"There shall not be found among you any one that
maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the
fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of
the times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a
charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or
a wizard or an necromancer."
(Deuteronomy 18:10 - 11)
or
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
(Exodus 22:18)
THE MALLEUS MALEFICARUM
"The Hammer of the Witches" was written in 1484 by
The Bull of Innocent VIII and decreeing Inquisitors
Sprenger and Kramer and would be used
as the guide in hunting, torturing and killing
the "witches".
When the Malleus Maleficarum was presented to the
Theological Faculty of the University of Cologne-
the appointed censor at that time-the majority of
the professors refused to support or have anything
to do with it. However, it is a terrible fact that
Sprenger and Kramer forged the approbation of the
whole faculty; a forgery that was not discovered
until 1898.
The witch was usually a midwife, healer, herbalist
and/or wise-woman or man who fashioned their way
of living around nature and the seasons. Most
witches were skilled in the use of herbs and were
quite adept at healing those that were ill. Today,
modern witches seek the vast knowledge of the
ancient wise women and men to return to a nature-
focused way of life.
To the Romans, Christianity resembled several
elements of Roman pagan belief, particularly
Mithraism. Mithra was closely tied to the sun
gods, Helios and Apollo and Mithra's birthday was
celebrated on December 25th, close to the winter
solstice, which later became Jesus's birthday.
Also, shepherds were thought to have witnessed
Mithra's birth and were to have partaken in a last
supper with Mithra before his return to heaven.
The Mithraic high priest's title, Pater Patrum
soon became the title for the bishop of Rome, Papa
or Pope. These remarkable similarities were
explained away by Christian leaders as the work of
the devil, declaring the pre-Christian faith of
Mithraism and paganism to be evil.
The worship of Mary paralleled pagan goddess
worship and neither the Bible nor the early church
encouraged Marian worship or recognized her as a
saint. Mary's significance was diminished by the
early Christian leaders because of her association
with pagan goddess worship and subsequently, the
concept of Father, Son and Holy Spirit prevailed.
The triple-goddess figure, Maiden, Mother and
Crone was a pagan concept, and Mary represented
the Maiden and Mother aspects in Christianity.
However, the most powerful symbol, the wise Crone,
was excluded from Christianity and later was used
to represent the ultimate enemy of the church -
the witch. Pagan worship was prohibited in 392 and
constituted criminal activity, pagan temples were
destroyed, and in 435 a law threatened any heretic
in the Roman Empire with death.