The fortuitous spell spreadsheet is a tool that helps practitioners of magic manage and track their spells. It is a digital spreadsheet that can be easily customized to fit the needs of each individual practitioner. The purpose of the fortuitous spell spreadsheet is to provide a centralized location for organizing and accessing information about spells, such as their names, descriptions, and effects. The main idea behind the fortuitous spell spreadsheet is to improve efficiency and organization in spellcasting. By having all spell information in one place, practitioners can easily refer back to past spells and their effects. This can be particularly useful for tracking the outcomes of various spells and identifying patterns or trends in their effectiveness.
Witchcraft: Eight Myths and Misconceptions
Witchcraft is an area of history that most people feel familiar with. From the Salem Witch Trials to the witches of Macbeth, the figure of the witch is embedded in our culture. The problem is that most of what we think we know is wrong.
Professor Diane Purkiss debunks eight of the most common myths about witchcraft.
shared > blocks > AdvancedItemSectionBlock.cshtml -->In England witches were hanged, not burned. This illustration is taken from a 1655 pamphlet by Ralph Gardiner © Bettmann/Getty
1. Witches were burned at the stake
Not in English-speaking countries. Witchcraft was a felony in both England and its American colonies, and therefore witches were hanged, not burned. However, witches’ bodies were burned in Scotland, though they were strangled to death first.
2. Nine million witches died in the years of the witch persecutions
About 30,000–60,000 people were executed in the whole of the main era of witchcraft persecutions, from the 1427–36 witch-hunts in Savoy (in the western Alps) to the execution of Anna Goldi in the Swiss canton of Glarus in 1782. These figures include estimates for cases where no records exist.
3. Once accused, a witch had no chance of proving her innocence
Only 25 per cent of those tried across the period in England were found guilty and executed.
The Spanish Inquisition persecuted those perceived as heretics by the Catholic Church, but witchcraft was largely regarded as a superstition, and wasn’t pursued as a heresy by officials except in rare cases © Prisma/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
4. Millions of innocent people were rounded up on suspicion of witchcraft
The total number of people tried for witchcraft in England throughout the period of persecution was no more than 2,000. Most judges and many jurymen were highly sceptical about the existence of magical powers, seeing the whole thing as a huge con trick by fraudsters. Many others knew that old women could be persecuted by their neighbours for no reason other than that they weren’t very attractive.
5. The Spanish Inquisition and the Catholic Church instigated the witch trials
All four of the major western Christian denominations (the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist and Anglican churches) persecuted witches to some degree. Eastern Christian, or Orthodox, churches carried out almost no witch-hunting. In England, Scotland, Scandinavia and Geneva, witch trials were carried out by Protestant states. The Spanish Inquisition executed only two witches in total.
Illustration from the 1591 pamphlet ‘Newes from Scotland’, which reported on the events of the North Berwick witch trials of 1590. The accused women are shown casting spells over a cauldron (top right) and conjuring the Devil (left) © Courtesy of the British Library
6. King James I was terrified of witches and was responsible for their hunting and execution
More accused witches were executed in the last decade of Elizabeth I’s reign (1558–1603) than under her successor, James I (1603–25).
The first Witchcraft Act was passed under Henry VIII, in 1542, and made all pact witchcraft (in which a deal is made with the Devil) or summoning of spirits a capital crime. The 1604 Witchcraft Act under James could be described as a reversion to that status quo rather than an innovation.
In Scotland, where he had ruled as James VI since 1587, James had personally intervened in the 1590 trial of the North Berwick witches, who were accused of attempting to kill him. He wrote the treatise Daemonologie, published in 1597. However, when King of England, James spent some time exposing fraudulent cases of demonic possession, rather than finding and prosecuting witches.
The Elizabethan philosopher and alchemist John Dee faced accusations of witchcraft throughout his life. Other men accused of witchcraft include the healer Dr Fian, who was executed as part of the North Berwick witch trials in 1590 © Hulton Archive/Getty Images
7. Witch-hunting was really women-hunting, since most witches were women
In England the majority of those accused were women. In other countries, including some of the Scandinavian countries, men were in a slight majority. Even in England, the idea of a male witch was perfectly feasible. Across Europe, in the years of witch persecution around 6,000 men – 10 to 15 per cent of the total – were executed for witchcraft.
In England, most of the accusers and those making written complaints against witches were women.
8. Witches were really goddess-worshipping herbalist midwives
Nobody was goddess-worshipping during the period of the witch-hunts, or if they were, they have left no trace in the historical records. Despite the beliefs of lawyers, historians and politicians (such as Karl Ernst Jarcke, Franz-Josef Mone, Jules Michelet, Margaret Murray and Heinrich Himmler among others), there was no ‘real’ pagan witchcraft. There was some residual paganism in a very few trials.
The idea that those accused of witchcraft were midwives or herbalists, and especially that they were midwives possessed of feminine expertise that threatened male authority, is a myth. Midwives were rarely accused. Instead, they were more likely to work side by side with the accusers to help them to identify witch marks. These were marks on the body believed to indicate that an individual was a witch (not to be confused with the marks scratched or carved on buildings to ward off witches).
Diane Purkiss is Professor of English Literature at Keble College, University of Oxford
Top image : Detail from ‘Witches’, a 1508 painting depicting the Witches’ Sabbath
( © Science History Images/Alamy Stock Photo)
6 SIGNS YOU WERE A WITCH IN A PAST LIFE
Witches have been persecuted continually over the past 2,000 years. As a result, the word witch has been given a bad name.
It was very easy to be accused as a witch in the past. You simply had to be a strange woman or man that threatened anybody and you were a called a witch.
The number of witches burnt at the stake or killed in some horrible manner ranges from tens of thousands to millions according to the different sources.
That means if we continually incarnate on Earth there is a good chance you were a witch at one point.
As a psychic medium, it’s not uncommon for me to learn that a client has been a witch in a past life and killed for it. How do you know if you were a witch in a past life? Here are six signs:
This can be particularly useful for tracking the outcomes of various spells and identifying patterns or trends in their effectiveness. One of the key features of the fortuitous spell spreadsheet is its ability to sort and filter spells based on different criteria. Practitioners can organize their spells by type (e.
1. You Do Witchy Things Now
If you are a psychic medium, energy healer, Tarot card reader, sorcerer, magick practitioner, herbalist or something similar, then you were a witch in a past life.
The fact that you are drawn to these subjects, and not even practicing, probably means you were a witch.
g., protection, healing, divination) or by the ingredients and components required for each spell. This makes it easier to quickly find the right spell for any given situation. In addition, the fortuitous spell spreadsheet can also be used to track the progress of spellcasting rituals and to keep a record of any notes or observations related to each spell. This can be helpful for practitioners who like to experiment with different variations of spells or who want to keep track of their own personal insights and discoveries. Overall, the fortuitous spell spreadsheet offers a practical and efficient solution for managing and organizing spells. It is a versatile tool that can be customized to fit the unique needs of each practitioner. By utilizing this tool, practitioners can enhance their spellcasting abilities and improve their overall magical practice..
Reviews for "How to Customize Your Fortuitous Spell Spreadsheet"
1. John - 2/5 stars - I was really excited to try out the Fortuitous Spell Spreadsheet, as I've been struggling with spellcasting and thought this could be a helpful tool. However, I found the spreadsheet to be complicated and confusing to use. The user interface was not intuitive, and it took me a while to figure out how to input my spell data. Additionally, the spreadsheet was not customizable enough for my liking. Overall, I was disappointed with the Fortuitous Spell Spreadsheet and would not recommend it to others.
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