Re: TWT #1: Deadly Words Jenny jenny@panix.com Thu Jul 27 02:27:23 2000 Hi Shadow Hawk,*p*I've heard people say that if you don't practice an English form of witchcraft you're not a "witch." However, I don't think most Witches (or English-speakers) use that definition of "witchcraft".*p*If you ask people how many witches died in the Burning Times, for instance, no one ever says 300-1,000 (which is the probable number of English witches who died). Again, no one objects to calling the trial of a Spanish brujah, Italian strega, or German hexe a "witchcraft trial", even though none of these people were ever technically accused of "witchcraft". Even Gerald Gardner called non-English magick users "witches" in his history of Wicca. Medieval and early modern writers consistantly used "witch"/"wicce"/"wycche"/etc. for non-English magick-users as well. And there's a strong linguistic argument that "wicca" has always been a generic term, rather than a reference to one specific tradition. We know of over 20 different Anglo-Saxon terms for "magick-user" that get translated as "witch" in modern and middle English.*p*I think the "shamanism" example you mention is a very good analogy. There are some anthropologists who insist that only Siberians can be "real shamans", since "shaman" is a Siberian term. Most laypeople and many academics, however, use a broader definition of "shamanism", because they see common themes in various "shamanic" religions. The same thing holds true with "witch" and "witchcraft".*p*Jenny Re: TWT #1: Deadly Words Shadow Hawk 258 Wed Jul 26 21:26:27 2000