The practice of Witchcraft in England has had a very long history of laws and penalties for those who have participated in the acts of magick, consulted with the spirits, or even those who consulted with those who claimed to be Witches or who claimed to have the power to contact the spirit world. One of those most famous acts, which was also one of the most important in the history of Witchcraft in England, came into action on June 1, 1563.
While the first act of British Parliament to try and stop others from practicing the “forbidden arts” took place in 1401, an act that made Witchcraft a heresy against the church and the government, it was the Witchcraft Act of 1563 that made the “crime” of Witchcraft punishable by death. This is considered the most famous and notorious of the Witchcraft Acts in England and was passed in the early stages of the reign of Elizabeth I. The law stated that anyone who would “use, practice, or exercise any Witchcraft, enchantment, charm or sorcery, whereby any person shall happen to be killed or destroyed” would be found guilty of a felony crime against the kingdom and would be sentenced to death without the benefit of clergy. This was particularly important to the people of the day because this would mean they would not be given a chance to confess and be absolved of any sins and they would not have any last rites given to them.
In 1604 James I, who was Elizabeth’s successor, actually broadened the law to include that anyone who invoked or communed with spirits would also be found guilty and sentenced to death would go to their death without the benefit of clergy.
On of the things that many people misunderstand about those found guilty is the idea that they were all burned at the stake. The changes in the laws made by Elizabeth and James made Witchcraft a felony which brought them before common law courts, and the act was no longer considered one of heresy. In the Act of 1401, because of the ties to heresy against the country of England, those accused were tied before a tribunal and, when found guilty, burned at the stake, as this was the method of execution for those that committed crimes against the kingdom and country. By making the law a felony and not heresy that changed; those accused were now afforded the “luxuries” of common law detention compared to those held by the tribunal courts. Burning at the stake was all but eliminated during Elizabeth and James’s reigns with the exception of acts of treason. Instead, those found guilty of Witchcraft would not be hanged rather than burned.
Another misconception is that the laws against Witchcraft remained firmly in place and untouched between 1563 and 1951 when the acts were greatly changed making the way for Wicca and Gerald Gardner to reach the masses. As we can see from the actions and changes taken by James I in 1604 we know this to be untrue, but in 1736 George II also came along to make a change that would help largely change how Witchcraft was treated legally. Under George II, the Witchcraft Act was changed to state that anyone who pretended to have powers that allowed them to call up spirits to commune with and do their bidding, anyone who claimed to have the power to foretell the future, and anyone who claimed to be able to cast spells would be punished as a con artist and subject to fines and prison time. With George II’s changes to the Witchcraft Act, as of 1736 Witchcraft was no longer an act that was punishable by death.
The last known person to be punished under the 1736 act was Helen Duncan who, in 1944, was sentenced to prison where she remained for nine months after authorities became fearful that she would be able to use her supposed clairvoyant powers to work against the government during their preparations for D-Day. Before her death she was arrested again in 1956 under the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951, the act which would replace all other anti-Witchcraft laws and acts that made Witchcraft illegal.
The act of 1951, which was taken into action in England and Wales, prohibited psychics, mediums and spiritualist from claiming to have special powers and abilities for the purpose of taking money through the act of deception from the public. This is the act that spawned the ever popular phrase used by psychics , “for entertainment purposes only”. This act was actually repealed in May 2008 under schedule 4 of the Consumer Protection and Unfair Trade Regulations in the UK.
So today we mark the beginning of a long history of often false accusations and wrongful deaths in the the UK. We honor and acknowledge the loss and sacrifice for all those who died wrongly in order for those in the UK who practice Witchcraft and spiritualism to be able to do so without fear of death and other hash punishments.
