h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Witch - Update - A9247629
Author: MJ - [Help Update the 'Witch' Entry here: A9247629] - U168592

Long time since I've done an Update so thought it was about due. This is an Update of the 'Witch' Entry A4708, Original Author and Editors: the Mostly Harmless Writing Team.

New Authors: MJ & Serephina

It is planned more as a brief overview of the Witch and a portal like Entry, rather than a comprehensive Entry on Witches and Witchcraft.

Any suggestions?

MJ

You say "Biblically" when talking about Lilith. But Lilith is not mentioned in the Bible. I know she is mentioned in some old book about Adam and Eve, but it's not the Bible. Perhaps it is in the Talmud or the Torah. Does anybody know?

"laughable" - I think "hilarious" would be a better choice of word for the Wyrd Sisters, since "laughable" can also suggest "ludicrous".

The TV show was "Bewitched", not "Be-witched".

That was quick!

Agreed, I'll fix up the Lilith reference.

I'm aware of what the meaing of the word laughable is, thanks And it's a matter of opinion really, as I don't find the Wyrd Sisters (or any of Pratchett's work really) 'hilarious' - so I might just take out the adjective completely

Looks like a great update to me!

"alter shape into many various animals" - I would get rid of either "many" or "various".

"succomb" -> "succumb"

Are you sure that burning at the stake was a trial or witchcraft, not just a method of executing witches?

Another thing they did was to push a knife into a mole or birthmark on the witch's skin. These were considered to be signs of being a witch. If they knife drew blood, they were innocent, if it didn't they were a witch. However, sometimes the investigators would cheat by having a knife in which the blade, when pressed against something, would retract into the handle, and obviously leave no mark.

If you want more info on the Inquisition etc I studied it in brief yesterday, so I could give you some.

Cheers E

I'll fix up the minor grammatical stuff.

Hmm, is burning at the stake execution or trial? You could say the same for dunking, as more often than not the witch would either drown or die of hypothermia during the 'trial'. So I guess you could say that burning was the easy trial. You didn't have to worry about dunking THEN burning, just did it all in one easy method

I'll add about the knife and moles. I suppose I should add a link somewhere about signs of spotting witches, like third nipples...

Inquisition? Needs an Entry E!

I dodn't know enough to actually write an entry, but since you're covering it in a little detail here, I thought I could chuck a few details your way!

Good point about the execution/trial thing.

I'm not even sure whether to include the Inquisition, but I suppose it was witchhunting of the same kind that McCarthy undertook in the 50s. Go on then, chuck me some relevant stuff and I'll see what I can do

BTW - updated with a section about pressing the flesh

It'll have to be later - this afternoon, this evening or tomorrow.

No problem - take your time, no rush, have a

I believe its Jewish tradition that mentions Lilith, sorry I shouldv'e spotted that earlier!

I've always wondered about that. I first heard of Lilith when I was eight, when reading "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

So if I just put a little line in mentioning Hebrew beliefs...???

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Lilith was a female demon of Jewish folklore. In some stories, she was Adam's first wife, but in others she married Adam after he separated from Eve.

There we go Have fiddled that so it reads better now I think. I've also added another quote, but not sure if I've done it per EG Guidelines. It's the quote after the Header 'Finding A Witch'. Have I done it right?

I don't know about the formatting. I've never seen a conversation like that quoted.

But it should be "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

Oh.

So should I change it? I'd rather not as I think it sits nicely in there.

(fixed the title of the film now though)

I didn't say there was anything wrong with the formatting. I just said I don't know about it.

I'll leave it in and if it needs changing I'm sure TPTB can manage it

This is a much better entry than the Mostly Harmless one

There are a few points I'd like to query.

First quote - not one of the better known Macbeth quotes, it mentions the word 'witch' but otherwise doesn't seem to me to lead comfortably into the entry.
How about Macbeth Act 4 Scene 1:
"How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!
What is't you do?"

I thought 'wicca' meant wise one, nothing essentially to do with magic, but having checked the etymological dictionaries on-line and found considerable disagreement on the derivation of the word 'witch' I think you have it about right in your description

In the Classic Witch
"societies concept of the witch" should either be " Society's concept of the witch" or possibly " the generally held concept of the witch"

As far as 'Pressing the flesh' as a test for a witch I recall reading that witchfinders of Hopkin's time sometimes used to surreptitiously stick a genuine pin into a suspected witch, and if she didn't notice it that was evidence of their dark powers. What the article also mentioned was that it is not difficult to find places to stick a pin that will not alert an unsuspecting person, particularly an older person. Possibly worth a link to an entry on acupuncture , but there isn't one yet.

Should the last word of the entry be 'witches'? (to match plural of nurses and midwives)

My 'knowledge' of witches is based almost entirely upon fiction in the form of books or films. One 'source' - the Alvin Maker books of Orson Scott Card (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tales_of_Alvin_Maker if you are unfamiliar), dealing with people with 'knacks' a couple of hundred years ago in an alternative America where there was no Restoration of the British Monarchy - makes much of the distinction between fey abilities and inferred implication that they come from Satan. Is there a necessary connection between witchcraft and Satan?

Good entry

I was wondering whether it's worth mentioning more about witches in other culures. At the moment you focus very much on European/Western views, but witches still *exist* in many parts of the world, and there are lots of people who believe in witchcraft too.