Witchcraft

Definition Of Witchcraft

Definition Of Witchcraft Details
cAs in anthropology, European witchcraft is seen by historians as an ideology for explaining misfortune; however, this ideology manifested in diverse ways. Reasons for accusations of witchcraft fall into four general categories:[7] A person was caught in the act of positive or negative sorcery A well-meaning sorcerer or healer lost their clients' or the authorities' trust A person did nothing more than gain the enmity of their neighbours A person was reputed to be a witch and surrounded with an aura of witch-beliefs or Occultism
Éva Pócs in turn identifies three varieties of witch in popular belief:

Definition Of Witchcraft

Spells That Work

Spells That Work Details
The most common is termed simple breath-holding spell, in which the manifestation is the holding of breath in end expiration. The usual precipitating event is a frustration or injury leading to the temporary cessation of breathing in end expiration. There is no major alteration of circulation or oxygenation and the recovery is spontaneous.

The second type are the Cyanotic breath-holding spells. They are usually precipitated by anger or frustration although they may occur after a painful experience. The child cries and has forced expiration sometimes leading to cyanosis (blue in color), loss of muscle tone, and loss of consciousness. The majority of children will regain consciousness. The child usually recovers within a minute or two, but some fall asleep for an hour or so. Physiologically, there is often hypocapnea (low levels of carbon dioxide) and usually hypoxia (low levels of oxygen). The events are thought to occur due to a variety of factors, including the fact that the child is not breathing, there is increased intrathoracic pressure secondary to the Valsalva maneuver, and decreased cardiac output. This eventually leads to a significant decrease of circulation to the brain and ultimately, loss of consciousness. There is no "post ictal" phase (as is seen with seizures), no incontinence, and the child is fine in between spells. EEGs are normal in these children. There is no relationship to the subsequent development of seizures or cerebral injury as a consequence of breath holding spells.

In the third type, known as Pallid breath-holding spells, the most common stimulus is a painful event. The child turns pale (as opposed to blue) and loses consciousness with little if any crying. The EEG is also normal, and again there is no post ictal phase, nor incontinence. The child is usually alert within a minute or so. There may be some relationship with adulthood syncope in children with this type of spell.

Spells That Work

Witchcraft For Dummies

Witchcraft For Dummies Details
Witchcraft (also called witchery or spellcraft) is the use of alleged supernatural, magical faculties. This may take many forms, depending on cultural context.Beliefs in witchcraft have historically existed in most regions of the world. This was notably so in Early Modern Europe where witchcraft came to be seen as part of a vast diabolical conspiracy of individuals in league with the Devil undermining Christianity, eventually leading to large-scale witch-hunts, especially in Protestant Europe. Similar beliefs have persisted in some cultures up to the present, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa (e.g. the Bantu witch smellers), and have occasionally resulted in modern witch-hunts. The concept of witchcraft as harmful is normally treated as a cultural ideology providing a scapegoat for human misfortune.[1][2]Since the mid-20th century Witchcraft has become the designation of a branch of contemporary Paganism, most notably including Wiccan traditions, who claim to practice a revival of pre-Abramic spirituality

Witchcraft For Dummies

Thursday, 20 December 2012

Definition Of Witchcraft

Spells That Work

Witchcraft For Dummies