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Is Witchcraft Dangerous?
327 Plays3 months ago
Episode 38
Welcome to The Bell Witch Podcast
Witching in the 21st Century
After a summer break, Swailes the Friendly Green Witch is tackling a large topic, 'is witchcraft Dangerous?' Tackling the greatest misconceptions about witchcraft by sharing personal experiences and reflecting on The Burning Times historical insights. The episode delves into the societal perceptions and historical treatment of witchcraft, highlighting the patriarchal influences and misconceptions that have persisted into modern times. There is no devil in the craft.
Swailes reflects on the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries, drawing parallels to contemporary society's fears and misinformation. Emphasizing the empowering and healing aspects of modern witchcraft, the host encourages listeners to challenge societal norms and engage in thoughtful dialogue about the true nature of witchcraft.
Made with love and magic by @friendlygreenwitch11.11 of @The_bell_witch_podcast
Email- thebellwitchpodcast@yahoo.com
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Mentioned in this episode-
https://open.spotify.com/episode/62jdpDDmPox3pZIGjDsvw3?si=fc186a5fdacf4c2c
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3xC1T01S9D75ollsNoedaw?si=64e906e3e7c74078
Sponsored by Otley Ghost Tour Turnip Fish Theatre Company (squarespace.com)
#PodcastPals
The Adventures of Lilly Thystle and her Flower Dragon | Podcasts
https://open.spotify.com/show/0e5i06FKGQPQwCEzhIpaT5?si=541c87d6be234bbd
Sauces and Research
Questions About Salem MA Witchcraft | 1692 Salem Witch Museum
The trouble with witchcraft today - Big Issue North
Cover art by Coleen of StarGladeVintage on Pixabay
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Ottley Ghost Tour
00:00:00
Speaker
There's something frightfully chilling going on in Ottley Town. Book yourself onto the Ottley Ghost Tour and embrace the miserable history of Ottley inleads. A seemingly quiet, quaint, historic market town settled beneath the looming gates of the ancient chevin learn about the small town eccentrics who once upon a time hobbled over the cobbles and find out about the phantom characters who still persist today your ghoulish guides will regale you with tales of bygone days and you will finish the evening with an optional free drink in one of otler's most haunted brew houses
00:00:47
Speaker
Deal listeners, if you fancy yourself a deliciously dark evening in Otley, I'll let you into a little secret. I have formed a deal with the ghost leader, Spindle Shanks McScrew, and you will receive a free gift if you repeat this quote prior to your tour. Oole-boole, let's get gooly. Have a grizzly good time, witches.
Reflection on Witchcraft Persecution
00:01:16
Speaker
Beautiful Bright Lilies When they saw us in the twilight, the menfolk grew suspicious. We were bright lilies in the night. Rhyme would tell us how to mend and fix some, amend their bitterness and spite.
00:01:35
Speaker
those who came always so trusting, eager to pay us in coins and cattle. We were poor on land but rich in spirit, however that became our battle. Menfolk grew resentful and then they blamed us wrong for those times in trouble and strife.
00:01:56
Speaker
They tortured our bodies, and doubted our voices. They sacrificed their daughters and wives. Fire once a friend, but now a monster. As it master commands, burn us raw. Woman and midwives out for the slaughter. Fear and devastation we saw. The lilies, once bright, now faded to darkness. Kicked and burnt to death.
00:02:23
Speaker
Too frightened to be us, so we hid in the woods. And that's where we took our last breath. Years will pass, the landscape will change. Man made toxicity, the earth will purge. Beautiful bright lilies will grow once again. From the flames of history we will emerge.
Episode 38 Overview: Witchcraft's Danger
00:03:13
Speaker
Now then, witches and beautiful souls. Ey up, I'm back. Witching in the 21st century, I've had a really lovely little time off working on other projects and having a lovely summer. I really missed podcasting and I'm so glad to be back for this amazing episode, which is number 38, although there is a lot more. It is really number 50 but because I have lots of bonuses, it's currently standing at number 38. And the topic for this episode is, is witchcraft dangerous? It is massive but I've tried my best and a disclaimer though, I am no historian, I'm not at all academically trained.
00:04:00
Speaker
I've done lots of research and this is like my understanding of the subject from a modern witcher's perspective of my own. But I learnt a lot about history and I also learnt a little bit about the ages of witching today as well and I think the two together made for very interesting listening.
00:04:20
Speaker
Before we dive in, I'm just going to do a little bit of podcast paling because I feel like it's been such a long time. It's podcast pals.
00:04:32
Speaker
Big shout out to the West London Witch, Rebecca Strazina. She has been taking some time out from a regular podcasting like me and has been doing a fantastic summer reading programme over on her Patreon and I have been absolutely glued to it all summer. The book in question that Rebecca's been reading is Michelle Remembers written in the 70s about like demonic witching. It is so good. I'm really enjoying it and actively waiting for them to get uploaded because I want to know what's going to happen in the next chapter. Their Patreon is awesome. I really really do recommend the West London Witch.
00:05:15
Speaker
I have a second at Podcast Pal and this is a bit cheesy but this is the big exciting announcement. Are you ready?
New Podcast Announcement: Adventures of Lily Thistle
00:05:27
Speaker
um
00:05:30
Speaker
A brand spanky new podcast called The Adventures of a Lily Thistle and her Flower Dragon. My little girl Florence has been wanting to podcast for quite some time. We're recorded early summer, May time, and I've been editing it.
00:05:48
Speaker
throughout July and August. It took quite a long time because she reeled off a story which was fantastic and I have edited it and put a little bit of context in it and a little bit of sound effects and stuff and it is such a fun joyous listen. It's a podcast made by a kid.
00:06:04
Speaker
for other the kids a bedtime story podcast completely fictional and it is created and made lovingly by an eight-year-old and her mum anybody looking for a bedtime story you know for like the new school year routine and stuff this podcast is for you and we've listened to it a few times and it is so funny I have uploaded a bonus episode where I've squished the first four episodes into one on the Belle Witch podcast's feed but the link for Florence's actual independent podcast will be in the show notes below because I'd like you to go over and listen to all her episodes and then she can get her own little ratings and her her own little numbers. It'll be fantastic for her.
00:06:48
Speaker
It was such fun and I'm really happy that she enjoyed the process and gets just how podcasting is really good for your mental health. It's just amazing, I love it. And now a little favour to ask from you
Call for Reviews on Apple Podcasts
00:07:01
Speaker
listener. I'm struggling a bit with the old Reviews online, not so much Spotify, definitely Apple Podcasts. I have no reviews. It's really hard to get them. I don't know why this is because at the moment I'm getting more downloads on Apple Podcasts than I am on Spotify. So if you are listening to Apple Podcasts and you're enjoying the Bellwetch podcast, please, please can you leave me a review just to help me get found and stay in the charts and all that magic. It really does help me out so much you
Upcoming Interview: Witch Businesses and Capitalism
00:07:32
Speaker
can't imagine.
00:07:32
Speaker
In other news, I managed to pin down the cult mother Hannah Graves. At last, I've been hoping to pin her down for quite some time and she's such a busy witch. We had a fantastic Mootloo interview about witch businesses and capitalism and the page jagging, all kinds of really deep meaty stuff. So that'll be coming out around soen Halloween time as a bit of a special because it was so good, witches. It was so good.
00:07:58
Speaker
Right, without further ado, I shall hit play on the main body of this episode. Do enjoy and let me know your ideas, thoughts and feelings on this subject via the commenting button on Spotify, which is a brand new thing I've just noticed can be done now. So that's a bit posh. All right, then, here we go. So I've had a bit of time off and I wanted to come back.
Is Witchcraft Dangerous? Personal Insights
00:08:23
Speaker
loud and proud. I wanted to do quite a large topic with a bit of a bite really and I asked AI what is the most googled question about witchcraft And can you believe the most Google question about witchcraft is, is witchcraft dangerous? Dangerous and of course, demonic. Is witchcraft demonic? Now this made me feel all kinds of feelings.
00:08:59
Speaker
straight away i wanted to stick up for witchcraft and go no no no it's so positive it has changed my life it has made me so much happier in my life it's a huge positive definitely not dangerous that thought was just so alien to me and really uncomfortable but i wasn't going to run away from it i was going to work with it Took me a bit of a moment or two to unpack all the feelings and all the defensiveness of my own witchcraft practices and now which I just wanted to stick up for it. But then I remember at least two really big occasions in my life
00:09:39
Speaker
when I've been out and people have come up to me and inquired about my pentacle that I always wear that I will not be without they have come up to me and demand that I tell them about my belief and my religion and my witchcraft and prove it and then they start telling me oh you belong to the devil and that's happened to me twice in Yorkshire once in Leeds and once in Sheffield oh i was so offended it offends me so much i tell you and then even at witchfest down in london there's always an army outside the doors protesting and upsetting witchfest guests accusing them of devil worshiping so i guess even in the 21st century it's still massively massively misunderstood
00:10:24
Speaker
What is this thing with devil
Misconceptions of Witchcraft
00:10:26
Speaker
worship? And the question is witchcraft dangerous? And so I opened up this can of worms, which is the featuring theme of this episode. Really, really big subject to cover. I'm going to try my best here. Do bear with me. It's taken me a lot of work to get my head around it. And I am definitely not a historian or a scientist or anybody academic at all.
00:10:51
Speaker
but I'm just very interested but it seems a very good time though I've been listening to the West London witches reading programme for summer Michelle Remembers which is an infamous book that was written in the 70s from a doctor's perspective as he listened to his patient recall memories from her childhood sort of five six seven ish And it is all about her being trapped within a witchy, demonic cult. You know, it's very Satan-y and everything about it is just so fantastical. And the more you listen to it, the more made up it gets. But it's actually ah really, really dark. The last chapter I listened to has turned Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
00:11:38
Speaker
you know a so satanic panic of the 70s, finds it amazing and she's still reading it but I just thought oh what good timing you know because that kind of ties in a little bit with the subject I'm thinking about right now. I mean you can't get out of that book anymore I think it got banned because it it was just such nonsense and really quite damaging to witchcraft and even Satism, you know, the guy who runs the satanic church, he were well annoyed because he got accused of all this stuff and I don't even think the satanic church was a thing when it would be written or when she were remembering. So it caused a massive stir and the more it went on the less people believed it and yeah it got taken off the shelves.
00:12:22
Speaker
Quite a cool little fact for you about the satanic panic of the 70s from Rebecca. Apparently it became quite the in trend to get therapy on the insurance and a few people did this and then it grew in popularity and the insurance company was spending loads on this bananas therapy sessions all around satanic panic.
00:12:45
Speaker
and they pulled the plug basically on paying for therapy and that was the coffee nail in satanic panic that's why it stopped because the insurance company wouldn't pay out for any more therapy about it all so that's quite a cool little pub fact.
Historical Context: Witch Hunts and Trials
00:13:00
Speaker
So when Googling the question, is witchcraft dangerous? I found this Parliament web page about witchcraft, which is quite interesting. www.parliamentuk I will link it in the show notes.
00:13:18
Speaker
It reads, witchcraft, a perceived facilitate to summon evil spirits and demons to arm others was linked to religion in the extent that the medieval church had powers to punish those who dabbled in magic and sorcery. Its priests were able to exercise those who had become possessed by evil spirits.
00:13:40
Speaker
During the 16th century many people believed that witchcraft rather than working for God's will offered a more convincing explanation of sudden and unexpected ill fortunes such as death of his child, bad harvest or the death of cattle. Witch hunting became an obsession in some part of this country. In 1542 Parliament passed the Richcraft Act which defined witchcraft as a crime punishable by death.
00:14:08
Speaker
It was repealed five years later but was later restored by a new act in 1562. A further law was passed in 1604 during the reign of James the first who took a keen interest in demonology and even published a book on it. Another book, like we need another book.
00:14:29
Speaker
You know there was already The Hammer of Witches that had been written almost a hundred years before James the First book. I mean it was a flop and I think the author got kind of laughed at but the King's book brought attention back to the original book and it became popular again. I'm trying to remember where I heard this. I think it were on that Sir Anne Jones documentary a few months ago about the witch trials so them two books combined won't have been quite a big authority because it was written by the king made things so much more dangerous for people who didn't identify as witches but were called witches, labelled witches just because they understood and practiced common magic and had an understanding of herbs and formulas and potions and stuff like that And lots of people had this knowledge because it's been around for centuries before them and is passed down throughout their own family. The 1562 and 1604 Acts transferred the trial of witches from the church to the ordinary courts. To me that says the stats are massive and then they couldn't be out of it anymore so they passed it to
00:15:45
Speaker
the regular courts because it was taking too much money and time but that's just me speculating and they were popular because everybody loved a witch hunt and it was kind of like entertainment people were invited in to watch other people being called a witch and being sentenced to death it was like a nice sunday afternoon out proper grim Those formal accusations against witches who were usually poor elderly women reached a peak in the 16th century, particularly in South East England. I wonder why they were getting targeted. Old, poor women who society deems not as valuable as young, pretty maidens.
00:16:33
Speaker
Scarily enough I ask the question does some of this still kind of ring true in terms of society's value on older women in like the crone aspect of their life? Oh swales don't get sidetracked.
00:16:47
Speaker
A little FYI here. A couple of years ago we did a very good crone related episode early on in the podcast so do check that out because we do discuss the element of aging in today's society. Okay back to the research. 513 witches were put on trial there between 1560 and 1700.
00:17:10
Speaker
though only 112 were executed. The last known execution took place in Devon in 1685. The last trials were held in Leicestershire in 1717. Overall, some 500 people in England are believed to have been executed for witchcraft.
00:17:29
Speaker
In 1736 Parliament passed the act of repealing the laws against witchcraft, but imposing fines or imprisonment on people who claimed to be able to do magic powers and witchcraft. When it was introduced to the Commons, the bill became a much laughter act amongst the MPs. However, its promoter was John Conduit, whose wife was a niece of Sir Isaac Newton,
00:17:55
Speaker
father of modern science although keenly interested in their cult so it's not what you know it's oh you know being a man for a start who was taken seriously and had authority in the world of science his connection to that dude contuit made a big difference the act was repealed in 1951 by the fraudulent mediums act which in turn was repealed in 2008 2008 and i hope i'm saying that word right repealed is it i think that's right so dyslexic
00:18:28
Speaker
So why do people, even today, still worry that witchcraft is dangerous and are a little bit scared of
Magic in Society: Academic vs Common
00:18:36
Speaker
it? Well, of course, witchcraft has a long, complex history. It's been around for a right time, way before the Middle Ages. What we would call old wives' tales, your mum telling you to do this and you'll get good luck. Tiny little things. And people did it commonplace, like mentioned previously.
00:18:55
Speaker
It was normal. Everybody knew it. They got taught from their parents and their parents and their parents. It would just pass down and it were not a biggie. I learnt from that seed talk about witchcraft and feminism recently. It was so good and it was feminism, like old feminism from the middle ages and before and and I've never really listened or even thought about feminism in that context before.
00:19:20
Speaker
anything about feminism it is all being contemporary stuff so it was absolutely wild it was so good. For the speaker who was giving the presentation Dr Jennifer Ferrell she was saying at this time in history there was two main types of magic higher magic which was very academic bi behind en closed doors under lock and key at universities and within church. Societism was very patriarchal. You had to earn your place and it were all dudes. There were no women. Women were kept strictly out of it. Proper secret, top secret stuff. And I think it was heavily gate-keeped because it was taken
00:20:05
Speaker
really really seriously and not considered witchcraft weirdly enough I think it was something else I mean it's an entire different topic but it is really interesting because it's the first time I've been made aware of this higher magic club in the medieval history mirror of that was common magic which is everybody had access to it and it was really normal there was three types of commonplace witchcraft during this time which was love magic healing magic and divination and it'd be normal to go to somebody who was a cunning woman you know to ask for a bit of divination about is my crop gonna survive and they'd probably like go to sheep and look into the spleen or the stomach and see messages
00:20:55
Speaker
early divination techniques. If somebody scorned a woman by cheating on her, this witch, wasn't called a witch at the time, but would kill a cockerel and cut his balls off and made the balls of the cockerel on the bed, which they were going to, you know, get jigging,
00:21:14
Speaker
and that would obviously cause a lot of bother and you know they believed that would work and obviously it does work because who wants to get jiggy when there's a load of like gory bloke going on you know so indeed the magic was powerful and strong and it would just take it for granted how it worked it would just nature I guess.
Sympathetic Magic and Community Rituals
00:21:33
Speaker
A nice little spot of sympathetic magic for you there. It's the symbolism of removing this groat over the balls from the cockerel to stop it doing what it's doing. Sympathetic magic is about action and representation for an outcome. I do quite love it.
00:21:53
Speaker
Oh is that a podcast episode? Like different types of sympathetic magic and other types of magic there is, I bet there's loads of stuff to talk about for a podcast episode, quick write that down. And there was a lot of ritual as well, like rituals made beliefs tangible, they made them real. By doing something together there was a feeling of connection and a feeling of power and creating something from nothing. So them two aspects of common magic was real and really present at that time in history. That was the evidence that this this magic was working. I feel like it respected and it people weren't scared of it. It were just like a service that they could get and pay somebody decently for it and not be worried about karma and stuff.
00:22:44
Speaker
I mean a lot of that is my understanding between the lines speculating but I'd like to think that's how it was and the church didn't take it seriously they just thought it was make believe mumbo jumbo you know it's not real we don't believe it and only really did it be considered harmful was of course in the 15th century when this dude had a beef with have a woman who was married and happy pay on her own little way he wanted in and she would just like nay access den denied and he wrote this bloody book to hammer all the witches so that is when from my research it seems witchcraft began being associated with dangerous and harmful activities this is massively brief history here
00:23:30
Speaker
This negative perception is obviously traced back to the patriarchal history of the burning times.
The Burning Times: Patriarchal Persecution
00:23:36
Speaker
In a period in the early modern era when thousands of people, mostly women, were accused of practicing witchcraft and subsequently executed and this number was Massive. I mean, it was 50,000 people between the 15th and the 18th centuries. There were mostly women. I think it was 80% was women across Europe. They were accused of all kinds of stupid stuff, accused of devil worship because that's what the churches knew. They had their good and their evil. They just like pressed it on to their understanding of what these women, mostly women were doing.
00:24:16
Speaker
it must be true because i read it in the book they were just obsessed ah there were lots of unease at the time there were this thing called the mini ice age where loads of stuff were going wrong crops were failing people were getting ill there was disease there was random medical stuff that nobody knew anything about people keeling over and not really knowing why So everybody got on the bandwagon and started accusing women of witchcraft because at the time they needed somebody to blame and it made sense to them because of their understanding of the world and how spiritualism was taught to them, how religion was taught to them.
00:24:56
Speaker
and also at the time the press was being developed and people were creating things to read such as damaging books about hammering witches it really was the perfect storm to create the burning times it just flabbergasts me so much stuff got shared I mean think about how we are like with the internet right now we know so much more because of the internet and that's a worldly press so this press was country-wide press so ideas spread really fast and people essentially got brainwashed into thinking certain things like biases and
00:25:38
Speaker
propaganda was born. I completely understand just how massive it was at the time. Can you imagine living in that era of history? Only person who would give you news was probably that dude that comes out with Beld, you know, and sings news to you. And then there's these newspapers turning up that have been professionally printed. Can you imagine? It must have been amazing. And because before all this burning time started, you know, it was commonplace magic, which sorted stuff out.
00:26:04
Speaker
and that worked against them in that respect it were now starting to be taken seriously whereas before it it wasn't not by the churches anyway and it definitely wasn't serious enough to be considered dangerous until these books and that is reflected in my poem that I read at the beginning and the 1620s was the most intense phase of persecution in Germany, in Europe, where almost 300 witches were executed between 1617 and 1631. Hardly any of these people would have been the kind of people they were thinking of. Hardly anybody would have actually been that witch. The knowledge, the commonplace magic and rituals and old wives' tales that they believed in that they were brought up with made them class as a witch in the eyes of the church.
00:26:59
Speaker
Women who knew how to do stuff who were really well equipped in their own little social groups with other women who shared stories and helpful information between their selves. They kept each other well and they midwived each other's pregnancies and helped each other give birth, fixed problems together in order to live a fulfilling life that wasn't the patriarchal stance of you stay at home, you look after your kids.
00:27:26
Speaker
You know, you're only good for having children and we do all the gathering hunting and making the money and you stay home and make me tea. An absolutely massive movement in this time in history. And that's where the devil stuff always comes from. These accusations were often based on the superstitions and the myths and now they're using it because, you know, apparently they've just started taking it seriously and started to believe.
00:27:54
Speaker
like they believed that witches could control the weather and cause illness and harm crops and it just led to widespread fear and paranoia resulting in the persecution and execution of loads of people who was totally innocent who weren't witches who were just women who spoke to other women even when i did the magic of the sea episode there were loads and loads of stigma around women and how they were bad luck to go on the ship and then that starts the whole horrible subject of the witch wound as we call it today you know like women dubbing other women in it to save their own skin because they were forced into a corner
00:28:35
Speaker
Oh it makes me so cross I tell you. I particularly struggle with the historical topic from the perspective of we are the granddaughters of the witches you tried to burn because it seems really romanticised and empowering and also I hate to say it but a little bit like merch. These people who were murdered, nine out of ten of them were definitely not witches it's just such a huge realisation how many people actually died over complete and utter nonsense because patriarchy control and capitalism basically
00:29:18
Speaker
And then I just end up scratching my head because people are still frightened of witchcraft and devil worshipping and all that crap because of that history. There is no a devil in the craft. But yet history conveniently forgets about these people, the witch hunters of the time.
00:29:39
Speaker
who burned innocent people at the stake or hung them based on stupid evidence in court that were just made up, forced out of people because they were getting tortured and would say anything. Anyway, I might have to stop it right there because as you can hear, I'm getting a bit charged. It's changing though. People know how it was. I think we're all getting educated, you know, like that seed talk.
00:30:02
Speaker
there were no fluffing it up it was really really like straight up so times are changing and we're aware of how shit it actually was so i'm gonna leave the history stuff right there i have done my best probably butchered it a little bit but i i'm really passionate about the subject and when people ask me to come on shows to talk about the witch trials and stuff i find myself being quite reluctant to because it's so close to my soul and i am really angry about it on behalf of people who weren't witches who got tarred with that brush that was really an ugly brush back then it's not just we are the granddaughters of the witches chatter burn I much prefer the other slogan, why are we taught to be scared of the witches instead of being taught to be scared of those that burnt them?
00:30:55
Speaker
So witchcraft today, then let's bring it let's bring it back into the 21st century. That is my tagline. Anyway, I liked what Dr. Jennifer Ferrell said in the seed talk on witchcraft and feminism.
Belief Systems: Science, Religion, and Magic
00:31:09
Speaker
She stated something along the lines of you got science and you got religion and you got magic. So the religion is a belief of a greater and knowing that things can happen but it's all within the hands of God above us and they have the power to change your life but you've got to ask for it and pray for it and you are as a human mortal on this earth not capable of creating drastic change and direction I think
00:31:48
Speaker
And then the science which is the belief that you have the power within you to change things via trial and error, experiments, recording and all that jazz. And then magic is kind of floating in the middle of those two things because it is asking higher powers in the form of like deities and astral planets, cosmic movements, higher planes, ancestry and and all that cool amazing jazz, but also a knowing that it is within you as well. So it's kind of like a bridge between these two aspects of spiritual living and understanding of the world around us, which I just live love, love, love, love.
00:32:37
Speaker
How do you feel about witchcraft? Like me, have you had people come up to you pointing at your pentacle or your pentagram and demanding to do a magic trick like you're Paul Daniels on the spot and then accusing you of devil-loving?
00:32:52
Speaker
Anybody witness that? Hands up at the back? Okay, I need to let that go and now. Let's talk about it in a different way. Do you think in the wrong hands it can be proper dodgy? Or is it just a hangover from the patriarchal capitalist history that give witchcraft a bad name? A negative stigma that we just cannot
Witchcraft as a Tool: Ethics and Intentions
00:33:13
Speaker
shift?
00:33:13
Speaker
As a practicing witch, I do believe people can do bad things, dangerous things, scary things with witchcraft because it always comes back to their intentions. Of course it does.
00:33:30
Speaker
It can be seen as a tool to enhance your life or cause harm I guess. Kind of like a knife. I mean you've got loads of knives to bow your toast and your draw. They can be really useful tools that help you feed yourself and bake and cook and stuff but then they can also be used like to go stab somebody. I mean that's probably a bit of a clumsy arsed metaphor but that's what I kept coming back to. In my mind witchcraft for me personally is just so incredibly positive especially that the Wiccan angle is all about eco-friendly living sustainable looking after the planet but then
00:34:10
Speaker
There's the other argument is being a wiccan is ah a religion really whereas being a witch isn't, it's a practice, it's it's a way we live, it's not a religion but then I'm governed by laws that prevent me doing things in my own traditions ah negative because I believe it'll come back to me and and that's a karma thing in general I mean I guess if I'm honest that means yeah then witchcraft must be dangerous if you're not willing to do certain things because you are aware of certain outcomes and you're cautious of them. Then there are some witches, pagans and witches, not wiccans just witches that don't care about karma, that do chaos magic.
00:34:56
Speaker
don't really give a shit as long as the problem is solved, they'll freely send out a curse or a hex. That is just massive and I couldn't live with myself doing anything like that because I just couldn't i couldn't live with the guilt and the responsibility of it all. It's mad.
00:35:14
Speaker
It's the right kind of worms I tell you and I've been doing my own editing and I've been thinking about this episode all summer but when I was researching I came across this big issue right up and it was talking about is witchcraft dangerous but it took a really interesting twist in the right up it's titled the problem with witchcraft today which I hadn't at all thought of and that was the way people charge for their services, are they scammers basically? This hit me in the heart so much. Like magic, it's all about your intent. So it was addressing the fact that there's a lot of scamming going on within the spiritualist mediumship area of witchy businesses, how they're getting people to pay them lots for stuff that probably isn't real.
00:36:06
Speaker
The writer was suggesting that businesses claiming to be psychics, which doctors saying, oh, there's an evil presence on you, give me all your money and I'll get rid of your hex. I'll get rid of the entity that's on you. Is it a con or is it legit? Do they feel like it's legit?
00:36:26
Speaker
Coming from ah this side of the businesses they're talking about, which is what I am, a legit witchy business, I was thinking, are they thinking about people who are c cloning us and pretending to be us or are they actually literally talking about us?
00:36:45
Speaker
I am hoping it's not us that that it's the pretend companies that clone us and send out these horrible messages asking for money direct. I'm still reeling about this happening to me quite a few years ago where my accounts got cloned and they were using my kids in the pictures and messaging my followers going like I'm a god-given psychic and I see your future or something really lame and some of my friends gave them money oh my god I'm reeling. fuming unsolicited out of that is that pretending to be a witch say would you like a reading are you going to pay me i mean we don't do that and i hope you know we don't do that we'd never ever we never just send you random messages obviously a big problem at the moment people are doing it and duping people in legitimate businesses names it's well annoying but there's actually the other bit of it as well and it's very tricky but i am going to talk about it
00:37:43
Speaker
because I'm feeling brave. I do get paid for my own magic. I do make sigils, custom sigils. I design them and I send people their custom sigil but I've worked hard on it and I've designed it and I've sat with it and I've chanted with it and I've put it on an altar, burnt candles in a circle. It's a lot of work and I wouldn't sell anybody anything.
00:38:11
Speaker
if I didn't believe in it so there's that hard question there do you know that because I believe in it and team skeptic doesn't does team skeptic see me as somebody who's ripping people off you know like a charlatan how depressing is that thought so yeah I had to sit with that aspect ah of is witchcraft dangerous financially as in a witchcraft business in today's 21st century and i want ready for it listen ah i just want ready but it comes back to the whole intention again good intentions versus negative evil intentions as a witch i have an understanding about witchcraft it's not about the devil it's about doing good for people i don't do magic to harm i wouldn't
00:39:02
Speaker
do a hex.
Modern Witchcraft: Eco-friendly and Misconceptions
00:39:03
Speaker
I wouldn't intentionally create a spell to hurt somebody for somebody else either but some witches probably do and we'll keep doing that because that's how they do their magic and that is now today with me.
00:39:21
Speaker
So I suppose the answer to the question is witchcraft dangerous is it can be yes it can be but probably not in the way the person googling is thinking because in today's witchcraft and historical witchcraft There wasn't any demonology, there wasn't any devil worshipping, there wasn't any talking to animals and changing into dogs and hares and having the devil suck from the teat. Even if at the time people absolutely believed that, it were all just rituals and old wives' tales and potions, herbal magic and remedies and midwifery. And a lot of that has followed through in today's witchcraft.
00:40:11
Speaker
I believe it works because of the intention. I give it power from my own elemental being and some will argue that it is placebo effect and maybe it is but maybe that's just another word for spiritualism and manifesting. There's summer happening so therefore it's got to be real right? Witchcraft today can be dangerous in a different respect that mirrors the 21st century depending on the intent of the witch practicing that witchcraft.
00:40:48
Speaker
Sometimes it's financial danger and other times it is intentional negativity set out. And I can assure you there is no demons in this witchcraft causing havoc, at least not in the witchcraft I know of. The majority of witches today are actually really gorgeous people who care about humanity, the dismantling of capitalism and keeping the earth healthy.
00:41:17
Speaker
Whew, should go lie down now. You have been listening to the Belle Witch Podcast. Created with Love and Magic by me, Swales, the friendly green witch. I love to hear from you and I absolutely love, love, love, love to celebrate you. If you have a podcast or a business, a witchy business, a pagan related topic you love to talk about, you can reach me on the bell witch podcast at Yahoo!
00:41:48
Speaker
dot com Send me a trailer and I will absolutely play it, because there is magic in sharing audiences amongst podcasts. Music by Jeff Harvey of Pixabay, the official Bell Witch photographer is the lovely Beverly Thornton. Thank you so much for choosing the Bell Witch podcast to fill your ears. Stay magical witches!