![]() ![]() Historically, the predominant concept of witchcraft in the Western world derives from Old Testament laws against witchcraft, and entered the mainstream when belief in witchcraft gained Church approval in the Early Modern Period. Traditionally, witchcraft was believed to be the use of magic to cause harm or misfortune to others it was used by the witch against their own community it was seen as immoral and often thought to involve communion with evil beings powers of witchcraft were believed to have been acquired through inheritance or initiation and witchcraft could be thwarted by defensive magic, persuasion, intimidation or physical punishment of the alleged witch. Ronald Hutton outlined five key characteristics ascribed to witches and witchcraft by most cultures that believe in the concept. Some cultures have feared witchcraft much less than others, because they instead believed that strange misfortune was usually caused by gods, spirits, demons or fairies, or by other humans who have unwittingly cast the ' evil eye'. Witchcraft is seen by historians and anthropologists as one ideology for explaining misfortune, which has manifested in diverse ways. This may come from mankind's tendency "to want to assign occurrences of remarkable good or bad luck to agency, either human or superhuman". Most societies have believed in, and feared, an ability by some individuals to cause supernatural harm and misfortune to others. It has been found at various times and in many forms among cultures worldwide, and continues to have an important role in some cultures today. The concept of witchcraft and the belief in its existence have persisted throughout recorded history. The Magic Circle by John William Waterhouse, 1886 ![]()
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