Maleficarum Puns

1. Nothing like a real-life historical persecution theme to follow a heartwarming Christmas episode. Look at how precious life can be in episode 8, then be reminded of the medieval 'Hammer of the Witches' text, which was mostly used to oppress women, in episode 9
2. The spell here sounds a bit LOTR Dwarvish
3. Makes you wonder how often witches get away with murder in the SPN-verse. Likely a lot
4. Thank god I'm watching this late at night and thus have already eaten
5. Did the witch deliberately get the 'put a spell on you' song to play? Did she happen to find a radio station where it was on and magically switch to that? Was it coincidence? Or was it >!Chuck having a laugh!<?
6. Love that part of Dean's outrage is empathy for animals. Such a good person, at least at heart
7. Synchronised speaking is giving me a Macbeth vibe. 'When shall we three meet again?' In Hell, probably
8. What has it gotten them? Husband's promotion, eternal damnation...
9. I choose to believe there are different types of Book of Shadows. One is a text of demon-worship, the other is a list of demonic threats to vanquish. It depends if you're the type of witch that serves demons, or the type of witch that serves >!angels!< Which, if SPN and OG Charmed share a universe, would explain why >!the Elders almost never know anything - because they're just elevated humans, and all the angels have been radio silent for 2,000 years!<
10. Detectives Bachman and Turner (Sam and Dean). Taking care of business and working overtime...
11. Her insistence on being called 'MRS' Van Allen reminds me not only of Desperate Housewives, but also that one of the worst OG Charmed episodes was called 'Desperate Housewitches'
12. In Buffy, it was in fact revealed that Martha Stewart >!is a witch!<
13. It's deeply convenient that the hex bag against Dean took so relatively long to work. Unless maybe the Winchesters are staying only a mile away from the 'book' club. Or unless >!Chuck protected him!<
14. On the contrary, Dean, Ruby is pretty much a very long bus
15. Is there any chance that Ruby and Bela's characters would have gone down better with audiences if Katie Cassidy had played Bela and Lauren Cohan had played Ruby? Maybe it would have made Bela seem more relatable and Ruby less, thus making it less clear what was going on than it already was
16. Is the last witch just casting a spell or is she invoking someone else? Because it seems unlikely that you could invoke a d

In 1485, monk Henrich Kramer is removed by the Bishop of Innsbruck, Austria due to his allegations of the various women refusing to attend his sermons of Witch Craft and his continued attempts to prove it, even though the Church announced that accusations of witchcraft had no basis, that being Christian in nature meant no craft could be practiced and that only God could grant such power. In response, Kramer wrote the Malleus Maleficarum, establishing the idea that witchcraft was real, it's power granted by the devil and that women were inherently more likely to practice it and thus, needed to be dealt with swiftly and violently.

Most figures in Christian society denounced the book as not only lacking ethics but also being blasphemous. But the sensationalist text would spread across Europe and it's lasting legacy would lead to over 40,000 innocent deaths, from the tale end of the dark ages in central Europe to the Witch trails of Salem, Massachusetts. Even after the torturous inquisitions stopped, the myths and the accusations would persist up to the early 19th century. Over three centuries of persecution and mistrust that would color how we view witches, black magic and the occult religions today.

But what if the Catholic church took a much harsher stance on this, actively working to crack down on the MMs spread? Say they denounced the MM as a work of the devil and those who read it would need to repent and be sanctified. In addition, anyone inciting a witch hunt would be arrested and executed and even accusing someone of witch craft would be a punishable offence. Kingdoms and governments across Europe would back the church's decrees, fully aware of the panic and chaos that could be spread by the MM.

So how does Europe proceed from the 16th century onward? What state is 1500s Europe in without the original satanic panic? How does culture change with witch craft being made a folk tale and foot note in history? How are the old occult religions remembered and characterized with a less satanic slant? Does this change Christianities interactions with other belief systems in the coming centuries? And how are witches viewed today without the tragic stigma? How does their image and that of witch craft and magic change in popular culture?

From what I understand, for most of the medieval period the Catholic Church's official stance was witches didn't exist. Because suggesting Satan had power on Earth was heretical. Then in 1485, Heinrich Kramer became obsessed with a woman named Helena Scheuberin, when she wouldn't attend his sermons, and publicly called him an evil man. Kramer got her, and several other women, put on trial for being witches.

Nothing much came of it, but Kramer remained obsessed with witches in general and Helena in particular, to the point that he was accused of insanity.

Kramer got Pope Innocent VIII to write an official bull about the danger posed by witches, and to grant him authority to carry out witch hunts.

Were there factors already in place that Kramer built on? If not, how was this one misogynistic lunatic able to plunge the church into a hysteria that would last for centuries?

As a midwife, I'm growing increasingly concerned this Christian ideology will spark hatred and fear the world over.

We did the history of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, now let’s talk about the foundational text of centuries of witch-burnings! We’re all taught in school that witch burnings happened but that was a silly thing that superstitious weirdos believed back in the days when they still ate mud or whatever was cool before the enlightenment. But people like Barabara Ehrenreich and Abigail/Oliver Thorne have shown that this was a propaganda campaign covering up old-timey class warfare with weird sex stuff. Like, “the devil has an ice-dick that gets witches all hot and bothered” or “smelling nice will make you want to fuck and THAT’S SATAN’S WHOLE PLAN”.

The book itself, and the dialogue around it, is bananas. But it’s also political propaganda that justifies the eradication of women and peasants with any amount of power or knowledge. Literally being considered “wise” or understanding medicine was witchcraft. Plenty bastardful, IMO

https://youtu.be/aeA0XMPZcsU

Heat🔥

I think this was a great analysis, comments? https://diaboliquemagazine.com/a-closer-look-at-the-blood-on-satans-claw/

I missed the first KS for Dark Rituals: Malleus Maleficarum so I'm going to pick it up now it's back on.

Wondering if it's worth getting The Cursed Fjords expansion with it.

I'm in the UK so I'd be paying VAT + shipping so I'll be looking about £114 for the base and £150 for the Base and expansion, so it ain't cheap!

Hoping to gets people's thoughts on the expansion and if the if it is worth the money for what it add.

No facts, just full on personal opinions please :)

Cheers

It’s bound with another book, and it’s just amazing, here are some pictures! I just needed to share with people who might understand my excitement.

Edit: So sorry, for those who don’t know, I didn't know this many people would be so interested! The Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for “The Hammer of Witches”), is the first comprehensive book of witchcraft and witch persecution. I posted this on my phone first but wanted to elaborate more. The Malleus Maleficarum was originally published in 1487 and this particular book was published in 1490, it's an extremely early copy. The book is separated into 3 parts: Part 1 discusses beliefs about witches and their practices. At this time, witch-hunting wasn't at its highest point, but witches were still thought to completely renounce God and the Catholic faith, and have relations with the Devil. Part 2 discusses in detail how witches cause harm and how that harm can be prevented. Part 3 mainly discusses the legal aspects of trying and convicting witches. It has been described as the compendium of literature in demonology of the fifteenth century. The university specifically has let students come in and do research and see if they can decode the notes that were written throughout this particular book. The book describes how to find witches, and how to punish them.

Edit 2: This book is not the first about witchcraft itself, it's about how to identify and hunt witches. It talks about witches relationships with the Devil and says things specifically as if your cattle die, it's the work of a witch. While a fascinating find now, it's a book filled with misogyny and hatred and the content definitely should be read with caution. There are translations readily available online.

https://imgur.com/a/gUX8zIc

City Elf warrior here - as I'm playing the game this evening Wynne I end up talking to Wynne about City Elf Origin, and she brings up that "templars don't always give the maleficar a clean kill. Some say they inflict other abuses upon them before finishing the job" or something like that. I don't know if I didn't notice that before or what but something tells me it's similar to Vaughan's behavior towards Shianni.

Edit: changed the quote a little more towards what she had said