The first mention of the witch in the Old Testament we find in the Pentateuch, in the Book of Exodus. Wise Moses, dictating his Law to the Jews, says: "Do not leave the sorcerers (that is, the witch) alive."
However, some theologians believe that the word "Chasaph" used here actually means only "poisoner."
But there is a suggestion that it can have other meanings - a witch, a witch who is always ready to harm her neighbor with the help of her witchcraft spells, not disdaining sometimes with a potent poison. About this medieval witches, in essence, did not differ in any way from their Old Testament "colleagues".
WITCHES - BIRTH OF THE DEVIL
The Bible says that the Most High himself resorted to the services of evil sorcerers in order to test the steadfastness in the faith of Job and St. Peter. And what can we say about the main lawyer of God, about Moses, who more than once resorted to the help of magic, however, not without the participation of Yahweh himself. We also know about the appeal of King Saul to the Endor witch (spellcaster of the dead) with a request to call him the spirit of the prophet Samiuel.
MOST POPULAR IMAGE OF THE WITCH
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The most popular depiction of witches is an ugly old woman dressed in black, riding on a broomstick across the night sky. Oddly enough, the belief that witches can actually fly became widespread even among the intelligent people of the 17th century, including among priests.
It was believed that the witch rubs her body with special ointments, which gives her the opportunity to fly through the air, using a pomelo, pole, pitchfork, grapple, shovel, and sometimes a piece of wattle as a flying device.
Witches were everywhere considered powerful creatures and caused ineradicable horror and awe among the common people. Moreover, the witches were not all the same, there was a certain hierarchy between them. The first, the most disgusting, could do evil, but they could no longer correct it. The latter themselves usually did not cause harm, but on the other hand, they could destroy the evil caused by their colleagues in the craft. And still others were of all trades: they knew how to do evil and take it off.
The more they anger God, the more strength and power the Devil gives them. According to the popular beliefs, they kill and eat babies or sacrifice them to the Devil. They use the blood of such victims to prepare their "flying" ointments and lubricate their imaginary "horse".
WOLTER SCOTT
The famous English writer Voltaire Scott was born in 1771 in Scotland and all his life considered himself a native Scotsman. His literary work began with poetry, processing of folk ballads, in which he also included his original poems from the history of the country.
All his life Voltaire was actively involved in journalism and publishing, and on his initiative an 18-volume edition of the famous English poet John Dryden was published in England. But due to the intrigues and dishonesty of his partner, he actually went bankrupt after a few years, and he had to earn money again with his literary work.
In this difficult time for him, he decided to write a completely unusual book for himself - "The History of the Demonology of Witchcraft", believing that the wide public interest in such a "delicate" topic would help him improve his financial situation.
This book, I must say, he created not as a theologian or demonologist, but as an impartial historian, and in it one cannot find harsh statements about the characters and events he describes. V. Scott wrote it already being seriously ill, and it came out in the year of his death - 1832.
An English gentleman named Regirald Scott wrote The Discovery of Witchcraft (1580). "The book was not written by me," he said, "but by the judges who exposed the so-called cases of witches." R. Scott argued that all the so-called intrigues and intrigues of witches are for the most part the fruit of the inflamed imagination and mental disorder of witnesses.
After reading his bold book, the English king James I flew into a rage, cursed the scientist's work and wrote his own treatise, "Demonology," in opposition to him. But even the appearance on the cover of the book of the name of the monarch did not provide her with the enormous popularity that R. Scott's book enjoyed. In the end, even the king himself was convinced by his arguments, and the witch trials began to decline.
WITCHES SIGNS
Witches, like the Devil, leave marks on the human body. They were called witch signs. They could be considered either extra breasts, extra nipples (the latter is more common in men than in women). With these nipples, she allegedly fed her home spirits!
But the fact is that additional nipples in women are quite common. Demonologist Margaret Murray conducted her own investigation in this regard, during which it turned out that out of 315 women taken and examined by chance, such were seven percent.
In women, as far as is known from medicine, various formations can appear on the body, but in England even in the 17th century they were referred to the so-called additional breasts, which "the Devil himself sucks". Such a deformation became irrefutable proof, incriminating the unfortunate woman in witchcraft and in bodily connection with Satan.
In these humiliating public undressing, the shameless guardians of the true faith, centimeter by centimeter, examined the woman's body in search of physical disabilities, and above all devilish marks, which were often confused with witch signs.
As soon as the investigators found any defects on the skin or birthmarks of different colors on the victim's body, they armed themselves with sharp needles and began to prick these places. If no blood protruded under the point of the needle or the subject did not feel any pain, the verdict was unambiguous: a witch. Devil's marks are supposedly insensitive to physical pain.
A few hours later, the Devil's beloved was executed. As is known, no protests from the accused were accepted in such courts, therefore the outcome of the investigation is predetermined in advance.
Why did women doomed to be executed sometimes not actually feel physical pain when they were pricked with needles? There are 2 opinions on this. The emotional shock caused by the public undressing may well have caused some victims to develop zones of temporary numbness on the body, thus providing witch hunters with the "evidence" they hiccupped.
It is believed that the inquisitors, when they needed it, pricked the suspects with special needles, the sting of which, when touched, retracted into the upper thickened part - the handle, and therefore, quite naturally, the person did not experience any pain. And this was all that was needed for the masters, who saw manifestations of Satanism everywhere. In fact, in this and in another case, it was an illegal reprisal against unfortunate innocent people.
How can we explain the fact that in those days witches proliferated apparently-invisibly and their number did not decrease, despite the punitive measures of the Inquisition?
The first version is that the Inquisition itself is to blame for the general persecution, since, on the instructions of the Pope, it undertook to uproot the slightest manifestations of heresy in many countries. Therefore, all sorcerers and witches were equated with heretics and they were sent to the fire in the same way so that others would be discouraged.
The second version was widely popularized by the clergy themselves. The Inquisition, exterminating witches, thereby recognized the possibility of an ordinary person receiving power from the Devil, supernatural power, the ability to work miracles. Isn't it flattering to be known as a sorcerer and a witch? No one would dare to oppress such a person, as before, everyone began to fear and even respect him. Thus, one evil gave birth to another.