so upset about "fake news" even though the majority of Americans insist the government and mass media they call evil lie to them for their own protection. Selling lies becomes worthless when anyone can do it for free.

 

Or sometimes warlocks.

 

No.

A Warlock is a Witch that has been banned.

Males are called Witches.

 

In the Harry Potter universe wizards are male witches

I said that in my best know it all Hermione voice, of course

Anywho, to answer the OP i'm guessing it probably dates back to the early days of Christianity when the rulers sought to use Christianity as a means of control and therefor needed to demonize pagans who were outside their control

Just a somewhat educated guess though

 

Yes, I looked into this via the net recently. Muslims do have members who perform Black Magic. It is not encouraged, of course but I guess a few practice it.

 

My sister, Arch Priestess Reverend Lady Belladonna LaVeau, will set you straight.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarian_Tabernacle_Church

 

Yes but those Muslims whom practice magic get into deep trouble with their hardcore brethren.We're talking sharia.

 

Aerianne, she looks just like my daughter's friend.

 

SoftKiss- Yes they do, it is quite frowned upon for them to dabble in occult practice.

 

She's originally from Conyers, Georgia but she lives in Index, Washington now.

 

I was always under the impression that a significant segment of the Christian population just thinks that anything that isn't of Christianity is of Satan. I'm sure there are some among the Christians who would even call science Satanic. So it's not hard for me to understand why something as mysterious as Wicca gets labeled Satanic. I'm not particularly convinced that it has a strong foothold anywhere but the human imagination that believes there is a Devil out there trying to confuse people. Anyone not practicing Christianity being a confused, misled person.

 

I don't know much about witches in Europe but for the Salem Witch Trials, some think that the "witches" got Ergot poisoning, which would essentially elicit a psychoctive affect like LSD. However unlike synthesized LSD, ergot poisoning would likely make one ill too, So these people appeared possessed.

 

How did witches become associated with devil worship? Fear.

 

Ok thanks for your insights guys.