Asian Witchcraft

	Asian Witchcraft Asian witchcraft refers to any or all types of witchcraft practiced in Asia. Middle East Ancient Near East The belief in magic and its practice seem to have been widespread in the past. Both in ancient Egypt and in Babylonia it played a conspicuous part, as existing records plainly show. It will be sufficient to quote a short section from the Code of Hammurabi (about 2000 BC). Torah In the Tanakh, references to witchcraft are frequent, and the strong condemnations of such practices which we read there do not seem to be based so much upon the supposition of fraud as upon the "abomination" of belief in the magic in itself. Verses such as Book of Deuteronomy 18:11-12 and Book of Exodus 22:18 "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" provided scriptural justification for Christian witch-hunters in the early modern period. The word "witch" is a translation of the Hebrew ''kashaf'', "sorcerer". The Hebrew Bible provides some evidence that these commandments were enforced un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have used malevolent magic against their own community, and often to have communed with evil beings. It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by protective magic or counter-magic, which could be provided by cunning folk or folk healers. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. In some regions, many of those accused of witchcraft were folk healers or midwives. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment. Contemporary cultures that believe in magic and the superna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	Prithee ''Prithee'' is an archaic English interjection formed from a corruption of the phrase ''pray thee'' ( ask you o, which was initially an exclamation of contempt used to indicate a subject's triviality. The earliest recorded appearance of the word ''prithee'' listed in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1577, while it is most commonly found in works from the seventeenth century. The contraction is a form of indirect request that has disappeared from the language. ''Prithee'' is the most widely known example of second person object enclitics. Linguists consider it to have been the final step in the grammaticalisation of the verb ''pray''. The eventual use of ''prithee'' outside the ''thee''/''thou'' usage signalled its transition into a discourse particle. There has been extensive scholarship investigating the difference in usage of ''prithee'' as opposed to ''pray you'', both in terms of politeness and grammaticalisation. Because ''prithee'' eventually came to be used in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Evocation Evocation is the act of evoking, calling upon, or summoning a spirit, demon, deity or other supernatural agents, in the Western mystery tradition. Comparable practices exist in many religions and magical traditions and may employ the use of mind-altering substances with and without uttered word formulas. Overview Evocation is the act of calling upon or summoning a spirit, demon, deity or other supernatural agent. Conjuration also refers to a summoning, often by the use of a magical spell. In the Western mystery tradition History The Latin word ''evocatio'' was the "caIIing forth" or "summoning away" of a city's tutelary deity. The rituaI was conducted in a miIitary setting either as a threat during a siege or as a result of surrender, and aimed at diverting the god's favor from the opposing city to the Roman side, customariIy with a promise of a better-endowed cuIt or a more Iavish tempIe. ''Evocatio'' was thus a kind of rituaI dodge to mitigate Iooting of sacred objects or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Amulets An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a person from trouble". Anything can function as an amulet; items commonly so used include statues, coins, drawings, plant parts, animal parts, and written words. Amulets which are said to derive their extraordinary properties and powers from magic or those which impart luck are typically part of folk religion or paganism, whereas amulets or sacred objects of formalised mainstream religion as in Christianity are believed to have no power of their own without faith in Jesus and being blessed by a clergyman, and they supposedly will also not provide any preternatural benefit to the bearer who does not have an appropriate disposition. Talisman and amulets have interchangeable meaning. Amulets refer to any object which has the power to ave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]