Fear of Persecution

[BriarRose]

I am new here, so this topic may have been discussed many times before. I made a rather intensive study of Wicca about 15 years ago. I loved the rituals, and the feeling of being in touch with the elements, the Earth, and myself. But, there was a lingering fear in me that the old "bad days" of persecution of people perceived by society to be witches would return. I had a young child, and I had a fear that she might be taken away. I know it was probably irrational, but the fear is deep-rooted in me. It may come from experiences that I had in a past life, but I am not sure. Has anyone else ever had this fear? Does it have any basis in reality?

[Jenny Crow]

The first year or so that I was practicing - and back then no-one used the term Wicca, we were Witches - I felt some fear. We lived in a small hamlet and if you didn't conform people could be quite cruel and, as well, we had a young child and a few horses and our pet dogs and I was scared that if anyone found out what I was they might hurt our daughter or our pets or horses; so I can understand what you are feeling.

Slowly, as I became more involved in the Craft and more confidant I started to not hide the true me. Ya know, when you meet someone you don't say "Hello, I'm .......... and I'm a Witch (or I'm Wiccan) just as a Xtian doesn't say "Hello, I'm........and I'm a Catholic, or Baptist etc). Unless I'm with my close friends, most of whom are practicing Wiccans or Witches or Celtic pagans, the subject of religion rarely comes up but if it does I refuse to hide.

For the last few years I've worked in a Wiccan store in town and so EVERYONE knows who and what I am. Some people are unsure of me but most just accept me for who I am.

I can't say whether your fear stems from a past life or not but it very possibly could. One way to find out for sure is to be regressed by a certified hypnotist who specializes in past-life regression.

I think it's a shame to give up something you love, it certainly sounds like you got a lot out of your practice. I've had people shun me in the past but it's usually because of their fear and the fact that they've been brainwashed into believing that we're practicing something evil - their loss, lol. I do keep a lot of protection around myself, my family and my home and I would not hesitate to defend us if I had to.

[norseman]

Rosie, I suppose it all depends on which country you live in. Many people seem to have had problems in the American Bible-belt but I know of no-one in Britain who has been bothered. We hold our festivals quite openly and draw large numbers. I suppose it is because it is an essential part of our heritage here and British Traditional Witchcraft is still strong and being emulated in many other countries.

[BriarRose]

Thanks for the replies, Jenny and Norseman. I learned something from your stories. My daughter is 23 now, so I am less scared. I think it was my in-laws who I feared the most. They are very narrow-minded, all attorneys, and if something had happened to my husband, would have tried to take her in a heartbeat. Much later, I was working on our family trees. I found an ancestor of his, Edward Griswold, who had been a juror in a witchcraft trial where a couple were sentenced to be crushed to death. I had seen his name previously, and gotten "cold chills". Two generations later, the grandchildren of the "Witch Hunter", and the couple who were executed, married each other. Truth is stranger than fiction!

I don't hide my books on Wicca any longer, but I had a bad experience with a neighbor, when I talked about reading the Tarot! I live in Southern California, but there are a lot of close-minded people here.

As for the past life, I have a friend who thinks we were pursued by witch hunters in Eastern Europe in the 14th century. I've had a lot of regressions, but have never visited that life, so I don't know.

I think you have to be true to your own heart and obey your intuition--RosieCotton.

Where I live--it really does not matter--whether they know what you believe--or not--all they need to know is that you are not one of them and do not fit into their preconceived notions of how people are supposed to be.

Norseman and I are in agreement--it all depends on where you live. My policy is to keep my own council.

[FrogWarrior]

No need to fear it, just understand it. The only reason witches could be persecuted, is because the masses were scared of them. Fear of the unknown, harnessed by corrupt scumbags. Its what drove the Spanish inquisition. They duped the people into thinking any spiritual practice outside of mainstream Christianity had to be the work of the devil. Its still happening today, indigenous shamans in south America are being killed by ignorant christians. I'm a psychonaut, I use substances to explore the inner world (my own mind, depths of my subconscious etc.) and persecution against psychonauts is still happening today. I don't fear persecution by society. I just see a problem that can be solved by obliterating the misconceptions that cause it, and these misconceptions will be obliterated. Its not just christians behind this persecution, its the average person who thinks all mind altering substances are the same, and should remain illegal.

[norseman]

Just a word of caution concerning persecution and the "Burning Times". The majority of burnings were of christians labelled as "heretics" by the church.Most of the figures came from the burgomeister of a small German city in medieval times. He "estimated" the number for his city, then just scaled up the number for Europe.
The situation in Britain was very cloudy. The first target of the church were the Cunning Folk but without result because the Cunning Folk were embedded in rural communities and were protected. So then the church turned it's attention to "witches" [a creation of the church]. Here, the situation becomes clouded. The Cunning Folk gained an undeserved reputation as White Witches i.e. "good" witches, and were seen as the best "witch" hunters. I should add that the Cunning Folk were morally ambiguous [a Crooked Path]. The situation then was that the "real" witches [the Cunning Folk] were identifying the "false witches". In truth, very few of the real deal were executed, mostly it was being charged with vagrancy and falsehoods i.e. they were charged with what they could NOT do rather than what they COULD do. To further muddy the waters, quite a few Cunning Men "hid" in the church as priests - a 5th-column so to speak.
We are still here doing what we always did.

The same goes for the WiseWomen...we are still here--doing what we have always done.

[BriarRose]

Those were all interesting and helpful posts. I will have to read yours several times, Norseman, because I knew very few of the facts you wrote about. I knew that many heretics were burned, and some people feel the numbers of victims that come up when the Burning Times are under discussion are inflated. You've inspired me to do more reading. The United States has a tendency to swing towards Fundamentalism, which I find unhealthy, and alarming. Of course, I think it's fine for people to practice any spiritual system, or lack of it, that they want. It's the tendency to mix religious beliefs and laws that worry me. I read Margaret Atwood's novel, "The Handmaid's Tale", and would not want to live in a society like that. Blessed Be, my fellow seekers after Wisdom and Truth, and yes, blessings to those who find us threatening.

Originally Posted by RosieCotton

Those were all interesting and helpful posts. I will have to read yours several times, Norseman, because I knew very few of the facts you wrote about. I knew that many heretics were burned, and some people feel the numbers of victims that come up when the Burning Times are under discussion are inflated. You've inspired me to do more reading. The United States has a tendency to swing towards Fundamentalism, which I find unhealthy, and alarming. Of course, I think it's fine for people to practice any spiritual system, or lack of it, that they want. It's the tendency to mix religious beliefs and laws that worry me. I read Margaret Atwood's novel, "The Handmaid's Tale", and would not want to live in a society like that. Blessed Be, my fellow seekers after Wisdom and Truth, and yes, blessings to those who find us threatening.

Peace and Love on the path of your choice--RosieCotton...

Blessed be...

Ever your friend,

LadyTerra