Focus: Trace the evolution of how the Church officially began to link magical practices with heresy from the 4th century onward.
Blog Angle: Explain how the word maleficium (harmful magic) became central in Church law and how it separated "white magic" from "black magic"—only to later demonize all of it.
Key Themes: Legal definitions of heresy, canon law, witch trials.
For centuries, the magical and spiritual practices of our ancestors were deeply woven into daily life. Healing herbs, protective charms, fertility rites, moon rituals—these were not seen as evil, but essential. But when the early Christian Church rose to power, it launched a campaign to erase these traditions. It wasn’t just a war against “witches.” It was a war against the old ways.
In this post, we’ll explore how the Church equated witchcraft with heresy, criminalized ancient spiritual practices, and used fear to rewrite history.
The Church vs. the Old Ways
When Christianity spread through Europe, it entered lands rich with tradition. The Germanic tribes, Celtic peoples, and Slavic communities all had their own gods, festivals, and magical systems. These beliefs weren’t just folklore—they were lived religion.
To grow its power, the Church couldn’t just preach. It had to replace, outlaw, and demonize the belief systems that came before.
One of its sharpest weapons? The label of heresy.
What Is Heresy—And Why Was Magic Called That?
Heresy is any belief or practice that goes against official Church doctrine. At first, this term was used mostly for disagreements within the Church. But over time, it was expanded to include anything outside of Christian teachings—including traditional magic and folk beliefs.
Starting in the 4th and 5th centuries, Church leaders began cracking down:
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In Canon Law, maleficium (Latin for harmful magic) was defined as a sin punishable by excommunication or worse.
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Pagan holidays and seasonal celebrations were branded as devil worship.
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Practitioners of herbal medicine, weather magic, or divination were seen not as village helpers—but as heretics undermining Church authority.
“They sacrifice to demons, not to God.” — Council of Toledo, 694 CE
From Folk Magic to Capital Crime
By the 11th century, local customs that had once been tolerated were now targets of persecution.
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Charms and spells, once common for blessing livestock or protecting homes, were called demonic.
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Midwives and herbalists, especially women, were increasingly suspected of using forbidden knowledge.
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Church records from the Synod of Paderborn (785 CE) stated that those who believed in witches “must be corrected with the punishment due.”
And by the 13th century, everything escalated.
Enter the Inquisition: Magic = Heresy = Death
The Inquisition was established by the Church to seek out and punish heretics. By the time of the Papal Bull Vox in Rama (1233 CE) and Pope John XXII’s Super Illius Specula (1326 CE), witchcraft was officially declared a form of heresy.
This meant that magic was not just sinful—it was a crime punishable by death.
Anyone practicing the “old ways”—even simple acts of healing or blessing—could be accused of consorting with the devil. The lines between:
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Folk healer and heretic,
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Wise woman and witch,
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Devotion and damnation,
...were completely blurred.
Historical Sources That Mark This Shift
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Canon Episcopi (circa 906 CE): Early Church text stating that belief in witches was foolish—but still sinful. Later reinterpreted to support harsher punishments.
- The "Canon Episcopi," an early Church text from circa 906 CE, initially asserted that the belief in witches' physical reality—such as women flying with pagan goddesses—was a mere illusion or phantasm inspired by the devil, thus deeming such belief foolish and heretical. However, despite this original intent to dismiss the literal reality of witchcraft, the text still condemned the "pernicious art of divination and magic" as sinful.
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Synod of Paderborn (785 CE): Declared belief in magic a punishable offense; started associating witches with Satan.
- The Synod of Paderborn in 785 CE marked a significant turning point in the Church's stance on magic, declaring belief in it a punishable offense and beginning the association of witches with Satan. While the council also condemned those who falsely accused and killed alleged witches, its decrees aimed to suppress pagan practices and solidify Christian control, effectively laying foundational groundwork for later, more severe persecutions by framing magical practices as being in league with demonic forces.
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Pope Gregory IX – Vox in Rama (1233 CE): One of the first Church documents to claim witches worshipped the devil.
- Pope Gregory IX's papal bull, Vox in Rama, issued in 1233 CE, is considered one of the first Church documents to explicitly link witchcraft with devil worship. While its primary focus was on condemning a specific sect of Luciferians in Germany and detailing their alleged depraved rituals, including the veneration of a black cat figure, the bull served to solidify the theological framework that identified magic and heresy as originating from a direct pact with Satan. This crucial association laid significant groundwork for the later demonization of witches, shifting the perception of them from mere practitioners of harmful magic to direct enemies of God, thereby intensifying the Church's pursuit and punishment of those accused of witchcraft.
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Pope John XXII – Super Illius Specula (1326 CE): Formally declared magic and sorcery to be heresy, giving the Inquisition power to act.
- In 1326 CE, Pope John XXII issued the papal bull Super Illius Specula, which formally declared the practice of magic and sorcery to be heresy. This was a critical development as it brought these activities under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition, granting it the authority to investigate and prosecute those accused of such offenses. The bull reflected Pope John XXII's personal concerns about magical assaults and politically motivated accusations, solidifying a legal framework that linked sorcery directly to diabolical pacts and thus, to an assault on the Christian faith itself, paving the way for more systematic persecution.
The Erasure of Ancestral Knowledge
Behind the holy words and legal documents was a much deeper truth: The Church feared what it couldn’t control.
Magic, especially when held in the hands of women and rooted in nature, was independent of the Church. It threatened the rigid hierarchy of male clergy and divine intermediaries.
By equating witchcraft with heresy, the Church effectively erased generations of ancestral wisdom—recasting it as evil instead of sacred.
🕯️ Why It Matters Today
The old ways weren’t evil—they were spiritual traditions that honored the earth, the moon, the body, and the divine feminine. The persecution of witches wasn't just a spiritual battle—it was a political and cultural erasure.
As modern witches, practitioners, and spiritual seekers, we remember what was lost.
We reclaim what was condemned.
✨ Join the Reclamation
Follow The Witch Club Creations for future blog posts exploring the myths, truths, and magic behind witch history. Let’s keep the old ways alive—in wisdom, not in fear. Or join our Newsletter!
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