Diane said,
"those who would
practice what Mogg described below would not have
considered themselves "witches" per se....it would be other Christians
pointing a finger and screaming "Witch" that would be the rule of the
day."
In a sense then, it comes down to
levels/degrees of tolerance that differ in every instance. When the degree
of "otherness" goes beyond the level of tolerance, the unwitcher
labels/stigmatizes the "other."
This makes for an interesting
dilemma when attempting Academic collaboration. In consulting with scholars whom
I assumed to be experts in Latin at least, and the second specializing in witch
trials, I found walls of intolerance that in my naiveté I had not expected.
The first professor/scholar (TAC,
and Princeton graduate), when I was sharing the hexagram imagery as part of my
work on De Magia naturali, said something like, as long as it's not the
five-pointed star--we've been warned about that! End of that effort at
collaboration.
The second a scholar of witch
trials (GTU, TAC graduate, member of the ASE listserv) thought that the Church
had not gone against Pico della Mirandola, so I commented that we have probably
researched different sources. He suggested that I not give it all away
to Spirit in my thesis and translation work. That issue was already a done
deal, as my thesis was near completion and the translation work well underway.
End of that effort at collaboration.
My thesis intimates foul play
regarding the circumstances of Pico's death, but that's probably old news to
more seasoned Medieval scholars researching the field of esotericism anyway.
That probable poisoning-or-what-have-you played an important role in the
De Magia naturali remaining unpublished.
These interactions have
led me to ponder just what church/ideology is behind the trend in Academic
history for "manuscript evidence"? Some claim that the oral stories of
witch trials and hunts and oppressions are blown out of proportion, and
that Academic historians need to stick with manuscript evidence
for accurate numbers oppressed. Does the same church in fact control access
to and interpretation of those manuscripts? Are the majority of prep schools and
elite universities in the US affiliated with or heavily funded by that
church and its members? And who gets to learn Latin anymore anyway? Before
I entered high school most public schools had stopped teaching it.
Having attempted to share my
thesis/DMN work openly with Academia at large, I am now concerned that
this response of intolerance may stifle my contributions. Not paranoia now,
but more likely naiveté before on my part. I have heard that scholars
at major universities (Princeton in one instance) who delve into
occult topics keep to their close-knit group of colleagues and generally have
been very quiet about it.
I will perhaps look into the
possibility of continuing my work under the auspices of a Ph.D. at the
University of Kent, since that would authenticate my Academic
efforts.
Kathryn
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, December 03, 2006 1:49
AM
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC]
Christian/muslim witches
Diane said,
"those who would practice what Mogg
described below would not have
considered themselves "witches" per se....it would be other Christians
pointing a finger and screaming "Witch" that would be the rule of the
day."
In modern Brittany the witch does
not understand themselves to be a witch at all. The identity of the
witch is revealed by the victim of the bewitching or, more likely, an
unwitcher. In many parts of France the Marabout has become a popular
unwitcher. Many of these may be from a Muslim culture. In Brittany the
traditional desenvouteur (there should be an acute accent over the
first e but this editer can't do them :-() still prevails. This is consistent
with Favret Saada's (1977,1980) experiance in the Bocage of Mayenne.
The witching triangle exists in many
cultures. Those I am most familiar with are in sub-Saharan Africa, the
Yoruba and Zulu peoples for instance. I am not aware of this triangle, with
the witch being unaware of their power, existing in the United Kingdom. In
Brittany all actors in the triangle are likely to be Roman Catholic. Their are
some odd practices that may include Pagan survivals but that is mostly
conjecture.
I'm writing up some recent testimonies
from informants in the Landes de Lanvaux of the Morbihan. There, the
accusations were flying as part of family strife.
All the best
Chris
Kimberley