Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

PRICKING

During the Witch-craze of the 16th and 17th centuries, self-appointed Witchfinders would search out suspects and prick malformations on their bodies, such as warts and birthmarks, with needles or other sharp objects. It was widely believed that witches did not feel pain when such a malformation was pricked, and it was for this reason that pricking was regarded as a reliable indication of their true nature.

However, it was recognised even in the heyday of the witch hunts that many of the witchfmders were dishonest, and in his sceptical treatise on witchcraft, The Discoverie qf Witchcraft (1584), Reginald Scot reproduces pictures of a special trick pricking knife used by some of the Witchfinders, the blade of which would slide into the handle. With the aid of this trick knife Witchfinders could appear to stick the knife into the flesh of the subject and when he or she showed no sign of distress, pronounce him or her to be a witch.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc