Laws on Witchcraft, then, now, and in the future

Published: Sun, 01/31/21

Many years ago I attended an annual event entitled ‘Witchfest’ which was held in Croydon as I remember. As the name suggests the theme was witchcraft and paganism. I think the year I went was the winter after I had been to my first Druid Camp and Emma Restall-Orr, AKA ‘Bobcat’ was giving a talk. I was also curious to see if such an event might be somewhere to have stand, or even give a talk on Stav. As I recall I had a fairly interesting day and I caught up with some people I had got to know at Druid camp a few months previously. During the conversation which followed I was invited to teach at another event that spring, which was where I got to know Anna Franklin, which resulted in my long standing relationship to the Mercian Gathering. I recall that I actually met Anna for the first time at Witchfest but we didn’t really talk until a few months later.

One thing I do remember about going to Witchfest was that there was a small protest going on outside by a group of evangelical Christians. The protesters stayed at a discrete distance from the entrance and didn’t cause any trouble as such, but they were quite vocal, and their placards made their displeasure at the promotion of witchcraft in a civic building quite clear.

I suppose that it is worth noting that in the 17th century there was a great deal of concern about witches and witchcraft. Any disaster such as cow’s milk drying up, a crop failing, or even a thatched roof catching fire could be blamed on he local witch casting a hexing spell of some kind. People, often women, were regularly accused, tortured into making confessions, tried, and even executed, for crimes of witchcraft. These prosecutions were facilitated by laws passed in the 16th century and then again in 1604 which meant that witchcraft could be prosecuted in the civil courts rather than just being a matter for the church. Witch hunting became quite a craze in the 17th century with maybe as many as 500 people executed for crimes involving witchcraft.

In 1736 parliament repealed the laws which enabled the prosecution for witchcraft but made it illegal to claim possession of magical powers. This prevented accusations of witchcraft while also preventing anyone from claiming to be a witch or offering magical services. This legislation was finally repealed in 1951 although there were other laws relating to mediums and similar activities which remained on the statute books for longer.

I think it is reasonable to say that the 1736 act was a step forward in that it meant people could no longer be accused of witchcraft and made into scapegoats. However, prior to 1951 an event such as Witchfest or camps such as the Mercian Gathering might well have been illegal, since promotion of witchcraft or magic as having any kind of basis in reality or validity was effectively forbidden by law.

The law as it stands now allows anyone to believe whatever they want, so that is okay then? If evangelical Christians disprove of an event such as Witchfest they can protest peacefully, but there is no legal basis for prohibiting such a gathering. And yet last year all the camps I would normally have been associated with were canceled and we were lucky to hold a small scale Stav camp in our garden. Churches were largely closed too and it is looking increasingly certain that the situation will be even more difficult this year. Organisers of all kinds of events are lamenting on social media that we will be missing our gatherings for a second year in a row. The authorities tell us that they are acting for our own protection and because science tells us that controls on our freedom to associate are essential to control the virus.

When I started writing I thought I was going to be able to draw some profound conclusion. All I find myself thinking is that witchcraft laws all look a bit quaint a few hundred years later. I wonder how future generations will view our response to episodes such as the Covid 19 pandemic?

Regards

Graham