Udja Sebai Maa, In response to #5584.
This is very helpful thank you. Gives me a better understanding of the type of literature and its purpose on the path.
I am just wrapping up a course on the European witch-hunts of sixteenth and seventeenth century. In some locales 70-80% of the women were tortured and executed. The catalysts underlying economic-political instability, but primarily the spread of a new concept of witchcraft in which the Devil overtime became an equal of god and the witch became a sexual-partner of the Devil; and this made witches represent a radical-rebellious conspiracy to God and Christian society. Prior to this forms of magic (including cursing, the evil eye, and folk and learned forms of magic) were seen as ultimately under the authority of God and was not viewed as a threat but was integrated into all aspects of the society. People began to believe that witches literally flew to Sabbaths and gathered with the devil, and accused witches (often old, poor, widowed women but ended up being any women) reinforced this by “confession” under torture. I just finished up a paper where I showed how torture resulted in accusations and confessions which reinforced the witch hunts. There is a lot of interesting things to be said psycho-spiritual on the events, but at the end of the day shows what happens when people lack wisdom and are caught up in the “veil” instead of the mystical-experience.
I am very inspired and look forward to contemplating more the wisdom texts.
Udja
Htp
Anthony
