THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | RELIGION | SATANISM

Is Witchcraft Satanic ?

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.religion.wicca,alt.witchcraft,alt.pagan
From: Joseph Littleshoes 
Subject: Re: Is Witchcraft Satanic (&Potter Books Therefore Demonic!)?
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 20:20:12 GMT

Jani wrote:

> "Gemini"  wrote in message
> news:5b261$405787c7$d89e2d68$26638@dcanet.allthenewsgroups.com...
> > Jani wrote:
> >
> > > "Gemini"  wrote
>
> > >>As a pagan, its no suprise that "the devil" was given horns, as
> the god
> > >>in most pagan beliefs is referred to as the "horned-one" and
> depicted
> > >>with antlers, as this made the pagans of the time (actually not
> pagans
> > >>then) seem "evil"
> > >
> > >
> > > Arggghhh - horns are *not* the same as antlers ...
> > >
> >
> > I know that. Very early depictions of "The Devil" were a 1/2 goat
> man
> > with antlers - and almost exact description of "The Horned One" from
>
> > pagan beliefs.
>
> Well, Christianity certainly took various horned and antlered deities
> and
> lumped them all in together as "the devil" wherever representations of
> them
> appeared. But the antlered god and the horned god have different
> origins and
> attributes, since there wasn't a single set of homogenous "pagan
> beliefs".
> Cernunnos isn't much like Pan, just as stags aren't much like goats.
>
> Jani

Theological implications of the "adversary" (the Devil) are one thing,
the pictorial representation, its iconography are another, and can be
traced back to the old male fertility gods of Greece and Rome.  That the
"Devil" is simplistically offered as a religious "scapegoat" is
interesting in its "Baphomet" image but i think Crowley summed it up
very well in his XVth Trump of his Tarot deck, making the predominant
symbol that of the phallus.

A very good, but hard to find book to illustrate this point is "Phallic
art of Pompeii."  But a general survey of the image of the devil from
about the 4th century c.e. on will demonstrate to all but the most
closed minded fundamentalist the reasonableness of the assertion. After
all, it was much easier to demonize an existing image than to invent a
completely new one.
--
Joseph (IO PAN IO PAN) Littleshoes

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races