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

ROYAL TOUCH

A method of mystical healing considered efficacious during the Tudor and Stuart reigns in England. Prominent surgeons of the day testified that they had witnessed substantial numbers of cures administered in this way, through the laying-on of the monarch's hand.

There is no evidence supporting the claims of efficacy and most cures resulted only after a period of time, nonetheless the cures attracted great conviction amongst the public, driven by the belief in the divine nature of the king and by what seemed preferable to the more conventional surgeon's remedies which were frequently painful.

The afflictions allegedly cured came under the generic title of the 'King's Evil' and included various eye complaints, scrofula and tuberculosis. Scrofula was an intermittent disease, a factor which lent readily to the appearance of being magically cured, and some forms of tuberculosis possessed the characteristic of healing spontaneously.

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