Witchcraft Or Coincidence?

Sometimes it's difficult to quantify what is coincidence or synchronicity and what is perhaps some other 'power' that makes strange things happen. Here's a letter, not sent to me, but was in my cuttings file from a while back.

"Some years ago my husband was treated very badly by the man he worked for. We had been to his house and I new the room where he slept.

This night I was feeling a lot of anger and hate, and felt myself concentrating very hard on the side of the bed which I thought he would be sleeping on; I was sticking pins into his stomach slowly one by one.

I heard the next morning that his wife had been taken to hospital during the early hours of the morning in terrible pain. They thought it was gall-stones, but the test showed nothing wrong.

Did I do that, do you think? I know I felt drained the next morning because I had concentrated do much ..."

So is something like that a coincidence, or perhaps a form of ancient magic as carried out by the likes of witches and witchdoctors.

Of course, the letter writer could have sent love instead of hatred - and may well have got a much more positive result.

Other Recent Posts:
The Ghost Only Seen By Women And Children
What Is It? Coincidence Or Fate?
Top 10 Coincidence And Synchronicity Stories

The Sexual Examination Of The Witches Of Belvoir

Woodcutting of witches being hanged

During the 14th and 15th centuries the so called Witch Craze was taking place in Europe. Over the course of 300 years around 100,000 people - mostly women - were tortured and put to death for witchcraft. One of the most notorious cases was that of the Witches of Belvoir.

In the early 1600s Joan Flowers and her two daughters Phillipa and Margaret were in the employ of the Earl and Countess of Rutland, at Belvoir Castle near Grantham, Lincolnshire.

Belvoir Castle, Lincolnshire, England today

For some unknown reason Margaret was dismissed from her employment and this was the start of the Earl of Rutland encountering many problems. Joan, Phillipa and Margaret were said to be using witchcraft as revenge for Margaret losing her job. At Christmas of 1618 they they were arrested and taken to Lincoln Prison for 'examination'.

Joan Flower would not confess. In an effort to prove her innocence she asked to be brought bread and butter. Before taking a bite she stated that hoped she should choke on the food if she was not innocent of the crimes for which she stood accused. It is reported that she died after taking her first mouthful of the food.

The two daughters, however, finally confessed and admitted having congress with the Devil to bring about the downfall of the Rutland family. But they probably didn't stand a chance as their 'examination' was almost a sexual-sadistic ritual.

Both women admitted to experiencing visions of devils and that their familiar spirits visited them and sucked at their bodies.

Among other nasty things their examination included, what was known as, pricking. This was the practice of stabbing hidden 'teats' that were supposedly sucked on by the Devil. A long, thick needle was systematically thrust into all moles, scars and other marks on a suspended witch's body until one was located that did not elicit a scream of pain.

Under this practice the two sisters confessed to having been sucked by the Devil and Phillipa further confessed that she was sucked 'within the inward parts of her secrets.'

Margaret and Phillipa were duly hanged for their crimes in 1619.

While under the examination the sisters revealed the names of other women who had aided them: Anne Baker of Bottesford; Joane Willimot of Goodby; and Ellen Greene of Stathern. All three women were taken for examination and unsurprisingly also admitted that they too had visions and consorted with familiar spirits.

Anne Baker, Joane Willimott and Ellen Greene with their familiars

When the Earl of Rutland died himself his tomb, in Bottesford Church, included an inscription which stated that their two sons had 'died in their infancy by wicked practices and sorcerye' - these deaths were blamed on Joan, Margaret and Phillipa Flowers.

The Witch Craze ended in the 1600s and the last witch to be executed in England was a senile woman from Bideford, Devon called Temperance Lloyd in 1684. In 1736 the British Parliament passed a law forbidding the charge of witchcraft.

Other Witch Stories:
How The Witch Raised A Dead Woman From Her Grave
The Puritan's Diary And The Devil's Women
The Buryan Town Witch And The Running Pig

The Puritan's Diary And The Devil's Women

The Diary of Nehemiah Wallington
In the mid 1600s a Puritan writer, Nehemiah Wallington, kept a diary in which he detailed, amongst other things, the witch trials of Manningtree in England. The 350 year old book (photo above) is now to be made public by the Manchester University's John Rylands Library who are digitising the diary.

The story of the trials and the witch hunt were dramatised in the controversial film The Witchfinder General staring Vincent Price as Matthew Hopkins.

Matthew Hopkin's dreadful witch hunts across East Anglia resulted in more than 100 women being put to death. The trials at Manningtree were the most notorious in a savage campaign.

In March 1645 Hopkins questioned a suspected witch, Elizabeth Clarke. She was examined for devil's marks such as warts, moles or bits of extra skin that were declared to be 'teats' to give suckle to imps.

Not surprisingly Clarke broke down and named other women including Anne West and her daughter Rebecca. The women were taken to the cells in Colchester Castle for questioning. Rebecca confessed and implicated her mother and others, thus saving herself from hanging.

According to Nehemiah Wallington's diary this is Rebecca's story:

"... Shortly after when she was going to bed the Devil appeared unto her again in the shape of a handsome young man, saying that he came to marry her.

Asked by the Judge whether she ever had carnal copulation with the Devil she confessed she had. She was very desirous to confess all she knew, which accordingly she did where upon the rest were apprehended and sent unto the Geole (jail).

She further affirmed that when she was going to the Grand Inquest she said she would confess nothing if they pulled her to pieces with pincers.

Asked the reason by the Gentle man she said she found herself in such extremity of torture and amazement, that she would not endure it again for the world.

When she looked upon the ground she saw herself encompassed in flames of fire and as soon as she was separated from her mother the tortures and the flames began to cease whereupon she then confessed all she knew.

As soon as her confession was fully ended she found her contience so satisfied and disburdened of all tortures she thought herself the happiest creature in the world."

On a much lighter note I snapped this sign on a car I saw parked.



This post was previously posted here.

More Witchcraft:
The Buryan Town Witch And The Running Pig
Belief Programming From Witchcraft To The Impossible
Get Keyed Up Said The Witch And Gurdjieff Agrees

How The Witch Raised A Dead Woman From Her Grave

St Stythians (St Stithians) Church, Cornwall

Living in Cornwall I'm surrounded by legends and stories of witchcraft. One of the most famous of Cornish witches was Tamsin Blight (1798-1856). She was also known as Tammy Blee and or the White Witch of Helston.

Blight started practising her craft around 1830 and built up a reputation as being able to remove spells, that had been cast by other witches. People, especially farmers, would consult her for cures for themselves and their animals.

The most quoted story about her is known as The Ghost of Stythians. Here she attempted to conjure the spirit of an old woman buried in St Stythians graveyard to discover where she had hidden cash that a relative believed was rightfully his.

I saw the following description of what she did in an 1870 book Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall by William Bottrell:

"She marked a circle by drawing her Staff on the ground three times round the man, at the same time mumbling in her unknown tongue [Cornish language]. This done, turning to the man she said, 'Now, mind you don't move out of this charmed ring which I have made to protect ye, and if you are determined I will now begin and summon the Spirit.'

"The Witch, holding out her Staff towards the spot where the old woman was buried, began her incantation. or citation, with long, strange words, slowly pronounced. Then she continued in a louder tone, 'Spirit of Jane Hendy, in the name of the powers above and below, I summon thee to rise from the grave and appear before me and this man! By the spirits of Fire, Air, Earth and Water, I summon thee to arise! Come hither, appear and speak to this man! Come!' This she said three times, raising her voice at each repetition until it ended in a shriek.

The Witch paused. All was silent for a moment, and then we heard, most fearful, because unusual, sounds, which more than any other earthly noise resembled the crashing or rending of wood and stones, seemed to come from the old woman's grave.

The Witch stretching out her arms, her red cloak and grey hair streaming back on the wind, pointed with her Staff towards the place whence these frightful sounds proceeded, and said, 'Behold, it cometh: be thou prepared.'"

The spirit of the dead woman was raised and questioned about the hidden cash.

Other Witch Story Posts:
Get Keyed Up Said The Witch And Gurdjieff Agrees
Puritan's Diary And The Devil's Women
The Buryan Town Witch And The Running Pig

The Buryan Town Witch And The Running Pig

Nothing very serious today. Cornwall, where I live, was once known to have hundreds of witches. Virtually every village had its own witch or at least someone who purported to be one.

The black witches were commonly suspected of 'ill-wishing' or cursing a person with an evil spell. Often these curses appeared to work, causing crops to fail or a period of bad luck.

The good white witches were used for beneficial purposes and for removing any evil spells. There were constant small 'battles' between good and bad.

The following is an old traditional story of the Buryan-town witch.

Betty Trenoweth of Buryan Church-town in Cornwall was a known witch.

One day Betty went to the local market and was on the point of buying a pig when her neighbour, Tom Trenoweth, stepped in and bought the pig before she could close the deal. Betty was far from happy about this.

Tom soon had problems with his pig. From the very first day the pig ate and ate her new owner out of house and home but, strangely, became thinner and thinner.

The pig wouldn't stay home and wandered far afield, breaking through hedges and damaging other people's crops and gardens.

Tom was desperate so finally decided the only option was to sell the animal at Penzance market. On the way the sow first refused to cross a stream and then escaped. Tom followed the running pig through gorse, brambles and bogs.

Finally the pig was caught, but she was still full of energy. Her exhausted owner fastened her very securely to his wrist and off they set again.

At once a hare - everyone agreed that it was Betty Trenoweth in that shape - started in front of them with a cry of, "Chee-ah!" The sow ran after the hare at full speed, dragging Tom behind her as far as Tregonebris bridge, under which the pig became firmly stuck.

She could neither be pushed, pulled, driven, nor coaxed out. Tom sat there all alone and hungry until 'day-down' when - by a strange 'coincidence' - along came Betty Trenoweth in human form.

Expressing her surprise at Tom's obvious predicament, she offered to give him a two-penny loaf and to buy the pig for half the original cost.

A long argument ensued and Tom, weary of the whole affair, eventually gave in and told the woman she could have the sow.

"Chee-ah!" she whispered under the narrow bridge and at once the sow, docile as a dog, crept out and followed her home at her heels.

The moral of this tale is to think twice before crossing a Cornish witch - "Chee-ah!"

The Cornish Mystery Of The Trevethy Quoit Stones

The Dangers Of Harry Potter And Wicca To Mankind

We are in the midst of a great danger, the power of which has been thrust upon this world by the likes of Harry Potter. Mock not, this is serious. Well it is according to the Roman Catholic Church of Great Britain.

The Catholic Church is so worried about the growing number of young people being lured into occult practices, under the influences of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Apprentice and various witchcraft films, they have come up with a booklet called Wicca and Witchcraft: Understanding the Dangers - it's even available on Amazon UK. The author of the publication is Elizabeth Dodd who was a former Oxford Wiccan, but is now okay as she has converted to the Catholic faith.

Yes, but, aren't a lot of the Catholic ways built on Paganism? Many Christian special days just happen to 'coincide' with dates that go back further than Christianity itself. The Romans also liked to claim and adapt Greek Gods as their own.

Dodd says that experimenting with spellcraft is an insult to the Almighty. "The use of magic, the practice of witchcraft, offends God because it is rooted in our sinful and fallen nature. It attempts to usurp God."

Yes, but, hasn't a lot of things done in the name of religion also insulted the Almighty? Surely religion has 'offended God' often. Let's think, what was it that Jesus actually taught: love, turning the other cheek, judge not that you be judged .... now let's think about wars, persecution ...

The author goes on to say that, "... nearly 70% of Wicca practitioners are young women seeking some kind of spirituality. Behind the glamour are grave dangers because of it's link to the occult and the sinister movement championed by satanist Aleister Crowley."

I also came across a website that writes: "The tragedy here is that because Wiccans don’t believe in the devil, they are oblivious to the destructive power that they are actually tapping into. They are unaware that the 'power of nature' that they believe they are summoning for good is actually a clever deception – and that what they are really tapping into is the power of deceiving demons, who appear as light, but ultimately show their true evil dark natures and try to destroy those who have unbeknowingly called upon them." source.

I'm not going to disagree that there can be dangers with dabbling in some forms of what is generally known as the occult, especially if someone has mental problems. You cannot, however, lump all of these forms together.

I think that the Catholic Church is missing a point. We are arriving at a time when the world is looking for spirituality (Dodd admits this herself). They have to ask themselves why people aren't therefore flocking to their churches.

It's interesting that in the last UK census 7000 out of only 31000 neo-pagans identified themselves as Wiccans when asked about religion.

The occult basically means that which is hidden. Within religions there is the diluted version for the masses and another for the 'students'. Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables but unfolded to his disciples the esoteric (hidden) side of his teachings. It's the same for all religions whether this be Egyptian, Buddhism or Judaism the truths are revealed only to the student.

We all follow our chosen spiritual path, some of us may well stray into difficulties, but 'understanding the dangers' of Wicca and Witchcraft won't solve or satisfy our need.

People are become aware of deeper layers to spirituality and life itself. It is this thirst that needs to be quenched.

Further Reading:
Get Keyed Up Said The Witch And Gurdjieff Agrees
The Puritans Diary And The Devil's Women
Bible Coincidences Where God Is At The Centre

Get Keyed Up Said The Witch And Gurdjieff Agrees

A witch once said to me words along the lines of, "This advice that people give about how you should be yourself and just relax is absolute rubbish. It's the surest route to nowhere. Don't relax - do the absolute opposite, get yourself all keyed up. The keyed up, emotionally turned on individual is the best the world will see. Too many people are so relaxed they never accomplish anything they want to do. They spend their lives wandering around in the equivalent of hair curlers. Ugly!" She was a female witch!

And there's some truth in what she said as we can easily turn ourselves into bundles of habits, performing the usual routine without thinking or questioning.

George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff taught along similar lines: that we are asleep and have to wake up. Most of us, he claimed, fall into an habitual way of life, which means our day-to-day activities become so repetitious that our subconscious can almost go off duty.

Gurdjieff went even further saying that most of us hardly have any meaningful existence as we are only a mass of impulses and emotions, which change from hour to hour. We wander about in an almost hypnotised state for most of the time with only flashes of what we could possibly become.

I also wonder about some forms of meditation and how this could turn people into almost zombies - if they don't, that is, wake themselves up properly and fully re-join this world once their session is finished.

Going back to Gurdjieff's thinking, we automatically grow and develop physically and inwardly for about 18 to 21 years. Then we stop and are on our own whereby we need to put effort into our continued development and awakeness.

We need constant stimulation, new experiences are necessary. Look how we can wake up and feel alive when we travel to new, exciting places for instance or maybe meet someone special.

It's so easy though to soon fall back into habit and routine, when time - as we know it - flies past so very quickly. Life once again becomes robotic.

What I suppose I'm saying is that perhaps we should check occasionally to make sure that we aren't simply a bundle of habits and routines acting on impulse without a second thought.

The choice is always ours. Habits can be broken or made. I remember reading how Paul McKenna suggested we should smile at least twenty times a day, even if we didn't feel like it or there is no one else about. The very act of doing so over a period can make us happier.

Life should be exciting, meaningful, a learning adventure. It's up to us to make it so, or whatever else we wish it to be. Alternatively we could simply sleep our way through our allotted years - zzzz zzzz zzzz ...

Further Reading:
Puritans Diary And The Devil Woman
How Rituals Combined With Action Can Cure Illness
The Magic Of Our Ancestors Can Bring Us Success

Puritan's Diary And The Devil's Women

Diary of Nehemiah Wallington
In the mid 1600s a Puritan writer, Nehemiah Wallington, kept a diary in which he detailed, amongst other things, the witch trials of Manningtree in England. The 350 year old book (photo above) is now to be made public by the Manchester University's John Rylands Library who are digitising the diary.

The story of the trials and the witch hunt were dramatised in the controversial film The Witchfinder General staring Vincent Price as Matthew Hopkins.

Matthew Hopkin's dreadful witch hunts across East Anglia resulted in more than 100 women being put to death. The trials at Manningtree were the most notorious in a savage campaign.

In March 1645 Hopkins questioned a suspected witch, Elizabeth Clarke. She was examined for devil's marks such as warts, moles or bits of extra skin that were declared to be 'teats' to give suckle to imps.

Not surprisingly Clarke broke down and named other women including Anne West and her daughter Rebecca. The women were taken to the cells in Colchester Castle for questioning. Rebecca confessed and implicated her mother and others, thus saving herself from hanging.

According to Nehemiah Wallington's diary this is Rebecca's story:

"... Shortly after when she was going to bed the Devil appeared unto her again in the shape of a handsome young man, saying that he came to marry her.

Asked by the Judge whether she ever had carnal copulation with the Devil she confessed she had. She was very desirous to confess all she knew, which accordingly she did where upon the rest were apprehended and sent unto the Geole (jail).

She further affirmed that when she was going to the Grand Inquest she said she would confess nothing if they pulled her to pieces with pincers.

Asked the reason by the Gentle man she said she found herself in such extremity of torture and amazement, that she would not endure it again for the world.

When she looked upon the ground she saw herself encompassed in flames of fire and as soon as she was separated from her mother the tortures and the flames began to cease whereupon she then confessed all she knew.

As soon as her confession was fully ended she found her contience so satisfied and disburdened of all tortures she thought herself the happiest creature in the world."

On a much lighter note I snapped this sign on a car I saw parked this morning: