Witchcraft
Belief in witchcraft stretches back to ancient Mesopotamia, where clay tablets from the Maqlû ritual outline anti-witchcraft practices dating to the first millennium BCE. In these early societies, a witch was often viewed as an illegitimate practitioner of destructive magic motivated by malice and evil intent. The Code of Hammurabi from the 18th century BCE prescribed the death penalty for those found guilty of harmful magic-practice. Ancient Roman history records at least 170 women executed during a deadly epidemic in 331 BCE for causing it through veneficium. Another epidemic between 184 and 180 BCE led to about 5,000 executions for the same crime. Historian Ronald Hutton notes that Republican Romans hunted witches on a scale unknown anywhere else in the ancient world. Anthropologists define witchcraft today as the use of magic to cause harm or misfortune to others within one's own community. This definition remains the most common meaning worldwide regardless of cultural development.
The witch-craze reached its peak between the 16th and 17th centuries across Europe, resulting in the execution of tens of thousands of people. Scotland experienced 4,000 to 6,000 prosecutions against accused witches during the 16th and mid-18th centuries, a much higher rate than the European average. Russia also faced its own iteration of witchcraft trials during the 17th century, where accusations were used to target individuals threatening the ruling elite. The Malleus Maleficarum, written in 1486 by German monk-inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, became the handbook for secular courts throughout Europe. It defined a witch as evil and typically female, outlining how to identify, prosecute, and punish them. This book was the most sold in Europe for over 100 years after the Christian Bible. Accusations usually followed from social tensions and were made by neighbors rather than authorities. Women made up the majority of those accused, though some regions saw men as the primary targets. The belief that witches communed with demons or the Devil mainly targeted perceived opponents of the Church.
Modern witch-hunting continues in parts of Africa and Asia, leading to violence and human rights violations. In Tanzania, an estimated 500 older women are murdered each year following accusations of witchcraft according to a 2014 World Health Organization report. The Democratic Republic of the Congo witnessed disturbing trends of child witchcraft accusations in Kinshasa, resulting in abuse and exorcisms supervised by self-styled pastors. In Papua New Guinea, it is estimated that 50 to 150 people are killed annually as a result of witchcraft accusations. Reports from 2008 indicated more than fifty individuals were killed in two Highlands provinces alone for allegedly practicing sorcery. Saudi Arabia has executed people for practicing witchcraft and sorcery as recently as 2014. In west Kenya, cases have occurred where accused witches were burned to death in their homes by mobs. These beliefs often fuel suspicion of modern medicine, severely hampering medical care during epidemics like HIV/AIDS and Ebola. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions notes the difficulty of defining 'witches' across cultures due to varying traditional or faith healing practices.
Most societies that believed in harmful magic also believed in helpful or white magic provided by practitioners known as cunning folk or wise people. In Britain and parts of Europe, these service magicians offered services such as breaking the effects of witchcraft, healing, divination, and finding lost goods. Historian Owen Davies states the term 'white witch' was rarely used before the 20th century. Emma Wilby suggests some English witches convicted of consorting with demons may have been cunning folk whose supposed fairy familiars had been demonized. The Constitutio Criminalis Carolina of 1532 and the Danish Witchcraft Act of 1617 stated that workers of folk magic should be dealt with differently from witches. Recent surveys conclude that magical healers made up less than 2% of those accused in France and Switzerland, though Éva Pócs says half the accused in Hungary seemed to be healers. People often attempted to thwart witchcraft by using protective magic like talismans, amulets, or burying objects such as horse skulls inside building walls. Societies generally preferred formal legal remedies over private actions like banishing or torturing alleged witches.
Ancient Mesopotamian religion distinguished between good and bad rites, with laws prescribing the death penalty for those found guilty of witchcraft. Jewish attitudes toward witchcraft were rooted in its association with idolatry and necromancy, highlighting strong condemnations in the Hebrew Bible. Christianity later condemned witchcraft as an abomination, using select verses to justify witch hunting during the early modern period. Islamic perspectives encompass a wide range of practices but consider magic forbidden while emphasizing miracles rather than magic. In ancient Rome, Pliny recorded that the 5th century BCE laws of the Twelve Tables laid down penalties for uttering harmful incantations. The only recorded trial involving this law was that of Gaius Furius Cresimus. During the pagan era of ancient Rome, at least 170 women were executed for causing epidemics through veneficium. The Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis of 81 BCE carried the death penalty for killing by veneficium, and magicians were often burnt at the stake under early Imperial era laws. These historical developments show how magic intertwined with nature and local beliefs across different epochs.
From the 1920s, Margaret Murray popularized the 'witch-cult hypothesis' suggesting persecuted witches were followers of a benevolent pagan religion surviving Christianization. This theory has since been discredited by further historical research. From the 1930s, occult neopagan groups began emerging who called their religion a kind of witchcraft. They formed initiatory secret societies inspired by Murray's theory, ceremonial magic, and Aleister Crowley's Thelema. The biggest religious movement to emerge from this is Wicca, pioneered by Gerald Gardner in the 1940s. Today, some Wiccans and members of related traditions self-identify as witches and use the term for their magico-religious practices primarily in Western anglophone countries. Other neo-pagans avoid the term due to its negative connotations. Stregheria in Italy reflects a desire to reconnect with the country's pagan past, similar to other European neopagan movements. These modern groups emphasize a connection to nature, the divine, and personal growth while drawing inspiration from historical paganism.
Witches have a long history of being depicted in art, though most earliest artistic depictions originate in Early Modern Europe during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Albrecht Dürer created an image of a witch riding backwards on a goat, reflecting common themes of the era. Witch characters appear in ancient Roman literature from the first century BCE onward, including Lucan's Erichtho, Horace's Canidia, Ovid's Dipsas, and Apuleius's Meroe. These figures are typically hags who chant harmful incantations, make poisonous potions, sacrifice children, or raise the dead. John William Waterhouse painted The Magic Circle in 1886, depicting a woman surrounded by magical symbols. Hans Baldung produced a woodcut titled The Witches in 1508 showing witches preparing for a Sabbath. David Teniers the Younger illustrated Preparation for the Witches' Sabbath, showing brewing potions and reading grimoires. Fictional witches span a wide array of characterizations, generally depicted as either villains or heroines. Many scholars attribute their manifestation in art to texts like demonology-centered works and manuals such as the Malleus Maleficarum published in 1487.
Common questions
When did belief in witchcraft first appear in ancient Mesopotamia?
Belief in witchcraft stretches back to ancient Mesopotamia, where clay tablets from the Maqlû ritual outline anti-witchcraft practices dating to the first millennium BCE. The Code of Hammurabi from the 18th century BCE prescribed the death penalty for those found guilty of harmful magic-practice.
How many women were executed during Roman epidemics between 331 BCE and 180 BCE?
Ancient Roman history records at least 170 women executed during a deadly epidemic in 331 BCE for causing it through veneficium. Another epidemic between 184 and 180 BCE led to about 5,000 executions for the same crime.
Who wrote the Malleus Maleficarum handbook for secular courts throughout Europe?
The Malleus Maleficarum was written in 1486 by German monk-inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It became the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years after the Christian Bible and defined a witch as evil and typically female.
What is the estimated number of older women murdered annually in Tanzania due to witchcraft accusations?
In Tanzania, an estimated 500 older women are murdered each year following accusations of witchcraft according to a 2014 World Health Organization report. These killings represent modern witch-hunting that continues in parts of Africa and Asia.
When did Gerald Gardner pioneer the Wicca religious movement?
Wicca was pioneered by Gerald Gardner in the 1940s as the biggest religious movement to emerge from occult neopagan groups. Today, some Wiccans and members of related traditions self-identify as witches and use the term for their magico-religious practices primarily in Western anglophone countries.