Pre-Christian Superstitions Of Witchcraft In Ancient England

In demonological theology, the familiar spirit was more commonly associated with a second type of witch, one which reflected the majority of biblical references to witchcraft far more accurately than the malefic witch. These were ‘cunning’ or ‘white’ witches, to whom Cooper connected the power of “Diuining, where…strange things are reuealed…[including] the past, present, or [things] to come”, whilst in popular culture they also provided the valuable services of healing and finding lost goods. Although historians have noted that the demonological writers of early Stuart England concentrated much attention on demonising the cunning-witch to wean the populace away from both ‘popish’ and pre-Christian superstitions, the influence of biblical precepts

on the contemporary image of white witches has been neglected. Indeed, the cunning-folk of the seventeenth-century appeared to aptly reflect the witch of the Old Testament, and, as the majority of biblical witchcraft texts are found here, they had much more in common with scriptural witches overall.

Like many of the magical practitioners found in the Bible – such as the Witch of Endor and Pharaoh’s magicians – the cunning-folk of early modern England appeared non-threatening and helpful; and this, argued the demonologists, was exactly why they had to be condemned. As Mason summarised, “those that are counted cunning men…doe at no time looke for God…but for the opposition, and coniunction of the planets”. These practices and powers relate far more clearly to those named in Deuteronomy 18:10-11 than do those of the malefic witch. Furthermore, the theological elite argued that not only did cunning-folk fail to rely on God, they also received their abilities from Satan, and, very much like Simon Magus, sought to be Gods themselves and to be worshipped. Therefore they were guilty not only of witchcraft, but of the sins of pride, blasphemy and

idolatry. As Mason wrote, “the people of Samaria extolled [Simon]…saying…hee was the great power of God.” Moreover, it was common in demonological practice to utilise the texts of Leviticus, such as Lev.20:6, which taught that to turn to such people was to turn from God, and thus to practice “spirituall defilement and Whoredome”, leading God to “set [his] face against that person, and…cut him off from among his people”.

So, if the Book of Job represented the cornerstone of scriptural reference for malefic witches, Clark argues convincingly that the biblical story of the Witch of Endor was the foundation for theological arguments against cunning-folk. Perkins asserted that it was the witch’s covenant with Satan that allowed her to tell “Saul the time of his death” because “God [had] drawn away his good spirit” for turning to a witch. . Therefore cunning-witches, it was argued, who appeared to be good and helpful, actually worked for the Devil as much as the malefic witch; an argument which led Gifford to suggest that the black witch existed only to drive people to cunning-folk, and thus towards Satan and away from God. This belief, however, was not accepted on a popular level, as ordinary people commonly visited cunning-folk for help with daily aliments. In 1612, for example, Joan Willimot, in an attempt to deny the charges of witchcraft laid against her, declared that her familiar ‘Pretty’ “neuer hurt any body, but did help diuers sent for her, which were striken”, highlighting the popular conviction that ‘good’ witches did good deeds. Indeed, Sharpe comments that most of the population continued to find the service of cunning-folk indispensable well into the

nineteenth-century. Thus demonological beliefs which concerned cunning-folk appear to represent one of the most biblically-sound understandings of witchcraft. Not only did the supposed powers of white witches, such as divination, reflect the description in Deuteronomy, but their general character was more in line with the Old Testament impression of the witch, an impression which made up the majority of biblical texts on witchcraft. Additionally, the emphasis in demonological works on condemning the cunning-witch reflected the prevalent biblical message. Witchcraft had to be rooted out because it provided an alternate authority to God – which in Protestant ideology meant Satan – and thus threatened Christianity by encouraging the sins of idolatry and blasphemy.