However, this assertion that Sanders was initiated by his grandmother in any fashion has been discredited, as Wibberley (2018) states: [1] Scottish witches were linked to storms by the testimony of Gillis Duncan (or Geillis Duncan). She was a servant of David Seaton in Tranent, who forced her to make a confession. Apparently Duncan suddenly began to exhibit a miraculous healing ability and would sneak out of the house during the night. When Seaton confronted her, she could not explain her new ability and strange behaviour and he had her tortured. Whilst she was able to withstand many forms of torture including pilliwinks, she eventually confessed to witchcraft when the method of searching was used (searching is where a suspected witch would be 'searched' for a blemish such as a mole or birth mark, this would then be proclaimed to be a witch's mark) [13] and accused many others of witchcraft. [14] According to the contemporary pamphlet Newes from Scotland, 1591, she named numerous individuals, both women and men: Under torture Sampson confessed that she had tried to use witchcraft against the king. James VI asked her to prove it and according to Carmichael, “she declared unto him the very words which passed between the king’s majesty and his queen at Oslo in Norway the first night of their marriage”. James VI had her burned at the stake, not surprisingly.

David Reid, David Hume of Godscroft's History of the House of Angus, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 2005), p. 396-8. The Witch-king, beaten, yet having successfully brought down the kingdoms of the former Arnor, fled the north. Angmar was now leaderless, and soon collapsed.There were no laws banning witchcraft in Britain until Henry VIII took to the throne – he was the first ruler to define witchcraft as an offence. In 1542, the Witchcraft Act was passed and the practice became a crime punishable by death. 7. There was a 17th-century “Witchfinder General”

During the 1960s, Sanders met Maxine Morris, a Roman Catholic 20 years his junior, whom he initiated into the craft and made his High Priestess. In 1965, they handfasted (a witch marriage) and, in 1968, they married in a civil ceremony. They moved into a basement flat in West London, where they ran their coven and taught classes on witchcraft. Their daughter, Maya, was born in 1968. The Sanders separated in 1971, neither being able to compromise over Alex’s bisexuality, although a son Victor was born in 1972, and their relationship continued with varying levels of intensity until Sanders’ death in 1988. After their separation, Sanders moved to Sussex, while Maxine remained in the London flat where she continued running the coven and teaching the craft.

Winifred Coutts, The Business of the College of Justice in 1600 (Edinburgh: Stair Society, 2003), pp. 183-4. David Seaton examined her as a witch and obtained a confession that caused the apprehension of several others [A 10] later declared to be notorious witches. Agnis Tompson confessed before King James to have attempted his assassination using witchcraft on more than one occasion. The pamphlet details how she attempted these. She also participated in a sabbat during All Hallows' Eve [A 11] as her and others sacrificed a cat and sent it into the sea as they chanted in hopes of summoning a tempest to sink a fleet of ships accompanying James as he was arriving in the port of Leith from a trip to Norway. One ship was sunk from the storm containing gifts meant for the Queen of Scotland but the others including the ship transporting King James were unharmed. [A 12] The Jews of our days believe that after the body of a man is interred, his spirit goes and comes, and departs from the spot where it is destined to visit his body, and to know what passes around him; that it is wandering during a whole year after the death of the body, and that it was during that year of delay that the Pythoness of Endor evoked the soul of Samuel, after which time the evocation would have had no power over his spirit. Christianity [ edit ] William Blake's painting of Saul, the shade of Samuel and the Witch of Endor. The Witch-king of Angmar, or Lord of the Nazgûl, was the leader of the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) and Sauron's deadliest vassal during the Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth.

It was alleged that Euphame MacCalzean, Barbara Napier, Agnes Sampson and others had attended an assembly of witches at " Atkynson's Haven" where an image of James VI was given to the devil for the destruction of the king. [19] Sanders' sister, Joan, was injured in an accidental shooting and shortly after diagnosed with terminal cancer at a very young age. [19] [20] Sanders blamed his sister's ill-health on himself for his involvement in the left hand path, and resolved to stop using his magic for selfish reasons and instead teach it to others. [21] At the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Éowyn challenges him with the words: "Begone, foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion!" It is supposed that the word dwimmerlaik is formed from the Old English words "gedwimer" (sorcery), and "lic" (corpse, as in 'lich'); in Rohanese the term is said to mean 'spectre' or 'work of necromancy'. The Witch-king confronts Gandalf and Pippin at Minas Tirith Films The Lord of the Rings film trilogy " Do you not know death when you see it, old man? This is my hour! You have failed. The world of men will fall." — The Witch-king to Gandalf in the The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingAccording to Newes from Scotland , it was Agnes Sampson's confession that linked the accused to a plot to kill King James.

Agnes Sampson the eldest witch of them all, dwelling in Haddington; Agnes Tompson of Edenbrough; Doctor Fian alias John Cuningham, master of the school at Saltpans in Lowthian, of whose life and strange acts you shal hear more largely in the end of this discourse. These were by the said Geillis Duncane accused, as also George Motts wife, dwelling in Lowthian; Robert Grierson, skipper; and Jannet Blandilands; with the potter's wife of Seaton: the smith at the Brigge Hallis, with innumerable others in those parts, and dwelling in those bounds aforesaid; of whom some are already executed, the rest remained in prison to receive the doome of judgment at the Kinges Majesties will and pleasure. [14] [15] Eventually, coven members with whom Sanders was practising left the coven amicably, leaving Sanders to continue as the High Priest and Sylvia Tatham as the High Priestess. Di Fiosa estimates that by the end of 1963, Sanders and Tatham had initiated over 100 witches in England. [14] During this period, Sanders' coven worked at his home at 24 Egerton Road North, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. [15] Sanders continued to attract media attention which brought him more followers, and by 1965, Sanders claimed to have initiated 1,623 people in 100 covens. He was then proclaimed "King of the [Alexandrian] Witches". [12] [16] The third book is the conclusion of the whole dialogue. James says that demons are under the direct supervision of God and are unable to act without God's permission, and he shows how God uses demonic forces as a "Rod of Correction" when men stray from His will. Demons may also be commissioned by witches or magicians to conduct acts of ill will against others. He quotes previous authors who state that each devil has the ability to appear in diverse shapes or forms for varying purposes. [A 3] [A 4] Ultimately the works of demons (despite their attempts to do otherwise) will end in the further glorification of God . [A 3] [A 4]

3. Hedgehogs were associated with witchcraft

The year is 1590 and King James VI was sailing home from Denmark with his new wife, when a storm whips up tremendously vicious and fierce, even sinking one of the fleet. But, in a superstitious era, storms aren’t always just bad weather – sometimes they’re seen as the work of dark magic… And the perfect suspect was already in place. Games Workshop has released several miniatures of the Witch-king based on his appearances in the movies. He is depicted on foot, as riding a Nazgûl-bird and as riding a horse. He is also included in a mini diorama depicting his last moments in The Return of the King.