Category Archives: Magic and Occult

Dec. 5, 1484: Pope Authorizes Inquisition Against Witches

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Francisco Goya's 1789 painting, "Witches' Sabbath"

Francisco Goya’s 1789 painting, “Witches’ Sabbath”

During what is known as the Little Ice Age, the grip of freezing weather, failing of crops, rising crime, and mass starvation resulted in an increasing fear of witches. On the request of German inquisitor Heinrich Kramer, Innocent VIII issued the papal bull known as  Summis desiderantes(5 December 1484), which supported Kramer’s investigations against magicians and witches:

“It has recently come to our ears, not without great pain to us, that in some parts of upper Germany, […] Mainz, Koin, Trier, Salzburg, and Bremen, many persons of both sexes, heedless of their own salvation and forsaking the catholic faith, give themselves over to devils male and female, and by their incantations, charms, and conjurings, and by other abominable superstitions and sortileges, offences, crimes, and misdeeds, ruin and cause to perish the offspring of women, the foal of animals, the products of the earth, the grapes of vines, and the fruits of trees, as well as men and women, cattle and flocks and herds and animals of every kind, vineyards also and orchards, meadows, pastures, harvests, grains and other fruits of the earth; that they afflict and torture with dire pains and anguish, both internal and external, these men, women, cattle, flocks, herds, and animals, and hinder men from begetting […]”

Pope Innocent’s statement also includes a warning against sexual encounters with demons. It was thought that a succubus collects semen from the men she seduces. The incubi or male demons then use the semen to impregnate human females, thus explaining how demons could apparently sire children despite the traditional belief that they were incapable of reproduction. Children so begotten – cambions – were supposed to be those that were born deformed, or more susceptible to supernatural influences. The book does not address why a human female impregnated with the semen of a human male would not produce a regular human offspring. But in some Viking lore the child is born deformed because the conception was unnatural.

Topaz

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Topaz

Topaz was one of the original gems on the breastplate of the Jewish high priest, inscribed to with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. While many of the birthstones have been changed over the millennia, topaz is one gem that is almost universally accepted as November’s birthstone; it is the gem of the zodiac sign Sagittarius. It is also called Sunday’s gemstone-and it associated with the sun.

Indeed, St. John in Revelation writes that topaz was “touched by the splendor of the sun.” He lists topaz as the ninth foundation stone–each of the stones represents a Christian virtue. To St. John, topaz is the clearest of all gemstones and signifies contemplation which expands the heart and aligns men with the nine orders of angels.

The name, “topaz,” comes from the island, Topazio, which is in the Red Sea. It was commonly used as an amulet as protection from the “evil eye.” The theme of a cure of eyes runs though some of the early Christian writing from the tenth century. St. Hildegard of Bingen claimed the gem was so brilliant that it illuminated prayers in a dark chapel, and claimed the gem was a cure of dim vision. She recommended placing a piece of topaz in white wine for three days and nights, then rubbing the eye with the stone before sleep with the wet stone and using the wine as an eye wash.

Other “healing” applications vary over the centuries. Powdered topaz placed in wine cured asthma, burns, insomnia and hemorrhage. It was said to cure sadness and make you more intelligent and was particularly powerful if used in moonlight. Pope Clement VI and Pope Gregory II claimed that topaz could even cure the sores from the plague.

Chrysanthemum

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Chrysanthemum

With a history that dates back to 15th century B.C., chrysanthemum mythology is filled with a multitude of stories and symbolism. Named from the Greek prefix “chrys-“ meaning golden (its original color) and “-anthemion,” meaning flower, years of artful cultivation have produced a full range of colors, from white to purple to red. Daisy-like with a typically yellow center and a decorative pompon, chrysanthemums symbolize optimism and joy. They’re the November birth flower, the 13th wedding anniversary flower and the official flower of the city of Chicago. In Japan, there’s even a “Festival of Happiness” to celebrate this flower each year.

Alchemists associate Chrysanthemum with the element fire and its traditional occult or folk-use was always protective: wearing the flowers can protect against the wrath of both gods and evil spirits and a garden in which chrysanthemum blooms is off-limits to evil sprites or demons. Drinking an infusion of the flower can cure drunkenness (hangovers)!