In Pure Spirit

For open minds

The world’s biggest gathering of witches – the Pendle Witch Walk

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This year will be the 400th anniversary of the Pendle witch trials. In Pure Spirit has written Pendle and the witches before; asking whether film makers were cursed in 2009, writing about Gallows Hill where the witches died and even whether Gawthorpe Hall has become involved.

The real Pendle witches were probably not “real witches” at all and it would be nice to say that modern society has gotten over the stigma of ‘witchcraft’ but that may not the be the case. This year has already has had ‘witchcraft murder’ headlines in the press – and in the United Kingdom too. However, the modern witch or wicca (and many people are keen to stress the difference) is generally a force for good.

As an official attempt to claim a Guinness World Record and as a charitable attempt to raise money for the Pendleside Hospice the Pendle Witch Walk aims to gather more witches together than the world has ever seen before.

Simon Tattersall, who’s helping to co-organise the event, told The Pendle Today that;

“We only announced the launch a couple of weeks ago and the levels of interest have been staggering – we’ve already had dozens of people register for the walk, the website traffic has been phenomenal, plus we have 250 Facebook followers and 700 on Twitter!

“We’re hoping for a great event and a truly memorable day. The world record attempt for the greatest gathering of “witches” will give everybody’s efforts an undisputable measure of achievement, but more to the point we hope that via their sponsors walkers will raise in excess of £50,000 for Pendleside Hospice.”

If you’re on Twitter then you can follow Pendle Witch Walk or even In Pure Spirit.

In Pure Spirit

What do you make of the idea? Is this is a good idea – or do you sense any problems with it?

If you’re planning on going to the Pendle Witch Walk why don’t you leave a comment below so other In Pure Spirit readers can say hello and catch up with you at the event.

Photo credit: David Nutter.

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Oh dear; gun lover condemns Wal-Mart book selection as Witchcraft

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A YouTuber with a strong conviction in his own faith has gone on a bit of a rant about Wal-Mart’s book selection. This blogger is not in the business of defending Wal-Mart but does notice the YouTube account is called “GodGunsGutsGlory4KJV” and is associated with the website of the same name.

What’s the connection between guns and God?

In fact, what is the word “glory” in there for? Sounds like a word old warriors might use when riding into battle under a religion banner. Is that the intent? Is this YouTuber preaching holy war or Christian extremism? It’s hard to say for sure but at one point in the video below you can hear him muttering about buying the book – just so he can burn it. Shocking.

Some of the books pulled out from the “Witchcraft” shelf include Richelle Mead’s (who he called a perv) Bloodlines, Lauren Kate’s Passion and P. C. Cast’s Chosen. It’s tempting to buy them – if just to keep them safe from burning.

Everyone is welcome to their own personal beliefs. Problems arise when people have extreme views (such as viewing fiction as Witchcraft manuals) that they seek to impose on others. Has Mr Guns’n’Glory gone too far with this video?

In Pure Spirit

What do you think about Wal-Mart’s teen selection? Should they have had more openly religious books in there? Should they have had more bibles?

Islandmagee witches: 300th anniversary of the last witch trial in Ireland

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Exactly 300 years ago to the day (March 31st, 2011) Ireland finished its last ever witch trial.

No one was burned at the stake, no one was drowned but eight Presbyterian women were sentenced to a year in jail alongside time in public stocks. On market day these “witches” had to suffer the crowds pelting them with rotting fruit and stones.

The eight became known as the Islandmagee witches. All eight were from the Islandmagee area in Co Antrim.

The Carrickfergus court found all eight gulity of bewitching Mary Dunbar, a local girl.

It was said that Dunbar suffered from fits, trances and vomitting household objects. She would also throw bibles and swear.

Historian Dr Andrew Sneddon, based in the University of Ulster, is working on a book (Witchcraft and Magic in Ireland, 1586 – 1946) which suggests Dunbar faked the symptoms in order to behave as she wished and to find fame.

The Islandmagee witches were all poor, some drank – unusual and frowned on by the community – and some had physical disabilities. Sneddon points out that they were an easy target for anyone looking to find a witch scapegoat.

Talking to local press, he said;

“Being possessed allowed her to misbehave without consequence, move from invisibility to notoriety within her community and attack her elders at will.

“Dunbar chose to blame her possession on the witchcraft of the Presbyterian Islandmagee women because they had reputations locally as witches and failed to meet contemporary standards of female behaviour and beauty.

“The accusations were also used to further local political goals at a time of intense party political conflict between the two main political parties of the day, the Whigs and the Tories.”

Ireland repealed their 1563 witchcraft law in 1821. That was 110 years after the Islandmagee trial.

In Pure Spirit

Do you think any of the Islandmagee eight where likely to be witches?

Picture credit: Wilson Adams, shows Islandmagee and surrounds.

White Witch refuses to find time to die

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Here’s a good news story. Dot Griffiths is better known as Madam Morgana and her home in Stantonbury, England, is also known as the Dragon’s Lair. The great grandmother was at one time so sick with stage 3 endometrial cancer that doctors said she only had hours to live.

What was Madam Morgana’s response? She told local press;

I haven’t got time to die yet myself. As they say, ‘this lady’s not for burning’

Madam Morgana has been practising paganism as a white witch for decades. Even while she was in hospital she ran a clairvoyance session for other patients. While she recovered she wrote a book of spells called “Grimoirs of Madam Morgana” and the white witch is now looking to publish them.

Dot Griffith is a Stantonbury parish councillor but that does not stop her finding the time to organise psychic fayres in the UK. Currently she is planning her first ever craft and psychic fayre for Risley Village Hall in Bedfordshire for April 9th.

In Pure Spirit

Do you think the doctors simply got it wrong and under estimated the 74 year old’s ability to recover from serious cancer? Or do you think Dot’s outlook played a significant part in her recovery?

Picture credit: Milton Keynes Citizen.

Megadeth rocker bans The Conjuring for black magic

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Dave Mustaine, vocalist for the rock band Megadeth, now refuses to play the The Conjuring live. The singer has become a strict Christian and wishes to put his experimental past behind him. Mustaine claims that the song The Conjuring is laden with black magic spells and occult imagery.

Mustaine admits to being fascinated with witchcraft as a young man but now worries that spells he cast back then have come back to haunt him today. The singer says he finds the lyrics in The Conjuring troubling.

In an article in Total Guitar magazine, Mustaine said;

Performance wise, The Conjuring is one of the heaviest songs on the record, but unfortunately it’s got black magic in it and I promised that I wouldn’t play it any more, because there’s a lot of instructions for hexes in that song.

“Although it seems kinda corny, anybody who’s a Wiccan (witch) or a warlock or anything like that will know that all of that stuff is instrumental.

“When I got into black magic I put a couple of spells on people when I was a teenager and it haunted me forever, and I’ve had so much torment. People say, ‘Goddamn, Dave never gets a break, he’s had such a hard life,’ and I just think, ‘No, Dave didn’t – he got into black magic and it ruined his life.’

“Fortunately for me, with all the work and the love of my friends, and not giving up with my guitar playing, I got over it. So I look back now and I think, ‘Hmm, I don’t wanna play The Conjuring’.

The Conjuring is part of Megadeth’s album “Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying” tour album from 1986. The curious can listen to the heavy rock track care of the YouTube embed below.

In Pure Spirit

Did you listen? Which dark magic and occult references did you pick up from the song? Do you think Mustaine is right to turn his back on his own music or is he worried over nothing? Has he found salvation in time?

King of all Witches bids to become a member of the British Parliament

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Magus Lynius Shadee has announced his plans to open an occult centre in Cambridge have been paused while he bids to become elected as the city’s MP.

He told press;

“I have withheld the opening of my occult centres and am focusing on the general election,”

“I shall hope to stand as an independent. My manifesto will be very forward, and if accepted, will change many directions for the better – for the human race.”

Shadee, who calls himself the King of all Witches, made the news in October 2009 when he claimed to have summoned a demon to haunt the Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs on Hills Road in Cambridge.

It is said he conducted the ritual in the Catholic Church and told press that he did not speak to the priest but conducted an incantation to bring an ‘element’ to dwell within the building.

He described the element as a hunter, something that would attach itself to an individual, drive them insane, make them depressed or end their physical life. Shadee told press that he hoped to convert the local priest.

Police, at the time, said a potential Public Order crime could have been committed and would investigate.

In Pure Spirit

What do you make of Magus Lynius Shadee and his claims? His he doing well – trying to set up an occult centre and run for politics? Or does he cast a shadow over alternative religions with high publicity demon summoning claims in the heart of Catholic churches?

Police on pagan watch after horse mane weaving incidents

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Police in the UK are suggesting that white witches are responsible for a number of incidents which have resulted in horse’s manes been woven together.

At first, police suspected the practice was being used by organised crime to mark the horses prior to stealing them but none of the marked horses was then stolen.

It is now believed that witches may be engaging in knot magick and are using the closeness of horses to certain Pagan deities to boost the strength of their spells. None of the horses has been harmed by any of the weaving incidents but stables and farmers are becoming bemused and a little unsettled.

The Taunton Vale Harriers Hunt has set up a local horse watch scheme to keep an eye on the animals. The Hunt had used social networking sites to discover that a small group of people had been talking about the use of horses in pagan rituals.

The Telegraph published a story on knot magic yesterday and the Guardian covered it at the start of December in 2009.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Are white witches likely to be responsible for this? Should they be doing it – even if neither horse nor person is being harmed?

Calls in South Africa to make witchcraft illegal

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In response to the horrible murder of an 81-woman believed by her neighbour to be a witch, the South African authorities are being urged to ban witchcraft.

Image via Wikipedia

To be clear; the non-witch murdered the suspect-witch and now papers like The Richmark Sentinel are calling on witchcraft to be made illegal. The claim is that this is the ban will make life safer for the witches.

The murderer escaped before the police arrived.

The South African province of Mpumalanga has already to introduce the “Witchcraft Suppression Bill,” but met resistance. The bill attempted to define witchcraft as;

“The secret use of muti, zombies, spells, spirits, magic powders, water, mixtures, etc, by any person with the purpose of causing harm, damage, sickness to others or their property.”

This would technically mean the secret use of a water pistol to soak some curtains could have been classified as witchcraft.

In Pure Spirit

What do you think about this news? Fairly shocking that people still think like this. How would you address the problem of violence against people who are believed to be witches?

Devout Christian jailed for torturing his own ‘witch’ daughter

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A father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced in Coventry Crown Court, was jailed for 8 years for torturing his own daughter. His partner, who watched the torture, was sentenced for 4 years.

Why did this legally protected man torture his own daughter? He believed she was a witch. She would sometimes talk to herself and he felt he couldn’t always ‘get through to her’.

The girl, who also can’t be named but who is under 16 years old, was beaten with a wooden stick. Her father would stuff cloth into her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Her hands and feet were burned with candle wax and drippings from a melting plastic bag.

The regular churchgoer forced his daughter to drink olive oil, whacked her legs with a cable and stamped on her head before banging it against the wall in an effort to rid of her evil spirits.

The man told the court that he believed his daughter had the power to send him to sleep. The judge refused requests to have the man sent for psychiatric testing.

In Pure Spirit

Isn’t this another horrible story – is religion to blame for this one? Is there something about religion-gone-wrong that can bring out the worst in human nature or will mankind use any handy focus?

Gallows Hill – where the Pendle witches died

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An illustration of Ann Redferne and Chattox, t...
Image via Wikipedia

Gallows Hill is part of Lancaster, next to the Ashton Memorial and Williamson Park, and was the favoured execution site of the Hanging Judges until 1800.

The infamous Pendle witches were executed on Gallows Hill. They died in the traditional manner of executions on the hill; first made to stand on a cart, wait while a rope was fastened around their neck and then die as the cart was moved away.

A hanging, done well, kills when the drop instantly breaks the neck of the unfortunate. A bad or deliberately slow hanging leaves the victim twisting on the end of the rope while they are slowly strangled. The death sentence “hanged, drawn and quartered” begins with a slow hanging from which the victim is ‘saved’ before they’re next drawn through the streets and finally quartered.

Ten Pendle witches died on Gallows Hill on the 20th August 1612. Members of both the Demdike and Chattox families where hanged on the hill. Owd Demdike (Elizabeth Southerns), leader of the Demdike family, escaped the executioner by dying in her cell in Lancaster.

Therefore, the names of the Pendle witches who were hanged on Gallows Hill are: Anne Chattox (Anne Whittle), Anne Redfern, Elizabeth Device, James Device, Alizon Device, Jane Bullock, John Bullock, Katherine Hewitt (Mouldheels), Alice Nutter and Isobel Robey.

Jennet Preston, who lived in Yorkshire, was hanged in York.

There’s no record of what happened to the bodies of the Pendle witches after Gallows Hill.

Is Gallows Hill haunted?

On October 29th in 2009 the TV program Most Haunted Live visited Gallows Hill. While the cameras were recording they gave the impression of the presence of some spiritual entities and perhaps the Pendle witches.

Despite some of the Pendle witches actually admitting to witchcraft it is now widely believed that none of them were. Alice Nutter, in particular, was a soft spoken and well off lady and probably guilty of practising the (at the time) unpopular Catholic faith. The Most Haunted crew, however, have allegedly been harassed by entities claiming to be or giving the impression of the Pendle witches before.

It is rumoured that Most Haunted Live may return to Gallows Hill for a live broadcast on Halloween 2009.

 

In Pure Spirit

What do you think? Is this site more or likely to be haunted by the ghosts of the witches than Pendle Hill itself?

Did you watch Most Haunted Live? What did you think of the team’s encounter with apparent spirits?

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