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I came across this problem by a roundabout route, but it seems best to set it out in a more logical order.
Witchcraft is in a Wikidata item with 59 entries: wikidata:Q259745. There's one rather glaring omission - German. That's because the German article is in a different Wikidata item altogether: wikidata:Q1616828, with 57 entries. Some languages are in both Wikidata items, for varying reasons. (1) nl:Hekserij is in Q259745; but the Dutch redirect nl:Heks (persoon) to it is in Q1616828. (2) fr:Sorcier is in Q1616828 but fr:Sorcellerie is in Q259745. (3) Witchcraft is in Q259745, as is simple:Witchcraft; but simple:Witch is in Q1616828.
( Witch redirects to Witchcraft. English 'witch' and German ' de:Hexe' are one-for-one equivalents in both directions; but, 'witchcraft' and 'Hexe' are in different Wikidata items.)
DAB page Ragana equates lt:Ragana and lv:Ragana; but the former is in Q1616828 and the latter is in Q259745. (This was where I spotted the problem.) Some pictures, e.g. File:Baldung Hexen 1508 kol.JPG are used in both groups.
Q259745 (which includes the English article Witchcraft} does not link in any way to 11 articles in Q1616828.
IMO this is too complex a problem for a WP:BOLD attempt by any single editor, and requires discussion and consensus. I recognise that problems in non-English Wikis are not our concern, but we can at least set our own house in order. One solution might be to turn the redirect Witch into a standalone article and to add it to Q1616828, which would have no impact on non-English Wikis but would help English readers to find articles in those other languages, and I propose it. Other editors may have other opinions; the discussion is open.
I am notifying the WP:WikiProjects listed on this Talk Page of this discussion. Narky Blert ( talk) 21:35, 16 April 2018 (UTC)
Why would witch craft be considered bad yet it involves use of only nature William POWERZ ( talk) 11:09, 22 December 2018 (UTC)
If only you guys knew what it would feel like coz its all the same be it a witch or a Christian, a Muslim, any religion is supposed to be respected and if u disguise it then just stay away but don't oppose it
Ian Thomson try to understand this situation its like you are opposing a religion please put your self in their shoes and your religion is being opposed just think about it
If there was a way then I would like to know The Late Bridget Bishop's children so that I could get to know all the accusations made against her and I promise I will let you know that she was not bad at all . — Preceding unsigned comment added by William POWERZ ( talk • contribs)
Still grounds for prosecution. See https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45983540 Zezen ( talk) 00:27, 24 July 2019 (UTC)
In the article, the following text: "In the modern era, especially among younger, urban and white peoples in America and Europe, the word may more commonly refer to benign or positive practices of modern paganism"
The term "white peoples" can be problematic out of US and British contexts, because it implies that people that are white (white skin) would have similar point of view in this regard, which is emphasized by the use of America which in this case is unclear if it refers to the USA or to the Continent (like in the term Europe), which makes it even harder to understand from outside the aforementioned contexts. -- Raspacorp ( talk) 21:41, 15 August 2019 (UTC)
Hi,
Requesting you to have a look at
Requesting article expansion help, if above topics interest you.
Thanks and regards
Bookku ( talk) 06:22, 6 September 2020 (UTC)
When will the authors acknowledge the obvious, that the term “witch” refers to a woman? The article goes on, paragraph after paragraph, without saying so. That’s a disservice to readers.
--- I agree. Also, a correction needs to be made. The verse listed in /info/en/?search=Witchcraft#Judaism -- "that witches are to be put to death (Exodus 22:17)." is incorrect. it is Exodus 22:18 2001:558:6042:B:451:549A:F39A:85E3 ( talk) 14:08, 11 November 2020 (UTC) Matthew 11/11/2020
I didn't. My comment begins after the --- The text before that belongs to somebody else, hence why I typed "I agree." I wouldn't be agreeing with myself. 2001:558:6042:B:451:549A:F39A:85E3 ( talk) 07:49, 12 November 2020 (UTC)Matthew
I don't know what you are looking at, but your conclusion is invalid. The Witchcraft talk page was archived on October 27th of this year, showing the initial comment: http://web.archive.org/web/20201027092907//info/en/?search=Talk:Witchcraft 2001:558:6042:B:451:549A:F39A:85E3 ( talk) 05:15, 13 November 2020 (UTC)Matthew
as to the definition of witch, google "define witch": "a woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones, popularly depicted as wearing a black cloak and pointed hat and flying on a broomstick." 2001:558:6042:B:451:549A:F39A:85E3 ( talk) 05:17, 13 November 2020 (UTC)Matthew
There's no male "witches". They're Warlocks or Wizards. 139.138.6.121 ( talk) 21:35, 30 December 2020 (UTC)
The introduction reads as if any of those things that are mentioned are real, e.g. "...those who use supernatural means to communicate with spirits, deities or ancestors." This sounds like there actually are supernatural mean that can be used and like one could really communicate with spirits or gods, not to speak of that also the existence of spirits and gods is only a belief. This also applies to the very first sentance "Witchcraft (or witchery) is the practice of magical skills, spells, and abilities." There are no such things as magical skills, spells, and abilities... I understand that witchcraft is a very important part in many religions, cultures, ethnicities, and throughout history, and that many people believe in it. I also understand that it is a very important topic. But in my opinion the article should not suggest that one can actually e.g. use supernatural powers to talk to dead ancestors. I'm speaking of the introduction here not of the following chapters. Also, let's not forget that tens of thousands of people have been killed in fight of an imaginary evil in the middle ages in europe alone (I just focussed on Europe here, because I live here and I know about the middle age witch hunts. Would be even better to inlcude all victims worldwide in all times). In my opinion, this is worthy to be mentioned in the introduction. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2a00:6020:17ec:fc00:df3:9ac4:4056:d694 ( talk) 08:22, 8 August 2020 (UTC)
In regards to "positive" witchcraft, the lead currently says that "this reversal in nomenclature is primarily a modern, Western, popular culture phenomenon." which is cited to "Ankarloo & Clark, 2001" (with no page number). There are two problems with this:
It would probably be safer to just simplify the sentence to say "this reversal in nomenclature is primarily a modern, Western phenomenon", which should be uncontroversial. The citation to Ankarloo & Clark 2001 should be removed either way. Nosferattus ( talk) 06:37, 26 March 2021 (UTC)
Note that "popular culture" and "pop culture" differ in connotation. 19th-century folk music is a typical example of popular culture (culture made by the working class, not the elites) but pop culture is typically commercial cultural products made by powerful companies for mass consumption. I don't think Wiccanism is mainstream enough to count as "pop culture", though it might count as popular culture or folk culture. Omphaloscope talk 14:57, 1 November 2021 (UTC)
does any one know anything about it or if someone knows a site that I can go to to look it up? Andrewp83 ( talk) 02:28, 24 July 2021 (UTC)
CorbieVreccan mentioned that some key information has been deleted from the introduction and suggested that we discuss this here. I did remove some information so let me explain my thinking. Here is the main edit that removed material: [7].
Deleted concepts and themes:
These are just my opinions, and though I've tried to explain my thinking, they are somewhat subjective. My intuitions may be faulty. If you disagree with any of my revisions, or if I said anything incorrect, please of course feel free to edit the article. Omphaloscope talk 20:52, 1 November 2021 (UTC)
There should be some mention of the terms ' black magic' (which overlaps with witchcraft) vs ' white magic', and 'witch' vs ' cunning folk/ white witch'. As the article makes clear, 'witchcraft' traditionally meant doing harm by magic or supernatural means. Given this, I think we should briefly mention the other side of the coin: the belief that magic could also be used to do the opposite, to help. This important distinction and parallel belief is mentioned in the main body, but not in the lead. It could also be noted that some cunning folk were accused of witchcraft.
Per MOS:INTRO, the lead should also briefly mention witchcraft practices, and the result of witchcraft accusations (witch hunts, witch trials and executions), both of which have their own sections and which make up a significant part of the article. ~ Asarlaí 20:46, 5 November 2021 (UTC)
Re the sentence, "European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions - almost always of women who did not practice witchcraft." The bold part makes sense, and should be kept, as long as we also explain that the term 'witchcraft' can refer to certain rituals that are thought of as witchcraft by their participants. Currently, the article defines witchcraft as the use of supernatural forces to do harm - i.e., something that does not really happen, but is only thought to happen. Since witchcraft cannot really happen, then there is no point in saying that most of the accused women did not practice it. This needs to be cleared up. I suggest introducing the idea earlier in the article that there were in fact witchcraft-like rituals in early modern Europe, and then to change the bolded clause to read "only a small number of whom were involved in witchcraft-like rituals". Another approach is to remove this new information from the introduction since it is covered well enough in the body of the article. Omphaloscope talk 22:22, 27 November 2021 (UTC)
I think a brief mention of Harry Potter is appropriate, but surely this article cannot address every allusion to witches in popular music, politics, etc. The section seems to have been copied in from another source (a paper for school)? I would invite the author to significantly condense this section, maybe to one paragraph. Omphaloscope talk 20:08, 30 November 2021 (UTC)
In a similar vein to the top thread on this page (as of the time of my writing), can we reword Many English "witches" convicted of consorting with demons may have been cunning folk whose fairy familiars had been demonised;[45]
to not sound like fairies are real things that cunning folk actually consorted with? (Just like it would be inappropriate to if an article said something like Many people were convicted of witchcraft because the Martians they communicated with were regarded as demons, as if Martians were real.) Maybe ...folk whose supposed fairy familiars had...
?
-sche (
talk)
20:39, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
Some of those who described themselves as contacting fairies...was formerly higher up?) -sche ( talk) 20:42, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
There seems to be a perennial issue on this article with the introduction and the use of the word "harm". Let me start by saying that I don't disagree with the definition, nor do I want to see this article become muddled in historical revision or anachronism, but it's obviously an incomplete summary of the article's subject, as read from the body. Even outside of 20th century "Wicca" witch, there has always been a broader definition which included healing and fortune-telling. It says so in Malleus Maleficarum and other anti-witch treaties. As the article goes into length to discuss it, I think it should be reflected in the first line. I propose "witchcraft is the use of magic or supernatural powers, usually to harm others, but also as a form of folk-remedies or divination" or even softer still. I believe there are sufficient sources in the body to support this broader definition and I'd even be willing to bet that the current sources in the first sentence elaborate on this further without the need to find others (although I don't have access to them). If possible, the first sentence can go into greater length to differentiate the pejorative and folk meanings, but they are both there and are both the subject of this article. Please let me know your thoughts. 24.251.106.103 ( talk) 19:17, 9 December 2021 (UTC)
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The demonization of witchcraft by organized religions seems to get fairly short shrift in the article. There are mentions about how all the abrahamic religions tell their followers to hate on witches, up to and including advocacy of murdering them; and the sections about individual countries discuss various "witch-hunts" that resulted in the ignorant organized religious people killing many people accused of witchcraft. But there is no text that ties it all together, or that calls the suppression and murder of the believers in witchcraft as an unjust and intolerant mass movement, akin to modern genocides.
Similarly, the article draws no distinction between people who actually believe in supernatural powers (such as indigenous people, Middle Ages peasantry before the Age of Enlightenment, or modern Wiccans), versus fictional works (like Harry Potter, Dracula, or Sword-and-sorcery novels) in which the author themself does not believe in witchcraft, but their writings use the fictional idea of witchcraft as an element of the plot. It seems to me that the use of witchcraft in fiction is far more prevalent today than a literal belief in it, but this is also not apparent in the article. Gnuish ( talk) 07:49, 1 May 2021 (UTC)
Greetings Wiki Community,
I am contacting you regarding the contribution of information relating to the United Kingdom subcategory found within this Wiki page. Evidence surrounding witchcraft literature during the 19th and 20th centuries from Ronald Hutton’s research on Witches and Cunning Folk in British Literature (1800–1940) may add ample documentation toward the subject at hand. Hutton is a published author and credible professor at the University of Bristol, specializing in paganism and British folk customs.
Hutton’s study provides several examples of literature spanning imagery of the witch figure labeled as heroine, victim, and villain. I plan to add examples from the work of the Brothers Grimm and German author Wilhelm Meinhold in demonstration of the punishment by injury or death of the “witch villain” within popular British folkloric tales. I will add literary examples of torture toward witches as illustrated by the works of Friedrich Spee and John Gaule demonstrating the witch as a victim of social cruelties. Finally, I will add information using female liberation as a metaphor in support of the witch portrayed as a heroine using Stella Benson’s scholarly work Living Alone.
I believe these examples of evidence will contribute to the Wiki article on Witchcraft in a meaningful way, supplementing information to a current webpage with room for additional research, data, and material to fully explain the subject. Altogether my contribution will span about 200-300 words!
If anyone would like to comment on these changes, please let me know on this Talk Page or on my Talk Page. Roder.chap ( talk) 22:44, 14 May 2021 (UTC)
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. — Community Tech bot ( talk) 00:22, 22 February 2022 (UTC)
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Dear Wikipedia users please review the following paragraph which contains wrong information as following
Islam Main article: Islam and magic See also: Islam and astrology and Superstitions in Muslim societies
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The wrong Information is
Divination and magic in Islam encompass a wide range of practices, including black magic, warding off the evil eye, the production of amulets and other magical equipment, evocation, casting lots, and astrology.[135]
The right Information is
Divination and magic is totally forbidden in Islam and it is counted as one of the most dangerous crimes that deserves the punishment of execution. In the Holy Quran the sacred book of Islam "as it is believed that this book is only a speech of The Lord of Earth and heaven, the creator of Angels and Mankind to human. It is saved between Muslims without any form of modification by adding or changing or removing to a letter or a word of its contents since it was received by God messenger Mohamed the last prophet via the Angel Gabriel"
God Said: They ˹instead˺ followed the magic promoted by the devils during the reign of Solomon. Never did Solomon disbelieve, rather the devils disbelieved. They taught magic to the people, along with what had been revealed to the two angels, Hârût and Mârût, in Babylon.1 The two angels never taught anyone without saying, “We are only a test ˹for you˺, so do not abandon ˹your˺ faith.” Yet people learned ˹magic˺ that caused a rift ˹even˺ between husband and wife; although their magic could not harm anyone except by Allah’s Will. They learned what harmed them and did not benefit them—although they already knew that whoever buys into magic would have no share in the Hereafter. Miserable indeed was the price for which they sold their souls, if only they knew! (2:102 The Holy Quran)
And in Sahih Muslim book which is considered the second most authentic book which gathered Prophet Muhammad Teachings it is stated in the Chapter of Prohibition of Consultation with Soothsayers and diviners that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, "He who goes to a diviner and believes in him, his Salat (prayers) will not be accepted for forty days."
And it was clarified by Malik ibn Anas a Muslim jurist, theologian, and traditionalist. The Establisher of one of The major Sunni school of thoughts in Islam, which is meant of giving the right interpretation of the Holy Quran and The Prophet Muhammad teachings and assigning the right Islamic Judgments to the cases. In his book The Muwaṭṭa, the first legal work to incorporate and combine The Prophet Muhammad teachings and Islamic law as revealed in the Quran: Malik said, "The sorcerer is the one who uses sorcery for himself and no one else uses that for him. It is like the one about whom Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'They know the one who devotes himself to it will have no share in the Next World.' (Sura 2 ayat 102) I think that that person is killed if he does that himself."
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Legitimacy of practising witchcraft is disputed. Most of Islamic traditions distinguishes magic between good magic and black magic. al-Razi and Ibn Sina, describe that magic is merely a tool and only the outcome determines whether or not the act of magic was legitimate or not.[136]
The right Information is
Islam recognizes that there is other intelligent lives aside from human, and it was referred by the Holy Quran to some of these creatures with details about their capabilities and behavior. But the only permitted communication is between a human and his creator which communicate with us via Prophets, Holy Books and Prayers Only. There is no permitted practices of magic in Islam of any kind. There is no permitted relations between Muslims and any spiritual existence except for God the Lord of Earth and All Creation not even with the Angels of God. The message of God to human in his holy books, seems to be the same ever since as far as we go back in research as an Example of this appear in the information of the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
— Luke 1:26-38 - the Holy Bible
19:16 And mention in the Book ˹O Prophet, the story of˺ Mary when she withdrew from her family to a place in the east, 19:17 screening herself off from them. Then We sent to her Our angel, ˹Gabriel,˺ appearing before her as a man, perfectly formed. 19:18 She appealed, “I truly seek refuge in the Most Compassionate from you! ˹So leave me alone˺ if you are God-fearing.” 19:19 He responded, “I am only a messenger from your Lord, ˹sent˺ to bless you with a pure son.” 19:20 She wondered, “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me, nor am I unchaste?” 19:21 He replied, “So will it be! Your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me. And so will We make him a sign for humanity and a mercy from Us.’ It is a matter ˹already˺ decreed.”
— Surat Maryam - the Holy Quran
2:97 Say (O Muhammad Peace be upon him): "Whoever is an enemy to Jibrael (Gabriel) (let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this Quran) down to your heart by Allah's Permission, confirming what came before it [i.e. the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] and guidance and glad tidings for the believers.
— Surat Baqarah - the Holy Quran
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The wrong Information is
Al-Ghazali, although admitting the reality of magic, regards learning all sorts of magic as forbidden.[136] Ibn al-Nadim argues that good supernatural powers are received from God after purifying the soul, while sorcerers please devils and commit acts of disobedience and sacrifes to demons.[137] Whether or not sorcery is accessed by acts of piety or disobedience is often seen as an indicator whether magic is licit or illicit.[138] Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, a disciple of Ibn Taimiyya, who became the major source for Wahhabism, disregards magic, including exorcisms, entirely as superstition.[139] Ibn Khaldun brands sorcery, talismans, and prestidigitation as forbidden and illegal.[140] Tabasi did not subscribed to the rationalized framework of magic of most Ash'arite theologians, but only offered a wide range of rituals to perform sorcery. Yet he agrees that only magic in accordance with sharia is permissible.[136] Most of Islamic traditions distinguishes magic between good magic and black magic. Miracles belong to licit magic and are considered gifts of God.
The right Information is
Magic as defined as the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces is totally prohibited in Islam and there is no any kind of Magic practices is allowed.
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The wrong Information is
The reality of magic is confirmed by the Quran. The Quran itself is said to bestow magical blessings upon hearers and heal them, based on al-Isra.[141] Solomon had the power to speak with animals and jinn, and command devils, which is only given to him with God's permission.[Quran 27:19][142] Surah Al-Falaq is used as a prayer to God to ward off black magic and is, according to hadith-literature, revealed to Muhammad to protect him against Jann the ancestor of the jinn[143] Muhammad was falsely accused of being a magician by his opponents.[Quran 10:2][144] The idea that devils teach magic is confirmed in Al-Baqara. A pair of fallen angels named Harut and Marut is also mentioned to tempt people into learning sorcery.
The right Information is
The reality of magic is confirmed by the Quran as an evil force and an a dangerous lethal enemy to human in many verses of the Holy Quran.
20:69 Cast what is in your right hand, and it will swallow up what they have made, for what they have made is no more than a magic made. And magicians can never succeed wherever they go.” — Surat Baqarah - the Holy Quran The above conversation between God and prophet Moses in the event of meeting sorcerers. The same incident also mentioned in the Holy Bible.
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
Exodus 7:10–12
Note There are nearly 600 years between Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Jesus according, and each holy script sent in different location with different language more than 1000 years back from year 2022 at a time where no any way of communication and transportation aside from animals
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Scholars of the history of religion have linked several magical practises in Islam with pre-Islamic Turkish and East African customs. Most notable of these customs is the Zār.[145][146]
The right Information is
The Zār is pure magic rituals and it is not connected to Islam by any way. Due to the strong tie between God and Man that is developed by Islamic religion, and the self-spiritual purification guidelines which is obligatory on Muslims by not committing sins that harm the person himself or other people or any animal or living creatures or planet or land. Muslims are not allowed to fight or solve the problems which is caused by magic or the effect of evil spirituel force in the same way. The only possible way is by praying to God, even the Quranic script which is known to be read to fight the evil spirits says the following:
In the name of God "Allah", the Merciful, the Compassionate Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak from the evil of whatever He has created, and from the evil of the night when it grows dark, and from the evil of those ˹witches casting spells by˺ blowing onto knots, and from the evil of an envier when they envy.”
- Surah Al-Falaq - The Holy Quran
In the name of God "Allah", the Merciful, the Compassionate Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind, the Master of humankind, the God of humankind, from the evil of the lurking whisperer— who whispers into the hearts of humankind— from among jinn and humankind.”
- Surah An-Nas - The Holy Quran
In the name of God "Allah", the Merciful, the Compassionate 2:255 Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him, the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who could possibly intercede with Him without His permission? He ˹fully˺ knows what is ahead of them and what is behind them, but no one can grasp any of His knowledge—except what He wills ˹to reveal˺. His Seat1 encompasses the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of both does not tire Him. For He is the Most High, the Greatest.2
- Surah Al-Baqarah - The Holy Quran
It was stated in Sahih al-Bukhari which is Regarded as the most authentic and authoritative book gathered Prophet Muhammad Teachings, as Narrated by Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ordered me to guard the Zakat revenue of Ramadan. Then somebody came to me and started stealing from the foodstuff. I caught him and said, "I will take you to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)!" Then Abu Huraira described the whole narration and said: That person said (to me), "(Please don't take me to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and I will tell you a few words by which Allah will benefit you.) When you go to your bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi, (2.255) for then there will be a guard from Allah who will protect you all night long, and Satan will not be able to come near you till dawn." (When the Prophet (ﷺ) heard the story) he said (to me), "He (who came to you at night) told you the truth although he is a liar; and it was Satan."
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From the witching community, this article seriously needs editing. Please remove, 'witchcraft is usually used to harm others ' then remove protections or hand them over to someone that knows what witchcraft is and isn't stereotyping, discriminating or outright lying. If this was done on the christian pages, I'm sure there would be an uproar.
If you would like to educate yourselves, add kitchen witch, hedge witch, green witch, divination and practices most witches do use. 92.3.20.72 ( talk) 17:30, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
@ Asarlaí and CorbieVreccan: While the "harmful magic" definition is likely the most common, I disagree that our current lead properly reflects the balance of competing definitions used in current academic sources (especially if you are including religious studies and feminist studies). Ronald Hutton, Professor of History at the University of Bristol, who has written several books about witchcraft, presents a good overview of the tension between the different definitions, which I think would be useful for informing our discussion here:
The standard scholarly definition of [a witch] was summed up in 1978 by a leading expert in the anthropology of religion, Rodney Needham, as 'someone who causes harm to others by mystical means.' ... That usage has persisted till the present among anthropologists and scholars of extra-European peoples ... That is, however, only one current usage of the word. In fact, Anglo-American senses of it now take at least four different forms, although the one discussed above seems to still be the most widespread and frequent. The others define the witch figure as any person who uses magic (although those who employ it for beneficial purposes are often popularly distinguished as 'good' or 'white' witches); or as the practitioner of a particular kind of nature-based Pagan religion; or as a symbol of independent female authority and resistance to male domination. All have validity in the present, and to call anybody wrong for using any one of them would be to reveal oneself as bereft of general knowledge and courtesy, as well as scholarship ... Although the latter two are distinctively modern senses of the word, rooted in the nineteenth century but flowering in the late twentieth, the others are both many centuries old.
— Hutton, The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present, Yale University Press, 2018
We need to present all these conflicting definitions with proper context, not awkwardly shoe-horn the subject into one definition which doesn't reflect actual usage in the balance of sources. A hatnote and brief sentence about Wicca at the end barely scratches the surface. And as Hutton argues, the idea of witchcraft as simply the practice of magic (regardless of whether it is harmful, neutral, or beneficial) isn't a modern, pop-culture invention. This definition has been around for many centuries, it just happens to be quite popular at the moment. Nosferattus ( talk) 19:45, 15 February 2022 (UTC)
Please allow editing of this page by people who are less biased. 49.196.235.200 ( talk) 13:49, 23 March 2022 (UTC)
As is the pattern, as soon as the protection expired, the same pattern of unsourced / OR / opinion edits without engaging on talk resumed. I am going to reinstate the semi-protection. As I also edit here occasionally, if anyone has an issue with this, please feel free to bring this up here or at WP:RFPP. - CorbieVreccan ☊ ☼ 16:16, 15 July 2022 (UTC)
Since there seems to be disagreement about the wording of the short description, I'd like to survey editors for their opinion on the best wording:
A. Practice of magic, usually to cause harm
B. Practice of magic
If you have another suggestion, feel free to propose it.
Nosferattus (
talk)
19:30, 1 August 2022 (UTC)
I'm not the first person to say this, but witchcraft was not used to harm. This page is inaccurate and they've made it unable to edit, purposefully I'm quite sure. False information like this is the exact reason the witch trials happened to begin with, and it's now 2023, and I feel like people are still living in medieval times. Witchcraft was most often used to heal, and witches are credited with protecting crops, livestock, and healing sick people of the villages. Everyone knew if you had an illness, or any problem, go see the village witch! It wasn't until white "christian" colonizers came along and pumped fear into everyone that witches became seen as "evil." This page NEEDS to be updated and corrected as this is just completely false information that does nothing but harm, which witches never did. It's more than high time that people evolved their brains beyond the dark ages. Witchfairy2802 ( talk) 00:06, 19 February 2023 (UTC)
I am a person who does witchcraft and it’s definitions like this that make me mad. WITCHCRAFT IS NOT ALWAYS USED TO HARM. There are so many people who do gold with witchcraft. It’s a practice of magic, that’s the definition. Get your facts straight, thank you. 174.100.10.18 ( talk) 00:13, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
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106.51.166.180 ( talk) 10:00, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
witchcraft is not used to harm others. ai would request that be corrected. its simply using nature to get energies and powers from and transformation
@ Randy Kryn: please read the sources and talk page. Editors have worked hard to come to the version we have. You will need consensus for the changes you want to make. Also, this is not a BLP. - CorbieVreccan ☊ ☼ 23:05, 18 May 2023 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
This post is an insult to witchcraft! 74.75.145.117 ( talk) 03:50, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
This "information" is offensive if another religion was described with such discrimination it would be taken down! BB x 2.125.129.51 ( talk) 16:27, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
Withcraft is not evil although i can be used to hurt others that rarely ever happens! Please change thay begining part I am a witch and it hurt me deeply to see witch craft be so demonized like that. 2604:6400:460E:2A01:2D77:59A0:D888:3623 ( talk) 05:26, 8 December 2022 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
It is traditionally used for quite the opposite. Wikipedia articles are supposed to be written in a neutral point of view, right? This seems pretty negative towards this religion and belief system. Ashertheaxolotl ( talk) 07:52, 16 July 2023 (UTC)
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Archive 1 | ← | Archive 3 | Archive 4 | Archive 5 | Archive 6 | Archive 7 | → | Archive 10 |
I came across this problem by a roundabout route, but it seems best to set it out in a more logical order.
Witchcraft is in a Wikidata item with 59 entries: wikidata:Q259745. There's one rather glaring omission - German. That's because the German article is in a different Wikidata item altogether: wikidata:Q1616828, with 57 entries. Some languages are in both Wikidata items, for varying reasons. (1) nl:Hekserij is in Q259745; but the Dutch redirect nl:Heks (persoon) to it is in Q1616828. (2) fr:Sorcier is in Q1616828 but fr:Sorcellerie is in Q259745. (3) Witchcraft is in Q259745, as is simple:Witchcraft; but simple:Witch is in Q1616828.
( Witch redirects to Witchcraft. English 'witch' and German ' de:Hexe' are one-for-one equivalents in both directions; but, 'witchcraft' and 'Hexe' are in different Wikidata items.)
DAB page Ragana equates lt:Ragana and lv:Ragana; but the former is in Q1616828 and the latter is in Q259745. (This was where I spotted the problem.) Some pictures, e.g. File:Baldung Hexen 1508 kol.JPG are used in both groups.
Q259745 (which includes the English article Witchcraft} does not link in any way to 11 articles in Q1616828.
IMO this is too complex a problem for a WP:BOLD attempt by any single editor, and requires discussion and consensus. I recognise that problems in non-English Wikis are not our concern, but we can at least set our own house in order. One solution might be to turn the redirect Witch into a standalone article and to add it to Q1616828, which would have no impact on non-English Wikis but would help English readers to find articles in those other languages, and I propose it. Other editors may have other opinions; the discussion is open.
I am notifying the WP:WikiProjects listed on this Talk Page of this discussion. Narky Blert ( talk) 21:35, 16 April 2018 (UTC)
Why would witch craft be considered bad yet it involves use of only nature William POWERZ ( talk) 11:09, 22 December 2018 (UTC)
If only you guys knew what it would feel like coz its all the same be it a witch or a Christian, a Muslim, any religion is supposed to be respected and if u disguise it then just stay away but don't oppose it
Ian Thomson try to understand this situation its like you are opposing a religion please put your self in their shoes and your religion is being opposed just think about it
If there was a way then I would like to know The Late Bridget Bishop's children so that I could get to know all the accusations made against her and I promise I will let you know that she was not bad at all . — Preceding unsigned comment added by William POWERZ ( talk • contribs)
Still grounds for prosecution. See https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45983540 Zezen ( talk) 00:27, 24 July 2019 (UTC)
In the article, the following text: "In the modern era, especially among younger, urban and white peoples in America and Europe, the word may more commonly refer to benign or positive practices of modern paganism"
The term "white peoples" can be problematic out of US and British contexts, because it implies that people that are white (white skin) would have similar point of view in this regard, which is emphasized by the use of America which in this case is unclear if it refers to the USA or to the Continent (like in the term Europe), which makes it even harder to understand from outside the aforementioned contexts. -- Raspacorp ( talk) 21:41, 15 August 2019 (UTC)
Hi,
Requesting you to have a look at
Requesting article expansion help, if above topics interest you.
Thanks and regards
Bookku ( talk) 06:22, 6 September 2020 (UTC)
When will the authors acknowledge the obvious, that the term “witch” refers to a woman? The article goes on, paragraph after paragraph, without saying so. That’s a disservice to readers.
--- I agree. Also, a correction needs to be made. The verse listed in /info/en/?search=Witchcraft#Judaism -- "that witches are to be put to death (Exodus 22:17)." is incorrect. it is Exodus 22:18 2001:558:6042:B:451:549A:F39A:85E3 ( talk) 14:08, 11 November 2020 (UTC) Matthew 11/11/2020
I didn't. My comment begins after the --- The text before that belongs to somebody else, hence why I typed "I agree." I wouldn't be agreeing with myself. 2001:558:6042:B:451:549A:F39A:85E3 ( talk) 07:49, 12 November 2020 (UTC)Matthew
I don't know what you are looking at, but your conclusion is invalid. The Witchcraft talk page was archived on October 27th of this year, showing the initial comment: http://web.archive.org/web/20201027092907//info/en/?search=Talk:Witchcraft 2001:558:6042:B:451:549A:F39A:85E3 ( talk) 05:15, 13 November 2020 (UTC)Matthew
as to the definition of witch, google "define witch": "a woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones, popularly depicted as wearing a black cloak and pointed hat and flying on a broomstick." 2001:558:6042:B:451:549A:F39A:85E3 ( talk) 05:17, 13 November 2020 (UTC)Matthew
There's no male "witches". They're Warlocks or Wizards. 139.138.6.121 ( talk) 21:35, 30 December 2020 (UTC)
The introduction reads as if any of those things that are mentioned are real, e.g. "...those who use supernatural means to communicate with spirits, deities or ancestors." This sounds like there actually are supernatural mean that can be used and like one could really communicate with spirits or gods, not to speak of that also the existence of spirits and gods is only a belief. This also applies to the very first sentance "Witchcraft (or witchery) is the practice of magical skills, spells, and abilities." There are no such things as magical skills, spells, and abilities... I understand that witchcraft is a very important part in many religions, cultures, ethnicities, and throughout history, and that many people believe in it. I also understand that it is a very important topic. But in my opinion the article should not suggest that one can actually e.g. use supernatural powers to talk to dead ancestors. I'm speaking of the introduction here not of the following chapters. Also, let's not forget that tens of thousands of people have been killed in fight of an imaginary evil in the middle ages in europe alone (I just focussed on Europe here, because I live here and I know about the middle age witch hunts. Would be even better to inlcude all victims worldwide in all times). In my opinion, this is worthy to be mentioned in the introduction. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2a00:6020:17ec:fc00:df3:9ac4:4056:d694 ( talk) 08:22, 8 August 2020 (UTC)
In regards to "positive" witchcraft, the lead currently says that "this reversal in nomenclature is primarily a modern, Western, popular culture phenomenon." which is cited to "Ankarloo & Clark, 2001" (with no page number). There are two problems with this:
It would probably be safer to just simplify the sentence to say "this reversal in nomenclature is primarily a modern, Western phenomenon", which should be uncontroversial. The citation to Ankarloo & Clark 2001 should be removed either way. Nosferattus ( talk) 06:37, 26 March 2021 (UTC)
Note that "popular culture" and "pop culture" differ in connotation. 19th-century folk music is a typical example of popular culture (culture made by the working class, not the elites) but pop culture is typically commercial cultural products made by powerful companies for mass consumption. I don't think Wiccanism is mainstream enough to count as "pop culture", though it might count as popular culture or folk culture. Omphaloscope talk 14:57, 1 November 2021 (UTC)
does any one know anything about it or if someone knows a site that I can go to to look it up? Andrewp83 ( talk) 02:28, 24 July 2021 (UTC)
CorbieVreccan mentioned that some key information has been deleted from the introduction and suggested that we discuss this here. I did remove some information so let me explain my thinking. Here is the main edit that removed material: [7].
Deleted concepts and themes:
These are just my opinions, and though I've tried to explain my thinking, they are somewhat subjective. My intuitions may be faulty. If you disagree with any of my revisions, or if I said anything incorrect, please of course feel free to edit the article. Omphaloscope talk 20:52, 1 November 2021 (UTC)
There should be some mention of the terms ' black magic' (which overlaps with witchcraft) vs ' white magic', and 'witch' vs ' cunning folk/ white witch'. As the article makes clear, 'witchcraft' traditionally meant doing harm by magic or supernatural means. Given this, I think we should briefly mention the other side of the coin: the belief that magic could also be used to do the opposite, to help. This important distinction and parallel belief is mentioned in the main body, but not in the lead. It could also be noted that some cunning folk were accused of witchcraft.
Per MOS:INTRO, the lead should also briefly mention witchcraft practices, and the result of witchcraft accusations (witch hunts, witch trials and executions), both of which have their own sections and which make up a significant part of the article. ~ Asarlaí 20:46, 5 November 2021 (UTC)
Re the sentence, "European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions - almost always of women who did not practice witchcraft." The bold part makes sense, and should be kept, as long as we also explain that the term 'witchcraft' can refer to certain rituals that are thought of as witchcraft by their participants. Currently, the article defines witchcraft as the use of supernatural forces to do harm - i.e., something that does not really happen, but is only thought to happen. Since witchcraft cannot really happen, then there is no point in saying that most of the accused women did not practice it. This needs to be cleared up. I suggest introducing the idea earlier in the article that there were in fact witchcraft-like rituals in early modern Europe, and then to change the bolded clause to read "only a small number of whom were involved in witchcraft-like rituals". Another approach is to remove this new information from the introduction since it is covered well enough in the body of the article. Omphaloscope talk 22:22, 27 November 2021 (UTC)
I think a brief mention of Harry Potter is appropriate, but surely this article cannot address every allusion to witches in popular music, politics, etc. The section seems to have been copied in from another source (a paper for school)? I would invite the author to significantly condense this section, maybe to one paragraph. Omphaloscope talk 20:08, 30 November 2021 (UTC)
In a similar vein to the top thread on this page (as of the time of my writing), can we reword Many English "witches" convicted of consorting with demons may have been cunning folk whose fairy familiars had been demonised;[45]
to not sound like fairies are real things that cunning folk actually consorted with? (Just like it would be inappropriate to if an article said something like Many people were convicted of witchcraft because the Martians they communicated with were regarded as demons, as if Martians were real.) Maybe ...folk whose supposed fairy familiars had...
?
-sche (
talk)
20:39, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
Some of those who described themselves as contacting fairies...was formerly higher up?) -sche ( talk) 20:42, 13 January 2022 (UTC)
There seems to be a perennial issue on this article with the introduction and the use of the word "harm". Let me start by saying that I don't disagree with the definition, nor do I want to see this article become muddled in historical revision or anachronism, but it's obviously an incomplete summary of the article's subject, as read from the body. Even outside of 20th century "Wicca" witch, there has always been a broader definition which included healing and fortune-telling. It says so in Malleus Maleficarum and other anti-witch treaties. As the article goes into length to discuss it, I think it should be reflected in the first line. I propose "witchcraft is the use of magic or supernatural powers, usually to harm others, but also as a form of folk-remedies or divination" or even softer still. I believe there are sufficient sources in the body to support this broader definition and I'd even be willing to bet that the current sources in the first sentence elaborate on this further without the need to find others (although I don't have access to them). If possible, the first sentence can go into greater length to differentiate the pejorative and folk meanings, but they are both there and are both the subject of this article. Please let me know your thoughts. 24.251.106.103 ( talk) 19:17, 9 December 2021 (UTC)
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The demonization of witchcraft by organized religions seems to get fairly short shrift in the article. There are mentions about how all the abrahamic religions tell their followers to hate on witches, up to and including advocacy of murdering them; and the sections about individual countries discuss various "witch-hunts" that resulted in the ignorant organized religious people killing many people accused of witchcraft. But there is no text that ties it all together, or that calls the suppression and murder of the believers in witchcraft as an unjust and intolerant mass movement, akin to modern genocides.
Similarly, the article draws no distinction between people who actually believe in supernatural powers (such as indigenous people, Middle Ages peasantry before the Age of Enlightenment, or modern Wiccans), versus fictional works (like Harry Potter, Dracula, or Sword-and-sorcery novels) in which the author themself does not believe in witchcraft, but their writings use the fictional idea of witchcraft as an element of the plot. It seems to me that the use of witchcraft in fiction is far more prevalent today than a literal belief in it, but this is also not apparent in the article. Gnuish ( talk) 07:49, 1 May 2021 (UTC)
Greetings Wiki Community,
I am contacting you regarding the contribution of information relating to the United Kingdom subcategory found within this Wiki page. Evidence surrounding witchcraft literature during the 19th and 20th centuries from Ronald Hutton’s research on Witches and Cunning Folk in British Literature (1800–1940) may add ample documentation toward the subject at hand. Hutton is a published author and credible professor at the University of Bristol, specializing in paganism and British folk customs.
Hutton’s study provides several examples of literature spanning imagery of the witch figure labeled as heroine, victim, and villain. I plan to add examples from the work of the Brothers Grimm and German author Wilhelm Meinhold in demonstration of the punishment by injury or death of the “witch villain” within popular British folkloric tales. I will add literary examples of torture toward witches as illustrated by the works of Friedrich Spee and John Gaule demonstrating the witch as a victim of social cruelties. Finally, I will add information using female liberation as a metaphor in support of the witch portrayed as a heroine using Stella Benson’s scholarly work Living Alone.
I believe these examples of evidence will contribute to the Wiki article on Witchcraft in a meaningful way, supplementing information to a current webpage with room for additional research, data, and material to fully explain the subject. Altogether my contribution will span about 200-300 words!
If anyone would like to comment on these changes, please let me know on this Talk Page or on my Talk Page. Roder.chap ( talk) 22:44, 14 May 2021 (UTC)
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:
Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. — Community Tech bot ( talk) 00:22, 22 February 2022 (UTC)
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Dear Wikipedia users please review the following paragraph which contains wrong information as following
Islam Main article: Islam and magic See also: Islam and astrology and Superstitions in Muslim societies
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The wrong Information is
Divination and magic in Islam encompass a wide range of practices, including black magic, warding off the evil eye, the production of amulets and other magical equipment, evocation, casting lots, and astrology.[135]
The right Information is
Divination and magic is totally forbidden in Islam and it is counted as one of the most dangerous crimes that deserves the punishment of execution. In the Holy Quran the sacred book of Islam "as it is believed that this book is only a speech of The Lord of Earth and heaven, the creator of Angels and Mankind to human. It is saved between Muslims without any form of modification by adding or changing or removing to a letter or a word of its contents since it was received by God messenger Mohamed the last prophet via the Angel Gabriel"
God Said: They ˹instead˺ followed the magic promoted by the devils during the reign of Solomon. Never did Solomon disbelieve, rather the devils disbelieved. They taught magic to the people, along with what had been revealed to the two angels, Hârût and Mârût, in Babylon.1 The two angels never taught anyone without saying, “We are only a test ˹for you˺, so do not abandon ˹your˺ faith.” Yet people learned ˹magic˺ that caused a rift ˹even˺ between husband and wife; although their magic could not harm anyone except by Allah’s Will. They learned what harmed them and did not benefit them—although they already knew that whoever buys into magic would have no share in the Hereafter. Miserable indeed was the price for which they sold their souls, if only they knew! (2:102 The Holy Quran)
And in Sahih Muslim book which is considered the second most authentic book which gathered Prophet Muhammad Teachings it is stated in the Chapter of Prohibition of Consultation with Soothsayers and diviners that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, "He who goes to a diviner and believes in him, his Salat (prayers) will not be accepted for forty days."
And it was clarified by Malik ibn Anas a Muslim jurist, theologian, and traditionalist. The Establisher of one of The major Sunni school of thoughts in Islam, which is meant of giving the right interpretation of the Holy Quran and The Prophet Muhammad teachings and assigning the right Islamic Judgments to the cases. In his book The Muwaṭṭa, the first legal work to incorporate and combine The Prophet Muhammad teachings and Islamic law as revealed in the Quran: Malik said, "The sorcerer is the one who uses sorcery for himself and no one else uses that for him. It is like the one about whom Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'They know the one who devotes himself to it will have no share in the Next World.' (Sura 2 ayat 102) I think that that person is killed if he does that himself."
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The wrong Information is
Legitimacy of practising witchcraft is disputed. Most of Islamic traditions distinguishes magic between good magic and black magic. al-Razi and Ibn Sina, describe that magic is merely a tool and only the outcome determines whether or not the act of magic was legitimate or not.[136]
The right Information is
Islam recognizes that there is other intelligent lives aside from human, and it was referred by the Holy Quran to some of these creatures with details about their capabilities and behavior. But the only permitted communication is between a human and his creator which communicate with us via Prophets, Holy Books and Prayers Only. There is no permitted practices of magic in Islam of any kind. There is no permitted relations between Muslims and any spiritual existence except for God the Lord of Earth and All Creation not even with the Angels of God. The message of God to human in his holy books, seems to be the same ever since as far as we go back in research as an Example of this appear in the information of the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
— Luke 1:26-38 - the Holy Bible
19:16 And mention in the Book ˹O Prophet, the story of˺ Mary when she withdrew from her family to a place in the east, 19:17 screening herself off from them. Then We sent to her Our angel, ˹Gabriel,˺ appearing before her as a man, perfectly formed. 19:18 She appealed, “I truly seek refuge in the Most Compassionate from you! ˹So leave me alone˺ if you are God-fearing.” 19:19 He responded, “I am only a messenger from your Lord, ˹sent˺ to bless you with a pure son.” 19:20 She wondered, “How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me, nor am I unchaste?” 19:21 He replied, “So will it be! Your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me. And so will We make him a sign for humanity and a mercy from Us.’ It is a matter ˹already˺ decreed.”
— Surat Maryam - the Holy Quran
2:97 Say (O Muhammad Peace be upon him): "Whoever is an enemy to Jibrael (Gabriel) (let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this Quran) down to your heart by Allah's Permission, confirming what came before it [i.e. the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] and guidance and glad tidings for the believers.
— Surat Baqarah - the Holy Quran
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The wrong Information is
Al-Ghazali, although admitting the reality of magic, regards learning all sorts of magic as forbidden.[136] Ibn al-Nadim argues that good supernatural powers are received from God after purifying the soul, while sorcerers please devils and commit acts of disobedience and sacrifes to demons.[137] Whether or not sorcery is accessed by acts of piety or disobedience is often seen as an indicator whether magic is licit or illicit.[138] Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, a disciple of Ibn Taimiyya, who became the major source for Wahhabism, disregards magic, including exorcisms, entirely as superstition.[139] Ibn Khaldun brands sorcery, talismans, and prestidigitation as forbidden and illegal.[140] Tabasi did not subscribed to the rationalized framework of magic of most Ash'arite theologians, but only offered a wide range of rituals to perform sorcery. Yet he agrees that only magic in accordance with sharia is permissible.[136] Most of Islamic traditions distinguishes magic between good magic and black magic. Miracles belong to licit magic and are considered gifts of God.
The right Information is
Magic as defined as the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces is totally prohibited in Islam and there is no any kind of Magic practices is allowed.
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The wrong Information is
The reality of magic is confirmed by the Quran. The Quran itself is said to bestow magical blessings upon hearers and heal them, based on al-Isra.[141] Solomon had the power to speak with animals and jinn, and command devils, which is only given to him with God's permission.[Quran 27:19][142] Surah Al-Falaq is used as a prayer to God to ward off black magic and is, according to hadith-literature, revealed to Muhammad to protect him against Jann the ancestor of the jinn[143] Muhammad was falsely accused of being a magician by his opponents.[Quran 10:2][144] The idea that devils teach magic is confirmed in Al-Baqara. A pair of fallen angels named Harut and Marut is also mentioned to tempt people into learning sorcery.
The right Information is
The reality of magic is confirmed by the Quran as an evil force and an a dangerous lethal enemy to human in many verses of the Holy Quran.
20:69 Cast what is in your right hand, and it will swallow up what they have made, for what they have made is no more than a magic made. And magicians can never succeed wherever they go.” — Surat Baqarah - the Holy Quran The above conversation between God and prophet Moses in the event of meeting sorcerers. The same incident also mentioned in the Holy Bible.
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.
Exodus 7:10–12
Note There are nearly 600 years between Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Jesus according, and each holy script sent in different location with different language more than 1000 years back from year 2022 at a time where no any way of communication and transportation aside from animals
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The wrong Information is
Scholars of the history of religion have linked several magical practises in Islam with pre-Islamic Turkish and East African customs. Most notable of these customs is the Zār.[145][146]
The right Information is
The Zār is pure magic rituals and it is not connected to Islam by any way. Due to the strong tie between God and Man that is developed by Islamic religion, and the self-spiritual purification guidelines which is obligatory on Muslims by not committing sins that harm the person himself or other people or any animal or living creatures or planet or land. Muslims are not allowed to fight or solve the problems which is caused by magic or the effect of evil spirituel force in the same way. The only possible way is by praying to God, even the Quranic script which is known to be read to fight the evil spirits says the following:
In the name of God "Allah", the Merciful, the Compassionate Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak from the evil of whatever He has created, and from the evil of the night when it grows dark, and from the evil of those ˹witches casting spells by˺ blowing onto knots, and from the evil of an envier when they envy.”
- Surah Al-Falaq - The Holy Quran
In the name of God "Allah", the Merciful, the Compassionate Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind, the Master of humankind, the God of humankind, from the evil of the lurking whisperer— who whispers into the hearts of humankind— from among jinn and humankind.”
- Surah An-Nas - The Holy Quran
In the name of God "Allah", the Merciful, the Compassionate 2:255 Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him, the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who could possibly intercede with Him without His permission? He ˹fully˺ knows what is ahead of them and what is behind them, but no one can grasp any of His knowledge—except what He wills ˹to reveal˺. His Seat1 encompasses the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of both does not tire Him. For He is the Most High, the Greatest.2
- Surah Al-Baqarah - The Holy Quran
It was stated in Sahih al-Bukhari which is Regarded as the most authentic and authoritative book gathered Prophet Muhammad Teachings, as Narrated by Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) ordered me to guard the Zakat revenue of Ramadan. Then somebody came to me and started stealing from the foodstuff. I caught him and said, "I will take you to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)!" Then Abu Huraira described the whole narration and said: That person said (to me), "(Please don't take me to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and I will tell you a few words by which Allah will benefit you.) When you go to your bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi, (2.255) for then there will be a guard from Allah who will protect you all night long, and Satan will not be able to come near you till dawn." (When the Prophet (ﷺ) heard the story) he said (to me), "He (who came to you at night) told you the truth although he is a liar; and it was Satan."
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From the witching community, this article seriously needs editing. Please remove, 'witchcraft is usually used to harm others ' then remove protections or hand them over to someone that knows what witchcraft is and isn't stereotyping, discriminating or outright lying. If this was done on the christian pages, I'm sure there would be an uproar.
If you would like to educate yourselves, add kitchen witch, hedge witch, green witch, divination and practices most witches do use. 92.3.20.72 ( talk) 17:30, 18 January 2022 (UTC)
@ Asarlaí and CorbieVreccan: While the "harmful magic" definition is likely the most common, I disagree that our current lead properly reflects the balance of competing definitions used in current academic sources (especially if you are including religious studies and feminist studies). Ronald Hutton, Professor of History at the University of Bristol, who has written several books about witchcraft, presents a good overview of the tension between the different definitions, which I think would be useful for informing our discussion here:
The standard scholarly definition of [a witch] was summed up in 1978 by a leading expert in the anthropology of religion, Rodney Needham, as 'someone who causes harm to others by mystical means.' ... That usage has persisted till the present among anthropologists and scholars of extra-European peoples ... That is, however, only one current usage of the word. In fact, Anglo-American senses of it now take at least four different forms, although the one discussed above seems to still be the most widespread and frequent. The others define the witch figure as any person who uses magic (although those who employ it for beneficial purposes are often popularly distinguished as 'good' or 'white' witches); or as the practitioner of a particular kind of nature-based Pagan religion; or as a symbol of independent female authority and resistance to male domination. All have validity in the present, and to call anybody wrong for using any one of them would be to reveal oneself as bereft of general knowledge and courtesy, as well as scholarship ... Although the latter two are distinctively modern senses of the word, rooted in the nineteenth century but flowering in the late twentieth, the others are both many centuries old.
— Hutton, The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present, Yale University Press, 2018
We need to present all these conflicting definitions with proper context, not awkwardly shoe-horn the subject into one definition which doesn't reflect actual usage in the balance of sources. A hatnote and brief sentence about Wicca at the end barely scratches the surface. And as Hutton argues, the idea of witchcraft as simply the practice of magic (regardless of whether it is harmful, neutral, or beneficial) isn't a modern, pop-culture invention. This definition has been around for many centuries, it just happens to be quite popular at the moment. Nosferattus ( talk) 19:45, 15 February 2022 (UTC)
Please allow editing of this page by people who are less biased. 49.196.235.200 ( talk) 13:49, 23 March 2022 (UTC)
As is the pattern, as soon as the protection expired, the same pattern of unsourced / OR / opinion edits without engaging on talk resumed. I am going to reinstate the semi-protection. As I also edit here occasionally, if anyone has an issue with this, please feel free to bring this up here or at WP:RFPP. - CorbieVreccan ☊ ☼ 16:16, 15 July 2022 (UTC)
Since there seems to be disagreement about the wording of the short description, I'd like to survey editors for their opinion on the best wording:
A. Practice of magic, usually to cause harm
B. Practice of magic
If you have another suggestion, feel free to propose it.
Nosferattus (
talk)
19:30, 1 August 2022 (UTC)
I'm not the first person to say this, but witchcraft was not used to harm. This page is inaccurate and they've made it unable to edit, purposefully I'm quite sure. False information like this is the exact reason the witch trials happened to begin with, and it's now 2023, and I feel like people are still living in medieval times. Witchcraft was most often used to heal, and witches are credited with protecting crops, livestock, and healing sick people of the villages. Everyone knew if you had an illness, or any problem, go see the village witch! It wasn't until white "christian" colonizers came along and pumped fear into everyone that witches became seen as "evil." This page NEEDS to be updated and corrected as this is just completely false information that does nothing but harm, which witches never did. It's more than high time that people evolved their brains beyond the dark ages. Witchfairy2802 ( talk) 00:06, 19 February 2023 (UTC)
I am a person who does witchcraft and it’s definitions like this that make me mad. WITCHCRAFT IS NOT ALWAYS USED TO HARM. There are so many people who do gold with witchcraft. It’s a practice of magic, that’s the definition. Get your facts straight, thank you. 174.100.10.18 ( talk) 00:13, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
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106.51.166.180 ( talk) 10:00, 2 April 2023 (UTC)
witchcraft is not used to harm others. ai would request that be corrected. its simply using nature to get energies and powers from and transformation
@ Randy Kryn: please read the sources and talk page. Editors have worked hard to come to the version we have. You will need consensus for the changes you want to make. Also, this is not a BLP. - CorbieVreccan ☊ ☼ 23:05, 18 May 2023 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
This post is an insult to witchcraft! 74.75.145.117 ( talk) 03:50, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
This "information" is offensive if another religion was described with such discrimination it would be taken down! BB x 2.125.129.51 ( talk) 16:27, 9 November 2022 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
Withcraft is not evil although i can be used to hurt others that rarely ever happens! Please change thay begining part I am a witch and it hurt me deeply to see witch craft be so demonized like that. 2604:6400:460E:2A01:2D77:59A0:D888:3623 ( talk) 05:26, 8 December 2022 (UTC)
The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
It is traditionally used for quite the opposite. Wikipedia articles are supposed to be written in a neutral point of view, right? This seems pretty negative towards this religion and belief system. Ashertheaxolotl ( talk) 07:52, 16 July 2023 (UTC)