Terrible cruelties happened and still happen due to blind superstition, abuse of power and lack of education. This article gives a simple overview of the Wicca religion. It then discusses witch-hunts, the Inquisition of the Church, exorcism and missionary work.
Wicca (witches) is a new religious movement beginning in the first half of the 20th century. Witches see themselves as a spirituality close to nature, in which, according to their view, value is placed on inner change and knowledge of one’s own life. In the USA the Wicca cult has been a state-registered religion since 1994, founded by Gerald Brousseau Gardner. Spiritual models for the Wicca faith are derived from various esoteric currents. Likewise, the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn” was of great importance for the development of Wicca, although it uses only a few published tools and thus desecrated instruments of this order without, however, grasping the true scope of this initiatory path.
Already in the Middle Ages, witch-hunting was a campaign of destruction against various groups and individuals (mainly herbal women and witches), who claimed to have knowledge about sorcery and herbology. Mostly this knowledge was more to be attributed to superstition than to real esotericism. They were accused of practicing black magic and sorcery and they were blamed for epidemics and hunger during crop failures. People attributed this to sorcery. Witches were tracked down and locked up in witch towers.
At the beginning of the witch trials, such women were completely stripped, shaved whole body, examined for witch marks and often raped by executioners. They were imprisoned and tortured to give false testimony. About 30 million people were subjected to the trial in Europe, with 40,000-60,000 people being tortured and burned at the stake. In South-East Asia, Africa and Latin America, witch-hunts still exist today. Without enlightenment, people were and are marked by superstition and endless atrocities happen. People of other faiths are often victims of assassinations, hate and defamation. Even today, this has not changed on the part of the mainstream churches. It does not matter how distorted the teaching of the Wicca cult is and to what extent it is based on errors. No one should play God under the cloak of church authority and acquire the right to persecute or hurt other people on the basis of their convictions.
In the Hermetic Academy, students are encouraged to apply theory and practice in everyday life. This is the only way to verify what they have learned. The Inquisition of the Church began in the 13th century and spread mainly in Southern and Central Europe. The main focus of the Inquisition was, besides witches, mainly heretics. Under heresy is considered a doctrine that contradicts church-religious beliefs. Heretics were captured, denounced, mutilated and sometimes burned. The church and secular institutions worked together in the Inquisition. In France, for example, knights of the Order of the Temple were arrested by the French king of that period until the Order was dissolved. The church thus played out its sole power and undermined other faiths. But there were always isolated initiates who secretly protected and passed on the light of the mystery tradition. We are indebted to them, as this torch of enlightenment is preserved in the Hermetic Academy.
The Inquisition distinguished different characteristics. “Possessed” were assigned certain physical symptoms or mental illness. The ecclesiastical exorcist was supposed to exorcise the devil and demons of possessed people by means of exorcism. In missionary work, priests were supposed to win over people of different faiths and non-believers for their religion. Among the missionary religions are above all Christianity and Islam, but also Hinduism and Buddhism. In contrast to such currents, the Hermetic Academy is open to all those who yearn for fulfilment in their hearts and follow the call of wisdom.
A particularly important topic for the Hermetic Academy is to realize the basic right “religious freedom” for all people. Most global conflicts arise from religious convictions. Deformed religion is one of the most dangerous tools in human history. In the Hermetic Academy the spiritual student can find access to a millennia-old oral mystery tradition. It preserves the key that opens the access to the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Scriptures teach us the path of self-knowledge and self-knowledge is God-knowledge. That is why the Hermetic does not persecute people of other faiths.
If you want to walk a lifelong path of self-development in self-responsibility – a way, that leads to freedom, wisdom and mastery over yourself and your life – we recommend you the course of studies in the Hermetic Academy. It is a contemporary Mystery School, which preserves the ancient tradition in an unbroken chain of tradition and shows people a secure way, how they can achieve worthwile virtues and goals as well as spiritual self-knowledge.
