When Christianity first arrived there was no real change. The people viewed the Mother/Child/Sacrificial King of the Christ mythos as simply another version of their own earlier tales. The mythology of the Goddess cycle with Consort/Mother/Child was often adjusted by conquering Patriarchies.The Priest of the new Christian Religion would often work with the Priest of the Old Religion in the celebrating of seasonal rites. The early groups of the Old Religion (the covens) became known as the benders and shapers of the subtle forces that they had knowledge of. They became known as the "Wit", "Witta", "Wicca", "Wicce",or "Vitki", Irish, Anglo Saxon and Germanic words respectively meaning " to bend or shape". During the 12th and 13th century many temples were built for this new religions' Goddess "Mary." By now Pope Gregory The Great decided to make an attempt to mass convert to Christianity. He did this by building new Christian churches over ancient pagan worshiping sites. He was somewhat successful since the artisans who built the churches were most often pagans. Because of this many of the churches to this date can be seen full of Green Men, quarter guardians and pentacles.

At this time the Church began to truly realize how difficult a rival the Horned God and Fertility Goddess were in their created battle for followers. The early Old Religion had a much more attractive P.R. package than the religion of Christianity with all of its restrictions. Christianity incorporated this information when creating the concept of a totally evil opponent to their own deity. It was no accident that this figure resembled the Horned God. Poetry and the music of the Goddess were still widespread compensating the peoples need for the Goddess in some manner. Pope Gregory also instituted the first Papal Bull in 1233.

In 1324, an Irish coven led by Dame Alice Kyteler was tried by the Bishop of Ossory for worshiping a Non-Christian god. Dame Kyteler was saved because of her title but the rest of her group were burned for heresy. During the next centuries' wars, plagues and crusades advanced over Europe. Joan of Arc lead the armies of France to victory. She was popularly bruited as a sorceress and originally alleged a witch, but she was officially condemned as a heretic and was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431, as a relapsed heretic. This fact indicates the embryonic stages of Witchcraft accusations, when in 1431 it was much simpler to secure a conviction for heresy rather than sorcery. Unfortunately within the century the reverse would be true.

During this time the stability of the Medieval Church was shaken and the feudal system was breaking down. The Christian Church was swept by religious revolts that Church felt it could no longer tolerate. In 1494 The Papal Bull of Innocent the VIII unleashed the inquisition against the Old Religion. Issued on December 5, 1494, it served as justification for pitiless persecution. It instituted the of combating the "Devil" and saving mankind from "his" clutches. (Three earlier Bulls"Sixtus 4th," were the first to equate sorcery and black magic with heresy, thereby facilitating the task of the Witch hunters. 1473, 1478 & 1483). In 1486 the Malleus Maleficarum, "the Hammer of the Witches," was produced by Dominicans Kramer and Springer, two of Pope Innocent Inquisitors. This laid the ground work for a reign of terror that gripped Europe well into the 18th century. All of this indelibly equated the incorrect definition of the word Witch, created by the Christian Church, as a reality in the minds of many. During this period it is estimated that 9 million men, women and children were tortured, some estimate 85% of those were women and children. They were tortured and killed under this incorrect and convenient (for the Church) definition.


There that should probably explain it better than I can. But we shouldn't bash Christianity just because of its past miskakes.