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+--- Thread: Witchcraft and Satanic cults (/showthread.php?tid=2819)
Witchcraft and Satanic cults - paigenumber - 01-30-2018
After reading The Devil's Own and recently, The Witching Hour, I started wondering about witchcraft and Satanic cults. What is written in Gothic books seem to be very similar, but is it because this is really what Satanic cults and rituals really are? Or do the authors copy one another? Is there a reference they draw from?
I am not interested in it for spiritual reasons, but more from a literary curiosity. I recall seeing a special on TV (whether it was regular TV or cable, I cannot remember) several years ago where a priest decided to broaden his mind and explore other religions. He actually took part in a coven. What he discovered was that witchcraft had nothing to do with devil worship. Is it because the witches wanted to improve their image publicly or are these "white witches"? Or is it that the practice of "witchcraft" really is distinct from Satanic cults? I don't want first-hand knowledge so I may never know the answer to this, but it does make me wonder how authors go about gathering their information on this subject.
RE: Witchcraft and Satanic cults - Poppysma - 02-04-2018
Witchcraft is not, indeed, devil-worshipping.
Wikipedia: "Modern practices identified by their practitioners as "witchcraft" have grown dramatically since the early 20th century. Generally portrayed as revivals of pre-Christian European ritual and spirituality, they are understood to involve varying degrees of magic, shamanism, folk medicine, spiritual healing, calling on elementals and spirits, veneration of ancient deities and archetypes, and attunement with the forces of nature.
Belief in witchcraft continues to be present today in some societies and accusations of witchcraft are the trigger of serious forms of violence, including murder. Such incidents are common in places such as Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal and Tanzania. Accusations of witchcraft are sometimes linked to personal disputes, jealousy, and conflicts between neighbors or family over land or inheritance. Witchcraft related violence is often discussed as a serious issue in the broader context of violence against women
In Tanzania, about 500 older women are murdered each year following accusations against them of witchcraft/or being a witch.[45] Apart from extrajudicial violence, there is also state-sanctioned violence in some jurisdictions. For instance, in Saudi Arabia practicing 'witchcraft and sorcery' is a crime punishable by death and the country has executed people for this crime in 2011, 2012 and 2014. "
Anton LaVey established the Church of Satan in 1966. Atheists with Social Darwinist ideology, they abide the law. Criminals are kicked out.
Theistic Satanists worship the devil.
Then there is The Satanic Temple, who, according to Wikipedia, "is an American religious and political activist organization based in Salem. The organization actively participates in public affairs that have manifested in several public political actions and efforts at lobbying, with a focus on the separation of church and state and using satire against Christian groups that it believes interfere with personal freedom. The Satanic Temple does not believe in a supernatural Satan, as they believe that this encourages superstition that will keep them from being "malleable to the best current scientific understandings of the material world". The Temple uses the literary Satan as metaphor to construct a cultural narrative which promotes pragmatic skepticism, rational reciprocity, personal autonomy, and curiosity Satan is thus used as a symbol representing "the eternal rebel" against arbitrary authority and social norms."