Hi there!!!
The theory of magic vs science is slowly fading away thanks to the most recent scientific studies. This is going to be a long, long post...sorry!!!!!
The common sense states that there are things accepted as "real" and other as "false". Science is a "real" thing, while magic is a "false" one.
I won't involve the religious issues now, because it's not the right place. I'll talk about magic and science only. I'd like to quote in English but unfortunately I don't have the original editions of some books I have, so I'll resume them as good as I can.
Witches have always been seen by the common eye as strange, weird, mostly evil beings. This is an heredity from the Inquisition times, which ruled the old and the new world for "just" 700 years. Their potions, their fuming cauldrons, their herbs and spells seem to have been frightening people during the centuries. This is not true, actually.
Witches have been the first healers, and in most recent centuries have been kicked out of the official medicine which robbed them of all the natural remedies they had experimented throughout the centuries.
Witchcraft and women's history go side by side. Witchcraft history is, indeed, a history of women. Witches have been linked with sin and damnation because, being so close to Nature, they didn't have any revulsion towards the body as many monotheistic religions taught. The result was that witches were feared by women (as maneaters) and by men too, because they felt their power of FREE women. A free woman was dangerous both on a social and religious level. Remember that many women, still today, don't have rights.
Witches have been the first scientists because they used the empiricist methods in approaching Nature, while the "official", graduated doctors used spells written on the patients for example!!
During the centuries, science and natural laws have been used to "explain" the Universe...even if they can't still explain how for example the brain cells work in forming images, colors...how can a physical support create non-physical things, like the thoughts and dreams? this is the big challenge of computer science for example...
Today, science is confirming what shamans and witches know by thousands years: that there's a hidden dimension of reality - called quantic level- and there are laws governing it. Universe is an immense energy field in which every single thing is connected to all the others. Reality we perceive with our senses is composed by different objects, but they are connected on the subatomic level of small particles. All the objects are made of pure energy, as witches have always said! There's an interesting theory called Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox: the things which are separated on a physical level, work in unison, like two fotons of light, even on a huge distance, communicating in fractions of seconds.
The new laws of quantum physics confirm the witches' spiritual-magic statement by which all the reality's objects are connected.
Furthermore, science is confirming that, as witches and shamans have always said, the human mind is able to influence events. Witches' and shamanic tecniques alter conscience, allowing to "see" the secret structure of things, the hidden order on a subatomic level.
Oh! The problem of the ergotism has showed up in Europe first, in the Middle Ages.
Christmas...I have already said something about Christmas-Yule and Easter-Eostre and I'm quoting it here. Feel free to search on your own of course...and there's another thread about
"Do witches and wizards have religion?".
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Just to provide some informations, here are some pagan and christian festivities, to show how religions are very close on the same territory...When christian belief started to spread across europe, the pagan peasants resisted in giving up their beliefs, so christianity resulted in being a mix-up of various religious habits, previously inherited from persians, egyptians, etc..
YULE, winter solstice = Christmas
IMBOLC = Candlemas
OSTARA, spring equinox = Easter
(BELTANE = May Day)
SAMHAIN/Halloween = All saints'
Yule is the pagan festivity for Christmas, the winter solstice. The birthday of Christ was at first celebrated on Epiphany day (jan.6). Then, to cancel successfully the pagan celebration of Mithra's birthday (Sol Invictus=victorious sun), the birthday of Christ was set on dec.25. Mithra was a Sun God. It happens that even Krishna is born the 25th of december and in ancient Egypt Ra, the Sun god, was celebrated the same day. All during the solstice days, from 22 to 25.
Easter comes from the name of the Goddess Eostre. The egg is one of the symbols of rebirth, in many religions.
Summer solstice is celebrated on St.John's night.
About Halloween...I think the whole world knows about it. It was the Celtic new year's eve.
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This just to say that history is made by people, common people, and that religions and cultures are closer than it seems. Witches exist in EVERY culture of the world....
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I do have to ask, in all seriousness: what is "piroquinetic"? I can't figure out what you mean.
I guess it's the ability of set thing on fire. Like when you say "Incendio".
Just to say it, I AM a witch. And I exist...
Witchmom )O(