Lest We Forget (The Burning Times)

The year is 1500. Thousands of your friends, relatives, and even enemies are
being tortured, hung, burned and worse. Your local church says that it's in the
name of God to protect others from the devil's ways, but you're not sure you
totally agree with what's going on. Now stop for a moment. Answer these
questions.

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1.) Do you have a birthmark, mole, disfigurement, or do you even have a pimple?
2.) Are you a liberal type?
3.) Do you like to dance?
4.) Do you have a pet cat, mouse, snake, goat?
5.) Do you own a broom?
6.) Do you speak out against what you don't believe is right?
7.) Do you sometimes give your husband or mother grief or do you "obey his/her
every command like you should?"
8.) Have you ever had any enemies or just someone who didn't think highly of
you?
9.) Have you ever lived near someone that lost their job? Had a pet that died?
Had a bad crop? Had a family member that died? That got sick?
10.) Have you ever gone out for a walk by yourself after nightfall?
11.) Has there ever been a hail storm or even a wicked thunder storm in the same
area that you live?
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Answering yes to just one of these questions would have gotten you tried,
persecuted, tortured and either hung or burned at a stake between the dates of
1100-1700. Men, women, children, the elderly, the crippled and even pets, all
ended up as victims during the Witch Craze (aka The Burning Times and Witch
Hunts/Craze). More middle-aged women than any other were tortured and killed
though.

During the times when man was just discovering and concurring "new frontiers",
fears began to develop of the unknown that lie ahead in these "new worlds".

These fears lead to the largest global killing spree on any scale. Many refute
that the Burning times all started with the two girls who claimed they were
"bewitched".

But in fact, the start of the hatred towards Pagans, Wiccans, and Witches
started far, far earlier during the renaissance period. When the Christians
first arrived on the British shores, they encountered the Pagans and their
rituals.

At first they worshipped side by side, but in time the Christians realized that
the Pagans had a much larger following than them so they decided that something
needed to be done to get more followers of Christ in their churches. Pagan
Sabbats were starting to be broken up by groups of people
against their ways.

Pagan temples were being destroyed. And eventually all of the beautiful ways,
practices and the worshipping of the Old Gods was outlawed. The Pagan God was
perverted into the depiction of the Christian Devil to scare away others from
"the temptation of those heathen practices".

Celebrations that turned into Christian Holidays were conveniently dated close
and even on the same date to Pagan Sabbats to further deter others from going to
the gatherings. Pagan followers had to practice in secret and seclusion.

They were no longer sure of who they could trust with their true feelings.
Eventually, the old clans split up in fear of being caught and they moved far
away from the newcomers.

The Christians had the law on their side and they kept a very watchful eye on
their congregation. Anyone with thoughts, notions, or opinions different than
that of the teachings of Christ were shamed, teased, persecuted and forced to
leave or be jailed.

Fear and hatred started to breed...one thing lead to another and the Witch Craze
was starting to happen..

The most infamous Witchcraft Trials was the Salem Witchcraft Trials in Salem,
Massachusetts in 1692. Although only 30 were killed there, it was ironic how a
"fresh start in a New World" ended up as a killing spree on innocent victims.

Reasoning in the trials in the New World included political tensions, land
related grievances, disease and religious repression. Because of the strict
religious society of the time, with it's adamant upbringing of children to
follow the Bible, it created a very strong belief in the Devil.

(By this time the Christians and Catholics has already done a "great job" of
spreading the word that the Pagan God was actually the Devil in the Bible.)

So it only took the hysterics of two young girls ( Elizabeth Parris and Abigail
Williams),one of them was the daughter of Rev. Samuel Parris, to start off the
madness of the Witch Hunts there.

The two girls became interested in the magickal culture of a West Indian slave
named Tituba, who was incidentally was "owned" by Rev. Parris. They started
doing divinations about future husbands, and various other things.

When some of the towns people caught them in the act of doing some of the
divination techniques on their own, they quickly claimed they were bewitched to
do it to save their butts.

Tibtuta, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne were the first named by the two girls and
arrested as the perpetrators of their "bewitchment" on February 29, 1692. From
that point on, neighbors and friends instantly became back-stabbers and foes.
===== http://www.ladyoftheearth.com/witch/...not-forget.txt ========

History writers put the numbers squarely between 40,000 and 100,000, based upon trial records and taking into consideration that not all records have survived or were even taken in the first place. (http://wicca.timerift.net/burning.html)