Some people feel it is necessary to trace back their path into the depths of time and go to great lengths to do so. Without casting aspersions on those who feel this is necessary, personally I think it highly unlikely that any path can be traced back. Yes there are links between traditions and some will have borrowed elements of their philosophy from others that went before it, but to proclaim an unbroken lineage back into the mists of time seems a bit far fetched. But then what do I know. However, I do think it is important to have a basic understanding of the history of magic.
So, the following articles is intended to do just that and provide you with some insight into the history of magic. It is neither intended to be authoritative nor a major work of history. It may be incomplete and inaccurate in places but, at the end of the day, something I think is interesting (and lengthy) at the very least! I have not attempted to cover many of the neo-pagan paths or we would be here forever. If you are interested in the history of a specific path, I suggest that you research it thoroughly, write up an article and send it to me so that I can add it here :-)
A Bit of an Intro
It is important to realise that there are common themes to magical thinking that are found in different times and cultures. In the 1890s, Sir James Frazier, who wrote the Golden Bough, made an exhaustive study of magic around the world. He realised something that is commonly accepted by those who practice magic today: that magic relies on the sympathetic effects of similar shapes, colours and properties, and on the feeling that things which were once in contact continue to act upon each other.
It is, however, difficult to identify those who practised witchcraft, as we know it today, in the early years. The spiritual leaders in Europe were more likely druids who worked primarily with the Sun and occult work seems to have been more shamanic in design than anything else. The knowledge was passed down through the generations through analogies rather than being written down in a straight forward fashion as is often the case throughout religious history. There were almost certainly those amongst the tribes who developed knowledge of herbs, for medicinal purposes, and those herbs would also have been used by shamans to help reach an intoxicated trance state.
In The Beginning
But where did it all start? It is, of course, impossible to say that magic was born on the 27th June 4,500 BCE when Ned the Neanderthal stepped out of his cave and thought, "hmmm maybe I'll discover (or the cynical might say, invent) magic".
But it is, nonetheless, the case that nature worship itself can be traced back to the very earliest of prehistoric human tribes. When you think about it, it is understandable how early humankind, as hunter-gathers, began to create an understanding of the divine based on the animals that they relied upon as food such as the stag. Later as agriculture and husbandry began to develop, along with the intricacy of the human mind and civilisation, an understanding of nature, the changing seasons and the power of, and relationship to, the earth, sun and moon, created a more elaborate set of deities. The worship of and respect for nature's aspects and energies enabled our ancestors to explain the changing seasons and fertility of the earth and animals. However, it is not necessarily true to argue that our ancestors saw themselves as great protectors of the earth as, in the UK anyway, as from around 4000 BCE the ancient practise of deforestation was instigated as trees, woods and forests were cleared to create land to accommodate domesticated plants and animals. These early 'farmers' also proved to be effective at genetically modified breeding (crops and livestock). So much so that the population of England rocketed to approximately one million by 1400 BCE.
But let's look further a field and a little early in time. There is evidence that the earliest agricultural civilisations of the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, as well as other apparently unconnected civilisations across the globe, worshipped both a Goddess and a God, or more accurately saw the divine source of all manifest itself in what could be more easily digested as aspects of various goddesses and gods. It is assumed by many historians that before male-dominated society started to gradually push out a feminine aspect of divinity, the civilisations worshipping goddesses were matriarchal rather than patriarchal. There is, however, evidence that these civilisations were not dominated by either sex. It does not necessarily follow that one gender dominating the other is the only option, or by any means the most ideal. While the Goddesses were of prime importance, leading to the prevalence of feminine values (nurturing, caring, sharing, etc) within those societies, they also worshipped a God, or masculine, values as well. This suggest they found a balance between masculine and feminine that worked as a partnership model rather than a dominator model.
The earliest traces of magical practice are found in the European caves of the middle Palaeolithic Age. These belong to the last interglacial period of the Pleistocene period, which has been named the Aurignacian, after the cave-dwellers of Aurignac, whose skeletons, artefacts and drawings link them with the Bushmen of South Africa. In the cave of Gargas, near Bagneres de Luchon, occur, in addition to spirited and realistic drawings of animals, numerous imprints of human hands in various stages of mutilation.
In making the hand imprints, hands had first been smeared with a sticky substance and then pressed on the rock; others had been held in position to be dusted round with red ochre, or black pigment . Interestingly, most of the imprinted hands have mutilated fingers; in some cases the first and second joints of one or more fingers are wanting; in others the stumps only of all fingers remain. A close study of the hand imprints makes it evident that they are not to be regarded as those of lepers. Indeed, it seems as though the joints were removed for a specific purpose, and on this point there is general agreement among anthropologists. A clue to the mystery is obtained by the magical custom among the Bushmen of similarly removing finger joints. G. W. Stow in The Native Races of South Africa makes reference to this strange form of sacrifice. He once came into contact with a number of Bushmen who "had all lost the first joint of the little finger" which had been removed with a "stone knife" for the purpose of ensuring a safe journey to the spirit world....
Apparently the finger chopping customs of Palaeolithic times had a magical significance. On some of the paintings in the aurignacian caves appear symbols which suggest the slaying with spears and cutting up of animals. Enigmatical signs are another feature. Of special interest are animal-headed figures, some with hands upraised in the Egyptian attitude of adoration, and others apparently dancing like the animal headed dancing gods of the Bushmen. In the Marsonlas Palaeolithic cave there are semi-human faces who seem to be angry with staring eyes and monstrous noses. In the Spanish Cave at Cogul several figures of women wearing half-length skirts and shoulder shawls are represented dancing round a nude male. So closely do these females resemble such as usually appear in Bushmen paintings that they might well, but for their location, be credited to this interesting people. Religious dances among the Bushman tribes are associated with marriage, birth and burial ceremonies; they are also performed to exorcise demons in cases of sickness. "Dances are to us what prayers are to you," an elderly Bushman once informed a European.
Whether the cave drawings and wood, bone and ivory carvings of the Magdelenian, or late Palaeolithic period at the close of the last ice epoch, are of magical significance is a problem on which there is no general agreement. It is significant to find, however, that several carved ornaments bearing animal figures or enigmatical signs are perforated as if worn as charms. On a piece of horn found at Lorthet, Hautes Pyrenees, are beautiful incised drawings of reindeer and salmon, above which appear mystical symbols. An ape-like figure carved on bone was found at Mas d'Azil: on a reindeer horn from Laugerie Basse a prostrate man with a tail is creeping up on all fours towards a grazing bison. These are some of the instances which lend colour to the view that late Palaeolithic art had its origin in magical beliefs and practices--that hunters carved on the handles of weapons and implements, or scratched on cave walls, the images of the animals they desired to capture--sometimes with the secured co-operation of demons, and sometimes with the aid of magical spells.
Egyptian Magic
In Egyptian myth, magic (heka) was one of the forces used by the creator to make the world. Through heka, symbolic actions could have practical effects. All deities and people were thought to possess this force in some degree, but there were rules about why and how it could be used.
Priests were the main practitioners of magic in pharaonic Egypt, where they were seen as guardians of a secret knowledge given by the gods to humanity to 'ward off the blows of fate'. The most respected users of magic were the lector priests, who could read the ancient books of magic kept in temple and palace libraries. In popular stories such men were credited with the power to bring wax animals to life, or roll back the waters of a lake. Real lector priests performed magical rituals to protect their king, and to help the dead to rebirth. By the first millennium BCE, their role seems to have been taken over by magicians (hekau). Healing magic was a speciality of the priests who served Sekhmet, the fearsome goddess of plague.
Lower in status were the scorpion-charmers, who used magic to rid an area of poisonous reptiles and insects. Midwives and nurses also included magic among their skills, and wise women might be consulted about which ghost or deity was causing a person trouble. Amulets were another source of magic power, obtainable from 'protection-makers', who could be male or female. None of these uses of magic was disapproved of - either by the state or the priesthood. Only foreigners were regularly accused of using evil magic. It is not until the Roman period that there is much evidence of individual magicians practising harmful magic for financial reward.
Dawn was the most propitious time to perform magic, and the magician had to be in a state of ritual purity. This might involve abstaining from sex before the rite, and avoiding contact with people who were deemed to be polluted, such as embalmers or menstruating women. Ideally, the magician would bathe and then dress in new or clean clothes before beginning a spell.
Metal wands representing the snake goddess Great of Magic were carried by some practitioners of magic. Semi-circular ivory wands - decorated with fearsome deities - were used in the second millennium BC. The wands were symbols of the authority of the magician to summon powerful beings, and to make them obey him or her.
Ivory Wand
Private collections of spells were treasured possessions, handed down within families. Only a small percentage of Egyptians were fully literate, so written magic was the most prestigious kind of all. Private collections of spells were treasured possessions, handed down within families. Protective or healing spells written on papyrus were sometimes folded up and worn on the body.
A spell usually consisted of two parts: the words to be spoken and a description of the actions to be taken. To be effective all the words, especially the secret names of deities, had to be pronounced correctly. The words might be spoken to activate the power of an amulet, a figurine, or a potion. These potions might contain bizarre ingredients such as the blood of a black dog, or the milk of a woman who had born a male child. Music and dance, and gestures such as pointing and stamping, could also form part of a spell.
Magic was not so much an alternative to medical treatment as a complementary therapy. Surviving medical-magical papyri contain spells for the use of doctors, Sekhmet priests and scorpion-charmers. The spells were often targeted at the supernatural beings that were believed to be the ultimate cause of diseases. Knowing the names of these beings gave the magician power to act against them.
Since demons were thought to be attracted by foul things, attempts were sometimes made to lure them out of the patient's body with dung; at other times a sweet substance such as honey was used, to repel them. Another technique was for the doctor to draw images of deities on the patient's skin. The patient then licked these off, to absorb their healing power.
Many spells included speeches, which the doctor or the patient recited in order to identify themselves with characters in Egyptian myth. The doctor may have proclaimed that he was Thoth, the god of magical knowledge who healed the wounded eye of the god Horus. Acting out the myth would ensure that the patient would be cured, like Horus.
Collections of healing and protective spells were sometimes inscribed on statues and stone slabs (stelae) for public use. A statue of King Ramesses III (c.1184-1153 BC), set up in the desert, provided spells to banish snakes and cure snakebites. A type of magical stela known as a cippus always shows the infant god Horus overcoming dangerous animals and reptiles. Some have inscriptions describing how Horus was poisoned by his enemies, and how Isis, his mother, pleaded for her son's life, until the sun god Ra sent Thoth to cure him. The story ends with the promise that anyone who is suffering will be healed, as Horus was healed. The power in these words and images could be accessed by pouring water over the cippus. The magic water was then drunk by the patient, or used to wash their wound.
All Egyptians expected to need heka to preserve their bodies and souls in the afterlife, and curses threatening to send dangerous animals to hunt down tomb-robbers were sometimes inscribed on tomb walls. The mummified body itself was protected by amulets, hidden beneath its wrappings. Collections of funerary spells - such as the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead - were included in elite burials, to provide esoteric magical knowledge.
'The soul had to overcome the demons it would encounter by using magic words and gestures.' The dead person's soul, usually shown as a bird with a human head and arms, made a dangerous journey through the underworld. The soul had to overcome the demons it would encounter by using magic words and gestures. There were even spells to help the deceased when their past life was being assessed by the Forty-Two Judges of the Underworld. Once a dead person was declared innocent they became an akh, a 'transfigured' spirit. This gave them akhw power, a superior kind of magic, which could be used on behalf of their living relatives
Greek Mystery Schools
Another early tradition derives from the Greek mystery schools. There is much written on this area and, as with Egyptian magic, not all of it outlines a working magical system. The mystery cults were an important part of ancient Greek culture, into which many Greek philosophers were initiated. These cults developed impressive rituals that involved fasting, purification, song and dance, the use of mythology and poetry. It is said that Greek drama developed from these rituals. Many authors have written about the enormous impact these initiations have had upon their understanding -- although the specific nature of the rituals has still remained a secret. Doubtless profound states of consciousness developed.
One example are the rituals of the Eleusinian mysteries which dealt with the myth of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, who was abducted by Hades, Lord of the Underworld, who forced her to become his queen. Demeter entered the Underworld in search of her daughter and, following the intervention of Zeus, Hades agreed to allow Persephone to return to the upper world. However, he tricks her into eating the seeds of a pomegranate and so, although she may live in the upper world for half of the year, she returns to Hades for the remaining half. The full myth better explains the changing seasons. But of the ritual, Manly Palmer Hall in The Secret Teachings of All Ages states:
It is probable that the Eleusinians realized that the soul left the body during sleep, or at least was made capable of leaving by the special training which undoubtedly they were in a position to give. Thus Persephone would remain as the queen of Pluto's realm during the waking hours, but would ascend to the spiritual worlds during periods of sleep. The initiate was taught how to intercede with Pluto to permit Persephone (the initiate's soul) to ascend from the darkness of his material nature into the light of understanding. The fact that initiates maintained they had conquered the fear of death leads one to surmise that these rituals -- akin, perhaps, to the cave rituals of prehistoric humans -- developed a state we now call the out-of-body experience. Pythagoras, Plato and other Greek philosophers were said to have been initiated into these cults -- which are said to have originated in Egypt. The tradition of Hermetic mysticism also claims an origin in the legendary Egyptian-Greek god-sage Hermes Trismegistus.
Greece was, at that time, also famous for its oracles which were generally connected with the temples of the various gods. Generally these oracles operated through a priestess or medium who went into a trance or became possessed by the god of the oracle and uttered prophetic words which were then interpreted by the priests. Their enormous prestige and political influence was attested to by kings and generals who would consult with these oracles before making major decisions.
Beyond Egypt and Greece
The pagan mythology of ancient civilisations spread across from Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece to western and northern Europe arriving in Britain and Ireland at a very early date. As tribes moved and intermingled with others, the mythology that moved with it combined and superimposed upon that which already existed. By the time the Celts arrived in Britain, there was already a flourishing pagan form of worship among the natives based on a horned god.
Those pagan belief systems appear to have been a Solar orientated focus. Places of worship, such as Stonehenge, were aligned to the Sun. The Celts brought with them the ancient nature-based mythology which had gradually changed and developed into a variety of anthropomorphic guises. A theme that remained central to all Celtic belief systems was our connection to spirits, gods and elementals in 'the Otherworld' or another dimension. It is impossible to tell to what degree this contact was prevalent, at least among the ordinary members of each tribe, but the historical records make it quite clear that the belief in birth, death and rebirth, whether in this dimension or another, were very strong. The teachings of the spiritual leaders of the times certainly involved the development of 'second sight' that is evident throughout the mythological texts that have survived. The spiritual leaders were in effect in control even of the political leaders of the times. Kings were held responsible for the success of the tribe, the fertility of the land and were even, it seems, subject to sacrifice in order to maintain that success.
During the years of the Roman Empire a more politically imposed form of paganism was superimposed once again on top of the native belief systems. As the Romans' military might spread throughout Europe, new Gods and Goddesses were introduced that had similar attributes to those they replaced. These Roman deities, themselves drawn largely from Greek and Persian systems which had already been drawn and adapted from Egyptian and Sumerian systems, were constantly changing and were based on anthropomorphic representations totally alien to the Celtic concept.
The Christianised Celtic Church gradually took over the sites of power used by the Druids by building churches on them and many of the pagan deities were transformed into saints. The Celtic Church withstood pressure from its Roman parentage for many years, working much more in the pagan forms of worship than Rome would eventually tolerate.
However, paganism in its natural form survived alongside the new religion, especially in the further reaches of the community, but also amongst the sovereignty who remained stubbornly pagan through many centuries. Kings of England were encouraged by the Church of Rome to turn to Christianity for the sake of their trading situation with the rest of Europe, though this was a long process. It was not until King William Rufus was sacrificed (though some say he was killed by accident) in the New Forest by way of an arrow that the last openly pagan King was replaced on the throne. For several hundred years, books were burnt and people were either hung or burnt as witches throughout Europe in an attempt to wipe out the Old Religion. Accusing a hated neighbour (more often than not a female) of being a witch was to condemn her to the inquisition that rarely seemed to take no for an answer. It is likely that many of those who were tortured, made to confess and subsequently killed were not actually practising witchcraft at all. The unreasonable way that people were treated is typified by the Salem witch trials in the USA which led to many people being accused of witchcraft and several hanged. After an epidemic that caused many to experience violent fits and hallucinations (most likely caused by a toxic fungus on the crops). The medics of the time could find no cause other than the 'supernatural' and blamed witchcraft. Those accused were given the choice to confess or hang - no option to prove their innocence - and many therefore, chose to be hanged.
A Very Short Middle Bit
The most coherent works of magic date from the Middle Ages. The works of Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, Abramelin and John Dee, each give a credible magical system - I don't intend to go into detail here about their work as each would warrant a book in their own right. But when reading texts like the Lesser Key of Solomon which call for bat blood, discrimination becomes important ‚ as does a sense of humour!
Arguably, the two most important sources for high magic are the Corpus Hermeticum and the Kabbalah, which approach the same end from entirely different directions and cultural traditions. The hermetic texts were written in Greek-speaking Egypt in the second century and are concerned with the true place if humanity in the universe and how humanity might obtain power over it. The most important is the Pimander which suggests that divine powers are latent in humans, who can recover them by learning their true natures. The Kabbalah came out of Hebrew rabbinical culture and took its enduring form in the 13th century. It depends on the notion that the universe is structured around ten names or emanations of the One God, which corresponds with the Hebrew alphabet and forms together the single divine name which is also the repository of the informing power of the cosmos. By contemplating and understanding this structure, in effect by ascending it, one can come to know and understand divinity. The aim of both of these is to develop or release the latent spiritual and mental abilities of humanity by using a framework of traditional ritual magic.
Getting More Up-to Date
The return of magic to a position of respect among the educated classes began in London in 1801 when Francis Barrett published his book The Magus. It extensively described magic and the occult, covering topics such as the natural magic of herbs and stones, magnetism, talismanic magic, alchemy, numerology, the elements, and ceremonial magic, and also provided biographies of famous Adepts. Because it was a unique source of occult information in the early 19th century, The Magus was very influential. Barrett wrote from the perspective of a devout Christian who professed to abhor Witches, but his book captured much of the information still known about traditional Witchcraft. Hence, according to Doreen Valiente, his book was much prized by those folk literate enough to read it.
Two generations later, Eliphas Levi, the most influential French occultist of his time, highly praised The Magus. Levi, whose given name was Alphonse Louis Constant, had originally pursued an ecclesiastical career but never completed his final clerical vows. Levi's first and most important book was The Dogma and Ritual of High Magic first published in French in 1856. In The Dogma he linked the twenty-two Major Arcana of the Tarot with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. He also stressed the importance of the magic worker's will power for accomplishing his/her goals. Levi attracted a group of followers including some English occultists. A decade after his death in 1875, his magical theory was incorporated into Golden Dawn by its founders.
No organization better represented the late 19th and early 20th century flowering of Western ceremonial magic than did the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Golden Dawn or OGD). Golden Dawn was part of a larger occult revival that occurred after Enlightenment intellectuals, such as the philosopher David Hume, had heaped scorn on all religious and occult beliefs for more than a century. A magical world-viewpoint, however, perfectly suited the late-19th century Romantic mind.
Two other very different organizations that promoted this occult revival were the Theosophical Society, which preceded Golden Dawn by a dozen years and to some extent served as its model, and the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), an early 20th century group.
Theosophy literally means 'God-knowledge' but it was Blavatsky's occult society that came to completely represent this term. She felt that the Theosophical Society was selected by the Masters to bring a new message to a new age. Her second book, The Secret Doctrine, described distinctive Theosophical doctrine, including a description of the controversial guiding Masters. In Theosophy, the rate of each individual's personal evolution to a God-like status is determined by the type of karma (good or bad) accumulated over several reincarnations. Many Theosophists also believed in astral travel and communication with their Eastern Masters.
Blavatsky lived in London from 1887 onward and was a friend of Dr. William Wynn Westcott, one of Golden Dawn's founders. After her death in 1891, the Theosophical Society split into American and European sections.
The Theosophical Society was the most active occult group from the 1880s to the 1920s. However, its emphasis on Eastern Masters turned off many potential members. Some of these found Golden Dawn's approach, based on the Western Hermetic tradition, to be a more comfortable spiritual path.
The purpose of Golden Dawn according to Israel Regardie was 'to prosecute the Great Work,' which meant that each member was to obtain control of the nature and power of his/her own being in order to achieve union with the Higher-self and so become closer to the Devine. Within Golden Dawn the first order consisted of ten grades (degrees), each corresponding to a Sephirah on the kabbalistic Tree of Life. Like Theosophy, Golden Dawn also claimed to communicate astrally with Secret Chiefs, also known as hidden Masters.
Three of the four founding members of the Golden Dawn were also members of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (the English Rosicrucian society) whose members had to be Master Masons. These were Dr. William Wynn Westcott, a London coroner; Samuel Lidell MacGregor Mathers, a noted occult scholar; and Dr. William Robert Woodman, a retired physician.
In 1907 Aleister Crowley, who had been expelled from the Golden Dawn, began to build a Rosicrucian-style order called Astrum Argentum (or Silver Star) with himself as its head. Its official magazine, the Equinox, began publication in 1909. Later, Crowley joined the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). This German organization was inspired by the ideas of Dr. Karl Kellner, a German high-grade Freemason, occultist, and wealthy industrialist who had a theoretical knowledge of Eastern Tantric sex magic.
And so to Wicca
According to Doreen Valiente, Gerald Gardner was first introduced to Aleister Crowley in 1946 by the late stage magician and Witch Arnold Crowther. Before he died, Crowley granted Gardner a charter to operate an OTO lodge (which he never did) in exchange for a 300- pound 'initiation' fee.
Valiente, who was an initiate in Gardner's 1950s coven, points out that the Gardnerian correspondences for directions and elements are the same as that of Golden Dawn and the general Western Mystery Tradition. Furthermore, dipping the point of the athame into the cup during the Wiccan symbolic Great Rite is derived from the 6th-degree OTO ritual. However, Valiente adds that Gardner's Wiccan rituals have a different flavour than those of Golden Dawn's ceremonial magic, which suggests other origins in addition to Golden Dawn and OTO.
Francis King, a critic of Gardner, wrote in Ritual Magic in England that 'He [Gardner] accordingly hired Crowley, at a generous fee, to write elaborate rituals for the new 'Gardnerian' witchcraft. King states without providing evidence that Gardner had known Aleister Crowley for some time, presumably well before 1946.
Gardner himself, claimed to be an initiate of a witches coven in the New Forest, Dorset, the existence of which has been hotly contested by many historians and wiccans alike. He claimed to have been initiated by Old Dorothy who appears to be an actual person (not a fabrication) as Doreen Valiente (one of Gardner's first initiated under him) said he used to speak fondly of her in many occasions, as one would mention a relative, in one of her letters.
The origins of the beliefs and practices of Gardner have been extracted from numerous sources and items which were experimented by Gardner himself, with probable help from the coven he was a member of are the basis of the Book of Shadows. The current form of the Book of Shadows was further refined by Doreen Valiente, which is often given the title of the "Mother of Witchcraft".
It should be noted that the material is not entirely from the New Forest coven's book of shadows as it was likely that it was deficient of many points due to the secrecy and its relative isolation. Gardner obviously researched many items, for his book Witchcraft Today, and in that research it could be conceivable of a pattern of core principles coined the mysteries could be extrapolated in places where the original was deficient.
The publication of Witchcraft Today and the earlier High Magic's Aid allowed Wicca to grow as people became interested in its principles and beliefs, and gave precedence for existing covens around the world to become more visible. Over time differences began to form in the way that Gardner and others would practice witchcraft. A deviation from the original was the inevitable result as the beliefs and practices were not to everyone's liking, and slight modifications were adopted. Today there are a plethora of paths associated with Wicca some core, some peripheral, but the beliefs and practices all follow average criteria. As with everything there are traditions which closely follow that of the original.
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Exercise Draw a timeline of showing the development of magick to the present time. Don't just use the above article, but do some research of your own to show key events. |