Difference between revisions of "Template:Occult.live:Today's featured article"

no edit summary
 
(13 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:Angelene Tubbs.jpg|200px|left]]
[[File:Map of Hell.png|200px|left]]
A '''[[witch]]''' is a practitioner of [[witchcraft]]. Although the term can be gender-neutral, it is usually used to describe a female who uses [[ritual magic|magic]], while a male engaging in similar practices is called a [[warlock]]. The word witch derives from the Old English nouns ƿiċċa [ˈwittʃɑ] and ƿiċċe [ˈwittʃe] ('sorceress, female witch'). The word's further origins in Proto-Germanic and Proto-Indo-European are unclear. The Old English verb ''wiccian'' has a cognate in Middle Low German ''wicken'' (attested from the 13th century, besides ''wichelen'' 'to bewitch').
The '''[[Hierarchy of Hell]]''' represents the organizational structure of [[Hell]] as envisioned by [[occult]] authors in their [[grimoire]]s concerning [[demon]]s, especially [[Goetic demon]]s. Depending on the source, different authors ascribe varying ranks and positions to different infernal spirits. The best sources for this information are ''[[The Grand Grimoire]]'' and the ''[[Lesser Key of Solomon]]''. The concept of the hierarchy and the categorization of spirits into various ranks seems to have been a serious preoccupation with the early authors of occult literature. Nearly every book on magic mentions at least a few demons and attempts to assign them a structure analogous to governments common in Europe at the time. They are all monarchical in nature.


Throughout history there has not been a consistent definition of the term "witch." Johannes Nider and other 15th century writers used the Latin term ''maleficus'' to mean witch—a person who performed ''maleficium'', harmful acts of sorcery, against others.
In most works dealing with the 72 [[Goetic demon]]s, there is a rigid hierarchical structure for the demons, grouping each of them into ranks of nobility (including a knight and presidents). [[Occultist]] author [[Travis McHenry]] further explored these demonic ranks in his book ''[[The Grimoire of Heaven and Hell]]'', giving the reasons various demons were assigned to their specific class of nobility.


'''([[Witch|Full Article...]])'''
'''([[Hierarchy of Hell|Full Article...]])'''