History of Witch Trials in England

Starting in the 15th Century spanning until the 18th Century was when England’s Witch trials took place. Wherein the 17th Century was the high point of the histeria. This was at its peak during both the Civil War time period 1640’s, and the Puritan era 1650’s. Most who were executed were women, an estimated 90%. Over the centuries much of what is known about these times has long since been destroyed. It is believed that somewhere between 500 - 1000 people were put to death under the pretext of being a witch in England during this time. An interesting note is that Witchcraft wasn’t a capital offense in England until Pope Innocent VIII in 1484 who declared it as such. It was in 1562 that Queen Elizabeth passed a law called the Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcrafts. Here a person who was convicted as a witch could be put to death if the crime was considered ‘harmful’ otherwise it was considered a smaller offense and would only mean imprisonment. 

The witch trials in Bailiwick of Guernsey & Bailiwick of Jersey- British Isles

The witch Trials of Guernsey and Jersey took place between 1562 and 1661

During a period of that time in the Isles there was a high Catholic presence in part due to Mary I. She prosecuted those with opposing religious views, most often Protestants. Although Protestants did also persecute some accused witches it was by and large the Catholic influence that did the most damage. In the early stages of these trials they were not arrested for being witches. One such person was Perotine Massey who was the wife of a Calvinist minister. She, along with three others were originally arrested for theft which they were found not guilty of. However, due to her husband’s status of being a Calvinist, she was burned at the stake while giving birth. It was a baby boy born in the flames. These three have since been named as the Guernsey Martyrs. Not too many years after that the witch trials began. Ann of St Brelade in 1562 was the first witch to be tried in the Jersey British Isles. Through the course of these trials people were burned, strangled, tortured, hanged, flogged or  banished. One person who was banished for the accusation of witchcraft for some unknown reason returned later only to be arrested and charged again. She, Paquette Le Vesconte ultimately confessed to many crimes and murders while in service to the Devil. Another person arrested for witchcraft, Elizabeth Grandin, was released but only warned off the island. In yet another instance Marie de Callais was convicted of witchcraft and burnt at the stake in 1617, however two of her family members were ‘merely banished’. Not everyone received a trial, some were put to death by common people who were just plain superstitious and afraid. One example is Elizabeth Gavey who was found dead on March 28th 1765. The last of the witch trials in Jersey was in 1736 ending with John Jarvis. It is reported that at least 66 people had been accused on the island before it was all said and done with.

Here are some others who were condemned as witches; 

Thomas Tougis:                                     burned

Jouane Tougis: burned

Michelle Chivret (wife of Pierre Osmont): burned

Peronelle Chevallier: strangled and burned in 1597

Mary Blanche: died 1622

Marie Esnouf:             executed in 1648

Jean Morant

Symon Vaudin

Marie Tougis: (seemingly not related to the other Tougis family)

Magic in Egypt

Egypt was a country steeped in magic. It was part of spirituality, medicine, and even everyday life.The main Egyptian civilization ran from 3000 to 550BC.

Heka was the deity known to be the one that gave the gods their power and lent his power so that balance, harmony, and every other part of life was possible. Heka was magic, but also the practice of magic. Heka was in everything so that every act of magic Heka was a part of it. Maybe because of the prevalence of Heka there were no temples, no cults, and no formal worship. Heka’s hieroglyph was used interchangeably with god and power. Heka was also considered to be the power to manifest; the cause, the action, and the effect. He is sometimes said to be the son of Sekhmet the lion headed goddess of vengeance. Everyone had heka, the gods had the most, and the pharaoh had a lot, the rest of people had differing amounts. 

Most Egyptian magic was geared towards protection, whether from spirits, foreign demons, sorcerers/sorceresses, or an angry god/dess. These were thought to cause problems: mainly illness, accidents, poverty, and infertility. The best way to drive off these were to stomp, shout, and make loud noises with drums, rattles, and tambourines. The most vulnerable were women who were pregnant, about to give birth, or children themselves ( susceptible to all kinds of ailments).  Wands made from the ivory of hippopotamus tusks were carved with scary looking figures and were used in protective rituals for pregnant women, possibly using the wand to draw a protective circle around said women. 

Spells were usually divided into two parts: a chant or words to be said and then the things to do. Spells could include music and dance and/or things such as pointing and stamping. For the magic to work all the words, especially the names, had to be said the right way. That's because, in Egypt, one had a public name and then one had a secret name known only to the person and the gods. If one knew the secret name of someone then they had power over them. A spell could also be used to activate things like an amulet, a figurine, or a potion. Potions could contain odd or bizarre ingredients like the blood of a black dog or the milk of a woman who had borne a male child. 

Protective amulets were a big thing in Egypt and were worn by pretty much everybody. They could take the form of deities, animals, or use royal names and/or symbols. Other things like long life, prosperity, and good health were also featured in amulets.

Priests kept the status quo. Keeping the temples clean and pure, and also teaching the masses about the particular god/dess that the priest followed and how that god/dess fit into everyday life. 

Magic was used alongside the practical measures of medicine, rather than instead of it. There were also a couple of different physicians, the swnw which was a general practitioner and the sau which focused on magic. It was important that the physicians be trained as they were dealing with chaotic energies and forces that could be unpredictable. Many beings could be the cause and I’m sure each one had its own way to be dealt with. Like demons were thought to be attracted to nasty things, so a pile of shit might be brought in to lure the demon away or a jar of honey to drive it out. 

Most Egyptian magic was made to heal, but curses were used, mainly by the state against enemies. A clay pot might be inscribed with the enemies name and then it would be burned, broken, or buried in a cemetery. The thinking being that that would affect the enemy and cause them to be weaker or destroy them outright. Also the forces arrayed against the divine order would be cursed, like Apophis who was at war with the creator god. His images would be written on papyrus or modeled in wax then stomped, spat on, and otherwise destroyed. 

There was even magic for the dead in the form of the Book of the Dead. inside it was a kind of a roadmap to the land of the dead. What animals to turn into if you encountered certain spirits, how to answer the god’s questions, and words and gestures to perform to deal with certain demons.

As you can see magic was a part of life every day, almost every moment, in Egypt. 

By Juliana Horatia Ewing

 The Spring's bright tints no more are seen,

    And Summer's ample robe of green

    Is russet-gold and brown;

    When flowers fall to every breeze

    And, shed reluctant from the trees,

    The leaves drop down.

    A sadness steals about the heart,

    --And is it thus from youth we part,

    And life's redundant prime?

    Must friends like flowers fade away,

    And life like Nature know decay,

    And bow to time?

    And yet such sadness meets rebuke,

    From every copse in every nook

    Where Autumn's colours glow;

    How bright the sky! How full the sheaves!

    What mellow glories gild the leaves

    Before they go.

    Then let us sing the jocund praise,

    In this bright air, of these bright days,

    When years our friendships crown;

    The love that's loveliest when 'tis old--

    When tender tints have turned to gold

    And leaves drop down.

Tarot

Today the Six of Swords. Here we have a woman in a boat pushing herself away from the shore leaving someone behind but also has a babe in the boat with her. The question is, has the one woman taken the babe or is she rescuing it? There are alligators swimming towards the boat. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices or hard forward thinking decisions and leave things behind, moving into the unknown. This can be scary and somewhat dangerous. We have to be vulnerable. But here we have faced the hardest part and are prepared for what is coming our way. We know there are difficult choices to be made ahead but they will lead to new beginnings. The circumstances for the journey may be questionable but the journey will occur never-the-less. What are your motivations for your actions? How are your emotions determining your choices? Will these things be harmful to others? First think about what the right thing to do is and then move forward with it despite how difficult that may be. 

 historic-uk.com

En.wikipedia.org Channel Islands Witch Trials

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1019/magic-in-ancient-egypt/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/magic_01.shtml