Cate Tollison - Witchcraft Blog

 Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the year of 2024 is coming to a close. For friends and family across the United States, everyones celebration looks different. Some people have large dinners with extended family members and others have more personal celebrations with their close family at home. Others may not participate in the holiday at all. Regardless, a holiday or season that is geared towards appreciation of what we have and the blessings in our lives is important for all of us. When writing my blog, this made me question how, if at all, do witches celebrate Thanksgiving. From my research, I found that witches actually have their own special holiday to appreciate all of their gifts and blessings of the year. A tradition sometimes called "The Witches Thanksgiving".  The holiday does not take place in November like the Thanksgiving holiday that we all know of. Instead, it takes place on September 23rd, the fall equinox, when the time of day and time of night is equal. ...

 While most people think that modern witches are similar to the witches described during the times of Salem - deceiptful, harmful, and conspiring with the devil - most modern witches practice the newly founded beliefs of Wicca. Although Wicca is a relatively new religion, emerging during the mid 20th century, it draws its inspiration from many ancient systems and practices. It blends elements of pre-Christianity, folklore, ceremonial magic and rituals, and the balance of nature.  Wicca was first developed by anthropologist Gerald Gardner in the 1940s and 1950s. He had an interest in folklore, the occult, and ancient religions. He claimed that he met a coven of witches in England that had survived in secret for hundreds of years and passed down their secrets of ancient religion. Gardner wrote books based on the things that he had been told that outlined new religious beliefs based on witchcraft and a focus on nature, magic, and cycles of the year. There are two deities in Wicca...

      "Witch Hunt" is a term that can be loosely thrown around today. From political events to modern day cancel culture to the previous centuries in Salem and early America. Everyone has had their own witch hunt on a smaller scale. Rumors are something that generally take a strong root in our society. Many people believe that fact as fiction and fiction as fact. Truthfully, I know many people who root their entire political beliefs and philosophical viewpoints from what the read on social media or saw in an article once. No one really does their own research that often, and its a dangerous game. Growing up, I have seen rumors used as a way to belittle and humiliate others, but it can even ruin lives. In my high school, a girl I knew regretted her choices that she made at a party with a guy the night before, and she began to tell people that he made unwanted sexual advances towards her and eventually this turned into him sexually assaulting her. It understandably turned i...