The Witch-cult in Western Europe | Page 3

only
which show the beliefs, organization, and ritual of a hitherto
unrecognized cult.
In order to clear the ground I make a sharp distinction between
Operative Witchcraft and Ritual Witchcraft. Under Operative
Witchcraft I class all charms and spells, whether used by a professed
witch or by a professed Christian, whether intended for good or for evil,
for killing or for curing. Such charms and spells are common to every
nation and country, and are practised by the priests and people of every
religion. They are part of the common heritage of the human race and
are therefore of no practical value in the study of any one particular
cult.
Ritual Witchcraft--or, as I propose to call it, the Dianic cult--embraces
the religious beliefs and ritual of the people known in late mediaeval
times as 'Witches'. The evidence proves that underlying the Christian
religion was a cult practised by many classes of the community, chiefly,

however, by the more ignorant or those in the less thickly inhabited
parts of the country. It can be traced back to pre-Christian times, and
appears to be the ancient religion of Western Europe. The god,
anthropomorphic or theriomorphic, was worshipped in well-defined
rites; the organization was highly developed; and the ritual is analogous
to many other ancient rituals. The dates of the chief festivals suggest
that the religion belonged to a race which had not reached the
agricultural stage; and the evidence shows that various modifications
were introduced, probably by invading peoples who brought in their
own beliefs. I have not attempted to disentangle the various cults; I am
content merely to point out that it was a definite religion with beliefs,
ritual, and organization as highly developed as that of any other cult in
the world.
The deity of this cult was incarnate in a man, a woman, or an animal;
the animal form being apparently earlier than the human, for the god
was often spoken of as wearing the skin or attributes of an animal. At
the same time, however, there was another form of the god in the shape
of a man with two faces. Such a god is found in Italy (where he was
called Janus or Dianus), in Southern France (see pp. 62, 129), and in
the English Midlands. The feminine form of the name, Diana, is found
throughout Western Europe as the name of the female deity or leader of
the so-called Witches, and it is for this reason that I have called this
ancient religion the Dianic cult. The geographical distribution of the
two-faced god suggests that the race or races, who carried the cult,
either did not remain in every country which they entered, or that in
many places they and their religion were overwhelmed by subsequent
invaders.
The dates of the two chief festivals, May Eve and November Eve,
indicate the use of a calendar which is generally acknowledged to be
pre-agricultural and earlier than the solstitial division of the year. The
fertility rites of the cult bear out this indication, as they were for
promoting the increase of animals and only rarely for the benefit of the
crops. The cross-quarter-days, February 2 and August 1, which were
also kept as festivals, were probably of later date, as, though classed
among the great festivals, they were not of so high an importance as the

May and November Eves. To February 2, Candlemas Day, probably
belongs the sun-charm of the burning wheel, formed by the whirling
dancers, each carrying a blazing torch; but no special ceremony seems
to be assigned to August 1, Lammas Day, a fact suggestive of a later
introduction of this festival.
The organization of the hierarchy was the same throughout Western
Europe, with the slight local differences which always occur in any
organization. The same organization, when carried to America, caused
Cotton Mather to say, 'The witches are organized like Congregational
Churches.' This gives the clue at once. In each Congregational Church
there is a body of elders who manage the affairs of the Church, and the
minister who conducts the religious services and is the chief person in
religious matters; and there may also be a specially appointed person to
conduct the services in the minister's absence; each Church is an
independent entity and not necessarily connected with any other. In the
same way there was among the witches a body of elders--the
Coven--which managed the local affairs of the cult, and a man who,
like the minister, held the chief place, though as God that place was
infinitely higher in the eyes of the congregation than any held by a
mere human being. In some of the larger congregations there was a
person, inferior to the Chief, who took charge in the Chief's absence. In
Southern France, however, there seems to have