Home Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
witchcraft
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Francisco Goya: El conjuro or Las brujas (“The Conjuring” or “The Witches”) Compendium maleficarum: Devil and witches trampling a cross Salem witch trial
Quizzes
Saint Thomas Aquinas. Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas, altarpiece by Francesco Traini, 1363; in Santa Caterina, Pisa, Italy. St. Thomas Aquinas (c1225-1274) Italian philosopher and theologian. Dominican order of monks (black friars).
Medieval History Quiz: Part Four
Illustration of Halloween characters silhouetted on a purple background (silhouette, spooky, scary)
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Salem Witch Trials. Photogravure after the painting by Walter McEwen titled - The Witches - circa 1890s.
How Rye Bread May Have Caused the Salem Witch Trials
Woman tied to a ducking stool, a method of punishment by means of humiliation, beating, or death. (cucking stool)
8 Unusual Punishments Inflicted on Women Throughout History
Black and white photo of people in courtroom, hands raised, pledging
Order in the Court: 10 “Trials of the Century”
poem. A poet in a Heian period kimono writes Japanese poetry during the Kamo Kyokusui No En Ancient Festival at Jonan-gu shrine on April 29, 2013 in Kyoto, Japan. Festival of Kyokusui-no Utage orignated in 1,182, party Heian era (794-1192).
World Poetry Day
Discover
Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)
All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained
Black widow spider
9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders
Solar eclipse of the sun.
The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses
Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet
10 Failed Doomsday Predictions
earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.
The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950
Coffee beans after roasting.
How Is Coffee Decaffeinated?
Albert Einstein in Washington, D.C. c. 1921-1923. Physicist
The Solar Eclipse That Made Albert Einstein a Science Celebrity
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://64.176.36.150/topic/witchcraft
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://64.176.36.150/topic/witchcraft
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: • Article History
Francisco Goya: El conjuro or Las brujas (“The Conjuring” or “The Witches”)
Francisco Goya: El conjuro or Las brujas (“The Conjuring” or “The Witches”)
See all media
Category: History & Society
Key People:
Joseph Glanvill
Related Topics:
witching hour
coven
incubus
hag
witch
On the Web:
PressbooksOER - Witchcraft (Mar. 29, 2024)
See all related content →

Recent News

Mar. 17, 2024, 1:27 AM ET (MSN)
'Witchcraft': Files show WPATH members pushing puberty blockers onto children

witchcraft, traditionally, the exercise or invocation of alleged supernatural powers to control people or events, practices typically involving sorcery or magic. Although defined differently in disparate historical and cultural contexts, witchcraft has often been seen, especially in the West, as the work of crones who meet secretly at night, indulge in cannibalism and orgiastic rites with the Devil, or Satan, and perform black magic. Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination of contemporaries than in any objective reality. Yet this stereotype has a long history and has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world. ...(100 of 5932 words)

Access the full article
Help support true facts by becoming a member.