Witchcraft Presentation

Witchcraft (Group 3)

Celeste Valdez, Selayah Duarte, Christian Willimas, Derek Salgado, Uriel Morales Meza

Question 1

Describe maleficium and theological witchcraft

vs

Theological Witchcraft

Maleficiumi

"Wicca" is a religion based on witchcraft and occultism that has initiatory groups called covens. Followers of Wicca use a pentagram as the symbol of their religion. Wiccans are pagans, practice rituals ad believe in non-Abrahamic religions

Maleficium comes from a latin term and is described as nasty, evil sorcery, and harmful magic. The Malleu s Maleficarum also known as Hammer of Witches is the literacy of demonology and witchcraft by Heinrich Kramer in 1486

Derek S

Question 2

Explain how the Puritans thought of witches

The Puritans feared the witches as they believed that the witchcraft was a punishment from god for their sins

They believed that they let the devil into the community and he had been able to convert them into his follwers

This led to distrust and hysteria causing them to hate witches more

Derek S.

Question 3

Which type of person was most liekly to be considered a witch?

People what were most likely considered to be witches were those that stood out from their Puritan neighnors.

Women who are single, widows, poor women, old women, or healing women, were all considered witches

Celeste Valdez

Question 4

How did property and land contribute to accusations of witchcraft?

Boundaries between properties were not well defined in Salem which usually resulted in land disputes and community members often accused others of witchcraft because of it

Another contribution was greed; some people wanted the property of others, and one way to take their property was by accusing them of witchcraft and hoping they were executed

Uriel

Question 5

Explain ergotism and how it may have played a role in the witch trials

Many historians believe that an ergot infestation in Massachusetts caused strange activities among some women in 1691 that led to suspicion and eventually led to the Salem witch hunts

Toxicologists now know that ergot poisoning can lead to convulsions, spasms, hallucinations, crawling sensations on the skin and erratic behaviors. This caused many to believe the ones infected became witches

Christian W

Question 6

Define Clinical Hysteria. Explain how stress and clinical hysteria could account for some of the unusual behaviors observed.

Clinical hysteria is a psychological condition where a person experiences paralysis or fits without a neurological cause

The stress of the Salem witch hunt could have triggered clinical hysteria, leading to physical symptoms and behaviors that were thought to be witchcraft

Christian W.

Question 7

In what forms does witchcraft exist today?

Some forms of witchcraft are more dramatic while other practices seem harmless. Some examples are Yoga, Buddhism, tarot card reading, manifestation, Reiki, and Shamanism. With different ways to practice witchcraft, there is also different types of witches. Some witches such as a green wirch are said to be connected to the Earth and it's energy.

Question 8

How are modern day witches treated or viewed?

Some countries such as South Pacific, Asia, and Africa witches are still believed to exist and witches are persecuted. In some places there are laws to ban witch-hunting but many people are still killed.

Selayah D.

Thanks!