The Witchery Behind Witchcraft

      Many have their own their own ideas about witchcraft and what it actually means. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary it can be defined as "the use of sorcery magic, communication with the devil or with a familiar". Although it seems logical that it would have to do with witches, that's not always the case. As explained within Arthur Miller's piece The Crucible, many were terrified by the thought of witchcraft and the kind of things that are conjured and summoned by the practice.
      The beginning of the play begins with chaos as individuals claim to have seen young women dancing in the forest naked. Not only was dancing naked was provocative, just as it is today, but it was believe that the forest "was the Devil's last preserve, his home base and his final stand". It was believed that Satan was responsible for all mysteries and odd things in life. Those who opposed the ideas of Christianity was thought to be connected to the Devil and all evil in some type of form. There was a conspiracy that demons and other evil spirits would take the souls of individuals and they were the ones who did wrongful acts.  Therefore, people would do everything they could to avoid and stay away from anything associated with witchcraft or any unnatural practice or being. They would do so by torturing any one who was thought to be associated with any type of magic, even if it meant the possibility of killing the innocent, they had to be sure.
      Despite the twistedness of witchcraft and the ideas that used to be associated with it, today its a totally different practice. According to an online article, Spiritual Travels/, witches today gather not to worships Devil or any other evil spirits, but to appreciate the earth and come closer with nature.
      Kind of funny how time can completely change the practice and ideas behind something as significant as the concept of witchcraft.