by Doreen Valiente
Massively stacks, the bloodline of the word witch is a sufferer on which by a hair's breadth any two firm can be found to harmonize. The greatest extent visit annotation is that it is akin to the word rational, and that witchcraft as a result livelihood The Found of the Erudite.
It is extreme held that Gerald Gardner originated this bloodline. However, this is incorrect, as it appears in Hugh Ross Williamson's book, The Zoom and the Sword, summit published in 1947, in the past any of Gerald Gardner's books on witchcraft. But is this the accurately derivation?
Not according to Educator Jeffrey Russell, who gives an addition on this sufferer in his book A Bloodline of Witchcraft (Thames & Hudson, London, 1980).
Educator Russell rejects any relation with the Old English word witan, meaning to know, as he as well does with the Old English wican, to bend. In his belief, the real origin comes from the Indo-European word weik, which has a shared relation with religion and magic. From this very ancient root-word came in turn, in the midst of other tackle, a word wikk, meaning magic and sorcery, and this in due course fashioned the Old English wicca, a male witch, wicce, a female witch, and the verb wiccian, to bewitch or work witchcraft.
It behest be seen from the best quality that "Wicca" does not mean "witchcraft" and never did, in harm of its done modern use. So how did this exhaust originate? In his biography, Gerald Gardner: Witch, it describes his initiation in "Old Dorothy's"
council, and says, 'It was not whole way put down since the word Wica was summit mentioned: "and I then knew that that which I had said well-cooked out hundreds of being ago though survived."' It behest be seen that at this time Gerald didn't even know how to spell the word. Its regulation spelling is as best quality. Nor, alas, does this door state in what context the word was used. It license bind been that Old Dorothy's coven was barely proclaiming Gerald a male witch, in which covering this would bind been an upright use of the word.
So everyplace did Gerald get the vista that "Wicca" designed witchcraft? I would taking into account to advance a guess of my own. I prerequisite fortify that this is settle a guess, and I may be one-sidedness. But I expect that this vista originated from his reading of a book which I know that he agitated, namely An Encyclopedia of Occultism by Lewis Spence. This very costly work of factual summit appeared in 1920, according to the good word of it in the bibliography at the end of Gerald's book, Witchcraft Today. It has a minute ago been re-issued by Bracken Books under the perception of The Encyclopedia of the Occult. The document referring to witchcraft begins: "Witchcraft: (from Saxon Wicca, a contraction of witega, a creative thinker or sorcerer)." This could bind been read and misunderstood to mean that "Wicca" designed witchcraft, and this delusion has been carried on put down the ranks of modern witches ever since.
It has to be thought, of course, that the word Wicca has its uses to define the offer renaissance, particularly in the USA, everyplace a numeral of relations using this word bind gained allowed good name as heartfelt bodies. Carefully, stagnant, I choose the pressing out The Old Holiness, which is the English make equal of the Italian pressing out used by the cronies of Aradia, namely La Vecchia Religione. (See Charles Godfrey Leland's book, Aradia: or the Gospel of the Witches, summit published in
1899.) (In this regard, offer is a header in witchcraft circles to the effect that the common sense why the person style of this book is so rare is that old Gerald bought up all the copies he could find and conked out them. Whether offer is any truth in this or not, I cannot say.)
In harm of Educator Russell's belief, as quoted best quality, offer is an ancient history bloodline of the word witch that may doubtless be worthy of worry. This may be found in A Concise Etymological Vocabulary of the English Idiom by the Rev. Walter W Skeat (Clarendon Energy, Oxford, 1901). This book discusses the above-mentioned derivations from wicca, wicce, etc., and then in turn connects these old words with the Norwegian vikja, which livelihood at the outset 'to turn detour and secondly 'to daydream ready. Consequently, speculates the Rev. Skeat, the word witch almost certainly designed 'averter'.
He as well mentions that the Anglo-Saxon word witega, a creative thinker or seer, comes from the Anglo-Saxon witan, to follow, which he says is 'cognate with witan, to know.'. We bind seen that Lewis Spence regarded witega as the origin of wicca.
So who is right? In harm of all claims, it seems to me that it remains a emerge of belief. One thing we do know is that the word came to Britain with the Saxons, who at the time of their way in on these shore were pagans. I expect that to them, the word witch (or slightly of its forerunners they used), did not without doubt bind any life-threatening meaning. A witch was a seer, a knower, an averter of evil. The word by yourself took on a depreciatory meaning with the coming of Christianity, which taught that all the gods of the heathen were devils. So one who clung o the old ways and the Old Holiness was a devil worshipper. And annually, something like Halloween, we though see the self-same old charges guise made in the self-same old spirit of injury. Isn't it sad that these good folk haven't learnt at all since the Shade Ages?
