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A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft. Although the term can be gender-neutral, it is usually used to describe a female who uses 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').

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.

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Pope Honorius III

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• ... that metaphysical systems believe there are between 3 and 12 chakras?
• ... that Archangel Gabriel comforted Adam and Eve after they were expelled from Eden?
• ... that occultist Collin de Plancy was father to the French Minister to Korea?
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This month in history Saint Joan of Arc 2 May - Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft. (1536) 2 May - German Jesuit scholar and author Athanasius Kircher is born. (1602) 3 May - Occult horror film The Craft is released in theaters. (1996) 4 May - Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance. (1415) 7 May - Argentine folk saint Eva Perón is born. (1919) 8 May - Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War. (1429) 9 May - Austrian painter Christoph Haizmann successfully retrieves his diabolical pact from Satan with the help of an exorcist. (1678) 9 May - Doug Headrick, a 12-year-old boy, disappears from Devil's Gate Dam in Pasadena, California. (1960) 10 May - Antoine Court de Gébelin, author who wrote an early treatise on the Tarot, dies in Paris. (1784) 13 May - Psychic Jeane Dixon predicts the assassination of John F. Kennedy in an issue of Parade Magazine. (1956) 15 May - French author Jean-Baptiste Pitois, who coined the terms Major Arcana and Minor Arcana, is born. (1811) 16 May - In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc. (1920) 19 May - Arthur Edward Waite, creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot, dies. (1942) 23 May - A merchant of Shiraz, the forerunner of the Baháʼí Faith, announces that he is a prophet and founds a religious movement. (1844) 23 May - German physician and astrologer, Franz Mesmer, is born. (1734) 24 May - Nicolaus Copernicus dies. (1543) 26 May - Nicholas II becomes the last Tsar of Imperial Russia. (1896) 31 May - Occultist and author Éliphas Lévi dies. (1875)

Featured image A significant development in clairvoyance research came in the 1930s, when J. B. Rhine, a parapsychologist at Duke University, introduced a standard methodology, with a standard statistical approach to analyzing data, as part of his research into extrasensory perception. A number of psychological departments attempted to repeat Rhine's experiments, with failure. W. S. Cox from Princeton University with 132 subjects produced 25,064 trials in a playing card ESP experiment. Cox concluded, "There is no evidence of extrasensory perception either in the 'average man' or of the group investigated or in any particular individual of that group. The discrepancy between these results and those obtained by Rhine is due either to uncontrollable factors in experimental procedure or to the difference in the subjects." Photo Credit: David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University (More Images)

Featured Quote "Mysticism is the means to a new universal life, richer, greater, and more full of resource than ever before." - Israel Regardie

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