The Old Religion An excerpt from the Malleus Maleficarum written by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger reads, “Witches are so called on account of the blackness of their guilt, that is to say their deeds are more evil than those of any other malefactors. They stir up and confound the elements by the aid of the devil and arouse terrible hailstorms and tempests. They distract the minds of men driving them to madness, insane hatred, and inordinate lusts. By the terrible influence of their spells alone as it were by a draught of poison they can destroy life.” The mere mention of the words witch or witchcraft automatically bring to mind either the green skinned broom-riding hag of The Wizard of Oz or visions of some Devil-worshipping cult. Witchcraft is not a cult. It is a pagan earth religion that has origins dating back before any other formalized religion. Some witches prefer to worship in groups, commonly known as covens. However, since there is no single worldwide institution for the practitioners of witchcraft others are free to worship alone as solitary witches. Witchcraft in one form or another has existed longer than Christianity. This is evidenced by the Christian holidays that have been adapted from older Pagan celebrations. Long before the world had heard of Jesus. Wiccan’s had been observing the season by bringing in the Yule log wishing on it and lighting it with the remains of the last years log. The Roman Catholic holiday of Candlemas is an adaptation of the pagan Celebration of Imbolc; this day is also known as Brigit’s Day. The Goddess Brigit symbolized the fire of birth and healing. Early pagans celebrated her day by kindling sacred fires. The Roman Catholic Church adopted the fire symbolism and used this day to bless all the church candles that would be used during the coming year. The name Easter was taken from the name of a pagan goddess Eostre whose Symb...
