Witch Hunts

Hello,

It seems that there are still witches being hunted to this modern age. I can post many news articles from last year (2015) of witches being tortured, killed, and even incinerated for practicing witchcraft. Is this "hidden" or remain in the "shadows" still being practiced by witches to avoid any negative locale?

Quills Quiver

[eternalstudent]

I believe that is what keeps people from looking too deeply into the craft and also makes it extremely hard to find kindred spirits.

[Shaunc]

You'll probably find that the countries it does go on in are less developed than western countries.
It still happens in Papua new Guinea and parts of Africa, it wouldn't surprise me if it happened in Islamic countries as well .
But I'd say that you're pretty safe in Europe, UK, USA, Australia, Canada, etc

[Jenny Crow]

You should be safe in Canada, the U.S. the U.K. Europe and Australia but unfortunately there are still places where Witchcraft is not tolerated. I was in Salem a few years back and met someone from the "Bible belt" (I forget which state that is in) and this person could never be open about her beliefs.

As well, in some smaller towns and villages in Ontario here it can be a bit dicey to let anybody know who and what you really are. It's a shame - this is the 21st century and we're still partly in the dark agaes.

It seems that Wiccans have an easier time of it than Witches - that word still has heavy connotations in many parts of the world.

[Aki]

Jenny Crow: The Bible Belt is more or less all of the states below the Mason-Dixon line in the USA. Deep South, highly conservative. And yeah, it is pretty bad down there when it comes to alternative beliefs. There are some places where many people will look the other way (New Orleans, for instance) but you're never really... safe.

[Shaunc]

I'm quite surprised to hear that . But coming from Australia it's pretty good generally speaking the Australian people are politically and religiously apathetic asking about someone's religious or political beliefs just doesn't come up in conversation .
Other countries may be very different

[norseman]

One country, Shaunc, where you will definitely NOT find it is UK. Here the pagan/witch/wicca community is very active, openly holding festivals at the ancient holy places, public marches in many big cities and even building new Standing Stones/Circles by the old methods i.e. strong backs and sweat. [ Look up http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=22540 ]
The pagan community in general is now the 7th largest faith group in the UK and growing while christianity is shrinking and has been for many years. The pagan community is not passive, environmentally highly active and politically aware.

p.s. Almost forgot, Sentry Circle is a hop-n-skip from Thornborough Henges, a 5500 year-old ancient monument, still used for major festivals and attracting large crowds. It is everything that Stonehenge is not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornborough_Henges

[DavidMcCann]

The people being hunted, like those killed in the 17th and 18th century, were not witches in the sense of practitioners of the modern neopagan religion: they were ordinary people believed to be practicing black magic or to be possessed of the "evil eye"! In the more remote parts of Africa it happens unofficially, often with Christians involved in the practice, and execution of "witches" occurs regularly and legally in Saudi Arabia. If any Wiccan went to Saudi Arabia, however, the worst that could happen to them would be deportation for practicing a religion other than Islam.

[Jenny Crow]

Originally Posted by Aki

Jenny Crow: The Bible Belt is more or less all of the states below the Mason-Dixon line in the USA. Deep South, highly conservative. And yeah, it is pretty bad down there when it comes to alternative beliefs. There are some places where many people will look the other way (New Orleans, for instance) but you're never really... safe.

Thanks, Aki, I thought it was down in that area!

Hello DavidMcCann,

Originally Posted by DavidMcCann

The people being hunted, like those killed in the 17th and 18th century, were not witches in the sense of practitioners of the modern neopagan religion: they were ordinary people believed to be practicing black magic or to be possessed of the "evil eye"! In the more remote parts of Africa it happens unofficially, often with Christians involved in the practice, and execution of "witches" occurs regularly and legally in Saudi Arabia. If any Wiccan went to Saudi Arabia, however, the worst that could happen to them would be deportation for practicing a religion other than Islam.

I don't believe this one bit.

Quills Quiver