Witchology, n., the study of Witches & Witchcraftby Dr Leo Ruickbie Study and learn the history of Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Magic and the Occult with our courses and resources |
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What is Witchcraft? That's what this website is here to find out. Witchology.com is the website of WICA - the Witchcraft Information Centre and Archive - founded in 1999 by Dr Leo Ruickbie as a research and education provider specialising in the areas of Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Magic (Magick) and the Occult. We have been online continuously since 2000. WICA Recommended by: [...] online support through specialist tutors on online courses. All this is backed up with audio and offsite links. (Graduate Planet, 2001) From Witchology.com Visitors: I must congratulate you on a wonderful site. It is refreshing to see Wica "move with the times" so to speak. (Penny, 12th March, 2002) About Leo Ruickbie's Books: Ruickbie’s short bio in the back [of Witchcraft out of the Shadows] indicates that he is a passionate researcher and sympathizer of the Craft. (Gothic-Rain.com, 2005)
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History of WitchcraftIt is time to shake the wand of serious, scientific research at the stereotypes that still haunt the perception of Witchcraft. It is time to dispel the sweet and fearful fantasy of evil and find out who are today's Witches. Are they, as Shakespeare called them, dark and midnight hags? The answer might surprise you. The Sociology of Witchcraft and WiccaExtract from Leo Ruickbie's Witchcraft Out of the Shadows7. The Society of Witches: The New Face and Form of Witchcraft Beyond the Stereotypes The witches are abroad, and hurtle swiftly aloft, a hideous covey, borne headlong on the skirling blast. To some peak of the Brocken or lonely Cevennes they haste, to the orgies of the Sabbat, the infernal Sacraments, the dance of Acheron, the sweet and fearful fantasy of evil. In delirious tones they are yelling foul mysterious words as they go: “Har! Har! Har! Altri! Altri!”1 On a broomstick of pictures and words we have travelled through the history of witchcraft. We have seen how the witch has fallen from the celestial sphere, from her position as goddess and priestess, to become an anti-Christian creation, an agent of the Devil bent on the destruction of mankind. And we have seen how witchcraft has risen again though the efforts of more enlightened thinkers to become a religion in its own right, perhaps not the same religion, or facet of religion, as it was before, but nonetheless, a valid and genuine expression of the spiritual quest. Now it is time to examine who today’s Witches are. It is time to shake the wand of serious, scientific research, of statistical analysis, at the stereotypes that still haunt the perception of Witchcraft. It is time to dispel the sweet and fearful fantasy of evil. Formatting may differ from the print edition. Find Out More
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