The Meaning of Witchcraft

«My Directorship of the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft at Castletown, Isle of Man, brings me a great deal of correspondence from all parts of the world;» — Gardner abre el libro con la credencial desde la que escribe: dirige el museo de Castletown, en la Isla de Man, y de ahí le llega la correspondencia que dice motivar el libro. La misma credencial aparece en *Witchcraft Today*.

«However, my more serious correspondents want to know the origin of witchcraft.» — declara que la pregunta que el libro se propone contestar se la ponen sus lectores: de dónde viene la brujería.

«Firstly, those who take the severely rationalist view that witchcraft was a kind of mass hysteria, arising from psychological causes.» — la primera de las tres escuelas que distingue: la racionalista, que ve histeria colectiva de causa psicológica.

«Secondly, those who maintain that witchcraft is real, and that it is the worship and service of Satan, in whom its devotees appear to be great believers.» — la segunda escuela: la brujería es real y es culto a Satanás.

«This is the attitude taken by that very prolific writer, the late Montague Summers, and his many imitators.» — según Gardner, esa segunda posición es la de Montague Summers y sus imitadores; lo nombra como su adversario principal.

«Thirdly, that school, headed by anthropologists like Dr. Margaret Murray, which has tried to look at the subject» — la tercera escuela, que encabeza Margaret Murray. La oración sigue en la plana siguiente.

«either superstitious terrors and theological argument on the one hand, or materialistic incredulity on the other.» — el final de esa frase: lo que, según Gardner, la escuela de Murray se propone evitar en los dos flancos.

«This school of thought maintains that witchcraft is simply the remains of the old pagan religion of Western Europe, dating back to the Stone Age, and that the reason for the Church's persecution of it was that it was a dangerous rival.» — según Gardner, la tesis de esa escuela: la brujería es el resto de la vieja religión pagana de Europa occidental, con raíz en la Edad de Piedra, y la Iglesia la persiguió por rival.

«I personally belong to this third school, because its findings accord with my own experience, and because it is the only theory which seems to me to make sense when viewed in the light of the facts of history.» — se adscribe a la tercera escuela y da dos razones: su propia experiencia y la coherencia histórica. La adhesión es declarada, no argumentada aquí.

«When I was out East, before I had any contact with witchcraft in Britain, I investigated much native magic without finding anything which could not be explained by telepathy, hypnotism, suggestion or coincidence, and frankly I considered magic as an instance of the curious things that people will believe.» — cuenta su propio escepticismo anterior: en Oriente no halló nada que no explicaran la telepatía, la hipnosis, la sugestión o la casualidad.

«In those days I was very much interested in Dr. Margaret Murray's theory that witchcraft was the remains of an ancient religion; but as all authorities seemed agreed that while there was evidence that some people may have been witches, there was not the slightest evidence that witches had ever been organised into covens;» — según Gardner, la objeción que en su momento le hizo descartar la teoría de Murray era la falta de prueba de que hubiera aquelarres organizados.

«I dismissed witchcraft as something which had possibly happened once, but even if it had existed it had been “burnt out” three hundred years ago.» — su posición previa, dicha con la expresión de los perseguidores: extinguida a fuego tres siglos atrás.

«They said that witches existed everywhere, and were both male and female.» — según Gardner, lo que decían los tratados antiguos: brujas en todas partes y de ambos sexos.

«However, in the late 17th and the 18th centuries public opinion seemed to change.» — data en el siglo XVII tardío y el XVIII el giro de la opinión pública sobre la creencia en brujas.

«I did not think that anyone, with the exception of the Rev. Montague Summers, dared hint that there might be anything in witchcraft today without being laughed at.» — concede a Summers, su adversario, el mérito de haber sido el único que sostenía la existencia actual de la brujería.

«However, after Dr. Murray's books appeared, some other people were bold enough to admit that there were some witches left, but said that they were only village fortune-tellers, impostors who knew nothing about the subject, and there never had been any organisation, and anyone who thought otherwise was just being imaginative.» — según Gardner, la concesión mínima que siguió a los libros de Murray: quedaban brujas, pero eran adivinas de aldea sin organización alguna.

«I was of these opinions in 1939, when, here in Britain, I met some people who compelled me to alter them.» — fecha en 1939 el encuentro que dice haberle hecho cambiar de opinión.

«Although I believe in reincarnation, as many people do who have lived in the East, I do not remember my past lives clearly; I only wish I did.» — declara su creencia en la reencarnación y a la vez su falta de recuerdo. La misma reserva, casi con las mismas palabras, está en *Witchcraft Today*.

«I was half-initiated before the word “Wica” which they used hit me» — el momento en que dice haber reconocido dónde estaba: la palabra *Wica* usada por sus iniciadores. El libro escribe *Wica* con una sola c, contra la grafía *Wicca* que emplea el prólogo de 2022.

«And so I found myself in the Circle, and there took the usual oath of secrecy, which bound me not to reveal certain things.» — el juramento que, según él, fija el límite de todo lo que el libro puede decir.

«I discovered the inner meaning of that saying in one of Fiona MacLeod's books: “The Old Gods are not dead. They think we are.”» — toma de un libro de Fiona MacLeod la fórmula con que resume su hallazgo.

«I am a member of the Society for Psychical Research, and on the Committee of the Folklore Society;» — declara sus dos pertenencias institucionales, que usa como respaldo de su intención de publicar.

«But I was met with a determined refusal. “The Age of Persecution is not over,” they told me; “give anyone half a chance and the fires will blaze up again.”» — según Gardner, la razón que le dieron los suyos para negarle el permiso de contarlo: la persecución no ha terminado.

«This Act is, I believe, unique in legally recognising the existence of genuine mediumship and psychic powers.» — sobre la ley británica que sustituyó a la de brujería: sostiene que es única por reconocer en derecho la mediumnidad auténtica.

«Any attempt to show witchcraft in anything even remotely resembling a favourable light, or to challenge the old representation of it as something uniformly evil and devilish, or even to present it as a legitimate object of study, can still arouse the most surprising reactions.» — describe la reacción que provoca incluso tratar la brujería como objeto legítimo de estudio.

«In particular, I denied that witches celebrated the Black Mass, or that they killed animals—or even unbaptised babies—as blood sacrifices.» — la negación central del libro, enunciada aquí como resumen de lo que ya había sostenido: ni Misa Negra ni sacrificios de sangre.

«They all said, “We don't know how to perform it, and if we did, what would be the point of doing so?”» — según Gardner, la respuesta de los propios miembros del culto a la pregunta por la Misa Negra: ni saben celebrarla ni le ven objeto.

«I am not the first to have pointed this out; Eliphas Levi, the celebrated French occultist, who was also a devote Catholic, stated in his book, Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie, that the first condition of success in the practice of black magic was to be prepared to profane the cultus in which we believed.» — según Gardner, Eliphas Levi ya había señalado que la magia negra exige profanar el culto en que se cree, de lo que se sigue que un pagano no puede celebrar una Misa Negra. La grafía *devote* es la que imprime la fuente.

«Some may hold that anyone who does not believe in Transubstantiation is lacking in the True Faith and doomed to Hell.» — plantea el caso límite con que discute la acusación de profanación: quien no cree en la transubstanciación.

«I am told that certain Nonconformist ministers preaching against Transubstantiation obtained consecrated Hosts and held them up to mockery in the pulpit; but I have never heard that this made them witches.» — el ejemplo con que separa la profanación de la hostia de la brujería; lo da de oídas, y así lo marca.

«The point which those writers who persistently link the witch cult with the Black Mass fail to appreciate is that they can either maintain that witches are pagans, or that they celebrate Black Masses; but that in the name of logic and common sense they cannot have it both ways.» — el argumento central del libro contra la Misa Negra: paganismo y misa invertida se excluyen, porque solo profana el rito quien cree en él.

«Unlike a number of sensational writers, I do not wish to convey the impression that there are witches at work in every corner of the land.» — acota el alcance de lo que afirma y se separa de la prensa sensacionalista.

«They are generally the descendants of witch families, and have inherited a tradition which has been preserved for generations.» — sostiene la transmisión familiar del culto como vía principal de continuidad.

«all those frightful stories of the witches bringing babies to the Sabbat to eat them; what really happened was that witch parents dared not omit to have their babies baptised, for fear of instantly arousing suspicion, so they used to bring the babies to the Sabbat first, and present them in dedication to the Old Gods.» — su reinterpretación de las historias de bebés en el sabbat: no antropofagia sino presentación a los Dioses Antiguos antes del bautismo cristiano.

«Then, they felt, it wouldn't matter if a ceremony of Christian baptism was later gone through “for show.”» — el bautismo cristiano quedaba, según él, como formalidad de apariencia.

«However, as the persecution of the Old Religion grew more fierce, it became dangerous to admit children.» — data en el recrudecimiento de la persecución el abandono de la iniciación infantil.

«There are terrible records of children being hanged or burned with their parents, merely because they were of the witch blood.» — sostiene que hay registro de niños ejecutados por pertenecer a la sangre del culto.

«Margaret Ine Quane, for instance, who was burned as a witch here in Castletown in 1617, had her young son burned with her, simply because he was her son.» — el caso concreto que da, ocurrido en la localidad donde escribe.

«Hence the custom of initiating the children was less and less observed, and this, coupled with the wholesale extermination policy carried on at the Church's instigation, soon greatly reduced the numbers of the cult.» — su explicación del declive numérico: menos iniciaciones infantiles más exterminio.

«The witches are firm believers in reincarnation, and they say that “Once a witch, always a witch.”» — el factor de continuidad que, según él, sus perseguidores no previeron: la reencarnación, con la fórmula que atribuye a las propias brujas.

«THE WEISER CLASSICS SERIES offers essential works from renowned authors and spiritual teachers, foundational texts, as well as introductory guides on an array of topics» — de la nota de serie que abre el volumen, no de Gardner: la casa editora presenta la colección en que reedita el libro.

«The series represents the full range of subjects and genres that have been part of Weiser's over sixty-year-long publishing program—from divination and magick to alchemy and occult philosophy.» — la misma nota de serie declara el arco temático del sello: de la adivinación y la magia a la alquimia y la filosofía oculta.

«Originally published in the U.K. in 1959 by Aquarian, London.» — la página de derechos data la primera edición británica.

«Previously published in 2004 as The Meaning of Witchcraft by Weiser Books, ISBN: 978-1-57863-309-8.» — la misma página consigna la edición Weiser intermedia con su ISBN.

«This new Weiser Classics edition includes a new foreword by Pam Grossman.» — lo único que la edición de 2022 declara añadir al texto de 1959.

«Foreword copyright © 2022 by Pam Grossman» — la titularidad del prólogo, firmada aparte de la del libro.

«Today, identifying as a witch is rather in vogue, as evidenced by a proliferation of stylish occult shops, contemporary grimoires, and bewitching social media posts.» — Pam Grossman abre su prólogo de 2022 fechando la moda de nombrarse bruja en el comercio ocultista y en las redes.

«But when The Meaning of Witchcraft was published in 1959, such developments would have been quite a shock to its author—although, one presumes, a delightful one.» — Grossman marca la distancia entre ese presente y el año del libro.

«But even with the law having been changed eight years earlier, this book's mission was a tall order, for it attempted to counteract centuries of negative PR against witches by putting witchcraft in a historical context—and a better light overall.» — Grossman describe el propósito del libro como contrapropaganda, ocho años después de derogada la ley.

«And though there are many reasons and people responsible for this evolution, one of the most prominent ones is, ironically perhaps, a man and the author of this book: Gerald Brosseau Gardner.» — Grossman nombra al autor con su nombre completo y le adjudica buena parte del cambio de sentido de la palabra *witch*.

«Gardner himself was many things: a sickly child born just outside Liverpool in 1884 to wealthy parents.» — el dato biográfico que da Grossman: nacimiento en 1884 a las afueras de Liverpool, familia acomodada.

«A self-proclaimed “archaeologist and anthropologist,” though one seemingly without any formal training or accreditation.» — Grossman consigna que las credenciales con que Gardner se presenta son autoadjudicadas. En el cuerpo del libro Gardner se llama a sí mismo antropólogo sin esa reserva.

«Here his esoteric studies (not to mention well-funded free time) eventually —and, it must be said, allegedly—led him to being initiated by a woman named “Old Dorothy Clutterbuck” into one of the last surviving English covens, via which he was supposedly taught the magical techniques and worship practices of a long line of British Pagan witches.» — Grossman relata la iniciación por Old Dorothy Clutterbuck marcándola dos veces como alegada.

«Not that Wicca was the term he used to describe the religion he helped usher forth.» — Grossman advierte que el nombre con que hoy se conoce la religión no es el de Gardner.

«was positioned as being a continuation of the practices of an ancient “witch cult,” and many of his ideas were based upon a nowcontroversial theory put forth by Egyptology professor and eventual Folklore Society president, Dr. Margaret Murray.» — Grossman remite la tesis de la continuidad a Margaret Murray y la califica de controvertida hoy. La grafía *nowcontroversial* es como la devuelve la capa de texto, que une el guion de corte de renglón.

«Murray herself would go on to write the introduction to Gardner's first non-fiction book, Witchcraft Today, stating that the beliefs and customs Gardner described therein were “a true survival and not a mere revival copied out of books.”» — Grossman cita la fórmula de Murray en la introducción a *Witchcraft Today*; la misma frase está fichada en `gardner-witchcraft-today` desde la propia introducción.

«Complicating matters is the fact that many of Gardner's coven's rituals were, in fact, later revealed to be just that, as he drew from “biblical verses, the Mathers edition of the Key of Solomon, the Goetia, a work on the cabbala, three different books by [Aleister] Crowley, the Waite-Smith tarot pack, and one or two unidentified grimoires,” according to witchcraft scholar Ronald Hutton, as well as the writings of Charles Godfrey Leland and Murray's own books.» — Grossman recoge de Ronald Hutton la lista de fuentes escritas de las que, según él, salen los ritos: versículos bíblicos, la Clave de Salomón de Mathers, la Goetia, un libro de cábala, tres de Crowley, el tarot Waite-Smith y grimorios sin identificar. Va aquí y no en Afirmaciones porque es voz del prólogo, no del libro.

«These writings were further refined by Gardner's creative partners, including High Priestess and poet Doreen Valiente.» — Grossman nombra a Doreen Valiente entre quienes refinaron esos textos.

«For what he and his comrades ultimately did was to develop a brand-new religion, albeit one they framed as being based on something quite old.» — la lectura de Grossman: una religión nueva presentada como antigua. Es lo contrario de lo que sostiene el cuerpo del libro, y las dos quedan consignadas.

«It remains debatable whether or not Gardner's own witchcraft practice was drawn from an actual unbroken British Pagan lineage or was derived from his imaginings and those of his cohort's—or some combination thereof.» — Grossman deja la cuestión del linaje abierta en vez de resolverla.

«damning insult into a badge of honor is largely because of Gardner and his life's work.» — Grossman adjudica a Gardner el paso de la palabra *witch* de insulto a divisa. La frase empieza en la plana anterior; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana.

«His primary intentions with the book were twofold: first, to expand upon his notions of the historical precedent for the witchcraft that had become so dear to him and that he had begun exploring in Witchcraft Today; second, to thoroughly refute the common belief that witchcraft was in any way associated with Satan or with evil in general.» — Grossman resume el libro en dos propósitos: ampliar el precedente histórico y separar la brujería de Satanás.

«As he put it, “If this book serves no purpose than to debunk this poisonous rubbish, it will have done a good job.”» — Grossman cita al propio Gardner sobre la finalidad del libro.

«Many historians now believe that it was approximately 100,000 people who lost their lives during the witch hunts, for example, and not the nine million that Gardner and the writers he quotes claimed.» — Grossman opone la cifra que hoy manejan los historiadores a la de nueve millones que el libro repite. El desacuerdo se consigna; las dos cifras están en el mismo volumen.

«That the covens he details are always led by a High Priestess who chooses her High Priest is nothing short of a micro-matriarchy.» — la lectura de Grossman sobre la estructura del aquelarre que describe el libro.

«Feminists like me will bristle at his insistence that a coven's human representative of the Goddess be “young and lovely . . . motherly and kind . . . Man's Ideal.”» — Grossman objeta el retrato que Gardner exige de la representante de la Diosa, citándolo.

«Though he does say that the High Priestess “can represent the God if necessary,” he goes on to write that “no man can ever represent the Goddess.”» — Grossman señala la asimetría de la regla de representación en el propio texto de Gardner.

«Still, as with many older texts, The Meaning of Witchcraft is riddled with language and ideas that by current measures are problematic if not outright offensive.» — la reserva general de Grossman sobre el lenguaje del libro.

«There is no room for homosexuality in Gardner's model, and his understanding of gender is extremely binary.» — Grossman fija el límite del modelo de aquelarre en parejas hombre-mujer.

«some terminology he uses is dated at best, racist at worst.» — Grossman califica parte del vocabulario de Gardner sobre otras culturas.

«forms of occultism were for an exclusive subset of learned men, “the witch belonged essentially to the people.”» — Grossman cierra oponiendo el ocultismo de eruditos a la brujería popular, con una frase del propio Gardner. La oración empieza en la plana anterior.

«The people to which he was referring may have been part of a romanticized history. But I'm far more interested in Gardner's legacy.» — Grossman concede el carácter romantizado de la historia que Gardner cuenta y desplaza su interés al legado.