Information about "Witchcraft Act"
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 21 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| catlin |
21 Oct 2002 |
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Do you have any interesting information, eg. where was it practiced, for how long, does it still exist...?
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| zorya |
21 Oct 2002 |
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there were several 'witchcraft acts'. i believe the first was in england under king henry VIII in the mid 16th century. try searching on google.com.
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| Minderwiz |
21 Oct 2002 |
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In England the Witchcraft Acts were in force up till 1951 - yes, just over 50 years ago! The Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951 repealed the Witchcraft Act of 1735 the last of the Witchcraft Acts.
The last person tried under the Witchcraft Act was Helen Duncan in 1944 (yes 1944). Helen was a medium with a good reputation but following her mediating a dead sailor from the Waship HMS Barham whose loss had not been officially announced, its likely that the powers that be sought to shut her up.
She was actually found guilty and received a jail sentence and served nine months. For those interested there is a poignant web site devoted to her case and the fight for a posthumous pardon
http://members.tripod.com/~helenduncan/
It provides a timely reminder to us of the loss of freedoms that come with war (or the threat of war)
Minderwiz
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| catlin |
23 Oct 2002 |
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Hi Minderwiz,
Thanks a lot , that was just what I was looking for!! :* :* :*
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| ladycj |
29 Oct 2002 |
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I believe in the US, there are similar laws, and they are still in effect in many southern states. Sad, but true.
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| catlin |
31 Oct 2002 |
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Really?! Do you know more about that?
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| DarkElectric |
31 Oct 2002 |
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Well, I know that in Massachusetts (USA) we still have laws restricting TAROT reading, under the "Fortunetelling" acts. One of the many weird things about that is, EVERY city or town has a different statute concerning this. A license is actually available through the Massachusetts Dept of Revenue, (expensive, and a LOT of BS paperwork...) but in many towns nobody needs one to read cards, or anything else. Problem is, you don't know which towns have the strict ordinances, until you try reading in one of them, and get busted... No jail, just a stiff fine. What nonsense, eh? Twenty first century, BAH!
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The Information about "Witchcraft Act" thread was originally posted on 21 Oct 2002 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.
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