By Lubna Abdel-Aziz This is Samhain! In "witch" vernaculum, it is the time of year in which we pass from light to darkness, symbolised by the death of the god of the sun. Souls of the dead roam freely with the living. Witches and warlocks run rampant amongst us. It is the pagan New Year, also known as Feast of the Dead, November Eve, All Saints' Eve, All Souls' Eve, All Hallows' Eve, or Hallowe'en. The celebration of Hallowe'en has gained popularity around the world, as an occasion to dress up for a costume party. Children go trick or treating for candy and goodies and try to scare each other. Sights and sounds abound, of childhood tales, of elves and fairies, of ghosts and goblins, of jinns and ghouls, and things that go bump in the night. From infancy we harbour and nurture our myths, holding them tight throughout our lives. They are bred by the fear of the unknown that has haunted man since earliest times. Most magic goes at least as far back as 50,000 BC. Psychologically, magic provided a means of establishing some control over mighty nature, mitigating some of early man's anxieties over the unfathomable mysteries of life, death and other natural phenomena. According to scholars more than half the people of the world have always practiced some form of witchcraft. Hallowe'en was first celebrated by the ancient Celts in Ireland in the fifth century BC, on the night of 31 October, then considered the official end of summer. Celtic households extinguished the fires on their hearths to deliberately make their homes cold and undesirable to disembodied spirits. To frighten roving souls, they dressed as demons, hobgoblins and witches. Any villager who appeared to be already possessed would be sacrificed in a bonfire, as a lesson to other spirits contemplating human possession. Such was their fear of the dead. The Romans adopted Celtic Hallowe'en practices, but in 61 AD, they outlawed human sacrifice. The Christians called it All Saints' Eve or All Souls' Eve. They walked from village to village begging for "soul cakes" in exchange for prayers for the dead. Even among modern peoples, magic has many followers. Most tend to forget its failures and emphasise its successes. Anthropologists believe that faith in magic helps reduce fear of the unknown. While witchcraft has always been practiced in Africa, the West Indies, the Near East and among Indian tribes of the Americas, through the centuries Europeans considered it anti-Christian. Nonetheless, witchcraft has led to many widely believed superstitions that flourish to this day. How many of us carry objects we believe bring us good luck? In the Middle East and Europe, we fear "the evil eye" -- a power held by witches enabling them to cause harm by merely looking at us. Crossing the path of a black cat brings fear to the hearts of many, arising from the belief that every witch had a personal demon in attendance called a "familiar", and many "familiars" who lived with, and served their witches, came in the form of a black cat. Click to view caption The Old Testament includes several reference to witches and witchcraft. In Exodus (22:18) the commandment says: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Such Biblical statements not only proved that witches existed, but justified the persecution of those who practiced witchcraft. As a result the Inquisition was established by a series of papal decrees between 1227 and 1235. Pope Innocent IV authorised the use of torture in 1252. At the dawn of the Renaissance a witch craze possessed Europe from about 1450 -1700. Thousands, mostly women, were executed on the basis of so-called "proofs" or "confessions" of diabolical witchcraft -- sorcery practiced through allegiance to Satan -- obtained by means of cruel torture. Hysteria was instigated by a papal bull issued by Pope Innocent VIII in 1484 carrying a distinct anti-feminine tenor, describing vividly the satanic and sexual abominations of witches. The mania spread like wild fire and witch hunting became a daily pastime. People were encouraged to inform on each other and professional witch-hunters were paid a fee for each conviction. With the Age of Enlightenment, persecution of witches declined by the end of the 17th century, but not before the infamous Salem witch trials, which took place in Colonial Massachusetts in 1692. The results were catastrophic -- 140 were accused, 43 afflicted, 19 hanged, one was pressed to death, and as many as 13 died in prison. By that time the hysteria had run its course and little enthusiasm for the persecution of witches remained, in Massachusetts or elsewhere. The advancement of science should have, but did not totally eliminate witches or witchcraft. With the second half of the 20th century a self- revival of pre-Christian paganism occurred in Europe and the US. Founded on "Wicca" (Anglo-Saxon for Witchcraft), it is interpreted simply as the nature and fertility religion of pre- Christian Europe. English writer and self-proclaimed warlock, Gerald Gardner discussed his initiation by a coven of witches in his book Witchcraft Today (1954). The lore and colourful rituals of Wicca and its feeling for nature, spread in the US in the 1960s harmonising well with the countercultural mood of the era, and has continued to prosper during the subsequent decades. Wiccans emphasize the sacred meaning of nature and its cycles and the co-equal role of gods and goddesses, priests and priestesses. It tolerates no animal sacrifice, no Satanism; encourages the love of nature, equality of males and females, and a general sense of wonder and belief in magic. But never fear! Wiccans would not cast a negative spell, for if they did it would come back three times as strong. Its basic tenet is to do whatever you wish as long as you harm no one. Magic is nothing mysterious or supernatural. It simply is the use of naturally occurring energy to produce change in either one's self or the external world. "...contrariwise to the course of nature done by power of Will -- something that could not happen without being specially willed," according to HG Wells. Witches and witchcraft are favourite themes for movie- makers and movie-goers. Scores of films and scores of distinguished directors have tackled the theme. There is the saga of King Arthur, a perennial favourite, and most recently Nicholas Hytner's The Crucible (1996) based on Arthur Miller's timeless play of truth on trial, in Salem Massachusetts. Stanley Kubrick delved in magic in his last work Eyes Wide Shut (2000). No longer frightening as Macbeth's "secret black and midnight hags", witches are now glamorous and desirable. Kim Novak was witch Gillian Holroyd in Bell, Book and Candle (1958). How about Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon and Cher tantalising Jack Nicholson in John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick (1987), or Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in Practical Magic (1998)! Who can forget the chilling Roman Polanski horror classic Rosemary's Baby (1968)! If you have never seen it, perhaps tonight is the night, as you dance around your witch's brew. The phenomenon of the age has been Harry Potter, JK Rowling's boy wizard who turned the literary world up on its heels. Full of mystery and magic, it has cast a spell on all those who read it, or saw the first episode, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), which grossed close to $1 billion. Rowling has denied any ties to modern witchcraft or Wicca, yet her detailed knowledge leaves many sceptical. As you don your costume in readiness for this Hallows' Eve merriment, remember no negative spells please, they only return to you threefold. As a precautionary measure avoid crossing the path of a black cat...... just in case!
