SISAL SKELETON DOG HALLOWEEN DECORATION witch hat pre-lit glitter cute yard RARE

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Seller: sidewaysstairsco ✉️ (1,180) 100%, Location: Santa Ana, California, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 204072328050 SISAL SKELETON DOG HALLOWEEN DECORATION witch hat pre-lit glitter cute yard RARE. (wikipedia.org). World total 281.6. People's Republic of China 16.5. Madagascar 18.9. Kenya 28.0. Tanzania 34.9. Original definition. A retired Kmart product! Check out my other new & used items>>>>>>HERE! (click me) FOR SALE: A spooky-cute Halloween decoration for your yard or home TOTALLY GHOUL "SISAL SKELETON DOG" DETAILS: It's a cute dog skeleton in sisal form! Accent your Halloween time decorations with the macabre yet whimsical "Sisal Skeleton Dog" by Totally Ghoul. The cute, costumed dog is depicted as a disarming skeleton wearing a partial witch costume (purple witch hat and matching bow tie collar). The skeleton dog Halloween decoration has a design that looks like the combination of a character dreamt up by the fantastic film maker and artist, Tim Burton, and a cutesy kawaii-like Japanese cartoon character. The skeleton dog's elongated face reminds us of a sandworm from Tim Burton's classic fantasy/comedy/horror film, Beetlejuice . We see similarities in the head shape, colors, and the eye shape, though the dog has solid black facial features. The lightweight figure are covered in colored and textured sisal fibres (a durable fibre used to make rope) and the black portions are also covered in black glitter. Inside the quirky skeleton figure are 25 incandescent light bulbs that give the Halloween time decoration a lovely glow. The "Sisal Skeleton Dog" was designed for indoor or outdoor use. The light appears warm yellow in the photos but in person the color of the light is more white. Includes instructions, 2 replacement bulbs and a fuse. Natural sisal! Sisal is "a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The sisal fibre is traditionally used for rope and twine, and has many other uses, including paper, cloth, footwear, hats, bags, carpets, geotextiles, and dartboards. It is also used as fibre reinforcements for composite fibre-glass, rubber and cement products." (wikipedia.org) For indoor or outdoor use! Dimensions: 16.5" x 7.7" x 20.5" (41.9 x 19.5 x 52 cm) A retired Kmart product! The "Sisal Skeleton Dog" was created by Kmart for sale exclusively at Kmart retail stores under the brand name, Totally Ghoul. Year of manufacture is unknown but this Halloween decoration was retired at the end of that year's Halloween season and has not been reproduced since - making it hard to find and now collectible. CONDITION: New with box wear. The item is in new condition however the box has acquired some storage wear. We've had a couple of these skeleton dogs, our last one is in similar or better condition than the one shown. Please see photos.  *To ensure safe delivery all items are carefully packaged before shipping out.*  THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. QUESTIONS? JUST ASK. *ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF SIDEWAYS STAIRS CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.* "Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of "All Hallows' evening"),[5] also known as Allhalloween,[6] All Hallows' Eve,[7] or All Saints' Eve,[8] is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide,[9] the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.[10][11] One theory holds that many Halloween traditions may have been influenced by ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain, which may have had pagan roots;[12][13][14][15] some scholars hold that Samhain may have been Christianized as All Hallow's Day, along with its eve, by the early Church.[16] Other academics believe, however, that Halloween began solely as a Christian holiday, being the vigil of All Hallow's Day.[17][18][19][20] Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related guising and souling), attending Halloween costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, divination games, playing pranks, visiting haunted attractions, telling scary stories, as well as watching horror films.[21] In many parts of the world, the Christian religious observances of All Hallows' Eve, including attending church services and lighting candles on the graves of the dead, remain popular,[22][23][24] although elsewhere it is a more commercial and secular celebration.[25][26][27] Some Christians historically abstained from meat on All Hallows' Eve, a tradition reflected in the eating of certain vegetarian foods on this vigil day, including apples, potato pancakes, and soul cakes.... Etymology The word appears as the title of Robert Burns' "Halloween" (1785), a poem traditionally recited by Scots. The word Halloween or Hallowe'en dates to about 1745[32] and is of Christian origin.[33] The word "Hallowe'en" means "Saints' evening".[34] It comes from a Scottish term for All Hallows' Eve (the evening before All Hallows' Day).[35] In Scots, the word "eve" is even, and this is contracted to e'en or een.[36] Over time, (All) Hallow(s) E(v)en evolved into Hallowe'en. Although the phrase "All Hallows'" is found in Old English, "All Hallows' Eve" is itself not seen until 1556.[35][37] History Gaelic influence An early 20th-century Irish Halloween mask displayed at the Museum of Country Life Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which are believed to have pagan roots.[38] Jack Santino, a folklorist, writes that "there was throughout Ireland an uneasy truce existing between customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated with religions that were Irish before Christianity arrived".[39] Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which comes from the Old Irish for 'summer's end'."[40] Samhain was the first and most important of the four quarter days in the medieval Gaelic calendar and was celebrated on 31 October – 1 November[41] in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.[42][43] A kindred festival was held at the same time of year by the Brittonic Celts, called Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Kalan Gwav in Cornwall and Kalan Goañv in Brittany; a name meaning "first day of winter". For the Celts, the day ended and began at sunset; thus the festival began on the evening before 7 November by modern reckoning (the half point between equinox and solstice).[44] Samhain is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature. The names have been used by historians to refer to Celtic Halloween customs up until the 19th century,[45] and are still the Gaelic and Welsh names for Halloween. Snap-Apple Night, painted by Daniel Maclise in 1833, shows people feasting and playing divination games on Halloween in Ireland. Samhain marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the 'darker half' of the year.[46][47] Like Beltane/Calan Mai, it was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld thinned. This meant the Aos Sí, the 'spirits' or 'fairies', could more easily come into this world and were particularly active.[48][49] Most scholars see the Aos Sí as "degraded versions of ancient gods [...] whose power remained active in the people's minds even after they had been officially replaced by later religious beliefs".[50] The Aos Sí were both respected and feared, with individuals often invoking the protection of God when approaching their dwellings.[51][52] At Samhain, it was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. Offerings of food and drink, or portions of the crops, were left outside for the Aos Sí.[53][54][55] The souls of the dead were also said to revisit their homes seeking hospitality.[56] Places were set at the dinner table and by the fire to welcome them.[57] The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night of the year and must be appeased seems to have ancient origins and is found in many cultures throughout the world.[58] In 19th century Ireland, "candles would be lit and prayers formally offered for the souls of the dead. After this the eating, drinking, and games would begin".[59] Throughout Ireland and Britain, the household festivities included rituals and games intended to foretell one's future, especially regarding death and marriage.[60] Apples and nuts were often used in these divination rituals. They included apple bobbing, nut roasting, scrying or mirror-gazing, pouring molten lead or egg whites into water, dream interpretation, and others.[61] Special bonfires were lit and there were rituals involving them. Their flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective and cleansing powers, and were also used for divination.[46] In some places, torches lit from the bonfire were carried sunwise around homes and fields to protect them.[45] It is suggested that the fires were a kind of imitative or sympathetic magic – they mimicked the Sun, helping the "powers of growth" and holding back the decay and darkness of winter.[57][62][63] In Scotland, these bonfires and divination games were banned by the church elders in some parishes.[64] In Wales, bonfires were lit to "prevent the souls of the dead from falling to earth".[65] Later, these bonfires served to keep "away the devil".[66] photograph A plaster cast of a traditional Irish Halloween turnip (rutabaga) lantern on display in the Museum of Country Life, Ireland[67] From at least the 16th century,[68] the festival included mumming and guising in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Wales.[69] This involved people going house-to-house in costume (or in disguise), usually reciting verses or songs in exchange for food. It may have originally been a tradition whereby people impersonated the Aos Sí, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf, similar to the custom of souling (see below). Impersonating these beings, or wearing a disguise, was also believed to protect oneself from them.[70] It is suggested that the mummers and guisers "personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune".[71] In parts of southern Ireland, the guisers included a hobby horse. A man dressed as a Láir Bhán (white mare) led youths house-to-house reciting verses – some of which had pagan overtones – in exchange for food. If the household donated food it could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune.[72] In Scotland, youths went house-to-house with masked, painted or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.[69] F. Marian McNeill suggests the ancient festival included people in costume representing the spirits, and that faces were marked (or blackened) with ashes taken from the sacred bonfire.[68] In parts of Wales, men went about dressed as fearsome beings called gwrachod.[69] In the late 19th and early 20th century, young people in Glamorgan and Orkney cross-dressed.[69] Elsewhere in Europe, mumming and hobby horses were part of other yearly festivals. However, in the Celtic-speaking regions, they were "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers".[69] From at least the 18th century, "imitating malignant spirits" led to playing pranks in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. Wearing costumes and playing pranks at Halloween spread to England in the 20th century.[69] Traditionally, pranksters used hollowed out turnips or mangel wurzels often carved with grotesque faces as lanterns.[69] By those who made them, the lanterns were variously said to represent the spirits,[69] or were used to ward off evil spirits.[73][74] They were common in parts of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands in the 19th century,[69] as well as in Somerset (see Punkie Night). In the 20th century they spread to other parts of England and became generally known as jack-o'-lanterns.[69] Christian influence Today's Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by Christian dogma and practices derived from it.[75] Halloween is the evening before the Christian holy days of All Hallows' Day (also known as All Saints' or Hallowmas) on 1 November and All Souls' Day on 2 November, thus giving the holiday on 31 October the full name of All Hallows' Eve (meaning the evening before All Hallows' Day).[76] Since the time of the early Church,[77] major feasts in Christianity (such as Christmas, Easter and Pentecost) had vigils that began the night before, as did the feast of All Hallows'.[78] These three days are collectively called Allhallowtide and are a time for honoring the saints and praying for the recently departed souls who have yet to reach Heaven. Commemorations of all saints and martyrs were held by several churches on various dates, mostly in springtime.[79] In 609, Pope Boniface IV re-dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to "St Mary and all martyrs" on 13 May. This was the same date as Lemuria, an ancient Roman festival of the dead, and the same date as the commemoration of all saints in Edessa in the time of Ephrem the Syrian.[80] The feast of All Hallows', on its current date in the Western Church, may be traced to Pope Gregory III's (731–741) founding of an oratory in St Peter's for the relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors".[81][82] In 835, All Hallows' Day was officially switched to 1 November, the same date as Samhain, at the behest of Pope Gregory IV.[83] Some suggest this was due to Celtic influence, while others suggest it was a Germanic idea,[83] although it is claimed that both Germanic and Celtic-speaking peoples commemorated the dead at the beginning of winter.[84] They may have seen it as the most fitting time to do so, as it is a time of 'dying' in nature.[83][84] It is also suggested that the change was made on the "practical grounds that Rome in summer could not accommodate the great number of pilgrims who flocked to it", and perhaps because of public health considerations regarding Roman Fever – a disease that claimed a number of lives during the sultry summers of the region.[85] On All Hallows' Eve, Christians in some parts of the world visit cemeteries to pray and place flowers and candles on the graves of their loved ones.[86] The top photograph shows Bangladeshi Christians lighting candles on the headstone of a relative, while the bottom photograph shows Lutheran Christians praying and lighting candles in front of the central crucifix of a graveyard. By the end of the 12th century they had become holy days of obligation across Europe and involved such traditions as ringing church bells for the souls in purgatory. In addition, "it was customary for criers dressed in black to parade the streets, ringing a bell of mournful sound and calling on all good Christians to remember the poor souls."[87] "Souling", the custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for all christened souls,[88] has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating.[89] The custom dates back at least as far as the 15th century[90] and was found in parts of England, Flanders, Germany and Austria.[58] Groups of poor people, often children, would go door-to-door during Allhallowtide, collecting soul cakes, in exchange for praying for the dead, especially the souls of the givers' friends and relatives.[90][91][92] Soul cakes would also be offered for the souls themselves to eat,[58] or the 'soulers' would act as their representatives.[93] As with the Lenten tradition of hot cross buns, Allhallowtide soul cakes were often marked with a cross, indicating that they were baked as alms.[94] Shakespeare mentions souling in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593).[95] On the custom of wearing costumes, Christian minister Prince Sorie Conteh wrote: "It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints' Day, and All Hallows' Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognized by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes to disguise their identities".[96] It is claimed that in the Middle Ages, churches that were too poor to display the relics of martyred saints at Allhallowtide let parishioners dress up as saints instead.[97][98] Some Christians continue to observe this custom at Halloween today.[99] Lesley Bannatyne believes this could have been a Christianization of an earlier pagan custom.[100] While souling, Christians would carry with them "lanterns made of hollowed-out turnips".[101] It has been suggested that the carved jack-o'-lantern, a popular symbol of Halloween, originally represented the souls of the dead.[102] On Halloween, in medieval Europe, fires served a dual purpose, being lit to guide returning souls to the homes of their families, as well as to deflect demons from haunting sincere Christian folk.[103][104] Households in Austria, England and Ireland often had "candles burning in every room to guide the souls back to visit their earthly homes". These were known as "soul lights".[105][106][107] Many Christians in mainland Europe, especially in France, believed "that once a year, on Hallowe'en, the dead of the churchyards rose for one wild, hideous carnival" known as the danse macabre, which has often been depicted in church decoration.[108] Christopher Allmand and Rosamond McKitterick write in The New Cambridge Medieval History that "Christians were moved by the sight of the Infant Jesus playing on his mother's knee; their hearts were touched by the Pietà; and patron saints reassured them by their presence. But, all the while, the danse macabre urged them not to forget the end of all earthly things."[109] This danse macabre was enacted at village pageants and at court masques, with people "dressing up as corpses from various strata of society", and may have been the origin of modern-day Halloween costume parties.[101][110][111] In parts of Britain, these customs came under attack during the Reformation as some Protestants berated purgatory as a "popish" doctrine incompatible with their notion of predestination. Thus, for some Nonconformist Protestants, the theology of All Hallows' Eve was redefined; without the doctrine of purgatory, "the returning souls cannot be journeying from Purgatory on their way to Heaven, as Catholics frequently believe and assert. Instead, the so-called ghosts are thought to be in actuality evil spirits. As such they are threatening."[106] Other Protestants maintained belief in an intermediate state, known as Hades (Bosom of Abraham),[112] and continued to observe the original customs, especially souling, candlelit processions and the ringing of church bells in memory of the dead.[76][113] Mark Donnelly, a professor of medieval archaeology, and historian Daniel Diehl, with regard to the evil spirits, on Halloween, write that "barns and homes were blessed to protect people and livestock from the effect of witches, who were believed to accompany the malignant spirits as they traveled the earth."[114] In the 19th century, in some rural parts of England, families gathered on hills on the night of All Hallows' Eve. One held a bunch of burning straw on a pitchfork while the rest knelt around him in a circle, praying for the souls of relatives and friends until the flames went out. This was known as teen'lay.[115] Other customs included the tindle fires in Derbyshire and all-night vigil bonfires in Hertfordshire which were lit to pray for the departed.[116] The rising popularity of Guy Fawkes Night (5 November) from 1605 onward, saw many Halloween traditions appropriated by that holiday instead, and Halloween's popularity waned in Britain, with the noteworthy exception of Scotland.[117] There and in Ireland, they had been celebrating Samhain and Halloween since at least the early Middle Ages, and the Scottish kirk took a more pragmatic approach to Halloween, seeing it as important to the life cycle and rites of passage of communities and thus ensuring its survival in the country.[117] In France, some Christian families, on the night of All Hallows' Eve, prayed beside the graves of their loved ones, setting down dishes full of milk for them.[105] On Halloween, in Italy, some families left a large meal out for ghosts of their passed relatives, before they departed for church services.[118] In Spain, on this night, special pastries are baked, known as "bones of the holy" (Spanish: Huesos de Santo) and put them on the graves of the churchyard, a practice that continues to this day.[119] Spread to North America The annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade in Manhattan is the world's largest Halloween parade. Lesley Bannatyne and Cindy Ott write that Anglican colonists in the southern United States and Catholic colonists in Maryland "recognized All Hallow's Eve in their church calendars",[120][121] although the Puritans of New England maintained strong opposition to the holiday, along with other traditional celebrations of the established Church, including Christmas.[122] Almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was widely celebrated in North America.[123] It was not until mass Irish and Scottish immigration in the 19th century that Halloween became a major holiday in America,[123] confined to the immigrant communities during the mid-19th century. It was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and was celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial, and religious backgrounds by the first decade of the 20th century.[124] "In Cajun areas, a nocturnal Mass was said in cemeteries on Halloween night. Candles that had been blessed were placed on graves, and families sometimes spent the entire night at the graveside".[125] The yearly Greenwich Village Halloween Parade was begun in 1974 by puppeteer and mask maker Ralph Lee of Greenwich Village; it is the world's largest Halloween parade and America's only major nighttime parade, attracting more than 60,000 costumed participants, two million spectators, and a worldwide television audience.[126] Symbols At Halloween, yards, public spaces, and some houses may be decorated with traditionally macabre symbols including witches, skeletons, ghosts, cobwebs, and headstones. Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time. Jack-o'-lanterns are traditionally carried by guisers on All Hallows' Eve in order to frighten evil spirits.[102][127] There is a popular Irish Christian folktale associated with the jack-o'-lantern,[128] which in folklore is said to represent a "soul who has been denied entry into both heaven and hell":[129]     On route home after a night's drinking, Jack encounters the Devil and tricks him into climbing a tree. A quick-thinking Jack etches the sign of the cross into the bark, thus trapping the Devil. Jack strikes a bargain that Satan can never claim his soul. After a life of sin, drink, and mendacity, Jack is refused entry to heaven when he dies. Keeping his promise, the Devil refuses to let Jack into hell and throws a live coal straight from the fires of hell at him. It was a cold night, so Jack places the coal in a hollowed out turnip to stop it from going out, since which time Jack and his lantern have been roaming looking for a place to rest.[130] In Ireland and Scotland, the turnip has traditionally been carved during Halloween,[131][132] but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkin, which is both much softer and much larger – making it easier to carve than a turnip.[131] The American tradition of carving pumpkins is recorded in 1837[133] and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 19th century.[134] Decorated house in Weatherly, Pennsylvania The modern imagery of Halloween comes from many sources, including Christian eschatology, national customs, works of Gothic and horror literature (such as the novels Frankenstein and Dracula) and classic horror films (such as Frankenstein and The Mummy).[135][136] Imagery of the skull, a reference to Golgotha in the Christian tradition, serves as "a reminder of death and the transitory quality of human life" and is consequently found in memento mori and vanitas compositions;[137] skulls have therefore been commonplace in Halloween, which touches on this theme.[138] Traditionally, the back walls of churches are "decorated with a depiction of the Last Judgment, complete with graves opening and the dead rising, with a heaven filled with angels and a hell filled with devils", a motif that has permeated the observance of this triduum.[139] One of the earliest works on the subject of Halloween is from Scottish poet John Mayne, who, in 1780, made note of pranks at Halloween; "What fearfu' pranks ensue!", as well as the supernatural associated with the night, "Bogies" (ghosts), influencing Robert Burns' "Halloween" (1785).[140] Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn husks, and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween. Halloween imagery includes themes of death, evil, and mythical monsters.[141] Black cats, which have been long associated with witches, are also a common symbol of Halloween. Black, orange, and sometimes purple are Halloween's traditional colors.[142] Trick-or-treating and guising Main article: Trick-or-treating Trick-or-treaters in Sweden Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" implies a "threat" to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.[89] The practice is said to have roots in the medieval practice of mumming, which is closely related to souling.[143] John Pymm wrote that "many of the feast days associated with the presentation of mumming plays were celebrated by the Christian Church."[144] These feast days included All Hallows' Eve, Christmas, Twelfth Night and Shrove Tuesday.[145][146] Mumming practiced in Germany, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe,[147] involved masked persons in fancy dress who "paraded the streets and entered houses to dance or play dice in silence".[148] Girl in a Halloween costume in 1928, Ontario, Canada, the same province where the Scottish Halloween custom of guising is first recorded in North America In England, from the medieval period,[149] up until the 1930s,[150] people practiced the Christian custom of souling on Halloween, which involved groups of soulers, both Protestant and Catholic,[113] going from parish to parish, begging the rich for soul cakes, in exchange for praying for the souls of the givers and their friends.[91] In the Philippines, the practice of souling is called Pangangaluwa and is practiced on All Hallow's Eve among children in rural areas.[21] People drape themselves in white cloths to represent souls and then visit houses, where they sing in return for prayers and sweets.[21] In Scotland and Ireland, guising – children disguised in costume going from door to door for food or coins – is a traditional Halloween custom.[151] It is recorded in Scotland at Halloween in 1895 where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money.[132][152] In Ireland, the most popular phrase for kids to shout (until the 2000s) was "Help the Halloween Party".[151] The practice of guising at Halloween in North America is first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood.[153] American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book-length history of Halloween in the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America".[154] In her book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Halloween customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries".[155] While the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.[156] The earliest known use in print of the term "trick or treat" appears in 1927, in the Blackie Herald, of Alberta, Canada.[157] An automobile trunk at a trunk-or-treat event at St. John Lutheran Church and Early Learning Center in Darien, Illinois The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the turn of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but not trick-or-treating.[158] Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a widespread practice in North America until the 1930s, with the first US appearances of the term in 1934,[159] and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.[160] A popular variant of trick-or-treating, known as trunk-or-treating (or Halloween tailgating), occurs when "children are offered treats from the trunks of cars parked in a church parking lot", or sometimes, a school parking lot.[119][161] In a trunk-or-treat event, the trunk (boot) of each automobile is decorated with a certain theme,[162] such as those of children's literature, movies, scripture, and job roles.[163] Trunk-or-treating has grown in popularity due to its perception as being more safe than going door to door, a point that resonates well with parents, as well as the fact that it "solves the rural conundrum in which homes [are] built a half-mile apart".[164][165] Costumes Main article: Halloween costume Halloween costumes are traditionally modeled after supernatural figures such as vampires, monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils.[89] Over time, the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, and generic archetypes such as ninjas and princesses. Halloween shop in Derry, Northern Ireland, selling masks Dressing up in costumes and going "guising" was prevalent in Scotland and Ireland at Halloween by the late 19th century.[132] A Scottish term, the tradition is called "guising" because of the disguises or costumes worn by the children.[152] In Ireland the masks are known as 'false faces'.[166] Costuming became popular for Halloween parties in the US in the early 20th century, as often for adults as for children, and when trick-or-treating was becoming popular in Canada and the US in the 1920s and 1930s.[157][167] Eddie J. Smith, in his book Halloween, Hallowed is Thy Name, offers a religious perspective to the wearing of costumes on All Hallows' Eve, suggesting that by dressing up as creatures "who at one time caused us to fear and tremble", people are able to poke fun at Satan "whose kingdom has been plundered by our Saviour". Images of skeletons and the dead are traditional decorations used as memento mori.[168][169] "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF" is a fundraising program to support UNICEF,[89] a United Nations Programme that provides humanitarian aid to children in developing countries. Started as a local event in a Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood in 1950 and expanded nationally in 1952, the program involves the distribution of small boxes by schools (or in modern times, corporate sponsors like Hallmark, at their licensed stores) to trick-or-treaters, in which they can solicit small-change donations from the houses they visit. It is estimated that children have collected more than $118 million for UNICEF since its inception. In Canada, in 2006, UNICEF decided to discontinue their Halloween collection boxes, citing safety and administrative concerns; after consultation with schools, they instead redesigned the program.[170][171] Since the late 2010s, ethnic stereotypes as costumes have increasingly come under scrutiny in the United States.[172] Such and other potentially offensive costumes have been met with increasing public disapproval.[173][174] Pet costumes According to a 2018 report from the National Retail Federation, 30 million Americans will spend an estimated $480 million on Halloween costumes for their pets in 2018. This is up from an estimated $200 million in 2010. The most popular costumes for pets are the pumpkin, followed by the hot dog, and the bumble bee in third place.[175] Games and other activities In this 1904 Halloween greeting card, divination is depicted: the young woman looking into a mirror in a darkened room hopes to catch a glimpse of her future husband. There are several games traditionally associated with Halloween. Some of these games originated as divination rituals or ways of foretelling one's future, especially regarding death, marriage and children. During the Middle Ages, these rituals were done by a "rare few" in rural communities as they were considered to be "deadly serious" practices.[176] In recent centuries, these divination games have been "a common feature of the household festivities" in Ireland and Britain.[60] They often involve apples and hazelnuts. In Celtic mythology, apples were strongly associated with the Otherworld and immortality, while hazelnuts were associated with divine wisdom.[177] Some also suggest that they derive from Roman practices in celebration of Pomona.[89] Children bobbing for apples at Hallowe'en The following activities were a common feature of Halloween in Ireland and Britain during the 17th–20th centuries. Some have become more widespread and continue to be popular today. One common game is apple bobbing or dunking (which may be called "dooking" in Scotland)[178] in which apples float in a tub or a large basin of water and the participants must use only their teeth to remove an apple from the basin. A variant of dunking involves kneeling on a chair, holding a fork between the teeth and trying to drive the fork into an apple. Another common game involves hanging up treacle or syrup-coated scones by strings; these must be eaten without using hands while they remain attached to the string, an activity that inevitably leads to a sticky face. Another once-popular game involves hanging a small wooden rod from the ceiling at head height, with a lit candle on one end and an apple hanging from the other. The rod is spun round and everyone takes turns to try to catch the apple with their teeth.[179] Image from the Book of Hallowe'en (1919) showing several Halloween activities, such as nut roasting Several of the traditional activities from Ireland and Britain involve foretelling one's future partner or spouse. An apple would be peeled in one long strip, then the peel tossed over the shoulder. The peel is believed to land in the shape of the first letter of the future spouse's name.[180][181] Two hazelnuts would be roasted near a fire; one named for the person roasting them and the other for the person they desire. If the nuts jump away from the heat, it is a bad sign, but if the nuts roast quietly it foretells a good match.[182][183] A salty oatmeal bannock would be baked; the person would eat it in three bites and then go to bed in silence without anything to drink. This is said to result in a dream in which their future spouse offers them a drink to quench their thirst.[184] Unmarried women were told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror.[185] However, if they were destined to die before marriage, a skull would appear. The custom was widespread enough to be commemorated on greeting cards[186] from the late 19th century and early 20th century. Another popular Irish game was known as púicíní ("blindfolds"); a person would be blindfolded and then would choose between several saucers. The item in the saucer would provide a hint as to their future: a ring would mean that they would marry soon; clay, that they would die soon, perhaps within the year; water, that they would emigrate; rosary beads, that they would take Holy Orders (become a nun, priest, monk, etc.); a coin, that they would become rich; a bean, that they would be poor.[187][188][189][190][191] The game features prominently in the James Joyce short story "Clay" (1914).[192][193][194] In Ireland and Scotland, items would be hidden in food – usually a cake, barmbrack, cranachan, champ or colcannon – and portions of it served out at random. A person's future would be foretold by the item they happened to find; for example, a ring meant marriage and a coin meant wealth.[195] Up until the 19th century, the Halloween bonfires were also used for divination in parts of Scotland, Wales and Brittany. When the fire died down, a ring of stones would be laid in the ashes, one for each person. In the morning, if any stone was mislaid it was said that the person it represented would not live out the year.[45] Telling ghost stories, listening to Halloween-themed songs and watching horror films are common fixtures of Halloween parties. Episodes of television series and Halloween-themed specials (with the specials usually aimed at children) are commonly aired on or before Halloween, while new horror films are often released before Halloween to take advantage of the holiday. Haunted attractions Main article: Haunted attraction (simulated) Humorous tombstones in front of a house in California File:US Utah Ogden 25th Street Halloween 2019.ogvPlay media Humorous display window in Historic 25th Street, Ogden, Utah Haunted attractions are entertainment venues designed to thrill and scare patrons. Most attractions are seasonal Halloween businesses that may include haunted houses, corn mazes, and hayrides,[196] and the level of sophistication of the effects has risen as the industry has grown. The first recorded purpose-built haunted attraction was the Orton and Spooner Ghost House, which opened in 1915 in Liphook, England. This attraction actually most closely resembles a carnival fun house, powered by steam.[197][198] The House still exists, in the Hollycombe Steam Collection. It was during the 1930s, about the same time as trick-or-treating, that Halloween-themed haunted houses first began to appear in America. It was in the late 1950s that haunted houses as a major attraction began to appear, focusing first on California. Sponsored by the Children's Health Home Junior Auxiliary, the San Mateo Haunted House opened in 1957. The San Bernardino Assistance League Haunted House opened in 1958. Home haunts began appearing across the country during 1962 and 1963. In 1964, the San Manteo Haunted House opened, as well as the Children's Museum Haunted House in Indianapolis.[199] The haunted house as an American cultural icon can be attributed to the opening of the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland on 12 August 1969.[200] Knott's Berry Farm began hosting its own Halloween night attraction, Knott's Scary Farm, which opened in 1973.[201] Evangelical Christians adopted a form of these attractions by opening one of the first "hell houses" in 1972.[202] The first Halloween haunted house run by a nonprofit organization was produced in 1970 by the Sycamore-Deer Park Jaycees in Clifton, Ohio. It was cosponsored by WSAI, an AM radio station broadcasting out of Cincinnati, Ohio. It was last produced in 1982.[203] Other Jaycees followed suit with their own versions after the success of the Ohio house. The March of Dimes copyrighted a "Mini haunted house for the March of Dimes" in 1976 and began fundraising through their local chapters by conducting haunted houses soon after. Although they apparently quit supporting this type of event nationally sometime in the 1980s, some March of Dimes haunted houses have persisted until today.[204] On the evening of 11 May 1984, in Jackson Township, New Jersey, the Haunted Castle (Six Flags Great Adventure) caught fire. As a result of the fire, eight teenagers perished.[205] The backlash to the tragedy was a tightening of regulations relating to safety, building codes and the frequency of inspections of attractions nationwide. The smaller venues, especially the nonprofit attractions, were unable to compete financially, and the better funded commercial enterprises filled the vacuum.[206][207] Facilities that were once able to avoid regulation because they were considered to be temporary installations now had to adhere to the stricter codes required of permanent attractions.[208][209][210] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, theme parks entered the business seriously. Six Flags Fright Fest began in 1986 and Universal Studios Florida began Halloween Horror Nights in 1991. Knott's Scary Farm experienced a surge in attendance in the 1990s as a result of America's obsession with Halloween as a cultural event. Theme parks have played a major role in globalizing the holiday. Universal Studios Singapore and Universal Studios Japan both participate, while Disney now mounts Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party events at its parks in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo, as well as in the United States.[211] The theme park haunts are by far the largest, both in scale and attendance.[212] Food Pumpkins for sale during Halloween On All Hallows' Eve, many Western Christian denominations encourage abstinence from meat, giving rise to a variety of vegetarian foods associated with this day.[213] A candy apple Because in the Northern Hemisphere Halloween comes in the wake of the yearly apple harvest, candy apples (known as toffee apples outside North America), caramel apples or taffy apples are common Halloween treats made by rolling whole apples in a sticky sugar syrup, sometimes followed by rolling them in nuts. At one time, candy apples were commonly given to trick-or-treating children, but the practice rapidly waned in the wake of widespread rumors that some individuals were embedding items like pins and razor blades in the apples in the United States.[214] While there is evidence of such incidents,[215] relative to the degree of reporting of such cases, actual cases involving malicious acts are extremely rare and have never resulted in serious injury. Nonetheless, many parents assumed that such heinous practices were rampant because of the mass media. At the peak of the hysteria, some hospitals offered free X-rays of children's Halloween hauls in order to find evidence of tampering. Virtually all of the few known candy poisoning incidents involved parents who poisoned their own children's candy.[216] One custom that persists in modern-day Ireland is the baking (or more often nowadays, the purchase) of a barmbrack (Irish: báirín breac), which is a light fruitcake, into which a plain ring, a coin, and other charms are placed before baking.[217] It is considered fortunate to be the lucky one who finds it.[217] It has also been said that those who get a ring will find their true love in the ensuing year. This is similar to the tradition of king cake at the festival of Epiphany. A jack-o'-lantern Halloween cake with a witches hat List of foods associated with Halloween:     Barmbrack (Ireland)     Bonfire toffee (Great Britain)     Candy apples/toffee apples (Great Britain and Ireland)     Candy apples, candy corn, candy pumpkins (North America)     Chocolate     Monkey nuts (peanuts in their shells) (Ireland and Scotland)     Caramel apples     Caramel corn     Colcannon (Ireland; see below)     Halloween cake     Sweets/candy     Novelty candy shaped like skulls, pumpkins, bats, worms, etc.     Roasted pumpkin seeds     Roasted sweet corn     Soul cakes     Pumpkin Pie Christian religious observances The Vigil of All Hallows' is being celebrated at an Episcopal Christian church on Hallowe'en On Hallowe'en (All Hallows' Eve), in Poland, believers were once taught to pray out loud as they walk through the forests in order that the souls of the dead might find comfort; in Spain, Christian priests in tiny villages toll their church bells in order to remind their congregants to remember the dead on All Hallows' Eve.[218] In Ireland, and among immigrants in Canada, a custom includes the Christian practice of abstinence, keeping All Hallows' Eve as a meat-free day, and serving pancakes or colcannon instead.[219] In Mexico children make an altar to invite the return of the spirits of dead children (angelitos).[220] The Christian Church traditionally observed Hallowe'en through a vigil. Worshippers prepared themselves for feasting on the following All Saints' Day with prayers and fasting.[221] This church service is known as the Vigil of All Hallows or the Vigil of All Saints;[222][223] an initiative known as Night of Light seeks to further spread the Vigil of All Hallows throughout Christendom.[224][225] After the service, "suitable festivities and entertainments" often follow, as well as a visit to the graveyard or cemetery, where flowers and candles are often placed in preparation for All Hallows' Day.[226][227] In Finland, because so many people visit the cemeteries on All Hallows' Eve to light votive candles there, they "are known as valomeri, or seas of light".[228] Halloween Scripture Candy with gospel tract Today, Christian attitudes towards Halloween are diverse. In the Anglican Church, some dioceses have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions associated with All Hallow's Eve.[229][230] Some of these practices include praying, fasting and attending worship services.[1][2][3]     O LORD our God, increase, we pray thee, and multiply upon us the gifts of thy grace: that we, who do prevent the glorious festival of all thy Saints, may of thee be enabled joyfully to follow them in all virtuous and godly living. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. —Collect of the Vigil of All Saints, The Anglican Breviary[231] Votive candles in the Halloween section of Walmart Other Protestant Christians also celebrate All Hallows' Eve as Reformation Day, a day to remember the Protestant Reformation, alongside All Hallow's Eve or independently from it.[232] This is because Martin Luther is said to have nailed his Ninety-five Theses to All Saints' Church in Wittenberg on All Hallows' Eve.[233] Often, "Harvest Festivals" or "Reformation Festivals" are held on All Hallows' Eve, in which children dress up as Bible characters or Reformers.[234] In addition to distributing candy to children who are trick-or-treating on Hallowe'en, many Christians also provide gospel tracts to them. One organization, the American Tract Society, stated that around 3 million gospel tracts are ordered from them alone for Hallowe'en celebrations.[235] Others order Halloween-themed Scripture Candy to pass out to children on this day.[236][237] Belizean children dressed up as Biblical figures and Christian saints Some Christians feel concerned about the modern celebration of Halloween because they feel it trivializes – or celebrates – paganism, the occult, or other practices and cultural phenomena deemed incompatible with their beliefs.[238] Father Gabriele Amorth, an exorcist in Rome, has said, "if English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that."[239] In more recent years, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has organized a "Saint Fest" on Halloween.[240] Similarly, many contemporary Protestant churches view Halloween as a fun event for children, holding events in their churches where children and their parents can dress up, play games, and get candy for free. To these Christians, Halloween holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson and a part of many of their parishioners' heritage.[241] Christian minister Sam Portaro wrote that Halloween is about using "humor and ridicule to confront the power of death".[242] In the Roman Catholic Church, Halloween's Christian connection is acknowledged, and Halloween celebrations are common in many Catholic parochial schools in the United States.[243][244] Many fundamentalist and evangelical churches use "Hell houses" and comic-style tracts in order to make use of Halloween's popularity as an opportunity for evangelism.[245] Others consider Halloween to be completely incompatible with the Christian faith due to its putative origins in the Festival of the Dead celebration.[246] Indeed, even though Eastern Orthodox Christians observe All Hallows' Day on the First Sunday after Pentecost, The Eastern Orthodox Church recommends the observance of Vespers or a Paraklesis on the Western observance of All Hallows' Eve, out of the pastoral need to provide an alternative to popular celebrations.[247] Analogous celebrations and perspectives Judaism According to Alfred J. Kolatch in the Second Jewish Book of Why, in Judaism, Halloween is not permitted by Jewish Halakha because it violates Leviticus 18:3, which forbids Jews from partaking in gentile customs. Many Jews observe Yizkor communally four times a year, which is vaguely similar to the observance of Allhallowtide in Christianity, in the sense that prayers are said for both "martyrs and for one's own family".[248] Nevertheless, many American Jews celebrate Halloween, disconnected from its Christian origins.[249] Reform Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser has said that "There is no religious reason why contemporary Jews should not celebrate Halloween" while Orthodox Rabbi Michael Broyde has argued against Jews' observing the holiday.[250] Islam Sheikh Idris Palmer, author of A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, has ruled that Muslims should not participate in Halloween, stating that "participation in Halloween is worse than participation in Christmas, Easter, ... it is more sinful than congratulating the Christians for their prostration to the crucifix".[251] It has also been ruled to be haram by the National Fatwa Council of Malaysia because of its alleged pagan roots stating "Halloween is celebrated using a humorous theme mixed with horror to entertain and resist the spirit of death that influence humans".[252][253] Dar Al-Ifta Al-Missriyyah disagrees provided the celebration is not referred to as an 'eid' and that behaviour remains in line with Islamic principles.[254] Hinduism Hindus remember the dead during the festival of Pitru Paksha, during which Hindus pay homage to and perform a ceremony "to keep the souls of their ancestors at rest". It is celebrated in the Hindu month of Bhadrapada, usually in mid-September.[255] The celebration of the Hindu festival Diwali sometimes conflicts with the date of Halloween; but some Hindus choose to participate in the popular customs of Halloween.[256] Other Hindus, such as Soumya Dasgupta, have opposed the celebration on the grounds that Western holidays like Halloween have "begun to adversely affect our indigenous festivals".[257] Neopaganism There is no consistent rule or view on Halloween amongst those who describe themselves as Neopagans or Wiccans. Some Neopagans do not observe Halloween, but instead observe Samhain on 1 November,[258] some neopagans do enjoy Halloween festivities, stating that one can observe both "the solemnity of Samhain in addition to the fun of Halloween". Some neopagans are opposed to the celebration of Hallowe'en, stating that it "trivializes Samhain",[259] and "avoid Halloween, because of the interruptions from trick or treaters".[260] The Manitoban writes that "Wiccans don't officially celebrate Halloween, despite the fact that 31 Oct. will still have a star beside it in any good Wiccan's day planner. Starting at sundown, Wiccans celebrate a holiday known as Samhain. Samhain actually comes from old Celtic traditions and is not exclusive to Neopagan religions like Wicca. While the traditions of this holiday originate in Celtic countries, modern day Wiccans don't try to historically replicate Samhain celebrations. Some traditional Samhain rituals are still practised, but at its core, the period is treated as a time to celebrate darkness and the dead – a possible reason why Samhain can be confused with Halloween celebrations."[258] Around the world Main article: Geography of Halloween Halloween display in Kobe, Japan The traditions and importance of Halloween vary greatly among countries that observe it. In Scotland and Ireland, traditional Halloween customs include children dressing up in costume going "guising", holding parties, while other practices in Ireland include lighting bonfires, and having firework displays.[151][261][262] In Brittany children would play practical jokes by setting candles inside skulls in graveyards to frighten visitors.[263] Mass transatlantic immigration in the 19th century popularized Halloween in North America, and celebration in the United States and Canada has had a significant impact on how the event is observed in other nations.[151] This larger North American influence, particularly in iconic and commercial elements, has extended to places such as Ecuador, Chile,[264] Australia,[265] New Zealand,[266] (most) continental Europe, Finland,[267] Japan, and other parts of East Asia." (wikipedia.org) "Sisal (/ˈsaɪsəl/,[2] Spanish: [siˈsal]), with the botanical name Agave sisalana, is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The term sisal may refer either to the plant's common name or the fibre, depending on the context. It is sometimes referred to as "sisal hemp", because for centuries hemp was a major source for fibre, and other fibre sources were named after it. The sisal fibre is traditionally used for rope and twine, and has many other uses, including paper, cloth, footwear, hats, bags, carpets, geotextiles, and dartboards. It is also used as fibre reinforcements for composite fibre-glass, rubber and cement products.... Taxonomy The native origin of Agave sisalana is uncertain. Traditionally it was deemed to be a native of the Yucatán Peninsula, but there are no records of botanical collections from there. They were originally shipped from the Spanish colonial port of Sisal in Yucatán (thus the name). The Yucatán plantations now cultivate henequen (Agave fourcroydes).[citation needed] H.S. Gentry hypothesized a Chiapas origin, on the strength of traditional local usage. Evidence of an indigenous cottage industry there suggests it as the original habitat location, possibly as a cross of Agave angustifolia and Agave kewensis. The species is now naturalized in other parts of Mexico, as well as in Spain, Libya, Morocco, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, many parts of Africa, Madagascar, Réunion, Seychelles, China, the Ryukyu Islands, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, the Solomon Islands, Queensland, Polynesia, Micronesia, Fiji, Hawaii, Florida, Central America, Ecuador, and the West Indies.[3] Plant description Sisal plants, Agave sisalana, consist of a rosette of sword-shaped leaves about 1.5–2 metres (4 ft 11 in–6 ft 7 in) tall. Young leaves may have a few minute teeth along their margins, but lose them as they mature.[4] The sisal plant has a 7–10 year life-span and typically produces 200–250 commercially usable leaves. Each leaf contains an average of around 1000 fibres. The fibres account for only about 4% of the plant by weight. Sisal is considered a plant of the tropics and subtropics, since production benefits from temperatures above 25 °C (77 °F) and sunshine.[5]     Inflorescence in Goa, India.     Flowers in Goa, India. Cultivation Sisal was used by the Aztecs and the Mayans to make fabrics and paper.[6] In the 19th century, sisal cultivation spread to Florida, the Caribbean islands, and Brazil (Paraiba and Bahia), as well as to countries in Africa, notably Tanzania and Kenya, and Asia. Sisal reportedly "came to Africa from Florida, through the mechanism of a remarkable German botanist, by the name of Hindorf."[7] In Cuba its cultivation was introduced in 1880, by Fernando Heydrich in Matanzas.[8] The first commercial plantings in Brazil were made in the late 1930s and the first sisal fibre exports from there were made in 1948. It was not until the 1960s that Brazilian production accelerated and the first of many spinning mills was established. Today Brazil is the major world producer of sisal. There are both positive and negative environmental impacts from sisal growing.[citation needed] Propagation Propagation of sisal is generally by using bulbils produced from buds in the flower stalk or by suckers growing around the base of the plant, which are grown in nursery fields until large enough to be transplanted to their final position. These methods offer no potential for genetic improvement. In vitro multiplication of selected genetic material using meristematic tissue culture (MST) offers considerable potential for the development of improved genetic material.[9] Fibre extraction Fibre is extracted by a process known as decortication, where leaves are crushed, beaten, and brushed away by a rotating wheel set with blunt knives, so that only fibres remain. Alternatively, in East Africa, where production is typically on large estates,[10][11] the leaves are transported to a central decortication plant, where water is used to wash away the waste parts of the leaf.[12] The fibre is then dried, brushed and baled for export. Proper drying is important as fibre quality depends largely on moisture content. Artificial drying has been found to result in generally better grades of fibre than sun drying, but is not always feasible in the less industrialised countries where sisal is produced. In the drier climate of north-east Brazil, sisal is mainly grown by smallholders and the fibre is extracted by teams using portable raspadors which do not use water.[13] Fibre is subsequently cleaned by brushing. Dry fibres are machine combed and sorted into various grades, largely on the basis of the previous in-field separation of leaves into size groups.[13]     Baled Brazilian sisal fibre     Sisal fibre drying machine in Java.     A sisal plantation in Morogoro, Tanzania. The Uluguru Mountains can be seen in the background.     Historical image showing a sisal plantation on Java. Environmental impacts Sisal farming initially caused environmental degradation, because sisal plantations replaced native forests, but is still considered less damaging than many types of farming. Nos are used in sisal production, and although are occasionally used, even this impact may be eliminated, since most weeding is done by hand.[14] The effluent from the decortication process causes serious pollution when it is allowed to flow into watercourses.[15] In Tanzania there are plans to use the waste as bio-fuel.[16] Sisal is considered to be an invasive species in Hawaii and Florida.[17] Uses Traditionally, sisal has been the leading material for agricultural twine (binder twine and baler twine) because of its strength, durability, ability to stretch, affinity for certain dyestuffs, and resistance to deterioration in saltwater.[18] The importance of this traditional use is diminishing with competition from polypropylene and the development of other haymaking techniques, while new higher-valued sisal products have been developed.[5] Apart from ropes, twines, and general cordage, sisal is used in low-cost and specialty paper, dartboards, buffing cloth, filters, geotextiles, mattresses, carpets, handicrafts, wire rope cores, and macramé.[5] Sisal has been utilized as an environmentally friendly strengthening agent to replace asbestos and fibreglass in composite materials in various uses including the automobile industry.[5] The lower-grade fibre is processed by the paper industry because of its high content of cellulose and hemicelluloses. The medium-grade fibre is used in the cordage industry for making ropes, baler and binder twine. Ropes and twines are widely employed for marine, agricultural, and general industrial use. The higher-grade fibre after treatment is converted into yarns and used by the carpet industry.[18] Other products developed from sisal fibre include spa products, cat scratching posts, lumbar support belts, rugs, slippers, cloths, and disc buffers. Sisal wall covering meets the abrasion and tearing resistance standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials and of the National Fire Protection Association.[14] Weaving a door mat in Uganda As extraction of fibre uses only a small percentage of the plant, some attempts to improve economic viability have focused on utilizing the waste material for production of biogas, for stockfeed, or the extraction of pharmaceutical materials.[citation needed] Sisal is a valuable forage for honey bees because of its long flowering period. It is particularly attractive to them during pollen shortage. The honey produced is however dark and has a strong and unpleasant flavour.[19] Because sisal is an agave, it can be distilled to make mezcal.[20] In India it may be an ingredient in some street snacks.[21] Carpets Despite the yarn durability sisal is known for, slight matting of sisal carpeting may occur in high-traffic areas.[5] Sisal carpet does not build up static nor does it trap dust, so vacuuming is the only maintenance required. High-spill areas should be treated with a fibre sealer and for spot removal, a drycleaning powder is recommended. Depending on climatic conditions, sisal will absorb air humidity or release it, causing expansion or contraction. Sisal is not recommended for areas that receive wet spills or rain or snow.[5] Sisal is used by itself in carpets or in blends with wool and acrylic for a softer hand.[22] Global production and trade patterns Major sisal producers—2013 (thousands of tonnes)[23]  Brazil     150.6  Tanzania     34.9  Kenya     28.0  Madagascar     18.9  People's Republic of China     16.5  Mexico     12.0  Haiti     9.0 World total     281.6 Global production of sisal fibre in 2013 amounted to 281 thousand tonnes of which Brazil, the largest producing country, produced 150,584 tonnes.[23] Tanzania produced approximately 34,875 tons, Kenya produced 28,000 tonnes, Madagascar 18,950 tonnes and 16,500 tonnes were produced in China (mainland). Venezuela contributed 4,826 tons with smaller amounts coming from Morocco, South Africa, Mozambique, and Angola. Sisal occupies 6th place among fibre plants, representing 2% of the world's production of plant fibres (plant fibres provide 65% of the world's fibres).[13] As one of the world's important natural fibres, sisal was included in the scope of the International Year of Natural Fibres, 2009.[citation needed] Heraldry The sisal plant appears in the arms of Barquisimeto, Venezuela.[24] An unofficial coat of arms for the Yucatán State in Mexico features a deer bounding over a sisal plant.[25] In literature Journalist John Gunther wrote of sisal in 1953 that "if it had not been for the fact that sisal is a difficult crop, there might not have been a Munich in 1939. Neville Chamberlain started out life as a sisal planter in the Bahamas, and only returned to Britain and entered politics when he found that this obdurate vegetable was too hard to grow."" (wikipedia.org) "Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute,[1][2] but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning.[web 1] It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences.[web 2] The term "mysticism" has Ancient Greek origins with various historically determined meanings.[web 1][web 2] Derived from the Greek word μύω múō, meaning "to close" or "to conceal",[web 2] mysticism referred to the biblical, liturgical, spiritual, and contemplative dimensions of early and medieval Christianity.[3] During the early modern period, the definition of mysticism grew to include a broad range of beliefs and ideologies related to "extraordinary experiences and states of mind."[4] In modern times, "mysticism" has acquired a limited definition, with broad applications, as meaning the aim at the "union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God".[web 1] This limited definition has been applied to a wide range of religious traditions and practices,[web 1] valuing "mystical experience" as a key element of mysticism. Since the 1960s scholars have debated the merits of perennial and constructionist approaches in the scientific research of "mystical experiences".[5][6][7] The perennial position is now "largely dismissed by scholars",[8] most scholars using a contextualist approach, which considers the cultural and historical context.[9] Etymology See also: Christian contemplation and Henosis "Mysticism" is derived from the Greek μύω, meaning "I conceal",[web 2] and its derivative μυστικός, mystikos, meaning 'an initiate'. The verb μύω has received a quite different meaning in the Greek language, where it is still in use. The primary meanings it has are "induct" and "initiate". Secondary meanings include "introduce", "make someone aware of something", "train", "familiarize", "give first experience of something".[web 3] The related form of the verb μυέω (mueó or myéō) appears in the New Testament. As explained in Strong's Concordance, it properly means shutting the eyes and mouth to experience mystery. Its figurative meaning is to be initiated into the "mystery revelation". The meaning derives from the initiatory rites of the pagan mysteries.[web 4] Also appearing in the New Testament is the related noun μυστήριον (mustérion or mystḗrion), the root word of the English term "mystery". The term means "anything hidden", a mystery or secret, of which initiation is necessary. In the New Testament it reportedly takes the meaning of the counsels of God, once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel or some fact thereof, the Christian revelation generally, and/or particular truths or details of the Christian revelation.[web 5] According to Thayer's Greek Lexicon, the term μυστήριον in classical Greek meant "a hidden thing", "secret". A particular meaning it took in Classical antiquity was a religious secret or religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to be communicated by them to ordinary mortals. In the Septuagint and the New Testament the meaning it took was that of a hidden purpose or counsel, a secret will. It is sometimes used for the hidden wills of humans, but is more often used for the hidden will of God. Elsewhere in the Bible it takes the meaning of the mystic or hidden sense of things. It is used for the secrets behind sayings, names, or behind images seen in visions and dreams. The Vulgate often translates the Greek term to the Latin sacramentum (sacrament).[web 5] The related noun μύστης (mustis or mystis, singular) means the initiate, the person initiated to the mysteries.[web 5] According to Ana Jiménez San Cristobal in her study of Greco-Roman mysteries and Orphism, the singular form μύστης and the plural form μύσται are used in ancient Greek texts to mean the person or persons initiated to religious mysteries. These followers of mystery religions belonged to a select group, where access was only gained through an initiation. She finds that the terms were associated with the term βάκχος (Bacchus), which was used for a special class of initiates of the Orphic mysteries. The terms are first found connected in the writings of Heraclitus. Such initiates are identified in texts with the persons who have been purified and have performed certain rites. A passage of Cretans by Euripides seems to explain that the μύστης (initiate) who devotes himself to an ascetic life, renounces sexual activities, and avoids contact with the dead becomes known as βάκχος. Such initiates were believers in the god Dionysus Bacchus who took on the name of their god and sought an identification with their deity.[10] Until the sixth century the practice of what is now called mysticism was referred to by the term contemplatio, c.q. theoria.[11] According to Johnston, "[b]oth contemplation and mysticism speak of the eye of love which is looking at, gazing at, aware of divine realities."[11] Definitions According to Peter Moore, the term "mysticism" is "problematic but indispensable."[12] It is a generic term which joins together into one concept separate practices and ideas which developed separately.[12] According to Dupré, "mysticism" has been defined in many ways,[13] and Merkur notes that the definition, or meaning, of the term "mysticism" has changed through the ages.[web 1] Moore further notes that the term "mysticism" has become a popular label for "anything nebulous, esoteric, occult, or supernatural."[12] Parsons warns that "what might at times seem to be a straightforward phenomenon exhibiting an unambiguous commonality has become, at least within the academic study of religion, opaque and controversial on multiple levels".[14] Because of its Christian overtones, and the lack of similar terms in other cultures, some scholars regard the term "mysticism" to be inadequate as a useful descriptive term.[12] Other scholars regard the term to be an inauthentic fabrication,[12][web 1] the "product of post-Enlightenment universalism."[12] Union with the Divine or Absolute and mystical experience See also: Hesychasm, Contemplative prayer, and Apophatic theology Deriving from Neo-Platonism and Henosis, mysticism is popularly known as union with God or the Absolute.[1][2] In the 13th century the term unio mystica came to be used to refer to the "spiritual marriage," the ecstasy, or rapture, that was experienced when prayer was used "to contemplate both God’s omnipresence in the world and God in his essence."[web 1] In the 19th century, under the influence of Romanticism, this "union" was interpreted as a "religious experience," which provides certainty about God or a transcendental reality.[web 1][note 1] An influential proponent of this understanding was William James (1842–1910), who stated that "in mystic states we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness."[16] William James popularized this use of the term "religious experience"[note 2] in his The Varieties of Religious Experience,[18][19][web 2] contributing to the interpretation of mysticism as a distinctive experience, comparable to sensory experiences.[20][web 2] Religious experiences belonged to the "personal religion,"[21] which he considered to be "more fundamental than either theology or ecclesiasticism".[21] He gave a Perennialist interpretation to religious experience, stating that this kind of experience is ultimately uniform in various traditions.[note 3] McGinn notes that the term unio mystica, although it has Christian origins, is primarily a modern expression.[22] McGinn argues that "presence" is more accurate than "union", since not all mystics spoke of union with God, and since many visions and miracles were not necessarily related to union. He also argues that we should speak of "consciousness" of God's presence, rather than of "experience", since mystical activity is not simply about the sensation of God as an external object, but more broadly about "new ways of knowing and loving based on states of awareness in which God becomes present in our inner acts."[23] However, the idea of "union" does not work in all contexts. For example, in Advaita Vedanta, there is only one reality (Brahman) and therefore nothing other than reality to unite with it—Brahman in each person (atman) has always in fact been identical to Brahman all along. Dan Merkur also notes that union with God or the Absolute is a too limited definition, since there are also traditions which aim not at a sense of unity, but of nothingness, such as Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and Meister Eckhart.[web 1] According to Merkur, Kabbala and Buddhism also emphasize nothingness.[web 1] Blakemore and Jennett note that "definitions of mysticism [...] are often imprecise." They further note that this kind of interpretation and definition is a recent development which has become the standard definition and understanding.[web 6][note 4] According to Gelman, "A unitive experience involves a phenomenological de-emphasis, blurring, or eradication of multiplicity, where the cognitive significance of the experience is deemed to lie precisely in that phenomenological feature".[web 2][note 5] Religious ecstasies and interpretative context Main articles: Religious ecstasy, Altered state of consciousness, Cognitive science of religion, Neurotheology, and Attribution (psychology) Mysticism involves an explanatory context, which provides meaning for mystical and visionary experiences, and related experiences like trances. According to Dan Merkur, mysticism may relate to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness, and the ideas and explanations related to them.[web 1][note 6] Parsons stresses the importance of distinguishing between temporary experiences and mysticism as a process, which is embodied within a "religious matrix" of texts and practices.[26][note 7] Richard Jones does the same.[27] Peter Moore notes that mystical experience may also happen in a spontaneous and natural way, to people who are not committed to any religious tradition. These experiences are not necessarily interpreted in a religious framework.[28] Ann Taves asks by which processes experiences are set apart and deemed religious or mystical.[29] Intuitive insight and enlightenment Main articles: Enlightenment (spiritual), Divine illumination, and Subitism Some authors emphasize that mystical experience involves intuitive understanding of the meaning of existence and of hidden truths, and the resolution of life problems. According to Larson, "mystical experience is an intuitive understanding and realization of the meaning of existence."[30][note 8] According to McClenon, mysticism is "the doctrine that special mental states or events allow an understanding of ultimate truths."[web 7][note 9] According to James R. Horne, mystical illumination is "a central visionary experience [...] that results in the resolution of a personal or religious problem.[5][note 10] According to Evelyn Underhill, illumination is a generic English term for the phenomenon of mysticism. The term illumination is derived from the Latin illuminatio, applied to Christian prayer in the 15th century.[31] Comparable Asian terms are bodhi, kensho and satori in Buddhism, commonly translated as "enlightenment", and vipassana, which all point to cognitive processes of intuition and comprehension. According to Wright, the use of the western word enlightenment is based on the supposed resemblance of bodhi with Aufklärung, the independent use of reason to gain insight into the true nature of our world, and there are more resemblances with Romanticism than with the Enlightenment: the emphasis on feeling, on intuitive insight, on a true essence beyond the world of appearances.[32] Spiritual life and re-formation Main articles: Spirituality, Spiritual development, Self-realization, and Ego death Other authors point out that mysticism involves more than "mystical experience." According to Gellmann, the ultimate goal of mysticism is human transformation, not just experiencing mystical or visionary states.[web 2][note 13][note 14] According to McGinn, personal transformation is the essential criterion to determine the authenticity of Christian mysticism.[23][note 15] History of the term Hellenistic world In the Hellenistic world, 'mystical' referred to "secret" religious rituals like the Eleusinian Mysteries.[web 2] The use of the word lacked any direct references to the transcendental.[14] A "mystikos" was an initiate of a mystery religion. Early Christianity - theoria (contemplation) Main articles: Greco-Roman mysteries, Early Christianity, and Esoteric Christianity In early Christianity the term "mystikos" referred to three dimensions, which soon became intertwined, namely the biblical, the liturgical and the spiritual or contemplative.[3] The biblical dimension refers to "hidden" or allegorical interpretations of Scriptures.[web 2][3] The liturgical dimension refers to the liturgical mystery of the Eucharist, the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.[web 2][3] The third dimension is the contemplative or experiential knowledge of God.[3] Until the sixth century, the Greek term theoria, meaning "contemplation" in Latin, was used for the mystical interpretation of the Bible.[11] and the vision of God. The link between mysticism and the vision of the Divine was introduced by the early Church Fathers, who used the term as an adjective, as in mystical theology and mystical contemplation.[14] Theoria enabled the Fathers to perceive depths of meaning in the biblical writings that escape a purely scientific or empirical approach to interpretation.[36] The Antiochene Fathers, in particular, saw in every passage of Scripture a double meaning, both literal and spiritual.[37] Later, theoria or contemplation came to be distinguished from intellectual life, leading to the identification of θεωρία or contemplatio with a form of prayer[38] distinguished from discursive meditation in both East[39] and West.[40] Medieval meaning See also: Middle Ages This threefold meaning of "mystical" continued in the Middle Ages.[3] According to Dan Merkur, the term unio mystica came into use in the 13th century as a synonym for the "spiritual marriage," the ecstasy, or rapture, that was experienced when prayer was used "to contemplate both God’s omnipresence in the world and God in his essence."[web 1] Under the influence of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite the mystical theology came to denote the investigation of the allegorical truth of the Bible,[3] and "the spiritual awareness of the ineffable Absolute beyond the theology of divine names."[41] Pseudo-Dionysius' Apophatic theology, or "negative theology", exerted a great influence on medieval monastic religiosity, although it was mostly a male religiosity, since women were not allowed to study.[42] It was influenced by Neo-Platonism, and very influential in Eastern Orthodox Christian theology. In western Christianity it was a counter-current to the prevailing Cataphatic theology or "positive theology". Mysticism was also manifested in various sects of the time such as the Waldensians.[43] Early modern meaning See also: Early modern period The Appearance of the Holy Spirit before Saint Teresa of Ávila, Peter Paul Rubens In the sixteenth and seventeenth century mysticism came to be used as a substantive.[14] This shift was linked to a new discourse,[14] in which science and religion were separated.[44] Luther dismissed the allegorical interpretation of the bible, and condemned Mystical theology, which he saw as more Platonic than Christian.[45] "The mystical", as the search for the hidden meaning of texts, became secularised, and also associated with literature, as opposed to science and prose.[46] Science was also distinguished from religion. By the middle of the 17th century, "the mystical" is increasingly applied exclusively to the religious realm, separating religion and "natural philosophy" as two distinct approaches to the discovery of the hidden meaning of the universe.[47] The traditional hagiographies and writings of the saints became designated as "mystical", shifting from the virtues and miracles to extraordinary experiences and states of mind, thereby creating a newly coined "mystical tradition".[4] A new understanding developed of the Divine as residing within human, an essence beyond the varieties of religious expressions.[14] Contemporary meaning See also: Western esotericism, Theosophy (Blavatskian), Syncretism, Spirituality, and New Age The 19th century saw a growing emphasis on individual experience, as a defense against the growing rationalism of western society.[19][web 1] The meaning of mysticism was considerably narrowed:[web 1]     The competition between the perspectives of theology and science resulted in a compromise in which most varieties of what had traditionally been called mysticism were dismissed as merely psychological phenomena and only one variety, which aimed at union with the Absolute, the Infinite, or God—and thereby the perception of its essential unity or oneness—was claimed to be genuinely mystical. The historical evidence, however, does not support such a narrow conception of mysticism.[web 1] Under the influence of Perennialism, which was popularised in both the west and the east by Unitarianism, Transcendentalists and Theosophy, mysticism has been applied to a broad spectrum of religious traditions, in which all sorts of esotericism and religious traditions and practices are joined together.[48][49][19] The term mysticism was extended to comparable phenomena in non-Christian religions,[web 1] where it influenced Hindu and Buddhist responses to colonialism, resulting in Neo-Vedanta and Buddhist modernism.[49][50] In the contemporary usage "mysticism" has become an umbrella term for all sorts of non-rational world views,[51] parapsychology and pseudoscience.[52][53][54][55] William Harmless even states that mysticism has become "a catch-all for religious weirdness".[56] Within the academic study of religion the apparent "unambiguous commonality" has become "opaque and controversial".[14] The term "mysticism" is being used in different ways in different traditions.[14] Some call to attention the conflation of mysticism and linked terms, such as spirituality and esotericism, and point at the differences between various traditions.[57] Variations of mysticism Based on various definitions of mysticism, namely mysticism as an experience of union or nothingness, mysticism as any kind of an altered state of consciousness which is attributed in a religious way, mysticism as "enlightenment" or insight, and mysticism as a way of transformation, "mysticism" can be found in many cultures and religious traditions, both in folk religion and organized religion. These traditions include practices to induce religious or mystical experiences, but also ethical standards and practices to enhance self-control and integrate the mystical experience into daily life. Dan Merkur notes, though, that mystical practices are often separated from daily religious practices, and restricted to "religious specialists like monastics, priests, and other renunciates.[web 1] Shamanism Main article: Shamanism Shaman According to Dan Merkur, shamanism may be regarded as a form of mysticism, in which the world of spirits is accessed through religious ecstasy.[web 1] According to Mircea Eliade shamanism is a "technique of religious ecstasy."[58] Shamanism involves a practitioner reaching an altered state of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with spirits, and channel transcendental energies into this world.[59] A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into trance during a ritual, and practices divination and healing.[60] Neoshamanism refers to "new"' forms of shamanism, or methods of seeking visions or healing, typically practiced in Western countries. Neoshamanism comprises an eclectic range of beliefs and practices that involve attempts to attain altered states and communicate with a spirit world, and is associated with New Age practices.[61][62] Western mysticism Mystery religions Main article: Greco-Roman mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries, (Greek: Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια) were annual initiation ceremonies in the cults of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone, held in secret at Eleusis (near Athens) in ancient Greece.[63] The mysteries began in about 1600 B.C. in the Mycenean period and continued for two thousand years, becoming a major festival during the Hellenic era, and later spreading to Rome.[64] Numerous scholars have proposed that the power of the Eleusinian Mysteries came from the kykeon's functioning as an entheogen.[65] Christian mysticism Part of a series on Christian mysticism Transfiguration of Jesus Theology · Philosophy Practices People (by era or century) Main articles: Christian contemplation, Christian mysticism, Mystical theology, Apophatic theology, and German mysticism Early Christianity The apophatic theology, or "negative theology", of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (6th c.) exerted a great influence on medieval monastic religiosity, both in the East and (by Latin translation) in the West.[42] Pseudo-Dionysius applied Neoplatonic thought, particularly that of Proclus, to Christian theology. Eastern Orthodox Christianity The Eastern Orthodox Church has a long tradition of theoria (intimate experience) and hesychia (inner stillness), in which contemplative prayer silences the mind to progress along the path of theosis (deification). Theosis, practical unity with and conformity to God, is obtained by engaging in contemplative prayer, the first stage of theoria,[66][note 16] which results from the cultivation of watchfulness (nepsis). In theoria, one comes to behold the "divisibly indivisible" divine operations (energeia) of God as the "uncreated light" of transfiguration, a grace which is eternal and proceeds naturally from the blinding darkness of the incomprehensible divine essence.[note 17][66] It is the main aim of hesychasm, which was developed in the thought St. Symeon the New Theologian, embraced by the monastic communities on Mount Athos, and most notably defended by St. Gregory Palamas against the Greek humanist philosopher Barlaam of Calabria. According to Roman Catholic critics, hesychastic practice has its roots to the introduction of a systematic practical approach to quietism by Symeon the New Theologian.[note 18] The High Middle Ages saw a flourishing of mystical practice and theorization in western Roman Catholicism, corresponding to the flourishing of new monastic orders, with such figures as Guigo II, Hildegard of Bingen, Bernard of Clairvaux, the Victorines, all coming from different orders, as well as the first real flowering of popular piety among the laypeople. The Late Middle Ages saw the clash between the Dominican and Franciscan schools of thought, which was also a conflict between two different mystical theologies: on the one hand that of Dominic de Guzmán and on the other that of Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, Bonaventure, and Angela of Foligno. This period also saw such individuals as John of Ruysbroeck, Catherine of Siena and Catherine of Genoa, the Devotio Moderna, and such books as the Theologia Germanica, The Cloud of Unknowing and The Imitation of Christ. Moreover, there was the growth of groups of mystics centered around geographic regions: the Beguines, such as Mechthild of Magdeburg and Hadewijch (among others); the Rhineland mystics Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler and Henry Suso; and the English mystics Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton and Julian of Norwich. The Spanish mystics included Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and Ignatius Loyola. The later post-reformation period also saw the writings of lay visionaries such as Emanuel Swedenborg and William Blake, and the foundation of mystical movements such as the Quakers. Catholic mysticism continued into the modern period with such figures as Padre Pio and Thomas Merton. The philokalia, an ancient method of Eastern Orthodox mysticism, was promoted by the twentieth century Traditionalist School. Western esotericism and modern spirituality Main articles: Western esotericism, Spirituality, and New Age Many western esoteric traditions and elements of modern spirituality have been regarded as "mysticism," such as Gnosticism, Transcendentalism, Theosophy, the Fourth Way,[70] Martinus, spiritual science, and Neo-Paganism. Modern western spiritually and transpersonal psychology combine western psycho-therapeutic practices with religious practices like meditation to attain a lasting transformation. Nature mysticism is an intense experience of unification with nature or the cosmic totality, which was popular with Romantic writers.[71] Jewish mysticism Jewish mysticism Dead Sea Enoch Scroll c.200-150 BCE Forms Main articles: Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah Portrait of Abraham Abulafia, Medieval Jewish mystic and founder of Prophetic Kabbalah In the common era, Judaism has had two main kinds of mysticism: Merkabah mysticism and Kabbalah. The former predated the latter, and was focused on visions, particularly those mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel. It gets its name from the Hebrew word meaning "chariot", a reference to Ezekiel's vision of a fiery chariot composed of heavenly beings. Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an unchanging, eternal and mysterious Ein Sof (no end) and the mortal and finite universe (his creation). Inside Judaism, it forms the foundations of mystical religious interpretation. Kabbalah originally developed entirely within the realm of Jewish thought. Kabbalists often use classical Jewish sources to explain and demonstrate its esoteric teachings. These teachings are thus held by followers in Judaism to define the inner meaning of both the Hebrew Bible and traditional Rabbinic literature, their formerly concealed transmitted dimension, as well as to explain the significance of Jewish religious observances.[72] Kabbalah emerged, after earlier forms of Jewish mysticism, in 12th to 13th century Southern France and Spain, becoming reinterpreted in the Jewish mystical renaissance of 16th-century Ottoman Palestine. It was popularised in the form of Hasidic Judaism from the 18th century forward. 20th-century interest in Kabbalah has inspired cross-denominational Jewish renewal and contributed to wider non-Jewish contemporary spirituality, as well as engaging its flourishing emergence and historical re-emphasis through newly established academic investigation. Islamic mysticism Part of a series on Islam Sufism Tomb of Abdul Qadir Gilani, Baghdad, Iraq Ideas Practices Sufi orders List of sufis Topics in Sufism  Islam portal Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as     [A] science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God.[76] A practitioner of this tradition is nowadays known as a ṣūfī (صُوفِيّ), or, in earlier usage, a dervish. The origin of the word "Sufi" is ambiguous. One understanding is that Sufi means wool-wearer; wool wearers during early Islam were pious ascetics who withdrew from urban life. Another explanation of the word "Sufi" is that it means 'purity'.[77] Sufis generally belong to a halaqa, a circle or group, led by a Sheikh or Murshid. Sufi circles usually belong to a Tariqa which is the Sufi order and each has a Silsila, which is the spiritual lineage, which traces its succession back to notable Sufis of the past, and often ultimately to Muhammed or one of his close associates. The turuq (plural of tariqa) are not enclosed like Christian monastic orders; rather the members retain an outside life. Membership of a Sufi group often passes down family lines. Meetings may or may not be segregated according to the prevailing custom of the wider society. An existing Muslim faith is not always a requirement for entry, particularly in Western countries. Mawlānā Rumi's tomb, Konya, Turkey Sufi practice includes     Dhikr, or remembrance (of God), which often takes the form of rhythmic chanting and breathing exercises.     Sama, which takes the form of music and dance — the whirling dance of the Mevlevi dervishes is a form well known in the West.     Muraqaba or meditation.     Visiting holy places, particularly the tombs of Sufi saints, in order to remember death and the greatness of those who have passed. The aims of Sufism include: the experience of ecstatic states (hal), purification of the heart (qalb), overcoming the lower self (nafs), extinction of the individual personality (fana), communion with God (haqiqa), and higher knowledge (marifat). Some sufic beliefs and practices have been found unorthodox by other Muslims; for instance Mansur al-Hallaj was put to death for blasphemy after uttering the phrase Ana'l Haqq, "I am the Truth" (i.e. God) in a trance. Notable classical Sufis include Jalaluddin Rumi, Fariduddin Attar, Sultan Bahoo, Sayyed Sadique Ali Husaini, Saadi Shirazi and Hafez, all major poets in the Persian language. Omar Khayyam, Al-Ghazzali and Ibn Arabi were renowned scholars. Abdul Qadir Jilani, Moinuddin Chishti, and Bahauddin Naqshband founded major orders, as did Rumi. Rabia Basri was the most prominent female Sufi. Sufism first came into contact with the Judeo-Christian world during the Moorish occupation of Spain. An interest in Sufism revived in non-Muslim countries during the modern era, led by such figures as Inayat Khan and Idries Shah (both in the UK), Rene Guenon (France) and Ivan Aguéli (Sweden). Sufism has also long been present in Asian countries that do not have a Muslim majority, such as India and China.[78] Indic religions Hinduism Main article: Hinduism In Hinduism, various sadhanas (spiritual disciplines) aim at overcoming ignorance (avidya) and transcending one's identification with body, mind and ego to attain moksha, liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Hinduism has a number of interlinked ascetic traditions and philosophical schools which aim at moksha [79] and the acquisition of higher powers.[80] With the onset of the British colonisation of India, those traditions came to be interpreted in Western terms such as "mysticism", resulting in comparisons with Western terms and practices.[81] Yoga is a term for physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which aim to attain a state of permanent peace.[82] Various traditions of yoga are found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.[83][84][85] The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali define yoga as "the stilling of the changing states of the mind,"[86] culminating in the state of samadhi. Classical Vedanta gives philosophical interpretations and commentaries of the Upanishads, a vast collection of ancient hymns. At least ten schools of Vedanta are known,[87] of which Advaita Vedanta, Vishishtadvaita, and Dvaita are the best known.[88] Advaita Vedanta, as expounded by Adi Shankara, states that there is no difference between Atman (the world-soul) and Brahman (the divine). The best-known subschool is Kevala Vedanta or mayavada as expounded by Adi Shankara. Advaita Vedanta has acquired a broad acceptance in Indian culture and beyond as the paradigmatic example of Hindu spirituality.[89] In contrast Bhedabheda-Vedanta emphasizes that Atman and Brahman are both the same and not the same,[90] while Dvaita Vedanta states that Atman and God are fundamentally different.[90] In modern times, the Upanishads have been interpreted by Neo-Vedanta as being "mystical".[81] Various Shaivist, Shakta and Tantric traditions are strongly nondualistic, among them Kashmir Shaivism and Sri Vidya. Tantra Main article: Tantra Mysticism in the Sikh faith began with its founder, Guru Nanak, who, from his childhood, had profound mystical experiences.[96] Guru Nanak stressed that God must be seen with 'the inward eye', or the 'heart', of a human being.[97] Guru Arjan, the fifth Sikh Guru, added works from various religions' mystics (bhagat) into the holy scriptures that would eventually become the Guru Granth Sahib. R. C. Zaehner distinguishes three fundamental types of mysticism, namely theistic, monistic and panenhenic ("all-in-one") or natural mysticism.[6] The theistic category includes most forms of Jewish, Christian and Islamic mysticism and occasional Hindu examples such as Ramanuja and the Bhagavad Gita.[6] The monistic type, which according to Zaehner is based upon an experience of the unity of one's soul,[6][note 23] includes Buddhism and Hindu schools such as Samkhya and Advaita vedanta.[6] Nature mysticism seems to refer to examples that do not fit into one of these two categories.[6] Walter Terence Stace, in his book Mysticism and Philosophy (1960), distinguished two types of mystical experience, namely extrovertive and introvertive mysticism.[129][6][130] Extrovertive mysticism is an experience of the unity of the external world, whereas introvertive mysticism is "an experience of unity devoid of perceptual objects; it is literally an experience of 'no-thing-ness'."[130] The unity in extrovertive mysticism is with the totality of objects of perception. While perception stays continuous, "unity shines through the same world"; the unity in introvertive mysticism is with a pure consciousness, devoid of objects of perception,[131] "pure unitary consciousness, wherein awareness of the world and of multiplicity is completely obliterated."[132] According to Stace such experiences are nonsensous and nonintellectual, under a total "suppression of the whole empirical content."[133] Stace argues that doctrinal differences between religious traditions are inappropriate criteria when making cross-cultural comparisons of mystical experiences.[6] Stace argues that mysticism is part of the process of perception, not interpretation, that is to say that the unity of mystical experiences is perceived, and only afterwards interpreted according to the perceiver's background. This may result in different accounts of the same phenomenon. While an atheist describes the unity as "freed from empirical filling", a religious person might describe it as "God" or "the Divine".[134] Mystical experiences Since the 19th century, "mystical experience" has evolved as a distinctive concept. It is closely related to "mysticism" but lays sole emphasis on the experiential aspect, be it spontaneous or induced by human behavior, whereas mysticism encompasses a broad range of practices aiming at a transformation of the person, not just inducing mystical experiences. William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience is the classic study on religious or mystical experience, which influenced deeply both the academic and popular understanding of "religious experience".[18][19][20][web 2] He popularized the use of the term "religious experience"[note 24] in his "Varieties",[18][19][web 2] and influenced the understanding of mysticism as a distinctive experience which supplies knowledge of the transcendental:[20][web 2]     Under the influence of William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience, heavily centered on people's conversion experiences, most philosophers' interest in mysticism has been in distinctive, allegedly knowledge-granting "mystical experiences.""[web 2] Yet, Gelman notes that so-called mystical experience is not a transitional event, as William James claimed, but an "abiding consciousness, accompanying a person throughout the day, or parts of it. For that reason, it might be better to speak of mystical consciousness, which can be either fleeting or abiding."[web 2] Most mystical traditions warn against an attachment to mystical experiences, and offer a "protective and hermeneutic framework" to accommodate these experiences.[135] These same traditions offer the means to induce mystical experiences,[135] which may have several origins: The theoretical study of mystical experience has shifted from an experiential, privatized and perennialist approach to a contextual and empirical approach.[135] The experientalist approach sees mystical experience as a private expression of perennial truths, separate from its historical and cultural context. The contextual approach, which also includes constructionism and attribution theory, takes into account the historical and cultural context.[135][29][web 2] Neurological research takes an empirical approach, relating mystical experiences to neurological processes. Perennialism versus constructionism The term "mystical experience" evolved as a distinctive concept since the 19th century, laying sole emphasis on the experiential aspect, be it spontaneous or induced by human behavior. Perennialists regard those various experience traditions as pointing to one universal transcendental reality, for which those experiences offer the proof. In this approach, mystical experiences are privatised, separated from the context in which they emerge.[135] Well-known representatives are William James, R.C. Zaehner, William Stace and Robert Forman.[9] The perennial position is "largely dismissed by scholars",[8] but "has lost none of its popularity."[8] In contrast, for the past decades most scholars have favored a constructionist approach, which states that mystical experiences are fully constructed by the ideas, symbols and practices that mystics are familiar with.[9] Critics of the term "religious experience" note that the notion of "religious experience" or "mystical experience" as marking insight into religious truth is a modern development,[136] and contemporary researchers of mysticism note that mystical experiences are shaped by the concepts "which the mystic brings to, and which shape, his experience".[137] What is being experienced is being determined by the expectations and the conceptual background of the mystic.[138] Richard Jones draws a distinction between "anticonstructivism" and "perennialism": constructivism can be rejected with respect to a certain class of mystical experiences without ascribing to a perennialist philosophy on the relation of mystical doctrines.[139] One can reject constructivism without claiming that mystical experiences reveal a cross-cultural "perennial truth". For example, a Christian can reject both constructivism and perennialism in arguing that there is a union with God free of cultural construction. Constructivism versus anticonstructivism is a matter of the nature of mystical experiences while perennialism is a matter of mystical traditions and the doctrines they espouse. Contextualism and attribution theory Main articles: Attribution (psychology) and Neurotheology The perennial position is now "largely dismissed by scholars",[8] and the contextual approach has become the common approach.[135] Contextualism takes into account the historical and cultural context of mystical experiences.[135] The attribution approach views "mystical experience" as non-ordinary states of consciousness which are explained in a religious framework.[29] According to Proudfoot, mystics unconsciously merely attribute a doctrinal content to ordinary experiences. That is, mystics project cognitive content onto otherwise ordinary experiences having a strong emotional impact.[140][29] This approach has been further elaborated by Ann Taves, in her Religious Experience Reconsidered. She incorporates both neurological and cultural approaches in the study of mystical experience. " (wikipedia.org) "Kmart Corporation (/ˈkeɪmɑːrt/ KAY-mart, doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was incorporated in 1899 as S. S. Kresge Corporation and renamed Kmart Corporation in 1977.[3] The first store with the Kmart name opened in 1962.[4] At its peak in 1994, Kmart operated 2,486 stores globally, including 2,323 discount stores and Super Kmart Center locations in the United States.[5][6][7][8] From 2005 through 2019, Kmart was a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation and is now a subsidiary of Transform SR Brands LLC.... The company also began to offer exclusive merchandise by Martha Stewart, Kathy Ireland, Jaclyn Smith, Lauren Hutton, and Thalía. Other recognizable brands included exclusively licensed merchandising of products relating to Sesame Street and Disney. Actress and television personality Rosie O'Donnell and actress/director and producer Penny Marshall became among the company's most recognized spokespersons.[35] Kmart's red classic logo (1990–2004) The Super Kmart Center logo that was used primarily in the early 1990s, but was also used for some stores that opened in 2001. This logo was also used on the former Super Kmart Center stores in Mexico during the 1990s Kmart's profitability and sales peaked in 1992, and have since declined due to competition with Walmart, Target, and internet shopping.[3] In 1994, Kmart announced they would close 110 stores.[43] Unlike its competitors Walmart and Target, Kmart failed to invest in computer technology to manage its supply chain. Furthermore, Kmart maintained a high dividend, which reduced the amount of money that was available for improving its stores. Many business analysts also faulted the company for failing to create a coherent brand image. In September 1995, Kmart sold its money-losing in-store auto repair centers to Penske Corporation for $112 million to operate them as Penske Auto Centers.[44][45] Penske later closed the auto repair centers in 2002 as a result of a payment dispute with Kmart.[46][47] In 1997, Kmart launched the Kmart Cash Card as a replacement for the paper gift certificates and to facilitate the return process.[48] In July 1999, Kmart hired SuperValu and Fleming to distribute $3.9 billion worth of food and other related products to all Kmart stores.[49] Also in 2000, Kmart expanded the Martha Stewart Everyday Garden Collection to include live plants and seeds.[51] Kmart also launched the Martha Stewart Everyday Kitchen, which is a complete line of housewares essentials.[52] In February 2001, Japanese video game company Sega sued Kmart for failure to pay $2.2 million of $25.9 million for Sega Dreamcast game systems.     Kmart is a chain of discount department stores that are usually free-standing or located in strip malls. They carry compact discs (CDs), DVDs, TV shows on DVD, electronics, bedding, household hardware, sporting goods, clothing, toys, jewelry, office supplies, health and beauty products, over-the-counter medications, home decor, and a limited selection of food items. Many also have a garden center, a Jackson Hewitt tax center, a pharmacy, and a K-Cafe or a deli serving Nathan's Hot Dogs and pizza. Kmart stores range from 80,000–110,000 sq ft (7,400–10,200 m2). Most of them were either converted to or rebranded as Big Kmart while some were converted into Super Kmart stores. A Little Caesars in a Kmart in Hollywood, Florida (store #3818) in August 2013. This Little Caesars location closed soon after and the Kmart location closed in February 2020 along with 95 other Kmart and Sears stores. A Super Kmart Center store in Lorain, Ohio (store #3910) in February 2013. This store closed on September 18, 2016. This location was demolished and is now a Meijer. A Super Kmart Center store with Super Kmart signage in Southgate, Michigan (store #4995) in July 2014. As indicated on the banner, this store began a liquidation sale one month earlier and closed on October 12, 2014. This location is now a Kroger Marketplace. Former A Kmart location in Redwood City, California (store #4349) in August 2016. This store was closed in April 2020 along with 43 other Sears and Kmart stores. A Kmart Express gas station in Cleveland, Ohio in February 2013. The Kmart Super Center (store #4966) near it, as well as this Kmart Express, closed in 2014. These locations were demolished and is now a Menards.     Big Kmart is a chain of discount department stores that carried everything a regular Kmart carries, but emphasizes home decor, children's clothing, and more food items such as meat and poultry, baked goods, frozen foods and an extended, but limited section of garden produce. Big Kmart stores ranged from 84,000 to 120,000 sq ft (7,800–11,100 m2). Big Kmart stores also featured a garden center, a pharmacy, a branch of a local bank, a Jackson Hewitt tax center, an Olan Mills portrait studio, an arcade, a K-Café or Little Caesars Pizza Station, and sometimes a Kmart Express gas station. As noted above, Kmart introduced the Big Kmart brand company-wide when it was introduced in 1997. Some Big Kmart locations were either closed or converted to normal Kmart stores.     BlueLight Internet service. In 1999 Kmart began offering a dial-up Internet service called BlueLight, which was eventually spun off as an independent company. BlueLight was initially free and supported by banner ads. BlueLight dropped the free service in February 2001 and was reacquired by Kmart in July 2001. In 2002 United Online, which also owns NetZero and Juno, bought the BlueLight service after Kmart filed for bankruptcy. In August 2006, Bluelight dropped the banners. In August 2006, the service cost $14.95 a month and had around 165,000 subscribers.     Borders Books was a chain of bookstores acquired by Kmart in 1992. In 1994, Borders merged with the Kmart chain Waldenbooks to form Borders-Walden Group, which was sold in 1995. In February 2011, Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to liquidate in July after failing to find a buyer to keep the chain's remaining 399 stores in operation. The remaining stores closed in September.     Builders Square was a home improvement superstore. In 1997, it was sold to Hechinger, which went out of business in 1999.     Designer Depot: A discount clothing store chain operated in Metro Detroit in the 1980s.[164] The first opened in a former S. S. Kresge dime store in St. Clair Shores, Michigan in 1982, selling brand names such as Yves Saint Laurent, Izod Lacoste, and Calvin Klein at discount prices.[165]     K-Café was an in-store restaurant that served a fairly standard menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, grilled cheese sandwiches and Philly cheesesteak. They also offered a full breakfast menu of baked goods, bagels and egg platters with bacon or sausage and such snacks as nachos, pretzels, popcorn and ice cream. In addition to the café's menu, hot food items could also be purchased at the deli and eaten in the Deli Café at Super Kmart Center stores. However, K-Café has been discontinued in almost all of their stores.[when?] Most restaurants that were located at Super Kmart Center stores were instead known as Super K-Café. However, some Kmart stores have Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eateries and Little Caesars Pizza Stations instead of K-Cafés, like the Kmart store in Marshall, Michigan and another located in Guam.[citation needed]     KDollar was a chain of discount stores/dollar stores that sold Kmart merchandise at a discount. The stores were often former Kmart or Big Kmart stores. Sears Brands filed for a trademark on the KDollar name on November 6, 2012.[166] The first opened in a former regular Kmart store in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 2013.[167] A second KDollar store opened in Waukegan, Illinois.     Kmart Chef restaurants were a small chain of free-standing fast-food restaurants owned by Kmart, started in 1967 with the first location on the parking lot of a Kmart in Pontiac, Michigan. The "limited, high-turnover menu" (as Kmart founder S.S. Kresge put it) consisted of hamburgers, French fries, hot dogs, and soft drinks. The Kmart Chef chain folded in 1974 after peaking at 11 locations.[168]     Kmart Dental was an in-store dental office located in Kmart stores. There was only one such prototype in a Kmart store, in Miami, Florida. Despite the name, Kmart Dental was never technically owned by Kmart.[169]     Kmart Express was a chain of gas stations/convenience stores located in out-parcels at some Kmart and Super Kmart stores, particularly in the Midwest. In the early 2000s, there were plans to expand this concept to most Kmarts, but the plan for more locations was canceled after Kmart's bankruptcy in 2002. The final Kmart Express, in Ionia, MI, closed in 2017.     Kmart Food Stores was a supermarket chain founded in 1962. Most Kmart Food locations were paired with Kmart stores, often operated by a local grocery chain but always branded as Kmart Food. The chain was discontinued in the early 1980s.     Kwash was an attached-to-store laundromat launched in May 2010. Only one such prototype existed. It was in a former auto bay in Iowa City, Iowa. It featured a separate entrance, laundromat attendants and free wi-fi along with a limited selection of laundry goods available for purchase. The Kwash closed along with the Kmart in 2017.[170]     Makro, a Dutch warehouse club chain, operated locations in the U.S. from February 1981 to 1989, in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and the Washington, D.C. suburb of Largo, Maryland.[171] Kmart bought the chain's entire American holdings in 1989, having owned a 49 percent share before.[172] The Makro stores were later converted to Pace or closed in 1990.[173]     Office Square was a chain selling office supplies and office furniture which was a spin-off of Builders Square. In 1991, OfficeMax was acquired by Kmart and Office Square was merged into OfficeMax stores.     OfficeMax is a chain selling office supplies and office furniture which was acquired in 1991 and sold in 1995. It was acquired by Office Depot in 2013.     Pace Membership Warehouse was Kmart's warehouse club brand, until the chain was purchased by Walmart. In 1993, Walmart converted most of the stores into its Sam's Club brand, and sold others to chains such as Bradlees.     PayLess Drugs was a chain of drug stores acquired by Kmart in 1985[174] and later sold to TCH Corporation in 1994.[175] The resulting entity, Thrifty PayLess, was acquired by Rite Aid in 1996, which converted all of the PayLess and Thrifty stores into Rite Aid stores in 1999. The PayLess division also owned Bi-Mart, which was spun off along with sister stores such as Pay 'n Save.     The Sports Authority was a chain of sporting goods stores which was acquired in 1990 and sold in 1995. The Sports Authority went out of business in 2016.     Super Kmart Center was a chain of superstores that carried everything a regular Kmart carries, but also had a full grocery section with meat and poultry, baked goods, a delicatessen, garden produce, and fresh seafood. Kmart Super Centers ranged from 140,000 to 190,000 sq ft (13,000 to 18,000 m2). The first store opened in Medina, Ohio on July 25, 1991 which downsized to a regular Kmart before closing for good in 2012. In 1997 a few days after Kmart opened its first Big Kmart store in Chicago, the Super Kmart Center brand was renamed to Super Kmart. Super Kmart Center stores also featured a garden center, a video rental store, a branch of a local bank, an arcade, a portrait studio, a Jackson Hewitt tax center, a pharmacy, and usually a deli café or Little Caesars Pizza Station. Many of these services were closed and discontinued in recent years. Several locations also included Kmart Express gas stations, and most had an auto center. Most Super Kmarts were closed during the two rounds of closures in 2002 and 2003, and many had their groceries removed, converting them into regular Kmart locations.[176] A typical Super Center sold around $30 million of merchandise during one fiscal year. In 2015, some stores were converted into a regular Kmart with a concept called K-Fresh. These stores feature an expanded pantry and a fresh-food department, though these types of items are no longer prepared on-site and are now prepackaged. The deli, butcher and bakery operations were also closed. Kmart gradually closed its Super Kmart stores; the last location was in Warren, Ohio and closed on April 8, 2018. It is scheduled to be replaced by Kmart competitor Meijer.[177]     U-Pak was a single "no-frills" supermarket which sold items out of boxes instead of on shelves, and featured reduced hours. It opened adjacent to a Kmart on Opdyke Boulevard in Pontiac, Michigan in 1979 and closed less than a month later due to poor sales.[178]     Variety Outlet. A closeout chain, typically operated out of closed Kmart stores. The first opened in Rome, Georgia in 1994.[179][180]     Waldenbooks was a chain consisting primarily of shopping-mall–based book stores which was acquired in 1984. In 1994, Kmart chain Borders merged with Waldenbooks to form Borders-Walden Group, which was sold in 1995 (the company was subsequently renamed Borders Group, and went out of business in 2011)." (wikipedia.org) "A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the property. Parapsychologists often attribute haunting to the spirits of the dead who have suffered from violent or tragic events in the building's past such as murder, accidental death, or suicide.[1] In a majority of cases, upon scientific investigation, alternative causes to supernatural phenomenon are found to be at fault, such as hoaxes, environmental effects, hallucinations or confirmation biases. Common symptoms of hauntings, like cold spots and creaking or knocking sounds, can be found in most homes regardless of suspected paranormal presences. People are more likely to experience a haunting when they are about to fall asleep, when waking, if they are intoxicated or sleep deprived. Carbon monoxide poisoning has been cited as a cause of suspected hauntings. If there is an expectation of a preternatural encounter, it is more likely that one will be perceived or reported. ... Halloween-themed haunted houses Halloween themed haunted houses began appearing around the same time as "trick or treat", during the Great Depression, as a way to distract young people whose Halloween pranks had escalated to vandalism and harassment of passersby.[where?] These first haunted houses were low quality, being put together by groups of families in their basements. People would travel from home to home to experience a variety of frightening situations, such as hearing weird moans and howls, cardboard cutouts of black cats, damp sponges and hair nets hanging from the ceiling to touch people's faces, hanging fur on the walls of darkened hallways, and having to crawl through long dark tunnels.[40] In 1972 Jerry Falwell and Liberty University introduced one of the first "hell houses" as an anti-Halloween attraction.[40] Some Christian churches run these, which while being haunted houses, also promote their interpretation of the Christian gospel message. According to USA Today, in hell houses, "participants walk through several 'scenes' depicting the consequences of things like abortion, homosexuality and drunkenness."[41] Commercial haunted houses Fuji-Q – Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear, haunted hospital. The concept of the haunted house was capitalized on as early as 1915 with the Orton and Spooner Haunted House in the Hollycombe Steam Collection (England).[42] The haunted house became a cultural icon when Disneyland's Haunted Mansion was opened in 1969.[40] By the 1970s, commercial haunted houses had sprung up all over the United States in cities like Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.[43] These houses are stereotypically Gilded Age homes because changing tastes of the nouveau riche left these homes abandoned or poorly maintained.[44] Hollywood slasher films such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th had a large influence on commercial haunted houses in the 1980s and 1990s. Many of these houses included characters such as Freddy Krueger and Jason. A less popular film titled Monster House suggests the idea of a spirit actually taking control of a house and transforming it into an almost human body.[40] By 2005, an estimated 3,500 to 5,000 professional haunted attractions operated in the United States.[45] Japanese commercial haunted houses, or obakeyashiki, are considered to be some of the best in the world. Experiences include being chased by gore-covered zombies, specially themed attractions, such as schools or hospital wards, and houses from which one must escape within 60 minutes or be found by "slaughtering criminals". Claiming to be the world's largest and most frightening haunted house, the Super Scary Labyrinth of Fear at Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park, in Yamanashi Fujiyoshida-shi Shinnishihara, depicts horrific visual scenes, shrill cries, moans, and smells. It has been visited by over four million people.[46] Haunted Attractions come in several different types from hayrides, indoor haunted houses to outdoor screamparks. Many amusement parks now host large Halloween events featuring haunted houses." (wikipedia.org) "The human skeleton is the internal framework of the human body. It is composed of around 270 bones at birth – this total decreases to around 206 bones by adulthood after some bones get fused together.[1] The bone mass in the skeleton reaches maximum density around age 21.[citation needed] The human skeleton can be divided into the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton. The axial skeleton is formed by the vertebral column, the rib cage, the skull and other associated bones. The appendicular skeleton, which is attached to the axial skeleton, is formed by the shoulder girdle, the pelvic girdle and the bones of the upper and lower limbs. The human skeleton performs six major functions: support, movement, protection, production of blood cells, storage of minerals, and endocrine regulation. The human skeleton is not as sexually dimorphic as that of many other primate species, but subtle differences between sexes in the morphology of the skull, dentition, long bones, and pelvis exist. In general, female skeletal elements tend to be smaller and less robust than corresponding male elements within a given population.[citation needed] The human female pelvis is also different from that of males in order to facilitate childbirth.[2] Unlike most primates, human males do not have penile bones.... Divisions Axial Main article: Axial skeleton The axial skeleton (80 bones) is formed by the vertebral column (32–34 bones; the number of the vertebrae differs from human to human as the lower 2 parts, sacral and coccygeal bone may vary in length), a part of the rib cage (12 pairs of ribs and the sternum), and the skull (22 bones and 7 associated bones). The upright posture of humans is maintained by the axial skeleton, which transmits the weight from the head, the trunk, and the upper extremities down to the lower extremities at the hip joints. The bones of the spine are supported by many ligaments. The erector spinae muscles are also supporting and are useful for balance. Appendicular Main article: Appendicular skeleton The appendicular skeleton (126 bones) is formed by the pectoral girdles, the upper limbs, the pelvic girdle or pelvis, and the lower limbs. Their functions are to make locomotion possible and to protect the major organs of digestion, excretion and reproduction. Functions The skeleton serves six major functions: support, movement, protection, production of blood cells, storage of minerals and endocrine regulation. Support The skeleton provides the framework which supports the body and maintains its shape. The pelvis, associated ligaments and muscles provide a floor for the pelvic structures. Without the rib cages, costal cartilages, and intercostal muscles, the lungs would collapse. Movement The joints between bones allow movement, some allowing a wider range of movement than others, e.g. the ball and socket joint allows a greater range of movement than the pivot joint at the neck. Movement is powered by skeletal muscles, which are attached to the skeleton at various sites on bones. Muscles, bones, and joints provide the principal mechanics for movement, all coordinated by the nervous system. It is believed that the reduction of human bone density in prehistoric times reduced the agility and dexterity of human movement. Shifting from hunting to agriculture has caused human bone density to reduce significantly.[4][5][6] Protection The skeleton helps to protect our many vital internal organs from being damaged.     The skull protects the brain     The vertebrae protect the spinal cord.     The rib cage, spine, and sternum protect the lungs, heart and major blood vessels. Blood cell production The skeleton is the site of haematopoiesis, the development of blood cells that takes place in the bone marrow. In children, haematopoiesis occurs primarily in the marrow of the long bones such as the femur and tibia. In adults, it occurs mainly in the pelvis, cranium, vertebrae, and sternum.[7] Storage The bone matrix can store calcium and is involved in calcium metabolism, and bone marrow can store iron in ferritin and is involved in iron metabolism. However, bones are not entirely made of calcium, but a mixture of chondroitin sulfate and hydroxyapatite, the latter making up 70% of a bone. Hydroxyapatite is in turn composed of 39.8% of calcium, 41.4% of oxygen, 18.5% of phosphorus, and 0.2% of hydrogen by mass. Chondroitin sulfate is a sugar made up primarily of oxygen and carbon. Endocrine regulation Bone cells release a hormone called osteocalcin, which contributes to the regulation of blood sugar (glucose) and fat deposition. Osteocalcin increases both the insulin secretion and sensitivity, in addition to boosting the number of insulin-producing cells and reducing stores of fat.[8] Sex differences During construction of the York to Scarborough Railway Bridge in 1901, workmen discovered a large stone coffin, close to the River Ouse. Inside was a skeleton, accompanied by an array of unusual and expensive objects. This chance find represents one of the most significant discoveries ever made from Roman York. Study of the skeleton has revealed that it belonged to a woman. Anatomical differences between human males and females are highly pronounced in some soft tissue areas, but tend to be limited in the skeleton. The human skeleton is not as sexually dimorphic as that of many other primate species, but subtle differences between sexes in the morphology of the skull, dentition, long bones, and pelvis are exhibited across human populations. In general, female skeletal elements tend to be smaller and less robust than corresponding male elements within a given population.[citation needed] It is not known whether or to what extent those differences are genetic or environmental. Skull A variety of gross morphological traits of the human skull demonstrate sexual dimorphism, such as the median nuchal line, mastoid processes, supraorbital margin, supraorbital ridge, and the chin.[9] Dentition Human inter-sex dental dimorphism centers on the canine teeth, but it is not nearly as pronounced as in the other great apes. Long bones Long bones are generally larger in males than in females within a given population. Muscle attachment sites on long bones are often more robust in males than in females, reflecting a difference in overall muscle mass and development between sexes. Sexual dimorphism in the long bones is commonly characterized by morphometric or gross morphological analyses. Pelvis The human pelvis exhibits greater sexual dimorphism than other bones, specifically in the size and shape of the pelvic cavity, ilia, greater sciatic notches, and the sub-pubic angle. The Phenice method is commonly used to determine the sex of an unidentified human skeleton by anthropologists with 96% to 100% accuracy in some populations.[10] Women's pelvises are wider in the pelvic inlet and are wider throughout the pelvis to allow for child birth. The sacrum in the women's pelvis is curved inwards to allow the child to have a "funnel" to assist in the child's pathway from the uterus to the birth canal. Clinical significance See also: Bone disease There are many classified skeletal disorders. One of the most common is osteoporosis. Also common is scoliosis, a side-to-side curve in the back or spine, often creating a pronounced "C" or "S" shape when viewed on an x-ray of the spine. This condition is most apparent during adolescence, and is most common with females. Arthritis Main article: Arthritis The study of bones in ancient Greece started under Ptolemaic kings due to their link to Egypt. Herophilos, through his work by studying dissected human corpses in Alexandria, is credited to be the pioneer of the field. His works are lost but are often cited by notable persons in the field such as Galen and Rufus of Ephesus. Galen himself did little dissection though and relied on the work of others like Marinus of Alexandria,[16] as well as his own observations of gladiator cadavers and animals.[17] According to Katherine Park, in medieval Europe dissection continued to be practiced, contrary to the popular understanding that such practices were taboo and thus completely banned.[18] The practice of holy autopsy, such as in the case of Clare of Montefalco further supports the claim.[19] Alexandria continued as a center of anatomy under Islamic rule, with Ibn Zuhr a notable figure. Chinese understandings are divergent, as the closest corresponding concept in the medicinal system seems to be the meridians, although given that Hua Tuo regularly performed surgery, there may be some distance between medical theory and actual understanding. Renaissance Leonardo Da Vinci made studies of the skeleton, albeit unpublished in his time.[20] Many artists, Antonio Pollaiuolo being the first, performed dissections for better understanding of the body, although they concentrated mostly on the muscles.[21] Vesalius, regarded as the founder of modern anatomy, authored the book De humani corporis fabrica, which contained many illustrations of the skeleton and other body parts, correcting some theories dating from Galen, such as the lower jaw being a single bone instead of two.[22] Various other figures like Alessandro Achillini also contributed to the further understanding of the skeleton." (wikipedia.org) "Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others.[1][2] A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have attacked their own community, and often to have communed with evil beings. It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by protective magic or counter-magic, which could be provided by cunning folk or folk healers. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. In some regions, many of those accused of witchcraft were folk healers or midwives.[3][4] European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment. Contemporary cultures that believe in magic and the supernatural often believe in witchcraft.[5][6] Anthropologists have applied the term witchcraft to similar beliefs and occult practices described by many non-European cultures, and cultures that have adopted the English language will often call these practices "witchcraft", as well.[6][7][8][9] As with the cunning-folk in Europe, Indigenous communities that believe in the existence of witchcraft define witches as the opposite of their healers and medicine people, who are sought out for protection against witches and witchcraft.[10][11][12] Modern witch-hunting is found in parts of Africa and Asia. A theory that witchcraft was a survival of a European pagan religion (the witch-cult hypothesis) gained popularity in the early 20th century, but has since been discredited. In contemporary Western culture, most notably since the growth of Wicca from the 1950s, some Modern Pagans and new agers self-identify as witches, and use the term witchcraft for their self-help, healing and divination rituals.... Concept The Magic Circle by John William Waterhouse, 1886 The concept of witchcraft and the belief in its existence have persisted throughout recorded history. It has been found at various times and in many forms among cultures worldwide,[6][16] and continues to have an important role in some cultures today.[17] Most societies have believed in, and feared, an ability by some individuals to cause supernatural harm and misfortune to others. This may come from mankind's tendency "to want to assign occurrences of remarkable good or bad luck to agency, either human or superhuman".[18] Witchcraft is seen by historians and anthropologists as one ideology for explaining misfortune, which has manifested in diverse ways.[19] Some cultures have feared witchcraft much less than others, because they instead believed that strange misfortune was usually caused by gods, spirits, demons or fairies, or by other humans who have unwittingly cast the 'evil eye'.[18] Ronald Hutton outlined five key characteristics ascribed to witches and witchcraft by most cultures that believe in the concept. Traditionally, witchcraft was believed to be the use of magic to cause harm or misfortune to others; it was used by the witch against their own community; it was seen as immoral and often thought to involve communion with evil beings; powers of witchcraft were believed to have been acquired through inheritance or initiation; and witchcraft could be thwarted by defensive magic, persuasion, intimidation or physical punishment of the alleged witch.[20] Historically, the predominant concept of witchcraft in the Western world derives from Old Testament laws against witchcraft, and entered the mainstream when belief in witchcraft gained Church approval in the Early Modern Period. It is a theosophical conflict between good and evil, where witchcraft was generally evil and often associated with the Devil and Devil worship. This culminated in deaths, torture and scapegoating (casting blame for misfortune),[21][22] and many years of large scale witch-trials and witch hunts, especially in Protestant Europe, before largely ceasing during the European Age of Enlightenment. Christian views in the modern day are diverse and cover the gamut of views from intense belief and opposition (especially by Christian fundamentalists) to non-belief, and even approval in some churches. From the mid-20th century, witchcraft – sometimes called contemporary witchcraft to clearly distinguish it from older beliefs – became the name of a branch of modern Paganism. It is most notably practiced in the Wiccan and modern witchcraft traditions, and it is no longer practiced in secrecy.[23] The Western mainstream Christian view is far from the only societal perspective about witchcraft. Many cultures worldwide continue to have widespread practices and cultural beliefs that are loosely translated into English as "witchcraft", although the English translation masks a very great diversity in their forms, magical beliefs, practices, and place in their societies. During the Age of Colonialism, many cultures across the globe were exposed to the modern Western world via colonialism, usually accompanied and often preceded by intensive Christian missionary activity (see "Christianization"). In these cultures beliefs that were related to witchcraft and magic were influenced by the prevailing Western concepts of the time. Witch-hunts, scapegoating, and the killing or shunning of suspected witches still occur in the modern era.[24] Suspicion of modern medicine due to beliefs about illness being due to witchcraft also continues in many countries to this day, with serious healthcare consequences. The word is over a thousand years old: Old English formed the compound wiccecræft from wicce ('witch') and cræft ('craft').[29] Witch was also spelled wicca or wycca in Old English, and was originally masculine.[30] Folk etymologies link witchcraft "to the English words wit, wise, wisdom [Germanic root *weit-, *wait-, *wit-; Indo-European root *weid-, *woid-, *wid-]", so 'craft of the wise.'[31][self-published source?] The word witch in the English language (a Germanic language) is used generally for women. In other languages such as Neo-Latin languages (languages that evolved from Latin) ​​the word can be translated as bruxa in Portuguese, bruja in Spanish, sorcière in French and strega in Italian. In these languages these words have masculine inflected counterparts with the same etymological origin, being respectively, bruxo (Portuguese), brujo (Spanish), sorcier (French) and stregone (Italian). When translated to English the preferred translation by Anglophones is "wizard", or less commonly, "warlock". In anthropological terminology, witches differ from sorceresses in that they don't use physical tools or actions to curse; their maleficium is perceived as extending from some intangible inner quality, and one may be unaware of being a witch, or may have been convinced of their nature by the suggestion of others.[32] This definition was pioneered in a study of central African magical beliefs by E. E. Evans-Pritchard, who cautioned that it might not correspond with normal English usage.[33] Historians of European witchcraft have found the anthropological definition difficult to apply to European witchcraft, where witches could equally use (or be accused of using) physical techniques, as well as some who really had attempted to cause harm by thought alone.[7] Practices Preparation for the Witches' Sabbath by David Teniers the Younger. It shows a witch brewing a potion overlooked by her familiar spirit or a demon; items on the floor for casting a spell; and another witch reading from a grimoire while anointing the buttocks of a young witch about to fly upon an inverted besom Where belief in malicious magic practices exists, practitioners are typically forbidden by law as well as hated and feared by the general populace, while beneficial magic is tolerated or even accepted wholesale by the people — even if the orthodox establishment opposes it.[34] Spell casting See also: Magic (supernatural) Probably the best-known characteristic of a witch is her ability to cast a spell – a set of words, a formula or verse, a ritual, or a combination of these, employed to do magic.[35] Spells traditionally were cast by many methods, such as by the inscription of runes or sigils on an object to give that object magical powers; by the immolation or binding of a wax or clay image (poppet) of a person to affect them magically; by the recitation of incantations; by the performance of physical rituals; by the employment of magical herbs as amulets or potions; by gazing at mirrors, swords or other specula (scrying) for purposes of divination; and by many other means.[36][37][38] Necromancy (conjuring the dead) Strictly speaking, necromancy is the practice of conjuring the spirits of the dead for divination or prophecy, although the term has also been applied to raising the dead for other purposes. The biblical Witch of Endor performed it (1 Samuel 28th chapter), and it is among the witchcraft practices condemned by Ælfric of Eynsham:[39][40][41] "Witches still go to cross-roads and to heathen burials with their delusive magic and call to the devil; and he comes to them in the likeness of the man that is buried there, as if he arises from death."[42] White witches in Britain and Europe Main article: Cunning folk Further information: Folk religion, Magical thinking, and Shamanism A painting in the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria, condemning witchcraft and traditional folk magic Traditionally, the terms "witch" and "witchcraft" had negative connotations. Most societies that have believed in harmful witchcraft or 'black' magic have also believed in helpful or 'white' magic.[43] In these societies, practitioners of helpful magic provided services such as breaking the effects of witchcraft, healing, divination, finding lost or stolen goods, and love magic.[44] In Britain they were commonly known as cunning folk or wise people.[44] Alan McFarlane writes, "There were a number of interchangeable terms for these practitioners, 'white', 'good', or 'unbinding' witches, blessers, wizards, sorcerers, however 'cunning-man' and 'wise-man' were the most frequent".[45] Ronald Hutton prefers the term "service magicians".[44] Often these people were involved in identifying alleged witches.[43] Hostile churchmen sometimes branded any magic-workers "witches" as a way of smearing them.[44] Englishman Reginald Scot, who sought to disprove witchcraft and magic, wrote in The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), "At this day it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, 'she is a witch' or 'she is a wise woman'".[46] Folk magicians throughout Europe were often viewed ambivalently by communities, and were considered as capable of harming as of healing,[8] which could lead to their being accused as "witches" in the negative sense. Many English "witches" convicted of consorting with demons may have been cunning folk whose supposed fairy familiars had been demonised;[47] many French devins-guerisseurs ("diviner-healers") were accused of witchcraft,[48] over half the accused witches in Hungary seem to have been healers,[49] and the "vast majority" of Finland's accused witches were folk healers.[50] Hutton, however, says that "Service magicians were sometimes denounced as witches, but seem to have made up a minority of the accused in any area studied".[43] Thwarting witchcraft A witch bottle, used as counter-magic against witchcraft Societies that believed in witchcraft also believed that it could be thwarted in various ways. One common way was to use protective magic or counter-magic, of which the cunning folk were experts.[43] This included charms, talismans and amulets, anti-witch marks, witch bottles, witch balls, and burying objects such as horse skulls inside the walls of buildings.[51] Another believed cure for bewitchment was to persuade or force the alleged witch to lift their spell.[43] Often, people would attempt to thwart the witchcraft by physically punishing the alleged witch, such as by banishing, wounding, torturing or killing them. "In most societies, however, a formal and legal remedy was preferred to this sort of private action", whereby the alleged witch would be prosecuted and then formally punished if found guilty.[43] This often resulted in execution. Accusations of witchcraft Alleged witches being accused in the Salem witch trials "Neighborhood witches" are the product of neighborhood tensions, and are found only in village communities where the inhabitants largely rely on each other. Such accusations follow the breaking of some social norm, such as the failure to return a borrowed item, and any person part of the normal social exchange could potentially fall under suspicion. Claims of "sorcerer" witches and "supernatural" witches could arise out of social tensions, but not exclusively; the supernatural witch often had nothing to do with communal conflict, but expressed tensions between the human and supernatural worlds; and in Eastern and Southeastern Europe such supernatural witches became an ideology explaining calamities that befell whole communities.[53] The historian Norman Gevitz has written:     [T]he medical arts played a significant and sometimes pivotal role in the witchcraft controversies of seventeenth-century New England. Not only were physicians and surgeons the principal professional arbiters for determining natural versus preternatural signs and symptoms of disease, they occupied key legislative, judicial, and ministerial roles relating to witchcraft proceedings. Forty six male physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries are named in court transcripts or other contemporary source materials relating to New England witchcraft. These practitioners served on coroners' inquests, performed autopsies, took testimony, issued writs, wrote letters, or committed people to prison, in addition to diagnosing and treating patients.[54] European witch-hunts and witch-trials Main articles: Witch-hunt and Witch trials in the early modern period A 1613 English pamphlet showing "Witches apprehended, examined and executed" In Christianity, sorcery came to be associated with heresy and apostasy and to be viewed as evil. Among the Catholics, Protestants, and secular leadership of the European Late Medieval/Early Modern period, fears about witchcraft rose to fever pitch and sometimes led to large-scale witch-hunts. The key century was the fifteenth, which saw a dramatic rise in awareness and terror of witchcraft, culminating in the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum but prepared by such fanatical popular preachers as Bernardino of Siena.[55] In total, tens or hundreds of thousands of people were executed, and others were imprisoned, tortured, banished, and had lands and possessions confiscated. The majority of those accused were women, though in some regions the majority were men.[56][57] In early modern Scots, the word warlock came to be used as the male equivalent of witch (which can be male or female, but is used predominantly for females).[58][59][60] The Malleus Maleficarum, (Latin for 'Hammer of The Witches') was a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was used by both Catholics and Protestants[61] for several hundred years, outlining how to identify a witch, what makes a woman more likely than a man to be a witch, how to put a witch on trial, and how to punish a witch. The book defines a witch as evil and typically female. The book became the handbook for secular courts throughout Renaissance Europe, but was not used by the Inquisition, which even cautioned against relying on The Work.[62] It is likely that this caused witch mania to become so widespread. It was the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, after the Bible.[63] European witch-trials reached their peak in the early 17th century, after which popular sentiment began to turn against the practice. Friedrich Spee's book Cautio Criminalis, published in 1631, argued that witch-trials were largely unreliable and immoral.[64] In 1682, King Louis XIV prohibited further witch-trials in France. In 1736, Great Britain formally ended witch-trials with passage of the Witchcraft Act.[65] Modern witch-hunts Main article: Modern witch-hunts Belief in witchcraft continues to be present today in some societies and accusations of witchcraft are the trigger for serious forms of violence, including murder. Such incidents are common in countries such as Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal and Tanzania. Accusations of witchcraft are sometimes linked to personal disputes, jealousy, and conflicts between neighbors or family members over land or inheritance. Witchcraft-related violence is often discussed as a serious issue in the broader context of violence against women.[66][67][68][69][70] In Tanzania, about 500 old women are murdered each year following accusations of witchcraft or accusations of being a witch.[71] Apart from extrajudicial violence, state-sanctioned violence also occurs in some jurisdictions. For instance, in Saudi Arabia practicing witchcraft and sorcery is a crime punishable by death and the country has executed people for this crime in 2011, 2012 and 2014.[72][73][74] Children who live in some regions of the world, such as parts of Africa, are also vulnerable to violence that is related to witchcraft accusations.[75][76][77][78] Such incidents have also occurred in immigrant communities in the UK, including the much publicized case of the murder of Victoria Climbié.[79][80] Wicca Main article: Wicca During the 20th century, interest in witchcraft in English-speaking and European countries began to increase, inspired particularly by Margaret Murray's theory of a pan-European witch-cult originally published in 1921, since discredited by further careful historical research.[81] Interest was intensified, however, by Gerald Gardner's claim in 1954 in Witchcraft Today that a form of witchcraft still existed in England. The truth of Gardner's claim is now disputed too.[82][83][84][85][86] The first Neopagan groups to publicly appear, during the 1950s and 60s, were Gerald Gardner's Bricket Wood coven and Roy Bowers' Clan of Tubal Cain. They operated as initiatory secret societies. Other individual practitioners and writers such as Paul Huson[13] also claimed inheritance to surviving traditions of witchcraft.[14] The Wicca that Gardner initially taught was a witchcraft religion having a lot in common with Margaret Murray's hypothetically posited cult of the 1920s.[87] Indeed, Murray wrote an introduction to Gardner's Witchcraft Today, in effect putting her stamp of approval on it. These Wiccan witches do not adhere to the more common definition of Witchcraft, and generally define their practices as a type of "positive magic." Various forms of Wicca are now practised as a religion of an initiatory secret society nature with positive ethical principles, organised into autonomous covens and led by a High Priesthood. There is also a large "Eclectic Wiccan" movement of individuals and groups who share key Wiccan beliefs but have no initiatory connection or affiliation with traditional Wicca. Wiccan writings and ritual show borrowings from a number of sources including 19th and 20th-century ceremonial magic, the medieval grimoire known as the Key of Solomon, Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis and pre-Christian religions.[88][89][90] A survey published in November 2000 cited just over 200,000 people who reported practicing Wicca in the United States.[91] Witchcraft, feminism, and media Wiccan and Neo-Wiccan literature has been described as aiding the empowerment of young women through its lively portrayal of female protagonists. Part of the recent growth in Neo-Pagan religions has been attributed to the strong media presence of fictional pop culture works such as Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the Harry Potter series with their depictions of "positive witchcraft", which differs from the historical, traditional, and Indigenous definitions.[10] Based on a mass media case study done, "Mass Media and Religious Identity: A Case Study of Young Witches", in the result of the case study it was stated the reasons many young people are choosing to self-identify as witches and belong to groups they define as practicing witchcraft is diverse; however, the use of pop culture witchcraft in various media platforms can be the spark of interest for young people to see themselves as "witches".[15] Widespread accessibility to related material through internet media such as chat rooms and forums is also thought to be driving this development. Which is dependent on one's accessibility to those media resources and material to influence their thoughts and views on religion.[15] Wiccan beliefs, or pop culture variations thereof, are often considered by adherents to be compatible with liberal ideals such as the Green movement, and particularly with some varieties of feminism, by providing young women with what they see as a means for self-empowerment, control of their own lives, and potentially a way of influencing the world around them.[92][93] This is the case particularly in North America due to the strong presence of feminist ideals in some branches of the Neopagan communities and the long tradition of women-led and women-only groups such as in Dianic Wicca.[10] The 2002 study Enchanted Feminism: The Reclaiming Witches of San Francisco suggests that some branches of Wicca include influential members of the second wave of feminism, which has also been redefined as a religious movement.[92] Traditional witchcraft Main article: Traditional witchcraft Traditional witchcraft is a term used to refer to a variety of contemporary forms of witchcraft. Pagan studies scholar Ethan Doyle White described it as "a broad movement of aligned magico-religious groups who reject any relation to Gardnerianism and the wider Wiccan movement, claiming older, more "traditional" roots. Although typically united by a shared aesthetic rooted in European folklore, the Traditional Craft contains within its ranks a rich and varied array of occult groups, from those who follow a contemporary Pagan path that is suspiciously similar to Wicca to those who adhere to Luciferianism".[94] According to British Traditional Witch Michael Howard, the term refers to "any non-Gardnerian, non-Alexandrian, non-Wiccan or pre-modern form of the Craft, especially if it has been inspired by historical forms of witchcraft and folk magic".[95] Another definition was offered by Daniel A. Schulke, the current Magister of the Cultus Sabbati, when he proclaimed that traditional witchcraft "refers to a coterie of initiatory lineages of ritual magic, spellcraft and devotional mysticism".[96] Some forms of traditional witchcraft are the Feri Tradition, Cochrane's Craft and the Sabbatic craft.[97] Stregheria Main article: Stregheria Modern Stregheria closely resembles Charles Leland's controversial late-19th-century account of a surviving Italian religion of witchcraft, worshipping the Goddess Diana, her brother Dianus/Lucifer, and their daughter Aradia. Leland's witches do not see Lucifer as the evil Satan that Christians see, but a benevolent god of the Sun.[98] The ritual format of contemporary Stregheria is roughly similar to that of other Neopagan witchcraft religions such as Wicca. The pentagram is the most common symbol of religious identity. Most followers celebrate a series of eight festivals equivalent to the Wiccan Wheel of the Year, though others follow the ancient Roman festivals. An emphasis is placed on ancestor worship and balance.[99] Witchcraft and Satanism See also: Deal with the devil and Devil in Christianity Demonic associations in general may sometimes implicate witchcraft with the Devil, as conceived variously across different cultures and religious traditions. The character of Satan influenced all Abrahamic religions, and accusations of witchcraft were routinely associated with Satanism. Sometimes under the guise of Lucifer, a more noble characterization developed as a rebellious counterpart to Christianity.[100] In Europe after the Enlightenment, influential works such as Milton's Paradise Lost were described anew by Romantics suggesting the biblical Satan as an allegory representing crisis of faith, individualism, free will, wisdom, and spiritual enlightenment. In the 20th century, other works presented Satan in a less negative light, such as Letters from the Earth. The 1933 book The God of the Witches by Margaret Murray influenced Herbert Arthur Sloane, who connected the horned god with Satan (Sathanas), and founded the Ophite Cultus Satanas in 1948.[101] Sloane also corresponded with his contemporary Gerald Gardner, founder of modern Wicca, and implied that his views of Satan and the horned god were not necessarily in conflict with Gardner's approach. However, he did believe that, while gnosis referred to knowledge, and Wicca referred to wisdom, modern witches had fallen away from the true knowledge, and instead had begun worshipping a fertility god, a reflection of the creator god. He wrote that "the largest existing body of witches who are true Satanists would be the Yezedees". Sloane highly recommended the book The Gnostic Religion, and sections of it were sometimes read at ceremonies.[102] Anton LaVey treated Satan not as a literal god, but rather an evocative namesake for The Church of Satan, which he founded in 1966.[103][104] The Church incorporates magic in their practice, distinguishing between Lesser and Greater forms.[105] LaVey published The Compleat Witch in 1971, subsequently republished as The Satanic Witch. While the Church and other atheistic Satanists use Satan as a symbolic embodiment of certain human traits, there are also theistic Satanists who venerate Satan as a supernatural deity.[106] Contemporary Satanism is mainly an American phenomenon,[107] although it began to reach Eastern Europe in the 1990s around the time of the fall of the Soviet Union.[108][109] In the 21st century, witchcraft may still be erroneously associated with ideas of "devil worship" and potentially conflated with contemporary Satanism. Estimates suggest up to 100,000 Satanists worldwide in 2006 (twice the number estimated in 1990).[110] Satanic beliefs have been largely permitted as a valid expression of religious belief in the West. Satanists were allowed in the British Royal Navy in 2004,[111][112][113] and an appeal was considered in 2005 for religious status as a right of prisoners by the Supreme Court of the United States.[114][115] Founded in 2013, the Satanic Temple avoids the practice of magic, claiming "beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world."[116][117] Luciferianism developed on principles of independence and human progression, a symbol of enlightenment.[118][119] Madeline Montalban was an English witch who adhered to the veneration of Lucifer, or Lumiel, whom she considered a benevolent angelic being who had aided humanity's development. Within her Order, she emphasised that her followers discover their own personal relationship with the angelic beings, including Lumiel.[120] Although initially seeming favourable to Gerald Gardner, by the mid-1960s she had become hostile towards him and his Gardnerian tradition, considering him to be "a 'dirty old man' and sexual pervert."[121] She also expressed hostility to another prominent Pagan Witch of the period, Charles Cardell, although in the 1960s became friends with the two Witches at the forefront of the Alexandrian Wiccan tradition, Alex Sanders and his wife, Maxine Sanders, who adopted some of her Luciferian angelic practices.[122] In contemporary times Luciferian witches exist within traditional witchcraft.[94] Historical and religious perspectives Near East beliefs The belief in sorcery and its practice seem to have been widespread in the ancient Near East and Nile Valley. It played a conspicuous role in the cultures of ancient Egypt and in Babylonia. The latter tradition included an Akkadian anti-witchcraft ritual, the Maqlû. A section from the Code of Hammurabi (about 2000 B.C.) prescribes:     If a man has put a spell upon another man and it is not justified, he upon whom the spell is laid shall go to the holy river; into the holy river shall he plunge. If the holy river overcome him and he is drowned, the man who put the spell upon him shall take possession of his house. If the holy river declares him innocent and he remains unharmed the man who laid the spell shall be put to death. He that plunged into the river shall take possession of the house of him who laid the spell upon him.[123] According to the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia:     In the Holy Scripture references to sorcery are frequent, and the strong condemnations of such practices found there do not seem to be based so much upon the supposition of fraud as upon the abomination of the magic in itself.[124] Saul and the Witch of Endor (1828) by William Sidney Mount. The King James Version uses the words witch, witchcraft, and witchcrafts to translate the Masoretic כָּשַׁף‎ kāsháf (Hebrew pronunciation: [kɔˈʃaf]) and קֶסֶם‎ (qésem);[125] these same English terms are used to translate φαρμακεία pharmakeia in the Greek New Testament. Verses such as Deuteronomy 18:11–12[126] and Exodus 22:18 ("Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live"[127]) thus provided scriptural justification for Christian witch hunters in the early modern period (see Christian views on magic). The precise meaning of the Hebrew כָּשַׁף‎, usually translated as witch or sorceress, is uncertain. In the Septuagint, it was translated as pharmakeía or pharmakous. In the 16th century, Reginald Scot, a prominent critic of the witch trials, translated כָּשַׁף‎, φαρμακεία, and the Vulgate's Latin equivalent veneficos as all meaning 'poisoner', and on this basis, claimed that witch was an incorrect translation and poisoners were intended.[128] His theory still holds some currency, but is not widely accepted, and in Daniel 2:2[129] כָּשַׁף‎ is listed alongside other magic practitioners who could interpret dreams: magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans. Suggested derivations of כָּשַׁף‎ include 'mutterer' (from a single root) or herb user (as a compound word formed from the roots kash, meaning 'herb', and hapaleh, meaning 'using'). The Greek φαρμακεία literally means 'herbalist' or one who uses or, but it was used virtually synonymously with mageia and goeteia as a term for a sorcerer.[130] The Bible provides some evidence that these commandments against sorcery were enforced under the Hebrew kings:     And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit,[a] and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?[131] New Testament The New Testament condemns the practice as an abomination, just as the Old Testament had.[132] The word in most New Testament translations is sorcerer/sorcery rather than witch/witchcraft. Judaism See also: Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible Jewish law views the practice of witchcraft as being laden with idolatry and/or necromancy; both being serious theological and practical offenses in Judaism. Although Maimonides vigorously denied the efficacy of all methods of witchcraft, and claimed that the Biblical prohibitions regarding it were precisely to wean the Israelites from practices related to idolatry. It is acknowledged that while magic exists, it is forbidden to practice it on the basis that it usually involves the worship of other gods. Rabbis of the Talmud also condemned magic when it produced something other than illusion, giving the example of two men who use magic to pick cucumbers.[133] The one who creates the illusion of picking cucumbers should not be condemned, only the one who actually picks the cucumbers through magic. However, some of the rabbis practiced "magic" themselves or taught the subject. For instance, Rava (amora) created a golem and sent it to Rav Zeira, and Hanina and Hoshaiah studied every Friday together and created a small calf to eat on Shabbat.[134] In these cases, the "magic" was seen more as divine miracles (i.e., coming from God rather than "unclean" forces) than as witchcraft. Judaism does make it clear that Jews shall not try to learn about the ways of witches[135] and that witches are to be put to death.[136] Judaism's most famous reference to a medium is undoubtedly the Witch of Endor whom Saul consults, as recounted in 1 Samuel 28. Islam Main article: Islam and magic See also: Islam and astrology and Superstitions in Muslim societies Divination and magic in Islam encompass a wide range of practices, including black magic, warding off the evil eye, the production of amulets and other magical equipment, evocation, casting lots, and astrology.[137] Legitimacy of practising witchcraft is disputed. Most of Islamic traditions distinguishes magic between good magic and black magic. al-Razi and Ibn Sina, describe that magic is merely a tool and only the outcome determines whether or not the act of magic was legitimate or not.[138] Al-Ghazali, although admitting the reality of magic, regards learning all sorts of magic as forbidden.[138] Ibn al-Nadim argues that good supernatural powers are received from God after purifying the soul, while sorcerers please devils and commit acts of disobedience and sacrifes to demons.[139] Whether or not sorcery is accessed by acts of piety or disobedience is often seen as an indicator whether magic is licit or illicit.[140] Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, a disciple of Ibn Taimiyya, who became the major source for Wahhabism, disregards magic, including exorcisms, entirely as superstition.[141] Ibn Khaldun brands sorcery, talismans, and prestidigitation as forbidden and illegal.[142] Tabasi did not subscribe to the rationalized framework of magic of most Ash'arite theologians, but only offered a wide range of rituals to perform sorcery. Yet he agrees that only magic in accordance with sharia is permissible.[138] Most of Islamic traditions distinguishes magic between good magic and black magic. Miracles belong to licit magic and are considered gifts of God. The reality of magic is confirmed by the Quran. The Quran itself is said to bestow magical blessings upon hearers and heal them, based on al-Isra.[143] Solomon had the power to speak with animals and jinn, and command devils, which is only given to him with God's permission.[Quran 27:19][144] Surah Al-Falaq is used as a prayer to God to ward off black magic and is, according to hadith-literature, revealed to Muhammad to protect him against Jann the ancestor of the jinn[145] Muhammad was falsely accused of being a magician by his opponents.[Quran 10:2][146] The idea that devils teach magic is confirmed in Al-Baqara. A pair of fallen angels named Harut and Marut is also mentioned to tempt people into learning sorcery. Scholars of the history of religion have linked several magical practises in Islam with pre-Islamic Turkish and East African customs. Most notable of these customs is the Zār.[147][148] By region     This section should specify the language of its non-English content, using {{lang}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used. See why. (August 2021) Africa Further information: Witchcraft accusations against children in Africa See also: Azande witchcraft The Kolloh-Man[149] Much of what witchcraft represents in Africa has been susceptible to misunderstandings and confusion, thanks in no small part to a tendency among western scholars since the time of the now largely discredited Margaret Murray to approach the subject through a comparative lens vis-a-vis European witchcraft.[150] While some colonialists tried to eradicate witch hunting by introducing legislation to prohibit accusations of witchcraft, some of the countries where this was the case have formally recognized the reality of witchcraft via the law. This has produced an environment that encourages persecution of suspected witches.[151] Cameroon In eastern Cameroon, the term used for witchcraft among the Maka is djambe[152] and refers to a force inside a person; its powers may make the proprietor more vulnerable. It encompasses the occult, the transformative, killing and healing.[153] Central African Republic Every year, hundreds of people in the Central African Republic are convicted of witchcraft.[154] Christian militias in the Central African Republic have also kidnapped, burnt and buried alive women accused of being 'witches' in public ceremonies.[155] Democratic Republic of the Congo As of 2006, between 25,000 and 50,000 children in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, had been accused of witchcraft and thrown out of their homes.[156] These children have been subjected to often-violent abuse during exorcisms, sometimes supervised by self-styled religious pastors. Other pastors and Christian activists strongly oppose such accusations and try to rescue children from their unscrupulous colleagues.[157] The usual term for these children is enfants sorciers ('child witches') or enfants dits sorciers ('children accused of witchcraft'). In 2002, USAID funded the production of two short films on the subject, made in Kinshasa by journalists Angela Nicoara and Mike Ormsby. In April 2008, in Kinshasa, the police arrested 14 suspected victims (of penis snatching) and sorcerers accused of using black magic or witchcraft to steal (make disappear) or shrink men's penises to extort cash for cure, amid a wave of panic.[158] According to one study, the belief in magical warfare technologies (such as "bulletproofing") in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo serves a group-level function, as it increases group efficiency in warfare, even if it is suboptimal at the individual level.[159] The authors of the study argue that this is one reason why the belief in witchcraft persists.[159] Complimentary remarks about witchcraft by a native Congolese initiate:     From witchcraft [...] may be developed the remedy (kimbuki) that will do most to raise up our country.[160] Witchcraft [...] deserves respect [...] it can embellish or redeem (ketula evo vuukisa)."[161] The ancestors were equipped with the protective witchcraft of the clan (kindoki kiandundila kanda). [...] They could also gather the power of animals into their hands [...] whenever they needed. [...] If we could make use of these kinds of witchcraft, our country would rapidly progress in knowledge of every kind.[162] You witches (zindoki) too, bring your science into the light to be written down so that [...] the benefits in it [...] endow our race.[163] Ghana Main article: Witchcraft in Ghana In Ghana, women are often accused of witchcraft and attacked by neighbours.[164] Because of this, there exist six witch camps in the country where women suspected of being witches can flee for safety.[165] The witch camps, which exist solely in Ghana, are thought to house a total of around 1000 women.[165] Some of the camps are thought to have been set up over 100 years ago.[165] The Ghanaian government has announced that it intends to close the camps.[165] Arrests were made in an effort to avoid bloodshed seen in Ghana a decade ago, when 12 alleged penis snatchers were beaten to death by mobs.[166] While it is easy for modern people to dismiss such reports, Uchenna Okeja argues that a belief system in which such magical practices are deemed possible offer many benefits to Africans who hold them. For example, the belief that a sorcerer has "stolen" a man's penis functions as an anxiety-reduction mechanism for men suffering from impotence, while simultaneously providing an explanation that is consistent with African cultural beliefs rather than appealing to Western scientific notions that are tainted by the history of colonialism (at least for many Africans).[167] Kenya It was reported that a mob in Kenya had burnt to death at least 11 people accused of witchcraft in 2008.[168] Malawi In Malawi it is also common practice to accuse children of witchcraft and many children have been abandoned, abused and even killed as a result. As in other African countries both African traditional healers and their Christian counterparts are trying to make a living out of exorcising children and are actively involved in pointing out children as witches.[169] Various secular and Christian organizations are combining their efforts to address this problem.[170] According to William Kamkwamba, witches and wizards are afraid of money, which they consider a rival evil. Any contact with cash will snap their spell and leave the wizard naked and confused, so placing cash, such as kwacha around a room or bed mat will protect the resident from their malevolent spells.[171] Nigeria In Nigeria, several Pentecostal pastors have mixed their evangelical brand of Christianity with African beliefs in witchcraft to benefit from the lucrative witch finding and exorcism business—which in the past was the exclusive domain of the so-called witch doctor or traditional healers. These pastors have been involved in the torturing and even killing of children accused of witchcraft.[172] Over the past decade,[when?] around 15,000 children have been accused, and around 1,000 murdered. Churches are very numerous in Nigeria, and competition for congregations is hard. Some pastors attempt to establish a reputation for spiritual power by "detecting" child witches, usually following a death or loss of a job within a family, or an accusation of financial fraud against the pastor. In the course of "exorcisms", accused children may be starved, beaten, mutilated, set on fire, forced to consume acid or cement, or buried alive. While some church leaders and Christian activists have spoken out strongly against these abuses, many Nigerian churches are involved in the abuse, although church administrations deny knowledge of it.[173] In May 2020, fifteen adults, mostly women, were set ablaze after being accused of witchcraft, including the mother of the instigator of the attack, Thomas Obi Tawo, a local politician.[151] Sierra Leone Among the Mende (of Sierra Leone), trial and conviction for witchcraft has a beneficial effect for those convicted. "The witchfinder had warned the whole village to ensure the relative prosperity of the accused and sentenced ... old people. ... Six months later all of the people ... accused, were secure, well-fed and arguably happier than at any [previous] time; they had hardly to beckon and people would come with food or whatever was needful. ... Instead of such old and widowed people being left helpless or (as in Western society) institutionalized in old people's homes, these were reintegrated into society and left secure in their old age ... Old people are 'suitable' candidates for this kind of accusation in the sense that they are isolated and vulnerable, and they are 'suitable' candidates for 'social security' for precisely the same reasons."[174] In Kuranko language, the term for witchcraft is suwa'ye[175] referring to 'extraordinary powers'. Tanzania In Tanzania in 2008, President Kikwete publicly condemned witchdoctors for killing albinos for their body parts, which are thought to bring good luck. 25 albinos have been murdered since March 2007.[176] In Tanzania, albinos are often murdered for their body parts on the advice of witch doctors in order to produce powerful amulets that are believed to protect against witchcraft and make the owner prosper in life.[177] Zulu Native to the Zulu people, witches called sangoma protect people against evil spirits. They usually train for about five to seven years. In the cities, this training could take only several months. Another type of witch are the inyanga, who are actual witch doctors that heal people with plant and animal parts. This is a job that is passed on to future generations. In the Zulu population, 80% of people contact inyangas.[178] Americas British America Examination of a Witch by T. H. Matteson, inspired by the Salem witch trials In 1645, Springfield, Massachusetts, experienced America's first accusations of witchcraft when husband and wife Hugh and Mary Parsons accused each other of witchcraft. At America's first witch trial, Hugh was found innocent, while Mary was acquitted of witchcraft but sentenced to be hanged for the death of her child. She died in prison.[179] From 1645 to 1663, about eighty people throughout England's Massachusetts Bay Colony were accused of practicing witchcraft. Thirteen women and two men were executed in a witch-hunt that lasted throughout New England from 1645 to 1663.[180] The Salem witch trials followed in 1692–93. These witch trials were the most famous in British North America and took place in the coastal settlements near Salem, Massachusetts. Prior to the witch trials, nearly 300 men and women had been suspected of partaking in witchcraft, and 19 of these people were hanged, and one was "pressed to death".[181] Despite being generally known as the Salem witch trials, the preliminary hearings in 1692 were conducted in a variety of towns across the province: Salem Village (now Danvers), Salem Town, Ipswich, and Andover. The best known trials were conducted by the Court of Oyer and Terminer in 1692 in Salem Town.[182][citation needed][183] In Maryland, there is a legend of Moll Dyer, who escaped a fire set by fellow colonists only to die of exposure in December 1697. The historical record of Dyer is scant as all official records were burned in a courthouse fire, though the county courthouse has on display the rock where her frozen body was found. A letter from a colonist of the period describes her in most unfavourable terms. A local road is named after Dyer, where her homestead was said to have been. Many local families have their own version of the Moll Dyer affair, and her name is spoken with care in the rural southern counties.[184] Accusations of witchcraft and wizardry led to the prosecution of a man in Tennessee as recently as 1833.[185][186][187] The Crucible by Arthur Miller is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Latin America Main article: Witchcraft in Latin America When Franciscan friars from New Spain arrived in the Americas in 1524, they introduced Diabolism - belief in the Christian concept of The Devil - to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas.[188] Bartolomé de las Casas believed that human sacrifice was not diabolic, in fact far off from it, and was a natural result of religious expression.[188] Mexican Indians gladly took in the belief of Diabolism and still managed to keep their belief in creator-destroyer deities.[189] Witchcraft was an important part of the social and cultural history of late-Colonial Mexico, during the Mexican Inquisition. Spanish Inquisitors viewed witchcraft as a problem that could be cured simply through confession. Yet, as anthropologist Ruth Behar writes, witchcraft, not only in Mexico but in Latin America in general, was a "conjecture of sexuality, witchcraft, and religion, in which Spanish, indigenous, and African cultures converged."[190] Furthermore, witchcraft in Mexico generally required an interethnic and interclass network of witches.[191] Yet, according to anthropology professor Laura Lewis, witchcraft in colonial Mexico ultimately represented an "affirmation of hegemony" for women, Indians, and especially Indian women over their white male counterparts as a result of the casta system.[192] The presence of the witch is a constant in the ethnographic history of colonial Brazil, especially during the several denunciations and confessions given to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of Bahia (1591–1593), Pernambuco and Paraíba (1593–1595).[193] Brujería, often called a Latin American form of witchcraft, is a syncretic Afro-Caribbean tradition that combines Indigenous religious and magical practices from Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao in the Dutch Caribbean, Catholicism, and European witchcraft.[194] The tradition and terminology is considered to encompass both helpful and harmful practices.[195] A male practitioner is called a brujo, a female practitioner, a bruja.[195] Healers may be further distinguished by the terms kurioso or kuradó, a man or woman who performs trabou chikí ("little works") and trabou grandi ("large treatments") to promote or restore health, bring fortune or misfortune, deal with unrequited love, and more serious concerns. Sorcery usually involves reference to an entitiy referred to as the almasola or homber chiki.[196] Navajo The yee naaldlooshii is the type of witch known in English as a skin-walker. They are believed to take the forms of animals in order to travel in secret and do harm to the innocent.[197] In the Navajo language, yee naaldlooshii translates to 'with it, he goes on all fours'.[197] While perhaps the most common variety seen in horror fiction by non-Navajo people, the yee naaldlooshii is one of several varieties of Navajo witch, specifically a type of 'ánti'įhnii.[197] Traditional Navajos usually hesitate to discuss things like witches and witchcraft with non-Navajos.[198] Asia Main article: Asian witchcraft India Belief in the supernatural is strong in all parts of India, and lynchings for witchcraft are reported in the press from time to time.[199] Around 750 people were killed as witches in Assam and West Bengal between 2003 and 2008.[200] Officials in the state of Chhattisgarh reported in 2008 that at least 100 women are maltreated annually as suspected witches.[201] A local activist stated that only a fraction of cases of abuse are reported.[202] In Indian mythology, a common perception of a witch is a being with her feet pointed backwards. Nepal Main article: Witch-hunts in Nepal In Nepali language, witches are known as Boksi (Nepali: बोक्सी). Apart from other types of Violence against women in Nepal, the malpractice of abusing women in the name of witchcraft is also prominent. According to the statistics in 2013, there was a total of 69 reported cases of abuse to women due to accusation of performing witchcraft. The perpetrators of this malpractice are usually neighbors, so-called witch doctors and family members.[203] The main causes of these malpractices are lack of education, lack of awareness and superstition. According to the statistics by INSEC,[204] the age group of women who fall victims to the witchcraft violence in Nepal is 20–40.[205] Japan Okabe – The cat witch, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi In Japanese folklore, the most common types of witch can be separated into two categories: those who employ snakes as familiars, and those who employ foxes.[206] The fox witch is, by far, the most commonly seen witch figure in Japan. Differing regional beliefs set those who use foxes into two separate types: the kitsune-mochi, and the tsukimono-suji. The first of these, the kitsune-mochi, is a solitary figure who gains his fox familiar by bribing it with its favourite foods. The kitsune-mochi then strikes up a deal with the fox, typically promising food and daily care in return for the fox's magical services. The fox of Japanese folklore is a powerful trickster in and of itself, imbued with powers of shape changing, possession, and illusion. These creatures can be either nefarious; disguising themselves as women in order to trap men, or they can be benign forces as in the story of "The Grateful foxes".[207] By far, the most commonly reported cases of fox witchcraft in modern Japan are enacted by tsukimono-suji families, or 'hereditary witches'.[208] Philippines Main article: Philippine witches In the Philippines, as in many of these cultures, witches are viewed as those opposed to the sacred. In contrast, anthropologists writing about the healers in Indigenous Philippine folk religions either use the traditional terminology of these cultures, or broad anthropological terms like shaman.[11] Philippine witches are the users of black magic and related practices from the Philippines. They include a variety of different kinds of people with differing occupations and cultural connotations which depend on the ethnic group they are associated with. They are completely different from the Western notion of what a witch is, as each ethnic group has their own definition and practices attributed to witches. The curses and other magics of witches are often blocked, countered, cured, or lifted by Philippine shamans associated with the Indigenous Philippine folk religions.[12][209] Saudi Arabia Main articles: Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia, Freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia, and Human rights in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia continues to use the death penalty for sorcery and witchcraft.[210] In 2006 Fawza Falih Muhammad Ali was condemned to death for practicing witchcraft.[211] There is no legal definition of sorcery in Saudi, but in 2007 an Egyptian pharmacist working there was accused, convicted, and executed. Saudi authorities also pronounced the death penalty on a Lebanese television presenter, Ali Hussain Sibat, while he was performing the hajj (Islamic pilgrimage) in the country.[212] In 2009, the Saudi authorities set up the Anti-Witchcraft Unit of their Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice police.[213] In April 2009, a Saudi woman Amina Bint Abdulhalim Nassar was arrested and later sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft and sorcery. In December 2011, she was beheaded.[214] A Saudi man has been beheaded on charges of sorcery and witchcraft in June 2012.[215] A beheading for sorcery occurred in 2014.[74] Islamic State See also: Human rights in ISIL-controlled territory In June 2015, Yahoo reported: "The Islamic State group has beheaded two women in Syria on accusations of 'sorcery', the first such executions of female civilians in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday."[216] Europe Main articles: European witchcraft and Witch trials in Early Modern Europe Witchcraft in Europe between 500 and 1750 was believed to be a combination of sorcery and heresy. While sorcery attempts to produce negative supernatural effects through formulas and rituals, heresy is the Christian contribution to witchcraft in which an individual makes a pact with the Devil. In addition, heresy denies witches the recognition of important Christian values such as baptism, salvation, Christ and sacraments.[217] The beginning of the witch accusations in Europe took place in the 14th and 15th centuries; however as the social disruptions of the 16th century took place, witchcraft trials intensified.[218] A 1555 German print showing the burning of witches. Current scholarly estimates of the number of people executed for witchcraft in Europe vary between 40,000 and 100,000.[219] The number of witch trials in Europe known to have ended in executions is around 12,000.[220] In Early Modern European tradition, witches were stereotypically, though not exclusively, women.[56][221] European pagan belief in witchcraft was associated with the goddess Diana and dismissed as "diabolical fantasies" by medieval Christian authors.[222] Witch-hunts first appeared in large numbers in southern France and Switzerland during the 14th and 15th centuries. The peak years of witch-hunts in southwest Germany were from 1561 to 1670.[223] It was commonly believed that individuals with power and prestige were involved in acts of witchcraft and even cannibalism.[224] Because Europe had a lot of power over individuals living in West Africa, Europeans in positions of power were often accused of taking part in these practices. Though it is not likely that these individuals were actually involved in these practices, they were most likely associated due to Europe's involvement in things like the slave trade, which negatively affected the lives of many individuals in the Atlantic World throughout the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries.[224] Early converts to Christianity looked to Christian clergy to work magic more effectively than the old methods under Roman paganism, and Christianity provided a methodology involving saints and relics, similar to the gods and amulets of the Pagan world. As Christianity became the dominant religion in Europe, its concern with magic lessened.[225] The Protestant Christian explanation for witchcraft, such as those typified in the confessions of the Pendle witches, commonly involves a diabolical pact or at least an appeal to the intervention of the spirits of evil. The witches or wizards engaged in such practices were alleged to reject Jesus and the sacraments; observe "the witches' sabbath" (performing infernal rites that often parodied the Mass or other sacraments of the Church); pay Divine honour to the Prince of Darkness; and, in return, receive from him preternatural powers. It was a folkloric belief that a Devil's Mark, like the brand on cattle, was placed upon a witch's skin by the devil to signify that this pact had been made.[226] Britain Further information: Witch trials in early modern Scotland     In the north of England, the superstition lingers to an almost inconceivable extent. Lancashire abounds with witch-doctors, a set of quacks, who pretend to cure diseases inflicted by the devil ... The witch-doctor alluded to is better known by the name of the cunning man, and has a large practice in the counties of Lincoln and Nottingham.[227] Historians Keith Thomas and his student Alan Macfarlane study witchcraft by combining historical research with concepts drawn from anthropology.[228][229][230] They argued that English witchcraft, like African witchcraft, was endemic rather than epidemic. Old women were the favorite targets because they were marginal, dependent members of the community and therefore more likely to arouse feelings of both hostility and guilt, and less likely to have defenders of importance inside the community. Witchcraft accusations were the village's reaction to the breakdown of its internal community, coupled with the emergence of a newer set of values that was generating psychic stress.[231] Illustration of witches, perhaps being tortured before James VI, from his Daemonologie (1597) In Wales, fear of witchcraft mounted around the year 1500. There was a growing alarm of women's magic as a weapon aimed against the state and church. The Church made greater efforts to enforce the canon law of marriage, especially in Wales where tradition allowed a wider range of sexual partnerships. There was a political dimension as well, as accusations of witchcraft were levied against the enemies of Henry VII, who was exerting more and more control over Wales.[232] In 1542, the first of many Witchcraft Acts was passed defining witchcraft as a crime punishable by death and the forfeiture of property.[233] The records of the Courts of Great Sessions for Wales, 1536–1736 show that Welsh custom was more important than English law. Custom provided a framework of responding to witches and witchcraft in such a way that interpersonal and communal harmony was maintained. Even when found guilty, execution did not occur.[234] Becoming king in 1567, James VI and I brought to England and Scotland continental explanations of witchcraft. His goal was to divert suspicion away from male homosociality among the elite, and focus fear on female communities and large gatherings of women. He thought they threatened his political power so he laid the foundation for witchcraft and occultism policies, especially in Scotland. The point was that a widespread belief in the conspiracy of witches and a witches' Sabbath with the devil deprived women of political influence. Occult power was supposedly a womanly trait because women were weaker and more susceptible to the devil.[235] The last person executed for witchcraft in Great Britain was Janet Horne in 1727.[236] The Witchcraft Act 1735 abolished the penalty of execution for witchcraft, replacing it with imprisonment. This act was repealed in 1951. In the United Kingdom children believed to be witches or seen as possessed by evil spirits can be subject to severe beatings, traumatic exorcism, and/or other abuse. There have even been child murders associated with witchcraft beliefs. The problem is particularly serious among immigrant or former immigrant communities of African origin but other communities, such as those of Asian origin are also involved. Step children and children seen as different for a wide range of reasons are particularly at risk of witchcraft accusations.[237] Children may be beaten or have chilli rubbed into their eyes during exorcisms.[238] This type of abuse is frequently hidden and can include torture.[239] A 2006 recommendation to record abuse cases linked to witchcraft accusations centrally has not yet been implemented. Lack of awareness among social workers, teachers and other professionals dealing with at risk children hinders efforts to combat the problem.[240]     The Metropolitan Police said there had been 60 crimes linked to faith in London so far [in 2015]. It saw reports double from 23 in 2013 to 46 in 2014. Half of UK police forces do not record such cases and many local authorities are also unable to provide figures. The NSPCC said authorities "need to ensure they are able to spot the signs of this particular brand of abuse". London is unique in having a police team, Project Violet, dedicated to this type of abuse. Its figures relate to crime reports where officers have flagged a case as involving abuse linked to faith or belief. Many of the cases involve children. (...) An NSPCC spokesman said: "While the number of child abuse cases involving witchcraft is relatively small, they often include horrifying levels of cruelty. "The authorities which deal with these dreadful crimes need to ensure they are able to spot the signs of this particular brand of abuse and take action to protect children before a tragedy occurs."[240] There is a 'money making scam' involved. Pastors accuse a child of being a witch and later the family pays for exorcism. If a child at school says that his/her pastor called the child a witch that should become a child safeguarding issue.[240] Italy Main articles: Witchcraft in Italy and Witch trials in Italy A particularly rich source of information about witchcraft in Italy before the outbreak of the Great Witch Hunts of the Renaissance are the sermons of Franciscan popular preacher, Bernardino of Siena (1380–1444), who saw the issue as one of the most pressing moral and social challenges of his day and thus preached many a sermon on the subject, inspiring many local governments to take actions against what he called "servants of the Devil."[241] As in most European countries, women in Italy were more likely suspected of witchcraft than men.[242] Women were considered dangerous due to their supposed sexual instability, such as when being aroused, and also due to the powers of their menstrual blood.[243] In the 16th century, Italy had a high portion of witchcraft trials involving love magic.[244] The country had a large number of unmarried people due to men marrying later in their lives during this time.[244] This left many women on a desperate quest for marriage leaving them vulnerable to the accusation of witchcraft whether they took part in it or not.[244] Trial records from the Inquisition and secular courts discovered a link between prostitutes and supernatural practices. Professional prostitutes were considered experts in love and therefore knew how to make love potions and cast love related spells.[243] Up until 1630, the majority of women accused of witchcraft were prostitutes.[242] A courtesan was questioned about her use of magic due to her relationship with men of power in Italy and her wealth.[245] The majority of women accused were also considered "outsiders" because they were poor, had different religious practices, spoke a different language, or simply from a different city/town/region.[246] Cassandra from Ferrara, Italy, was still considered a foreigner because not native to Rome where she was residing. She was also not seen as a model citizen because her husband was in Venice.[247] From the 16th-18th centuries, the Catholic Church enforced moral discipline throughout Italy.[248] With the help of local tribunals, such as in Venice, the two institutions investigated a woman's religious behaviors when she was accused of witchcraft.[242] Spain Main articles: Witch trials in Spain and Akelarre Galicia in Spain is nicknamed the "Land of the Witches" due to its mythological origins surrounding its people, culture and its land.[249] The Basque Country also suffered persecutions against witches, such as the case of the Witches of Zugarramurdi, six of which were burned in Logroño in 1610 or the witch hunt in the French Basque country in the previous year with the burning of eighty supposed witches at the stake. This is reflected in the studies of José Miguel de Barandiarán and Julio Caro Baroja. Euskal Herria retains numerous legends that account for an ancient mythology of witchcraft. The town of Zalla is nicknamed "Town of the Witches".[250] Oceania Cook Islands In pre-Christian times, witchcraft was a common practice in the Cook Islands. The native name for a sorcerer was tangata purepure (a man who prays).[251] The prayers offered by the ta'unga (priests)[252] to the gods worshiped on national or tribal marae (temples) were termed karakia;[253] those on minor occasions to the lesser gods were named pure. All these prayers were metrical, and were handed down from generation to generation with the utmost care. There were prayers for every such phase in life; for success in battle; for a change in wind (to overwhelm an adversary at sea, or that an intended voyage be propitious); that his crops may grow; to curse a thief; or wish ill-luck and death to his foes. Few men of middle age were without a number of these prayers or charms. The succession of a sorcerer was from father to son, or from uncle to nephew. So too of sorceresses: it would be from mother to daughter, or from aunt to niece. Sorcerers and sorceresses were often slain by relatives of their supposed victims.[254] A singular enchantment was employed to kill off a husband of a pretty woman desired by someone else. The expanded flower of a Gardenia was stuck upright—a very difficult performance—in a cup (i.e., half a large coconut shell) of water. A prayer was then offered for the husband's speedy death, the sorcerer earnestly watching the flower. Should it fall the incantation was successful. But if the flower still remained upright, he will live. The sorcerer would in that case try his skill another day, with perhaps better success.[255] According to Beatrice Grimshaw, a journalist who visited the Cook Islands in 1907, the uncrowned Queen Makea was believed to have possessed the mystic power called mana, giving the possessor the power to slay at will. It also included other gifts, such as second sight to a certain extent, the power to bring good or evil luck, and the ability already mentioned to deal death at will.[256] Papua New Guinea A local newspaper informed that more than 50 people were killed in two Highlands provinces of Papua New Guinea in 2008 for allegedly practicing witchcraft.[257] An estimated 50–150 alleged witches are killed each year in Papua New Guinea.[258] Slavic Russia Among the Russian words for witch, ведьма (ved'ma) literally means 'one who knows', from Old Slavic вѣдъ 'to know'.[259] Spells Pagan practices formed a part of Russian and Eastern Slavic culture; the Russian people were deeply superstitious. The witchcraft practiced consisted mostly of earth magic and herbology; it was not so significant which herbs were used in practices, but how these herbs were gathered. Ritual centered on harvest of the crops and the location of the sun was very important.[260] One source, pagan author Judika Illes, tells that herbs picked on Midsummer's Eve were believed to be most powerful, especially if gathered on Bald Mountain near Kiev during the witches' annual revels celebration.[261] Botanicals should be gathered, "During the seventeenth minute of the fourteenth hour, under a dark moon, in the thirteenth field, wearing a red dress, pick the twelfth flower on the right."[262] Spells also served for midwifery, shape-shifting, keeping lovers faithful, and bridal customs. Spells dealing with midwifery and childbirth focused on the spiritual wellbeing of the baby.[262] Shape-shifting spells involved invocation of the wolf as a spirit animal.[263] To keep men faithful, lovers would cut a ribbon the length of his erect penis and soak it in his seminal emissions after sex while he was sleeping, then tie seven knots in it; keeping this talisman of knot magic ensured loyalty.[264] Part of an ancient pagan marriage tradition involved the bride taking a ritual bath at a bathhouse before the ceremony. Her sweat would be wiped from her body using raw fish, and the fish would be cooked and fed to the groom.[265] Demonism, or black magic, was not prevalent. Persecution for witchcraft, mostly involved the practice of simple earth magic, founded on herbology, by solitary practitioners with a Christian influence. In one case investigators found a locked box containing something bundled in a kerchief and three paper packets, wrapped and tied, containing crushed grasses.[266] Most rituals of witchcraft were very simple—one spell of divination consists of sitting alone outside meditating, asking the earth to show one's fate.[267] While these customs were unique to Russian culture, they were not exclusive to this region. Russian pagan practices were often akin to paganism in other parts of the world. The Chinese concept of chi, a form of energy that often manipulated in witchcraft, is known as bioplasma in Russian practices.[268] The western concept of an "evil eye" or a "hex" was translated to Russia as a "spoiler".[269] A spoiler was rooted in envy, jealousy and malice. Spoilers could be made by gathering bone from a cemetery, a knot of the target's hair, burned wooden splinters and several herb Paris berries (which are very poisonous). Placing these items in sachet in the victim's pillow completes a spoiler. The Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and the ancient Egyptians recognized the evil eye from as early as 3,000 BCE; in Russian practices it is seen as a sixteenth-century concept.[270] Societal view of witchcraft The dominant societal concern about those practicing witchcraft was not whether it was effective, but whether it could cause harm.[266] Peasants in Russian and Ukrainian societies often shunned witchcraft, unless they needed help against supernatural forces. Impotence, stomach pains, barrenness, hernias, abscesses, epileptic seizures, and convulsions were all attributed to evil (or witchcraft). This is reflected in linguistics; there are numerous words for a variety of practitioners of paganism-based healers. Russian peasants referred to a witch as a chernoknizhnik (a person who plied his trade with the aid of a black book), sheptun/sheptun'ia (a 'whisperer' male or female), lekar/lekarka or znakhar/znakharka (a male or female healer), or zagovornik (an incanter).[271] Ironically enough, there was universal reliance on folk healers – but clients often turned them in if something went wrong. According to Russian historian Valerie A. Kivelson, witchcraft accusations were normally thrown at lower-class peasants, townspeople and Cossacks. People turned to witchcraft as a means to support themselves. The ratio of male to female accusations was 75% to 25%. Males were targeted more, because witchcraft was associated with societal deviation. Because single people with no settled home could not be taxed, males typically had more power than women in their dissent.[266] The history of Witchcraft had evolved around society. More of a psychological concept to the creation and usage of Witchcraft can create the assumption as to why women are more likely to follow the practices behind Witchcraft. Identifying with the soul of an individual's self is often deemed as "feminine" in society. There is analyzed social and economic evidence to associate between witchcraft and women.[272] Russian witch trials Main article: Witch trials in Russia Witchcraft trials frequently occurred in seventeenth-century Russia, although the "great witch-hunt" is believed[by whom?] to be a predominantly Western European phenomenon. However, as the witchcraft-trial craze swept across Catholic and Protestant countries during this time, Orthodox Christian Europe indeed partook in this so-called "witch hysteria." This involved the persecution of both males and females who were believed to be practicing paganism, herbology, the black art, or a form of sorcery within and/or outside their community. Very early on witchcraft legally fell under the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical body, the church, in Kievan Rus' and Muscovite Russia.[273] Sources of ecclesiastical witchcraft jurisdiction date back as early as the second half of the eleventh century, one being Vladimir the Great's first edition of his State Statute or Ustav, another being multiple references in the Primary Chronicle beginning in 1024.[273] Goya's drawing of result of a presumed witch's trial: " [so she must be a witch]"[274] The sentence for an individual who was found guilty of witchcraft or sorcery during this time, as well as in previous centuries, typically included either burning at the stake or being tested with the "ordeal of cold water" or judicium aquae frigidae.[273] The cold-water test was primarily a Western European phenomenon, but it was also used as a method of truth in Russia both prior to, and post, seventeenth-century witchcraft trials in Muscovy. Accused persons who submerged were considered innocent, and ecclesiastical authorities would proclaim them "brought back", but those who floated were considered guilty of practicing witchcraft, and they were either burned at the stake or executed in an unholy fashion. The thirteenth-century bishop of Vladimir, Serapion Vladimirskii, preached sermons throughout the Muscovite countryside, and in one particular sermon revealed that burning was the usual punishment for witchcraft, but more often the cold water test was used as a precursor to execution.[273][275] Although these two methods of torture were used in the west and the east, Russia implemented a system of fines payable for the crime of witchcraft during the seventeenth century. Thus, even though torture methods in Muscovy were on a similar level of harshness as Western European methods used, a more civil method was present. In the introduction of a collection of trial records pieced together by Russian scholar Nikolai Novombergsk, he argues that Muscovite authorities used the same degree of cruelty and harshness as Western European Catholic and Protestant countries in persecuting witches.[273] By the mid-sixteenth century the manifestations of paganism, including witchcraft, and the black arts—astrology, fortune telling, and divination—became a serious concern to the Muscovite church and state.[273] Tsar Ivan IV (reigned 1547–1584) took this matter to the ecclesiastical court and was immediately advised that individuals practicing these forms of witchcraft should be excommunicated and given the death penalty.[273] Ivan IV, as a true believer in witchcraft, was deeply convinced[citation needed] that sorcery accounted for the death of his wife, Anastasiia in 1560, which completely devastated and depressed him, leaving him heartbroken.[273] Stemming from this belief, Ivan IV became majorly concerned with the threat of witchcraft harming his family, and feared he was in danger. So, during the Oprichnina (1565–1572), Ivan IV succeeded in accusing and charging a good number of boyars with witchcraft whom he did not wish to remain as nobles. Rulers after Ivan IV, specifically during the Time of Troubles (1598–1613), increased the fear of witchcraft among themselves and entire royal families, which then led to further preoccupation with the fear of prominent Muscovite witchcraft circles.[273] After the Time of Troubles, seventeenth-century Muscovite rulers held frequent investigations of witchcraft within their households, laying the groundwork, along with previous tsarist reforms, for widespread witchcraft trials throughout the Muscovite state.[273] Between 1622 and 1700 ninety-one people were brought to trial in Muscovite courts for witchcraft.[273] Although Russia did partake in the witch craze that swept across Western Europe, the Muscovite state did not persecute nearly as many people for witchcraft, let alone execute a number of individuals anywhere close to the number executed in the west during the witch hysteria. Witches in art Albrecht Dürer circa 1500: Witch riding backwards on a goat Louhi, a powerful and wicked witch queen of the land known as Pohjola in the Finnish epic poetry Kalevala, attacking Väinämöinen in the form of a giant eagle with her troops on her back. (The Defense of the Sampo, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1896) Witches have a long history of being depicted in art, although most of their earliest artistic depictions seem to originate in Early Modern Europe, particularly the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Many scholars attribute their manifestation in art as inspired by texts such as Canon Episcopi, a demonology-centered work of literature, and Malleus Maleficarum, a "witch-craze" manual published in 1487, by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger.[276] Canon Episcopi, a ninth-century text that explored the subject of demonology, initially introduced concepts that would continuously be associated with witches, such as their ability to fly or their believed fornication and sexual relations with the devil. The text refers to two women, Diana the Huntress and Herodias, who both express the duality of female sorcerers. Diana was described as having a heavenly body and as the "protectress of childbirth and fertility" while Herodias symbolized "unbridled sensuality". They thus represent the mental powers and cunning sexuality that witches used as weapons to trick men into performing sinful acts which would result in their eternal punishment. These characteristics were distinguished as Medusa-like or Lamia-like traits when seen in any artwork (Medusa's mental trickery was associated with Diana the Huntress's psychic powers and Lamia was a rumored female figure in the Medieval ages sometimes used in place of Herodias).[277] One of the first individuals to regularly depict witches after the witch-craze of the medieval period was Albrecht Dürer, a German Renaissance artist. His famous 1497 engraving The Four Witches, portrays four physically attractive and seductive nude witches. Their supernatural identities are emphasized by the skulls and bones lying at their feet as well as the devil discreetly peering at them from their left. The women's sensuous presentation speaks to the overtly sexual nature they were attached to in early modern Europe. Moreover, this attractiveness was perceived as a danger to ordinary men who they could seduce and tempt into their sinful world.[243] Some scholars interpret this piece as utilizing the logic of the Canon Episcopi, in which women used their mental powers and bodily seduction to enslave and lead men onto a path of eternal damnation, differing from the unattractive depiction of witches that would follow in later Renaissance years.[278] Subsequent artwork exhibiting witches tended to consistently rely on cultural stereotypes about these women. These stereotypes were usually rooted in early Renaissance religious discourse, specifically the Christian belief that an "earthly alliance" had taken place between Satan's female minions who "conspired to destroy Christendom".[279] Another significant artist whose art consistently depicted witches was Dürer's apprentice, Hans Baldung Grien, a 15th-century German artist. His chiaroscuro woodcut, Witches, created in 1510, visually encompassed all the characteristics that were regularly assigned to witches during the Renaissance. Social beliefs labeled witches as supernatural beings capable of doing great harm, possessing the ability to fly, and as cannibalistic.[279] The urn in Witches seems to contain pieces of the human body, which the witches are seen consuming as a source of energy. Meanwhile, their nudity while feasting is recognized as an allusion to their sexual appetite, and some scholars read the witch riding on the back of a goat-demon as representative of their "flight-inducing [powers]". This connection between women's sexual nature and sins was thematic in the pieces of many Renaissance artists, especially Christian artists, due to cultural beliefs which characterized women as overtly sexual beings who were less capable (in comparison to men) of resisting sinful temptation.[243] Witches in fiction Witches in fiction span a wide array of characterizations. They are typically, but not always, female, and generally depicted as either villains or heroines.[280] The classic fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" presents an example of the "witch villain" figure. The story involves a cannibalistic witch that eventually becomes outwitted by the children she tries to eat and is burned to death in her own oven. "Snow White" depicts a murderous, tempting magician for its main antagonist. The witch is labeled an evil queen and meets her demise after being forced to dance in red-hot iron shoes. "The Six Swans" includes a step-mother who magically turns her step-children into swans out of spite and jealousy. In retaliation, the figure labeled as witch is eventually burned at the stake. Such examples within the Brothers Grimm's works demonstrate not only evidence of the figure of "witch villain" but also exhibits their punishment by injury or violent death.[280] Living Alone, published in 1919, uses the "witch heroine" as an agent in support of female liberation. Stella Benson's novel surrounds the musings of a female witch who functions as an anarchic force in the lives of middle-class Londoners. Her non-harmful magic aims to "shake the most downtrodden women out of complacency and normality" to meet a state of liberation.[280] The importance of such a heroine sheds light on the positive effects associated with magic and witchcraft, a change from the often brutalized and tortured illustrations found in early nineteenth century literature. Other examples of heroic witches in fictional literature include Glinda from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), Serafina Pekkala from His Dark Materials (1995–2000), and Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series." (wikipedia.org) "A witch hat is a style of hat worn by witches in popular culture depictions, characterized by a conical crown and a wide brim.... Origins and design Woodcut showing a witch on a broomstick with a conical hat, from The History of Witches and Wizards (1720) The origins of the witch hat as displayed today are disputed. One theory is that the image arose out of anti-Semitism: in 1215, the Fourth Council of the Lateran issued an edict that all Jews must wear identifying headgear, a pointed cap known as a Judenhat. Potentially, this style of hat then became associated with black magic, Satan-worship and other acts of which the Jews were accused.[1] Another theory posits that the witch hat has origins in the phrygian cap which is associated with Mithraism, a Greek and then Roman mystery cult.[citation needed] An earlier theory is the mummified remains of the "witches" of Subeshi, who wore very tall, pointed black hats that resembled the iconic headgear of their sisters in medieval Europe. Subeshi, dated to between the 4th and 2nd centuries BCE, is located in a high gorge just to the east of the important city of Turfan.[citation needed] A similar theory posits that the image of the archetypal witch hat was born from anti-Quaker prejudice. Although the hats traditionally worn by Quakers themselves were not pointed, Quaker caps were a focus of cultural controversy, and it is conceivable that the Puritan backlash against Quakers in the mid-18th century contributed to hats becoming part of the iconography of the demonic.[1] Yet another hypothesis proposes that witch hats originated as alewife hats, distinctive headgear worn by women who home-brewed beer for sale. According to this suggestion, these hats gained negative connotations when the brewing industry, dominated by men, accused alewives of selling diluted or tainted beer. In combination with the general suspicion that women with knowledge of herbology were working in an occult domain, the alewife hat could have become associated with witchcraft.[2] L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz featured illustrations that portrayed the Wicked Witch of the West sporting a tall, conical hat.[3] This fashion accessory was carried over for the 1939 film adaptation, in which the Wicked Witch was played by character actress Margaret Hamilton. In media Witch hats have been worn by a number of fictional characters, including:     Granny Weatherwax, from the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett     The Wicked Witch of the West, from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1900     Gandalf, from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, 1937     Jennifer (Veronica Lake), from I Married a Witch, 1942     Samantha Stephens, from Bewitched, 1964     Orko, from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, 1983     Minerva McGonagall, from Harry Potter (the story includes a character that is itself such a hat), 1997. The novels also describe "pointed hats" as part of the student uniform for a school of witchcraft and wizardry, though these rarely appear in the film adaptations. Depending upon the material in which the hat is made, the crown may regularly be observed in a flexed, bent or crumpled condition." (wikipedia.org) "Kawaii (Japanese: かわいい or 可愛い, IPA: [kaɰaiꜜi]; 'lovely', 'loveable', 'cute', or 'adorable')[1] is the culture of cuteness in Japan.[2][3][4] It can refer to items, humans and non-humans that are charming, vulnerable, shy and childlike.[2] Examples include cute handwriting, certain genres of manga, and characters including Hello Kitty and Pikachu.[5][6] The word kawaii originally derives from the phrase 顔映し kao hayushi, which literally means "(one's) face (is) aglow," commonly used to refer to flushing or blushing of the face. The second morpheme is cognate with -bayu in mabayui (眩い, 目映い, or 目映ゆい) "dazzling, glaring, blinding, too bright; dazzlingly beautiful" (ma- is from 目 me "eye") and -hayu in omohayui (面映い or 面映ゆい) "embarrassed/embarrassing, awkward, feeling self-conscious/making one feel self-conscious" (omo- is from 面 omo, an archaic word for "face, looks, features; surface; image, semblance, vestige"). Over time, the meaning changed into the modern meaning of "cute" or "shine" , and the pronunciation changed to かわゆい kawayui and then to the modern かわいい kawaii.[8][9][10] It is commonly written in hiragana, かわいい, but the ateji, 可愛い, has also been used. The kanji in the ateji literally translates to "able to love/be loved, can/may love, lovable." History Original definition Kogal girl, identified by her shortened skirt. The soft bag and teddy bear that she carries are part of kawaii. The original definition of kawaii came from Lady Murasaki's 11th century novel The Tale of Genji, where it referred to pitiable qualities.[11] During the Shogunate period[when?] under the ideology of neo-Confucianism, women came to be included under the term kawaii as the perception of women being animalistic was replaced with the conception of women as docile.[11] However, the earlier meaning survives into the modern Standard Japanese adjectival noun かわいそう kawaisō (often written with ateji as 可哀相 or 可哀想) "piteous, pitiable, arousing compassion, poor, sad, sorry" (etymologically from 顔映様 "face / projecting, reflecting, or transmitting light, flushing, blushing / seeming, appearance"). Forms of kawaii and its derivatives kawaisō and kawairashii (with the suffix -rashii "-like, -ly") are used in modern dialects to mean "embarrassing/embarrassed, shameful/ashamed" or "good, nice, fine, excellent, superb, splendid, admirable" in addition to the standard meanings of "adorable" and "pitiable." Cute handwriting The concept of kawaii has had an influence on a variety of products, including candy, such as Hi-Chew, Koala's March and Hello Panda. Cuteness can be added to products by adding cute features, such as hearts, flowers, stars and rainbows. Cute elements can be found almost everywhere in Japan, from big business to corner markets and national government, ward, and town offices.[22][31] Many companies, large and small, use cute mascots to present their wares and services to the public. For example: All Nippon Airways Boeing 747 with a Pokémon livery JNR Class C11 locomotive repainted as Thomas the Tank Engine, Japan, 2014" (wikipedia.org) "Death is the permanent, irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism.[1] Brain death is sometimes used as a legal definition of death.[2] The remains of a previously living organism normally begin to decompose shortly after death. Death is an inevitable, universal process that eventually occurs in all living organisms. Death is generally applied to whole organisms; the similar process seen in individual components of a living organism, such as cells or tissues, is necrosis. Something that is not considered a living organism, such as a virus, can be physically destroyed but is not said to die. As of the early 21st century, over 150,000 humans die each day.[3] Many cultures and religions have the idea of an afterlife, and also may hold the idea of judgement of good and bad deeds in one's life (Heaven, Hell, Karma).... Diagnosis Problems of definition Main article: Medical definition of death Symbols of death in a painting: it shows a flower, a skull and an hourglass A flower, a skull and an hourglass stand for life, death and time in this 17th-century painting by Philippe de Champaigne The concept of death is a key to human understanding of the phenomenon.[4] There are many scientific approaches and various interpretations of the concept. Additionally, the advent of life-sustaining therapy and the numerous criteria for defining death from both a medical and legal standpoint, have made it difficult to create a single unifying definition. One of the challenges in defining death is in distinguishing it from life. As a point in time, death would seem to refer to the moment at which life ends. Determining when death has occurred is difficult, as cessation of life functions is often not simultaneous across organ systems.[5] Such determination, therefore, requires drawing precise conceptual boundaries between life and death. This is difficult, due to there being little consensus on how to define life. It is possible to define life in terms of consciousness. When consciousness ceases, a living organism can be said to have died. One of the flaws in this approach is that there are many organisms that are alive but probably not conscious (for example, single-celled organisms). Another problem is in defining consciousness, which has many different definitions given by modern scientists, psychologists and philosophers. Additionally, many religious traditions, including Abrahamic and Dharmic traditions, hold that death does not (or may not) entail the end of consciousness. In certain cultures, death is more of a process than a single event. It implies a slow shift from one spiritual state to another.[6] Other definitions for death focus on the character of cessation of something.[7][clarification needed] More specifically, death occurs when a living entity experiences irreversible cessation of all functioning.[8] As it pertains to human life, death is an irreversible process where someone loses their existence as a person.[8] Historically, attempts to define the exact moment of a human's death have been subjective, or imprecise. Death was once defined as the cessation of heartbeat (cardiac arrest) and of breathing, but the development of CPR and prompt defibrillation have rendered that definition inadequate because breathing and heartbeat can sometimes be restarted. This type of death where circulatory and respiratory arrest happens is known as the circulatory definition of death (DCDD). Proponents of the DCDD believe that this definition is reasonable because a person with permanent loss of circulatory and respiratory function should be considered dead.[9] Critics of this definition state that while cessation of these functions may be permanent, it does not mean the situation is irreversible, because if CPR was applied, the person could be revived.[9] Thus, the arguments for and against the DCDD boil down to a matter of defining the actual words "permanent" and "irreversible," which further complicates the challenge of defining death. Furthermore, events which were causally linked to death in the past no longer kill in all circumstances; without a functioning heart or lungs, life can sometimes be sustained with a combination of life support devices, organ transplants and artificial pacemakers. Today, where a definition of the moment of death is required, doctors and coroners usually turn to "brain death" or "biological death" to define a person as being dead; people are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases. It is presumed that an end of electrical activity indicates the end of consciousness. Suspension of consciousness must be permanent, and not transient, as occurs during certain sleep stages, and especially a coma. In the case of sleep, EEGs can easily tell the difference. The category of "brain death" is seen as problematic by some scholars. For instance, Dr. Franklin Miller, senior faculty member at the Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health, notes: "By the late 1990s... the equation of brain death with death of the human being was increasingly challenged by scholars, based on evidence regarding the array of biological functioning displayed by patients correctly diagnosed as having this condition who were maintained on mechanical ventilation for substantial periods of time. These patients maintained the ability to sustain circulation and respiration, control temperature, excrete wastes, heal wounds, fight infections and, most dramatically, to gestate fetuses (in the case of pregnant "brain-dead" women)."[10] While "brain death" is viewed as problematic by some scholars, there are certainly proponents of it that believe this definition of death is the most reasonable for distinguishing life from death. The reasoning behind the support for this definition is that brain death has a set of criteria that is reliable and reproducible.[11] Also, the brain is crucial in determining our identity or who we are as human beings. The distinction should be made that "brain death" cannot be equated with one who is in a vegetative state or coma, in that the former situation describes a state that is beyond recovery.[11] Those people maintaining that only the neo-cortex of the brain is necessary for consciousness sometimes argue that only electrical activity should be considered when defining death. Eventually it is possible that the criterion for death will be the permanent and irreversible loss of cognitive function, as evidenced by the death of the cerebral cortex. All hope of recovering human thought and personality is then gone given current and foreseeable medical technology. At present, in most places the more conservative definition of death – irreversible cessation of electrical activity in the whole brain, as opposed to just in the neo-cortex – has been adopted (for example the Uniform Determination Of Death Act in the United States). In 2005, the Terri Schiavo case brought the question of brain death and artificial sustenance to the front of American politics. Even by whole-brain criteria, the determination of brain death can be complicated. EEGs can detect spurious electrical impulses, while certain drugs, hypoglycemia, hypoxia, or hypothermia can suppress or even stop brain activity on a temporary basis. Because of this, hospitals have protocols for determining brain death involving EEGs at widely separated intervals under defined conditions. In the past, adoption of this whole-brain definition was a conclusion of the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research in 1980.[12] They concluded that this approach to defining death sufficed in reaching a uniform definition nationwide. A multitude of reasons were presented to support this definition including: uniformity of standards in law for establishing death; consumption of a family's fiscal resources for artificial life support; and legal establishment for equating brain death with death in order to proceed with organ donation.[13] Aside from the issue of support of or dispute against brain death, there is another inherent problem in this categorical definition: the variability of its application in medical practice. In 1995, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), established a set of criteria that became the medical standard for diagnosing neurologic death. At that time, three clinical features had to be satisfied in order to determine "irreversible cessation" of the total brain including: coma with clear etiology, cessation of breathing, and lack of brainstem reflexes.[14] This set of criteria was then updated again most recently in 2010, but substantial discrepancies still remain across hospitals and medical specialties.[14] The problem of defining death is especially imperative as it pertains to the dead donor rule, which could be understood as one of the following interpretations of the rule: there must be an official declaration of death in a person before starting organ procurement or that organ procurement cannot result in death of the donor.[9] A great deal of controversy has surrounded the definition of death and the dead donor rule. Advocates of the rule believe the rule is legitimate in protecting organ donors while also countering against any moral or legal objection to organ procurement. Critics, on the other hand, believe that the rule does not uphold the best interests of the donors and that the rule does not effectively promote organ donation.[9] Signs Legal The death of a person has legal consequences that may vary between different jurisdictions. A death certificate is issued in most jurisdictions, either by a doctor, or by an administrative office upon presentation of a doctor's declaration of death. Misdiagnosed See also: Premature burial Antoine Wiertz's painting of a man buried alive There are many anecdotal references to people being declared dead by physicians and then "coming back to life", sometimes days later in their own coffin, or when embalming procedures are about to begin. From the mid-18th century onwards, there was an upsurge in the public's fear of being mistakenly buried alive,[15] and much debate about the uncertainty of the signs of death. Various suggestions were made to test for signs of life before burial, ranging from pouring vinegar and pepper into the corpse's mouth to applying red hot pokers to the feet or into the rectum.[16] Writing in 1895, the physician J.C. Ouseley claimed that as many as 2,700 people were buried prematurely each year in England and Wales, although others estimated the figure to be closer to 800.[17] As medical technologies advance, ideas about when death occurs may have to be re-evaluated in light of the ability to restore a person to vitality after longer periods of apparent death (as happened when CPR and defibrillation showed that cessation of heartbeat is inadequate as a decisive indicator of death). The lack of electrical brain activity may not be enough to consider someone scientifically dead. Therefore, the concept of information-theoretic death[19] has been suggested as a better means of defining when true death occurs, though the concept has few practical applications outside the field of cryonics. There have been some scientific attempts to bring dead organisms back to life, but with limited success.[20] In science fiction scenarios where such technology is readily available, real death is distinguished from reversible death. Causes See also: List of causes of death by rate and Preventable causes of death According to Jean Ziegler (United Nations Special Reporter on the Right to Food, 2000 – Mar 2008), mortality due to malnutrition accounted for 58% of the total mortality rate in 2006. Ziegler says worldwide approximately 62M people died from all causes and of those deaths more than 36M died of hunger or diseases due to deficiencies in micronutrients.[26] Selye proposed a unified non-specific approach to many causes of death. He demonstrated that stress decreases adaptability of an organism and proposed to describe the adaptability as a special resource, adaptation energy. The animal dies when this resource is exhausted.[28] Selye assumed that the adaptability is a finite supply, presented at birth. Later on, Goldstone proposed the concept of a production or income of adaptation energy which may be stored (up to a limit), as a capital reserve of adaptation.[29] In recent works, adaptation energy is considered as an internal coordinate on the "dominant path" in the model of adaptation. It is demonstrated that oscillations of well-being appear when the reserve of adaptability is almost exhausted.[30] An autopsy, also known as a postmortem examination or an obduction, is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a human corpse to determine the cause and manner of a person's death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present. It is usually performed by a specialized medical doctor called a pathologist. Autopsies are either performed for legal or medical purposes. A forensic autopsy is carried out when the cause of death may be a criminal matter, while a clinical or academic autopsy is performed to find the medical cause of death and is used in cases of unknown or uncertain death, or for research purposes. Autopsies can be further classified into cases where external examination suffices, and those where the body is dissected and an internal examination is conducted. Permission from next of kin may be required for internal autopsy in some cases. Once an internal autopsy is complete the body is generally reconstituted by sewing it back together. Autopsy is important in a medical environment and may shed light on mistakes and help improve practices. A necropsy, which is not always a medical procedure, was a term previously used to describe an unregulated postmortem examination . In modern times, this term is more commonly associated with the corpses of animals. Senescence Dead Camelthorn tree within Sossusvlei Senescence refers to a scenario when a living being is able to survive all calamities, but eventually dies due to causes relating to old age. Animal and plant cells normally reproduce and function during the whole period of natural existence, but the aging process derives from deterioration of cellular activity and ruination of regular functioning. Aptitude of cells for gradual deterioration and mortality means that cells are naturally sentenced to stable and long-term loss of living capacities, even despite continuing metabolic reactions and viability. In the United Kingdom, for example, nine out of ten of all the deaths that occur on a daily basis relates to senescence, while around the world it accounts for two-thirds of 150,000 deaths that take place daily (Hayflick & Moody, 2003). Almost all animals who survive external hazards to their biological functioning eventually die from biological aging, known in life sciences as "senescence". Some organisms experience negligible senescence, even exhibiting biological immortality. These include the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii,[33] the hydra, and the planarian. Unnatural causes of death include suicide and predation. From all causes, roughly 150,000 people die around the world each day.[3] Of these, two thirds die directly or indirectly due to senescence, but in industrialized countries – such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany – the rate approaches 90% (i.e., nearly nine out of ten of all deaths are related to senescence).[3] Physiological death is now seen as a process, more than an event: conditions once considered indicative of death are now reversible.[34] Where in the process a dividing line is drawn between life and death depends on factors beyond the presence or absence of vital signs. In general, clinical death is neither necessary nor sufficient for a determination of legal death. A patient with working heart and lungs determined to be brain dead can be pronounced legally dead without clinical death occurring. As scientific knowledge and medicine advance, formulating a precise medical definition of death becomes more difficult.[35] Cryonics Technicians prepare a body for cryopreservation in 1985. Main article: Cryonics Life extension refers to an increase in maximum or average lifespan, especially in humans, by slowing down or reversing the processes of aging. Average lifespan is determined by vulnerability to accidents and age or lifestyle-related afflictions such as cancer, or cardiovascular disease. Extension of average lifespan can be achieved by good diet, exercise and avoidance of hazards such as smoking. Maximum lifespan is also determined by the rate of aging for a species inherent in its genes. Currently, the only widely recognized method of extending maximum lifespan is calorie restriction. Theoretically, extension of maximum lifespan can be achieved by reducing the rate of aging damage, by periodic replacement of damaged tissues, or by molecular repair or rejuvenation of deteriorated cells and tissues. Researchers of life extension are a subclass of biogerontologists known as "biomedical gerontologists". They try to understand the nature of aging and they develop treatments to reverse aging processes or to at least slow them down, for the improvement of health and the maintenance of youthful vigor at every stage of life. Those who take advantage of life extension findings and seek to apply them upon themselves are called "life extensionists" or "longevists". The primary life extension strategy currently is to apply available anti-aging methods in the hope of living long enough to benefit from a complete cure to aging once it is developed. Location Kyösti Kallio (in the middle), the fourth President of the Republic of Finland, had a fatal heart attack a few seconds after this photograph was taken by Hugo Sundström on December 19, 1940 at Helsinki railway station in Helsinki, Finland.[44][45] Before about 1930, most people in Western countries died in their own homes, surrounded by family, and comforted by clergy, neighbors, and doctors making house calls.[46] By the mid-20th century, half of all Americans died in a hospital.[47] By the start of the 21st century, only about 20–25% of people in developed countries died outside of a medical institution.[47][48][49] The shift away from dying at home towards dying in a professional medical environment has been termed the "Invisible Death".[47] This shift occurred gradually over the years, until most deaths now occur outside the home.[50] Psychology Main article: Death anxiety (psychology) Death studies is a field within psychology.[51] Many people are afraid of dying. Discussing, thinking, or planning their own deaths causes them discomfort. This fear may cause them to put off financial planning, preparing a will and testament, or requesting help from a hospice organization. Different people have different responses to the idea of their own deaths. Philosopher Galen Strawson writes that the death that many people wish for is an instant, painless, unexperienced annihilation.[52] In this unlikely scenario, the person dies without realizing it and without being able to fear it. One moment the person is walking, eating, or sleeping, and the next moment, the person is dead. Strawson reasons that this type of death would not take anything away from the person, as he believes that a person cannot have a legitimate claim to ownership in the future.[52][53] Society and culture Main articles: Death and culture and Human skull symbolism A duke insulting the corpse of Klaus Fleming The regent duke Charles (later king Charles IX of Sweden) insulting the corpse of Klaus Fleming. Albert Edelfelt, 1878. A naturally mummified body (from Guanajuato) Dead bodies can be mummified either naturally, as this one from Guanajuato, or by intention, as those in ancient Egypt. In society, the nature of death and humanity's awareness of its own mortality has for millennia been a concern of the world's religious traditions and of philosophical inquiry. This includes belief in resurrection or an afterlife (associated with Abrahamic religions), reincarnation or rebirth (associated with Dharmic religions), or that consciousness permanently ceases to exist, known as eternal oblivion (associated with Secular humanism).[54] Commemoration ceremonies after death may include various mourning, funeral practices and ceremonies of honouring the deceased. The physical remains of a person, commonly known as a corpse or body, are usually interred whole or cremated, though among the world's cultures there are a variety of other methods of mortuary disposal. In the English language, blessings directed towards a dead person include rest in peace (originally the Latin requiescat in pace), or its initialism RIP. Death is the center of many traditions and organizations; customs relating to death are a feature of every culture around the world. Much of this revolves around the care of the dead, as well as the afterlife and the disposal of bodies upon the onset of death. The disposal of human corpses does, in general, begin with the last offices before significant time has passed, and ritualistic ceremonies often occur, most commonly interment or cremation. This is not a unified practice; in Tibet, for instance, the body is given a sky burial and left on a mountain top. Proper preparation for death and techniques and ceremonies for producing the ability to transfer one's spiritual attainments into another body (reincarnation) are subjects of detailed study in Tibet.[55] Mummification or embalming is also prevalent in some cultures, to retard the rate of decay. Legal aspects of death are also part of many cultures, particularly the settlement of the deceased estate and the issues of inheritance and in some countries, inheritance taxation. Gravestones in Japan Gravestones in Kyoto, Japan Death in warfare and in suicide attack also have cultural links, and the ideas of dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, mutiny punishable by death, grieving relatives of dead soldiers and death notification are embedded in many cultures. Recently in the western world, with the increase in terrorism following the September 11 attacks, but also further back in time with suicide bombings, kamikaze missions in World War II and suicide missions in a host of other conflicts in history, death for a cause by way of suicide attack, and martyrdom have had significant cultural impacts. All is Vanity by Charles Allan Gilbert is an example of a memento mori, intended to represent how life and death are intertwined Talking about death and witnessing it is a difficult issue with most cultures. Western societies may like to treat the dead with the utmost material respect, with an official embalmer and associated rites. Eastern societies (like India) may be more open to accepting it as a fait accompli, with a funeral procession of the dead body ending in an open-air burning-to-ashes of the same. Consciousness Main article: Consciousness after death Much interest and debate surround the question of what happens to one's consciousness as one's body dies. The belief in the permanent loss of consciousness after death is often called eternal oblivion. Belief that the stream of consciousness is preserved after physical death is described by the term afterlife. Neither are likely to ever be confirmed without the ponderer having to actually die. In biology After death, the remains of an organism become part of the biogeochemical cycle, during which animals may be consumed by a predator or a scavenger. Organic material may then be further decomposed by detritivores, organisms which recycle detritus, returning it to the environment for reuse in the food chain, where these chemicals may eventually end up being consumed and assimilated into the cells of a living organism. Examples of detritivores include earthworms, woodlice and dung beetles. Contemporary evolutionary theory sees death as an important part of the process of natural selection. It is considered that organisms less adapted to their environment are more likely to die having produced fewer offspring, thereby reducing their contribution to the gene pool. Their genes are thus eventually bred out of a population, leading at worst to extinction and, more positively, making the process possible, referred to as speciation. Frequency of reproduction plays an equally important role in determining species survival: an organism that dies young but leaves numerous offspring displays, according to Darwinian criteria, much greater fitness than a long-lived organism leaving only one. Extinction Main article: Extinction Painting of a dodo A dodo, the bird that became a byword in the English language for the extinction of a species[58] Inquiry into the evolution of aging aims to explain why so many living things and the vast majority of animals weaken and die with age (exceptions include Hydra and the already cited jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii, which research shows to be biologically immortal). The evolutionary origin of senescence remains one of the fundamental puzzles of biology. Gerontology specializes in the science of human aging processes. In Buddhist doctrine and practice, death plays an important role. Awareness of death was what motivated Prince Siddhartha to strive to find the "deathless" and finally to attain enlightenment. In Buddhist doctrine, death functions as a reminder of the value of having been born as a human being. Being reborn as a human being is considered the only state in which one can attain enlightenment. Therefore, death helps remind oneself that one should not take life for granted. The belief in rebirth among Buddhists does not necessarily remove death anxiety, since all existence in the cycle of rebirth is considered filled with suffering, and being reborn many times does not necessarily mean that one progresses.[62] Death is part of several key Buddhist tenets, such as the Four Noble Truths and dependent origination.[62] Christianity See also: Soul in the Bible, Second death, and Resurrection of the dead § Christianity [icon]    This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (August 2021) Hinduism In Hindu texts, death is described as the individual eternal spiritual jiva-atma (soul or conscious self) exiting the current temporary material body. The soul exits this body when the body can no longer sustain the conscious self (life), which may be due to mental or physical reasons, or more accurately, the inability to act on one's kama (material desires). During conception, the soul enters a compatible new body based on the remaining merits and demerits of one's karma (good/bad material activities based on dharma) and the state of one's mind (impressions or last thoughts) at the time of death. Usually the process of reincarnation (soul's transmigration) makes one forget all memories of one's previous life. Because nothing really dies and the temporary material body is always changing, both in this life and the next, death simply means forgetfulness of one's previous experiences (previous material identity). Material existence is described as being full of miseries arising from birth, disease, old age, death, mind, weather, etc. To conquer samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth) and become eligible for one of the different types of moksha (liberation), one has to first conquer kama (material desires) and become self-realized. The human form of life is most suitable for this spiritual journey, especially with the help of sadhu (self-realized saintly persons), sastra (revealed spiritual scriptures), and guru (self-realized spiritual masters), given all three are in agreement. Islam See also: Islamic view of death Judaism A yahrzeit candle lit in memory of a loved one on the anniversary of the death See also: Bereavement in Judaism There are a variety of beliefs about the afterlife within Judaism, but none of them contradict the preference of life over death. This is partially because death puts a cessation to the possibility of fulfilling any commandments.[citation needed] Language around death Study of Skeletons, c. 1510, by Leonardo da Vinci The word death comes from Old English dēaþ, which in turn comes from Proto-Germanic *dauþuz (reconstructed by etymological analysis). This comes from the Proto-Indo-European stem *dheu- meaning the "process, act, condition of dying".[63] The concept and symptoms of death, and varying degrees of delicacy used in discussion in public forums, have generated numerous scientific, legal, and socially acceptable terms or euphemisms for death. When a person has died, it is also said they have passed away, passed on, expired, or are gone, among numerous other socially accepted, religiously specific, slang, and irreverent terms. As a formal reference to a dead person, it has become common practice to use the participle form of "decease", as in the deceased; another noun form is decedent. Bereft of life, the dead person is then a corpse, cadaver, a body, a set of remains, and when all flesh has rotted away, a skeleton. The terms carrion and carcass can also be used, though these more often connote the remains of non-human animals. The ashes left after a cremation are sometimes referred to by the neologism cremains." (wikipedia.org) "Memento mori (Latin for 'remember that you [have to] die'[2]) is an artistic or symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death.[2] The concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity and Christianity, and appeared in funeral art and architecture of the medieval period. Memento mori jewelry with skull or coffin motifs became popular in the late 16th century, and it was reflected in the artistic genre of vanitas, where symbolic objects such as hourglasses and wilting flowers signified the impermanence of human life.... Pronunciation and translation In English, the phrase is pronounced /məˈmɛntoʊ ˈmɔːri/, mə-MEN-toh MOR-ee. Memento is the 2nd person singular active imperative of meminī, 'to remember, to bear in mind', usually serving as a warning: "remember!" Morī is the present infinitive of the deponent verb morior 'to die'.[3] In other words, "remember death" or "remember that you die".[4] History of the concept In classical antiquity The philosopher Democritus trained himself by going into solitude and frequenting tombs.[5] Plato's Phaedo, where the death of Socrates is recounted, introduces the idea that the proper practice of philosophy is "about nothing else but dying and being dead".[6] The Stoics of classical antiquity were particularly prominent in their use of this discipline, and Seneca's letters are full of injunctions to meditate on death.[7] The Stoic Epictetus told his students that when kissing their child, brother, or friend, they should remind themselves that they are mortal, curbing their pleasure, as do "those who stand behind men in their triumphs and remind them that they are mortal".[8] The Stoic Marcus Aurelius invited the reader to "consider how ephemeral and mean all mortal things are" in his Meditations.[9][10] In Judaism Several passages in the Old Testament urge a remembrance of death. In Psalm 90, Moses prays that God would teach his people "to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Ps. 90:12). In Ecclesiastes, the Preacher insists that "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart" (Eccl. 7:2). In Isaiah, the lifespan of human beings is compared to the short lifespan of grass: "The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass" (Is. 40:7). In early Christianity The expression memento mori developed with the growth of Christianity, which emphasized Heaven, Hell, and salvation of the soul in the afterlife.[11] The 2nd-century Christian writer Tertullian claimed that during his triumphal procession, a victorious general would have someone (in later versions, a slave) standing behind him, holding a crown over his head and whispering "Respice post te. Hominem te memento" ("Look after you [to the time after your death] and remember you're [only] a man."). Though in modern times this has become a standard trope, in fact no other ancient authors confirm this, and it may have been Christian moralizing rather than an accurate historical report.[12] In Europe from the medieval era to the Victorian era Dance of Death (15th-century fresco). No matter one's station in life, the Dance of Death unites all. Philosophy The thought was then utilized in Christianity, whose strong emphasis on divine judgment, heaven, hell, and the salvation of the soul brought death to the forefront of consciousness.[13] In the Christian context, the memento mori acquires a moralizing purpose quite opposed to the nunc est bibendum (now is the time to drink) theme of classical antiquity. To the Christian, the prospect of death serves to emphasize the emptiness and fleetingness of earthly pleasures, luxuries, and achievements, and thus also as an invitation to focus one's thoughts on the prospect of the afterlife. A Biblical injunction often associated with the memento mori in this context is In omnibus operibus tuis memorare novissima tua, et in aeternum non peccabis (the Vulgate's Latin rendering of Ecclesiasticus 7:40, "in all thy works be mindful of thy last end and thou wilt never sin.") This finds ritual expression in the rites of Ash Wednesday, when ashes are placed upon the worshipers' heads with the words, "Remember Man that you are dust and unto dust, you shall return." Memento mori has been an important part of ascetic disciplines as a means of perfecting the character by cultivating detachment and other virtues, and by turning the attention towards the immortality of the soul and the afterlife.[14] Architecture Unshrouded skeleton on Diana Warburton's tomb (dated 1693) in St John the Baptist Church, Chester The most obvious places to look for memento mori meditations are in funeral art and architecture. Perhaps the most striking to contemporary minds is the transi or cadaver tomb, a tomb that depicts the decayed corpse of the deceased. This became a fashion in the tombs of the wealthy in the fifteenth century, and surviving examples still offer a stark reminder of the vanity of earthly riches. Later, Puritan tomb stones in the colonial United States frequently depicted winged skulls, skeletons, or angels snuffing out candles. These are among the numerous themes associated with skull imagery. Another example of memento mori is provided by the chapels of bones, such as the Capela dos Ossos in Évora or the Capuchin Crypt in Rome. These are chapels where the walls are totally or partially covered by human remains, mostly bones. The entrance to the Capela dos Ossos has the following sentence: "We bones, lying here bare, await yours." Visual art Philippe de Champaigne's Vanitas (c. 1671) is reduced to three essentials: Life, Death, and Time Timepieces have been used to illustrate that the time of the living on Earth grows shorter with each passing minute. Public clocks would be decorated with mottos such as ultima forsan ("perhaps the last" [hour]) or vulnerant omnes, ultima necat ("they all wound, and the last kills"). Clocks have carried the motto tempus fugit, "time flees". Old striking clocks often sported automata who would appear and strike the hour; some of the celebrated automaton clocks from Augsburg, Germany had Death striking the hour. Private people carried smaller reminders of their own mortality. Mary, Queen of Scots owned a large watch carved in the form of a silver skull, embellished with the lines of Horace, "Pale death knocks with the same tempo upon the huts of the poor and the towers of Kings." In the late 16th and through the 17th century, memento mori jewelry was popular. Items included mourning rings,[15] pendants, lockets, and brooches.[16] These pieces depicted tiny motifs of skulls, bones, and coffins, in addition to messages and names of the departed, picked out in precious metals and enamel.[16][17] During the same period there emerged the artistic genre known as vanitas, Latin for "emptiness" or "vanity". Especially popular in Holland and then spreading to other European nations, vanitas paintings typically represented assemblages of numerous symbolic objects such as human skulls, guttering candles, wilting flowers, soap bubbles, butterflies, and hourglasses. In combination, vanitas assemblies conveyed the impermanence of human endeavours and of the decay that is inevitable with the passage of time. See also the themes associated with the image of the skull. Literature Memento mori is also an important literary theme. Well-known literary meditations on death in English prose include Sir Thomas Browne's Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial and Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Holy Dying. These works were part of a Jacobean cult of melancholia that marked the end of the Elizabethan era. In the late eighteenth century, literary elegies were a common genre; Thomas Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard and Edward Young's Night Thoughts are typical members of the genre. In the European devotional literature of the Renaissance, the Ars Moriendi, memento mori had moral value by reminding individuals of their mortality.[18] Music Apart from the genre of requiem and funeral music, there is also a rich tradition of memento mori in the Early Music of Europe. Especially those facing the ever-present death during the recurring bubonic plague pandemics from the 1340s onward tried to toughen themselves by anticipating the inevitable in chants, from the simple Geisslerlieder of the Flagellant movement to the more refined cloistral or courtly songs. The lyrics often looked at life as a necessary and god-given vale of tears with death as a ransom, and they reminded people to lead sinless lives to stand a chance at Judgment Day. The following two Latin stanzas (with their English translations) are typical of memento mori in medieval music; they are from the virelai ad mortem festinamus of the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat from 1399: Danse macabre The danse macabre is another well-known example of the memento mori theme, with its dancing depiction of the Grim Reaper carrying off rich and poor alike. This and similar depictions of Death decorated many European churches.... The salutation of the Hermits of St. Paul of France Memento mori was the salutation used by the Hermits of St. Paul of France (1620-1633), also known as the Brothers of Death.[19] It is sometimes claimed that the Trappists use this salutation, but this is not true.[20] In Puritan America Thomas Smith's Self-Portrait Colonial American art saw a large number of memento mori images due to Puritan influence. The Puritan community in 17th-century North America looked down upon art because they believed that it drew the faithful away from God and, if away from God, then it could only lead to the devil. However, portraits were considered historical records and, as such, they were allowed. Thomas Smith, a 17th-century Puritan, fought in many naval battles and also painted. In his self-portrait, we see these pursuits represented alongside a typical Puritan memento mori with a skull, suggesting his awareness of imminent death. Another manifestation of memento mori is found in the Mexican "Calavera", a literary composition in verse form normally written in honour of a person who is still alive, but written as if that person were dead. These compositions have a comedic tone and are often offered from one friend to another during Day of the Dead.[21] Contemporary culture Roman Krznaric suggests Memento Mori is an important topic to bring back into our thoughts and belief system; “Philosophers have come up with lots of what I call ‘death tasters’ – thought experiments for seizing the day." These thought experiments are powerful to get us re-oriented back to death into current awareness and living with spontaneity. Albert Camus stated “Come to terms with death, thereafter anything is possible.” Jean-Paul Sartre expressed that life is given to us early, and is shortened at the end, all the while taken away at every step of the way, emphasizing that the end is only the beginning every day.[22] Similar concepts in other religions and cultures In Buddhism In Japan, the influence of Zen Buddhist contemplation of death on indigenous culture can be gauged by the following quotation from the classic treatise on samurai ethics, Hagakure:[23]     The Way of the Samurai is, morning after morning, the practice of death, considering whether it will be here or be there, imagining the most sightly way of dying, and putting one's mind firmly in death. Although this may be a most difficult thing, if one will do it, it can be done. There is nothing that one should suppose cannot be done.[24] In the annual appreciation of cherry blossom and fall colors, hanami and momijigari, it was philosophized that things are most splendid at the moment before their fall, and to aim to live and die in a similar fashion.[citation needed] In Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Citipati mask depicting Mahākāla. The skull mask of Citipati is a reminder of the impermanence of life and the eternal cycle of life and death. There are a number of classic verse formulations of these contemplations meant for daily reflection to overcome our strong habitual tendency to live as though we will certainly not die today. Lalitavistara Sutra The Tibetan Canon also includes copious materials on the meditative preparation for the death process and intermediate period bardo between death and rebirth. Amongst them are the famous "Tibetan Book of the Dead", in Tibetan Bardo Thodol, the "Natural Liberation through Hearing in the Bardo"(wikipedia.org) "A vanitas is a symbolic work of art showing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, often contrasting symbols of wealth and symbols of ephemerality and death. Best-known are vanitas still lifes, a common genre in Low Countries of the 16th and 17th centuries; they have also been created at other times and in other media and genres.... Etymology The Latin noun vanitas (from the Latin adjective vanus 'empty') means 'emptiness', 'futility', or 'worthlessness', the traditional Christian view being that earthly goods and pursuits are transient and worthless.[2] It alludes to Ecclesiastes 1:2; 12:8, where vanitas translates the Hebrew word hevel, which also includes the concept of transitoriness.[3][4][5] Themes Vanitas themes were common in medieval funerary art, with most surviving examples in sculpture. By the 15th century, these could be extremely morbid and explicit, reflecting an increased obsession with death and decay also seen in the Ars moriendi, the Danse Macabre, and the overlapping motif of the Memento mori. From the Renaissance such motifs gradually became more indirect and, as the still-life genre became popular, found a home there. Paintings executed in the vanitas style were meant to remind viewers of the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death. They also provided a moral justification for painting attractive objects. Motifs Common vanitas symbols include skulls, which are a reminder of the certainty of death; rotten fruit (decay); bubbles (the brevity of life and suddenness of death); smoke, watches, and hourglasses (the brevity of life); and musical instruments (brevity and the ephemeral nature of life). Fruit, flowers and butterflies can be interpreted in the same way, and a peeled lemon was, like life, attractive to look at but bitter to taste. Art historians debate how much, and how seriously, the vanitas theme is implied in still-life paintings without explicit imagery such as a skull. As in much moralistic genre painting, the enjoyment evoked by the sensuous depiction of the subject is in a certain conflict with the moralistic message.[6] Composition of flowers is a less obvious style of vanitas by Abraham Mignon in the National Museum, Warsaw. Barely visible amid vivid and perilous nature (snakes, poisonous mushrooms), a bird skeleton is a symbol of vanity and shortness of life. Vanitas by Jan Sanders van Hemessen Outside visual art" (wikipedia.org) "A skeleton is a type of physically manifested undead often found in fantasy, gothic and horror fiction, and mythical art. Most are human skeletons, but they can also be from any creature or race found on Earth or in the fantasy world.... Myth and folklore Animated human skeletons have been used as a personification of death in Western culture since the Middle Ages, a personification perhaps influenced by the valley of the dry bones in the Book of Ezekiel.[1] The Grim Reaper is often depicted as a hooded skeleton holding a scythe (and occasionally an hourglass), which has been attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger (1538).[2] Death as one of the biblical horsemen of the Apocalypse has been depicted as a skeleton riding a horse. The Triumph of Death is a 1562 painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder depicting an army of skeletons raiding a town and slaughtering its occupants.[3] "The Boy Who Wanted the Willies" is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale in which a boy named Hans joins a circle of dancing skeletons.[citation needed] In Japanese folklore, Mekurabe are rolling skulls with eyeballs who menace Taira no Kiyomori.[4] José Guadalupe Posada's 1913 La Calavera Catrina zinc etching Mexico Figurines and images of skeletons doing routine things are common in Mexico's Day of the Dead celebration, where skulls symbolize life and their familiar circumstances invite levity. Highly-decorated sugar-skull candy has become one of the most recognizable elements of the celebrations.[5][6] They are known in Mexico as calacas, a Mexican Spanish term simply meaning "skeleton". The moderns association between skeleton iconography and the Day of the Dead was inspired by La Calavera Catrina, a zinc etching created by Mexican cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada in the 1910s and published posthumously in 1930.[7] Initially a satire of Mexican women who were ashamed of their indigenous origins and dressed imitating the French style, wearing heavy makeup to make their skin look whiter, it later became a more general symbol of vanity.[8] During the 20th Century, the Catrina entrenched itself in the Mexican consciousness and became a national icon, often depicted in folk art. In the Disney Pixar film Coco, the calacas appear to be ghosts. Modern fiction Literature     The animated skeleton features in some Gothic fiction. One early example is in the short story "Thurnley Abbey" (1908) by Perceval Landon, originally published in his collection Raw Edges.[9] It is reprinted in many modern anthologies, such as The 2nd Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories and The Penguin Book of Horror Stories.     An anthropomorphic depiction of Death which looks like a skeleton in a black robe appears in almost all volumes of Terry Pratchett's fantasy series Discworld, including five novels where he is the lead character.[10] Film and TV     Undead skeletons have been portrayed in fantasy films such as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), The Black Cauldron (1985), Army of Darkness (1992), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), and Corpse Bride (2005).     An extended battle scene against an army of skeletal warriors was produced by animator Ray Harryhausen for Jason and the Argonauts (1963) and is remembered as one of the most sophisticated and influential visual effects sequences of its day.[11] A CG art skeleton, as commonly found in modern fantasy-theme games. Games     Animated skeletons have been used and portrayed extensively in fantasy role-playing games. In a tradition that goes back to the pen-and-paper game Dungeons & Dragons, the basic animated skeleton is commonly employed as a low-level undead enemy, typically easy for a player to defeat in combat. Thus, in games which make use of them, such enemies often appear relatively early in the gameplay and are considered a suitable opponent for novice players.[12] In these contexts, they are commonly armed with medieval weapons and sometimes wear armor. Some games may also introduce higher-level variants with heightened resilience or combat skills as well as the ability to cast spells or communicate.[13]     In the PlayStation action-adventure series MediEvil, the protagonist is an animated skeleton knight named Sir Daniel Fortesque.[14]     In the 1999 cult classic Planescape: Torment, Morte is a character who joins the protagonist on his quest and is essentially a sentient, levitating human skull with intact eyeballs who cracks wise and fights by biting.[15]     In the 2009 Minecraft video game, skeletons appear as a bow-wielding monster that shoots players with their bow and burn under the sunlight. Sometimes the skeletons spawn with enchanted bows or a random piece of armor, or random full armor, or without bow, and they can pick melee weapons. In Halloween, they can spawn wearing carved pumpkin or Jack O' Lantern on their heads.     In the video game Fable III, there exist a race of antagonal characters called "hollow men" which are featured throughout the game.     A duo of animated skeleton brothers plays an important role in the role-playing game Undertale. Named Sans and Papyrus, the brothers' dialogue text is printed in Comic Sans and Papyrus fonts, respectively.[16]     Following a poll taken during their Kickstarter campaign, Larian Studios added a playable skeleton race in their 2017 RPG Divinity: Original Sin II, as well as an ancient skeletal character named Fane.[17]     Following the first game, the skeletons were re-added in Minecraft Dungeons, a 2020 dungeon crawler game released by Mojang Studios as the guards of The Nameless One, the king of the undead. In this form, they are equipped with glaives, shields, and iron helmets and chestplates, and are referred to as Skeleton Vanguards. They also spawn as their original bow-wielding form, sometimes wearing iron helmet." (wikipedia.org) "Skull symbolism is the attachment of symbolic meaning to the human skull. The most common symbolic use of the skull is as a representation of death, mortality and the unachievable nature of immortality. Humans can often recognize the buried fragments of an only partially revealed cranium even when other bones may look like shards of stone. The human brain has a specific region for recognizing faces,[1] and is so attuned to finding them that it can see faces in a few dots and lines or punctuation marks; the human brain cannot separate the image of the human skull from the familiar human face. Because of this, both the death and the now-past life of the skull are symbolized. Hindu temples and depiction of some Hindu deities have displayed association with skulls. Moreover, a human skull with its large eye sockets displays a degree of neoteny, which humans often find visually appealing—yet a skull is also obviously dead, and to some can even seem to look sad due to the downward facing slope on the ends of the eye sockets. A skull with the lower jaw intact may also appear to be grinning or laughing due to the exposed teeth. As such, human skulls often have a greater visual appeal than the other bones of the human skeleton, and can fascinate even as they repel. Our present society predominantly associates skulls with death and evil. Unicode reserves character U+1F480 (💀) for a human skull pictogram.... Examples The skull that is often engraved or carved on the head of early New England tombstones might be merely a symbol of mortality, but the skull is also often backed by an angelic pair of wings,[2] lofting mortality beyond its own death. lady at round mirror and dressing table resembling a skull "All is Vanity" by C. Allan Gilbert All is Vanity by C. Allan Gilbert, 1873-1929 One of the best-known examples of skull symbolism occurs in Shakespeare's Hamlet, where the title character recognizes the skull of an old friend: "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest..." Hamlet is inspired to utter a bitter soliloquy of despair and rough ironic humor. Compare Hamlet's words "Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft" to Talmudic sources: "...Rabi Ishmael [the High Priest]... put [the severed head of a martyr] in his lap... and cried: oh sacred mouth!...who buried you in ashes...!". The skull was a symbol of melancholy for Shakespeare's contemporaries.[3] Skull art is found in depictions of some Hindu Gods. Lord Shiva has been depicted as carrying skull.[4] Goddess Chamunda is described as wearing a garland of severed heads or skulls (Mundamala). Kedareshwara Temple, Hoysaleswara Temple, Chennakeshava Temple, Lakshminarayana Temple are some of the Hindu temples that include sculptures of skulls and Goddess Chamunda.[5] The temple of Kali is veneered with skulls, but the goddess Kali offers life through the welter of blood. In Elizabethan England, the Death's-Head Skull, usually a depiction without the lower jawbone, was emblematic of bawds, rakes, sexual adventurers and prostitutes; the term Death's-Head was actually parlance for these rakes, and most of them wore half-skull rings to advertise their station, either professionally or otherwise. The original Rings were wide silver objects, with a half-skull decoration not much wider than the rest of the band; This allowed it to be rotated around the finger to hide the skull in polite company, and to reposition it in the presence of likely conquests.[citation needed] Sugar skull given for the Day of the Dead, made with chocolate and amaranth from Mexico Sugar skull given for the Day of the Dead, made with chocolate and amaranth Skulls and skeletons are the main symbol of the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday. Skull-shaped decorations called calaveras are a common sight during the festivities. Venetian painters of the 16th century elaborated moral allegories for their patrons, and memento mori was a common theme. The theme carried by an inscription on a rustic tomb, "Et in Arcadia ego"—"I too [am] in Arcadia", if it is Death that is speaking—is made famous by two paintings by Nicolas Poussin, but the motto made its pictorial debut in Guercino's version, 1618-22 (in the Galleria Barberini, Rome): in it, two awestruck young shepherds come upon an inscribed plinth, in which the inscription ET IN ARCADIA EGO gains force from the prominent presence of a wormy skull in the foreground. Next to Mary Magdalene's dressing-mirror, in a convention of Baroque painting[citation needed], the Skull has quite different connotations and reminds the viewer that the Magdalene has become a symbol for repentance. In C. Allan Gilbert's much-reproduced lithograph of a lovely Gibson Girl seated at her fashionable toilette, an observer can witness its transformation into an alternate image. A ghostly echo of the worldly Magdalene's repentance motif lurks behind this turn-of-the-20th century icon. The skull becomes an icon itself when its painted representation becomes a substitute for the real thing. Simon Schama chronicled the ambivalence of the Dutch to their own worldly success during the Dutch Golden Age of the first half of the 17th century in The Embarrassment of Riches. The possibly frivolous and merely decorative nature of the still life genre was avoided by Pieter Claesz in his Vanitas (illustration, below right): Skull, opened case-watch, overturned emptied wineglasses, snuffed candle, book: "Lo, the wine of life runs out, the spirit is snuffed, oh Man, for all your learning, time yet runs on: Vanity!" The visual cues of the hurry and violence of life are contrasted with eternity in this somber, still and utterly silent painting. Skull on table Vanitas, by Pieter Claesz, painted in 1630 from the Mauritzhuis, The Hague Vanitas, by Pieter Claesz, 1630 (Mauritzhuis, The Hague) When the skull appears in Nazi SS insignia, the death's-head (Totenkopf) represents loyalty unto death. However, when tattooed on the forearm its apotropaic power helps an outlaw biker cheat death.[6] The skull and crossbones signify "Poison" when they appear on a glass bottle containing a white powder, or any container in general. But it is not the same emblem when it flies high above the deck as the Jolly Roger: there the pirate death's-head epitomizes the pirates' ruthlessness and despair; their usage of death imagery might be paralleled with their occupation challenging the natural order of things.[7] "Pirates also affirmed their unity symbolically", Marcus Rediker asserts, remarking the skeleton or skull symbol with bleeding heart and hourglass on the black pirate ensign, and asserting "it triad of interlocking symbols— death, violence, limited time—simultaneously pointed to meaningful parts of the seaman's experience, and eloquently bespoke the pirates' own consciousness of themselves as preyed upon in turn. Pirates seized the symbol of mortality from ship captains who used the skull 'as a marginal sign in their logs to indicate the record of a death'"[8] Today, humans typically note the skull and crossbones sign as the almost universal symbol for toxicity. The skull of Adam at the foot of the Cross: detail from a Crucifixion by Fra Angelico, from 1435 The skull of Adam at the foot of the Cross: detail from a Crucifixion by Fra Angelico, 1435 When a skull was worn as a trophy on the belt of the Lombard king Alboin, it was a constant grim triumph over his old enemy, and he drank from it. In the same way a skull is a warning when it decorates the palisade of a city, or deteriorates on a pike at a Traitor's Gate. The Skull Tower, with the embedded skulls of Serbian rebels, was built in 1809 on the highway near Niš, Serbia, as a stark political warning from the Ottoman government. In this case the skulls are the statement: that the current owner had the power to kill the former. "Drinking out of a skull the blood of slain (sacrificial) enemies is mentioned by Ammianus and Livy,[9] and Solinus describes the Irish custom of bathing the face in the blood of the slain and drinking it."[10] The rafters of a traditional Jívaro  house in Peru,[11] or in New Guinea. The late medieval and Early Renaissance Northern and Italian painters place the skull where it lies at the foot of the Cross at Golgotha (Aramaic for the place of the skull). But for them it has become quite specifically the skull of Adam. The Serpent crawling through the eyes of a skull is a familiar image that survives in contemporary Goth subculture. The serpent is a chthonic god of knowledge and of immortality, because he sloughs off his skin. The serpent guards the Tree in the Greek Garden of the Hesperides and, later, a Tree in the Garden of Eden. The serpent in the skull is always making its way through the socket that was the eye: knowledge persists beyond death, the emblem says, and the serpent has the secret. Symbolism of Fortuna's wheel divine justice and Skull mortality in a Pompeiian mosaic Symbolism of chance (Fortuna's wheel) divine justice (right angle and plumb-bob) and mortality in a Pompeiian mosaic The skull speaks. It says "Et in Arcadia ego" or simply "Vanitas." In a first-century mosaic tabletop from a Pompeiian triclinium (now in Naples), the skull is crowned with a carpenter's square and plumb-bob, which dangles before its empty eyesockets (Death as the great leveller), while below is an image of the ephemeral and changeable nature of life: a butterfly atop a wheel—a table for a philosopher's symposium. Skull in lady's hat "Calavera de la Catrina" by José Guadalupe Posada Calavera de la Catrina by José Guadalupe Posada (1851-1913) An example of the OSS "Black Propaganda" Humor: at left an Adolf Hitler profile on a "German Reich" stamp; at right the OSS-forged Hitler face version, turned into a death's head on a "Fallen Reich" stamp Similarly, a skull might be seen crowned by a chaplet of dried roses, a carpe diem, though rarely as bedecked as Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada's Catrina. In Mesoamerican architecture, stacks of skulls (real or sculpted) represented the result of human sacrifices. The skull speaks in the catacombs of the Capuchin brothers beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione in Rome,[12] where disassembled bones and teeth and skulls of the departed Capuchins have been rearranged to form a rich Baroque architecture of the human condition, in a series of anterooms and subterranean chapels with the inscription, set in bones: An old Yoruba folktale[13] tells of a man who encountered a skull mounted on a post by the wayside. To his astonishment, the skull spoke. The man asked the skull why it was mounted there. The skull said that it was mounted there for talking. The man then went to the king, and told the king of the marvel he had found, a talking skull. The king and the man returned to the place where the skull was mounted; the skull remained silent. The king then commanded that the man be beheaded, and ordered that his head be mounted in place of the skull. In Vajrayana Buddhist iconography, skull symbolism is often used in depictions of wrathful deities and of dakinis. In some Korean life replacement narratives, a person discovers an abandoned skull and worships it. The skull later gives advice on how to cheat the gods of death and prevent an early death. In fashion Alexander McQueen is credited with popularizing a fashion trend with stylized skulls, starting with skull-decorated bags and scarves. The trend is extant by the early 2010s." (wikipedia.org) "In works of art, the adjective macabre (US: /məˈkɑːb/ or UK: /məˈkɑːbrə/; French: [makabʁ]) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in nature.... History The quality is not often found in ancient Greek and Latin writers[citation needed], though there are traces of it in Apuleius and the author of the Satyricon. Outstanding instances in English literature include the works of John Webster, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mervyn Peake, Charles Dickens, Roald Dahl, Thomas Hardy and Cyril Tourneur.[1] In American literature, authors whose work feature this quality include Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, and Stephen King. The word has gained its significance from its use in French as la danse macabre for the allegorical representation of the ever-present and universal power of death, known in English as the Dance of Death and in German as Totentanz. The typical form which the allegory takes is that of a series of images in which Death appears, either as a dancing skeleton or as a shrunken shrouded corpse, to people representing every age and condition of life, and leads them all in a dance to the grave. Of the numerous examples painted or sculptured on the walls of cloisters or church yards through medieval Europe, few remain except in woodcuts and engravings.     The series at Basel originally at the Klingenthal, a nunnery in Little Basel, dated from the beginning of the 14th century. In the middle of the 15th century this was moved to the churchyard of the Predigerkloster at Basel, and was restored, probably by Hans Kluber, in 1568. The collapse of the wall in 1805 reduced it to fragments, and only drawings of it remain.     A Dance of Death in its simplest form still survives in the Marienkirche at Lübeck as 15th-century painting on the walls of a chapel. Here there are 24 figures in couples, between each is a dancing Death linking the groups by outstretched hands, the whole ring being led by a Death playing on a pipe.     In Tallinn, Estonia there is a well-known Danse Macabre painting by Bernt Notke displayed at St. Nikolaus Church (Niguliste), dating the end of 15th century.     At Dresden there is a sculptured life-size series in the old Neustädter Kirchhoff, moved here from the palace of Duke George in 1701 after a fire.     At Rouen in the cloister of St Maclou there also remains a sculptured danse macabre.     There was a celebrated fresco of the subject in the cloister of Old St Pauls in London.     There was another in the now destroyed Hungerford Chapel at Salisbury, of which only a single woodcut, "Death and the Gallant", remains.     Of the many engraved reproductions of the Old St Pauls fresco, the most famous is the series drawn by Holbein. The theme continued to inspire artists and musicians long after the medieval period, Schubert's string quartet Death and the Maiden (1824) being one example, and Camille Saint-Saëns' tone poem Danse macabre, op. 40 (1847). In the 20th century, Ingmar Bergman's 1957 film The Seventh Seal has a personified Death, and could thus count as macabre. The origin of this allegory in painting and sculpture is disputed. It occurs as early as the 14th century, and has often been attributed to the overpowering consciousness of the presence of death due to the Black Death and the miseries of the Hundred Years' War. It has also been attributed to a form of the Morality, a dramatic dialogue between Death and his victims in every station of life, ending in a dance off the stage.[2] The origin of the peculiar form the allegory has taken has also been found in the dancing skeletons on late Roman sarcophagi and mural paintings at Cumae or Pompeii, and a false connection has been traced with "The Triumph of Death", attributed to Orcagna, in the Campo Santo at Pisa. Etymology The etymology of the word "macabre" is uncertain. According to Gaston Paris[3] it first occurs in the form "macabre" in Jean le Fèvre's Respit de la mort (1376), Je fis de Macabré la danse, and he takes this accented form to be the true one, and traces it in the name of the first painter of the subject. The more usual explanation is based on the Latin name, Machabaeorum chorea (Dance of Maccabees). The seven tortured brothers, with their mother and Eleazar (2 Maccabees 6 and 7) were prominent figures on this hypothesis in the supposed dramatic dialogues.[4] Other connections have been suggested, as for example with St. Macarius, or Macaire, the hermit, who, according to Vasari, is to be identified with the figure pointing to the decaying corpses in the Pisan Triumph of Death, or with an Arabic word maqābir (مقابر), cemeteries (plural of maqbara." (wikipedia.org) "Lawn ornaments are decorative objects placed in the grassy area of a property.... Common lawn ornaments Animal forms: animal statues such as frogs, turtles, rabbits, deer, flamingoes and ducks are cast in plastic or cement. Bathtub Madonna: a statue of Mary the mother of Jesus is placed in a bathtub half buried under the ground. Statues of Mary are most often made of white concrete, but are sometimes painted with a blue garment. Bird bath: a structure designed to hold water for birds to bathe in or drink, generally supported upon a pedestal, is known as a bird bath. Bird feeder: a container for foods such as bird seeds is often designed to look like a miniature house or barn, and may be mounted on a stake, post, or column. Concrete Aboriginal, a lawn ornament once common in Australia. Concrete goose, a popular lawn ornament in the United States. Found object art: items such as bowling balls, toilet planters, and antique farm equipment may be repurposed as lawn ornaments. Francis of Assisi: a saint often associated with nature and animals may be cast in plaster or cement. Garden gnome: a small, generally colorful gnome statuette. Human form: a depiction of a human being. Human form lawn ornaments can be two-dimensional, generally vertically supported by being thrust in the ground, or three-dimensional. Examples of human form lawn ornaments include the concrete Aboriginal, lawn jockey and groomsman. Examples of two-dimensional human form lawn ornaments include renditions of Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch people. A variation of the Pennsylvania Dutch human form is a depiction of an older female bending over as in gardening, thus revealing her undergarments. Jigglers: plastic or metal flowers, birds and insects fitted on spring-loaded stakes so that they jiggle when the wind blows on them. Lawn jockey, or Jocko, or Groomsmen: an often diminutive statuette of a black horse attendant dressed in slave clothing, also called a Jocko. Groomsmen were often used as hitching posts. The origin of the groomsman is disputed, but it is accepted that they originated in the U.S. South. No longer as common since the civil rights movement. The "Cavalier" variation typically depicts a white figure. One legend has it that the first Groomsman was created at the commission of George Washington. Lighthouses: small-scale representations of local lighthouses are popular in coastal areas. Nest box/bird house: a small house for a bird normally made of wood and on a stake. Plastic flamingo: a generally lifesize replica of a pink flamingo. According to some, the origin of the plastic flamingo was in 1946 with the company Union Products in its "Plastics for the Lawn" product line. Their collection included dog, ducks, frogs, and a flamingo. Spinners: usually shaped like flowers with petals that spin in the wind. Variations include birds or insects with spinning wings. Statuary and outdoor sculpture Topiary specimens Whirligig: an often animalistic sculpture generally supported vertically by being pushed in the ground characterized by at least one rotating member often designed to appear as a bodypart of the sculpture. Windmill: a disconnected but free-spinning miniature, typically in the American Aermotor style having about a dozen metal vanes, or the traditional Dutch style having four wood vanes. Yard globe: a light-reflective sphere, as large as 12" in diameter or more and generally displayed on top of a support structure. Also called gazing globes or gazing balls." (wikipedia.org) "A garden ornament is an item used for garden, landscape, and park enhancement and decoration. Garden ornaments include:     bird baths     bird feeders     birdhouses     columns – cast stone     flower box         window box     folly     fountains     jardiniere         kugel fountain     garden furniture     gazing spheres     hanging baskets     holiday – seasonal ornaments and decorations     landscape lighting – decorative fixtures     lawn ornaments         bathtub madonnas         concrete geese         garden gnomes         lawn jockeys         plastic pink flamingos     moon bridge – small ornament versions     outdoor fireplace     outdoor sculpture         found objects such as recycled bowling balls, toilet planters, antique farm equipment         kinetic sculpture         masks         obelisks         renewable energy sculpture     pagoda – small versions     pedestals – e.g. terracotta, cast stone     pond – rocks and boulders with basins     pots         urns         ceramic art vases     rain chains     reflecting pools – small/portable types     sundials     topiary specimens     waterfalls – small prefabricated type     weathervanes     wind chimes... History     This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Early examples of the use of garden ornaments in western culture were seen in Ancient Roman gardens such as those excavated at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Italian Renaissance garden and French formal garden styles were the peak of using created forms in the garden and landscape, with high art and kitsch interpretations ever since. The English landscape garden expanded the scale of some garden ornaments to temple follies The Asian tradition of making garden ornaments, often functioning in association with Feng Shui principles, has a nearly timeless history. Chinese gardens with Chinese scholar's rocks, Korean stone art, and Japanese gardens with Suiseki and Zen rock gardens have and symbolic meaning and natural ornamental qualities." (wikipedia.org) "Timothy Walter Burton[a] (born August 25, 1958) is an American film director, producer, writer and artist. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and Frankenweenie (2012). Burton also directed the superhero films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), the sci-fi film Planet of the Apes (2001), the fantasy-drama Big Fish (2003), the musical adventure film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and the fantasy films Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016). Burton has often worked with actors Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter (his former domestic partner), and composer Danny Elfman (who has composed scores for all but three of the films Burton has directed). He wrote and illustrated the poetry book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, published in 1997 by British publishing house Faber and Faber, and a compilation of his drawings, sketches, and other artwork, entitled The Art of Tim Burton, was released in 2009. A follow-up to that book, entitled The Napkin Art of Tim Burton: Things You Think About in a Bar, containing sketches made by Burton on napkins at bars and restaurants he visited, was released in 2015. His accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards and three BAFTA Awards, and wins for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.... Early life Burton was born on August 25, 1958, in Burbank, California, the son of Jean Burton (née Erickson, 1933–2002), later the owner of a cat-themed gift shop, and William "Bill" Burton (1930–2000), a former minor league baseball player who was working for the Burbank Parks and Recreation Department.[4][5] As a preteen, Burton would make short films in his backyard on 2101 N Evergreen Street using crude stop motion animation techniques or shooting on 8 mm film without sound (one of his oldest known juvenile films is The Island of Doctor Agor, which he made when he was 13 years old). Burton attended Providencia Elementary School in Burbank, and afterward to Burbank High School but was not a particularly good student. He played on the water polo team at Burbank High. Burton was an introspective person and found pleasure in painting, drawing, and watching movies. His future work would be heavily influenced by the works of such childhood heroes as Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl.[6] After graduating from Burbank High School, Burton attended the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, Santa Clarita, to study character animation.[7] As a student at CalArts, Burton made the shorts Stalk of the Celery Monster and King and Octopus.[8] Career 1980s Stalk of the Celery Monster attracted the attention of Walt Disney Productions' animation division, which offered Burton an animator's apprenticeship at the studio.[7] He worked as an animator, storyboard artist, graphic designer, art director, and concept artist on films such as The Fox and the Hound (1981), Tron (1982), and The Black Cauldron (1985). His concept art never made it into the finished films. While at Disney in 1982, Burton made his first short, Vincent, a six-minute black-and-white stop motion film based on a poem written by Burton, which depicts a young boy who fantasizes that he is his hero Vincent Price, with Price himself providing narration. The film was produced by Rick Heinrichs, whom Burton had befriended while working in the concept art department at Disney. The film was shown at the Chicago Film Festival and released, alongside the teen drama Tex, for two weeks in one Los Angeles cinema. This was followed by Burton's first live-action production, Hansel and Gretel, a Japanese-themed adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale for the Disney Channel, which climaxes in a kung fu fight between Hansel and Gretel and the witch. Having aired once in 1983 at 10:30 pm on Halloween and promptly shelved, prints of the film are extremely difficult to locate, fueling rumors that the project did not exist. The short would finally go on public display in 2009 at the Museum of Modern Art, and again in 2011 as part of the Tim Burton art exhibit at LACMA.[9][10] It was again shown at the Seoul Museum of Art in 2012.[11] Burton's next live-action short film, Frankenweenie, was released in 1984. It tells the story of a young boy who tries to revive his dog after it is run over by a car. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Barret Oliver, Shelley Duvall (with whom he would work again in 1986, directing an episode of her television series Faerie Tale Theatre), and Daniel Stern. After Frankenweenie was completed, Disney fired Burton, under the pretext of him spending the company's resources on a film that would be too dark and scary for children to see.[12] Actor Paul Reubens saw Frankenweenie and chose Burton to direct the cinematic spin-off of his popular character Pee-wee Herman, stating on the audio commentary of 2000 DVD release of Pee-wee's Big Adventure that as soon as the short began, he was sold on Burton's style. Pee-wee Herman gained mainstream popularity with a successful stage show at The Groundlings and the Roxy which was later turned into an HBO special. The film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, was made on a budget of $8 million and grossed more than $40 million at the North American box office. Burton, a fan of the eccentric musical group Oingo Boingo, asked songwriter Danny Elfman to provide the music for the film. Since then, Elfman has scored every film that Tim Burton has directed, except for Ed Wood,[13] Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. After directing episodes for the revitalized version of '50s/'60s anthology horror series Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre, Burton directed his next big project: Beetlejuice (1988), a supernatural comedy horror about a young couple forced to cope with life after death and the family of pretentious yuppies who invade their treasured New England home. Their teenage daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder), has an obsession with death which allows her to see the deceased couple. Starring Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, and featuring Michael Keaton as the obnoxious bio-exorcist Beetlejuice, the film grossed $80 million on a relatively low budget and won an Academy Award for Best Makeup. It would be converted into a cartoon of the same name, with Burton playing a role as executive producer, that ran on ABC and later Fox. Burton's ability to produce hits with low budgets impressed studio executives, and he received his first big budget film, Batman. The production was plagued with problems. Burton repeatedly clashed with the film's producers, Jon Peters and Peter Guber, but the most notable debacle involved casting. For the title role, Burton chose to cast Michael Keaton as Batman following their previous collaboration in Beetlejuice, despite Keaton's average physique, inexperience with action films, and reputation as a comic actor. Although Burton won in the end, the furor over the casting provoked enormous fan animosity, to the extent that Warner Brothers' share price slumped.[citation needed] Burton had considered it ridiculous to cast a "bulked-up" ultra-masculine man as Batman, insisting that Batman should be an ordinary man who dressed up in an elaborate bat costume to frighten criminals. Burton cast Jack Nicholson as The Joker (Tim Curry being his second choice) in a move that helped assuage fans' fears, as well as attracting older audiences not as interested in a superhero film. When the film opened in June 1989, it was backed by the biggest marketing and merchandising campaign in film history at the time, and became one of the biggest box office hits of all time, grossing over $250 million in the U.S. and $400 million worldwide (numbers not adjusted for inflation) and earning critical acclaim for the performances of both Keaton and Nicholson, as well as the film's production aspects, which won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction. The success of the film helped establish Burton as a profitable director, and it proved to be a huge influence on future superhero films, which eschewed the bright, all-American heroism of Richard Donner's Superman for a grimmer, more realistic look and characters with more psychological depth. It also became a major inspiration for the successful 1990s cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, as the darkness of Burton's film and its sequel allowed for a darker Batman on television. 1990s In 1990, Burton co-wrote (with Caroline Thompson) and directed Edward Scissorhands, re-uniting with Winona Ryder from Beetlejuice. His friend Johnny Depp, a teen idol at the end of the 1980s due primarily to his work on the hit TV series 21 Jump Street, was cast in the title role of Edward, who was the creation of an eccentric and old-fashioned inventor (played by Vincent Price in one of his last screen appearances). Edward looked human, but was left with scissors in the place of hands due to the untimely death of his creator. Set in suburbia (and shot in Land o' Lakes, Florida), the film is largely seen as Burton's autobiography of his childhood in Burbank. Burton's idea[15] for the character of Edward Scissorhands came from a drawing he created in high school. Depp wrote a similar comment in the foreword to Mark Salisbury's book, Burton on Burton, regarding his first meeting with Burton over the casting of the film. Edward Scissorhands is considered one of Burton's best movies by some critics.[16] Burton has stated that this is his most personal and meaningful film because it's a representation of him not being able to communicate effectively with others as a teenager. After the success of Batman, Burton agreed to direct the sequel for Warner Bros. on the condition that he would be granted total control. The result was Batman Returns, which featured Michael Keaton returning as Batman, and a new triad of villains: Danny DeVito (as the Penguin), Michelle Pfeiffer (as Catwoman) and Christopher Walken (as Max Shreck, an evil corporate tycoon and original character created for the film). Darker and considerably more personal than its predecessor, concerns were raised that the film was too scary for children. Audiences were more uncomfortable at the film's overt sexuality, personified by the sleek, fetish-inspired styling of Catwoman's costume. Burton made many changes to the Penguin which would subsequently be applied to the character in both comics and television. While in the comics, he was an ordinary man, Burton created a freak of nature resembling a penguin with webbed, flipper-like fingers, a hooked, beak-like nose, and a penguin-like body (resulting in a rotund, obese man). Released in 1992, Batman Returns grossed $282.8 million worldwide, making it a financial success, though not to the extent of its predecessor. Due to schedule constraints on Batman Returns, Burton produced, but did not direct, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) for Disney, originally meant to be a children's book in rhyme. The film was directed by Henry Selick and written by Caroline Thompson, based on Burton's original story, world, and characters. The film received positive reviews for the stop motion animation, musical score, and original storyline. It was a box office success, grossing $50 million. Because of the nature of the film, it was not produced under Disney's name, but rather Disney owned Touchstone Pictures. Disney wanted the protagonist to have eyes,[17] but the final iteration did not. Over 100 people worked on this motion picture just to create the characters, and it took three years of work to produce the film.[17] Burton collaborated with Selick again for James and the Giant Peach (1996), which Burton co-produced. In 1994, Burton and frequent co-producer Denise Di Novi produced the 1994 fantasy-comedy Cabin Boy, starring comedian Chris Elliott and directed/written by Adam Resnick. Burton was originally supposed to direct the film after seeing Elliott perform on Get a Life, but he handed the directing responsibility to Resnick once he was offered Ed Wood. Burton's next film, Ed Wood (1994), was of a much smaller scale, depicting the life of infamous director Ed Wood. Starring Johnny Depp in the title role, the film is an homage to the low-budget science fiction and horror films of Burton's childhood and handles its comical protagonist and his motley band of collaborators with surprising fondness and sensitivity. Owing to creative squabbles during the making of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Danny Elfman declined to score Ed Wood, and the assignment went to Howard Shore. While a commercial failure at the time of its release, Ed Wood was well received by critics. Martin Landau received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi, and the film received the Academy Award for Best Makeup. Despite Burton's intention to still lead the Batman franchise, Warner Bros. considered Batman Returns too dark and unsafe for children. To attract the young audience, it was decided that Joel Schumacher, who had directed films like The Client, would lead the third film, while Burton would only produce it in conjunction with Peter MacGregor-Scott. Following this change and the changes made by the new director, Michael Keaton resigned from the lead role and was replaced by Val Kilmer. Filming for Batman Forever began in late 1994 with new actors: Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Nicole Kidman as Dr. Chase Meridian, Chris O'Donnell as Dick Grayson/Robin and Jim Carrey as Edward Nygma/The Riddler; the only two actors who returned after Batman Returns were Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon and Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth. The film, a combination of the darkness that characterized the saga and colors and neon signs proposed by Schumacher, was a huge box office success, earning $336 million. Warner Bros. demanded that Schumacher delete some scenes so the film did not have the same tone as its predecessor, Batman Returns (later they were added as deleted scenes on the 2005 DVD release). In 1996, Burton and Selick reunited for the musical fantasy James and the Giant Peach, based on the book by Roald Dahl which contains magical elements and references to drugs and alcohol.[18] The film, a combination of live action and stop motion footage, starred Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, David Thewlis, Simon Callow and Jane Leeves among others, with Burton producing and Selick directing. The film was mostly praised by critics and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score (by Randy Newman). Elfman and Burton reunited for Mars Attacks! (1996). Based on a popular science-fiction trading card series, the film was a hybrid of 1950s science fiction and 1970s all-star disaster films. Coincidence made it an inadvertent spoof of the blockbuster Independence Day, which had been released five months earlier. The film boasted an all-star cast, including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Pierce Brosnan, Michael J. Fox, Sarah Jessica Parker, Natalie Portman, Lukas Haas, Martin Short, Rod Steiger, Christina Applegate, and Jack Black. Sleepy Hollow, released in late 1999, had a supernatural setting and starred Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, a detective with an interest in forensic science rather than the schoolteacher of Washington Irving's original tale. With Sleepy Hollow, Burton paid homage to the horror films of the English company Hammer Films. Christopher Lee, one of Hammer's stars, was given a cameo role. A host of Burton regulars appeared in supporting roles (Michael Gough, Jeffrey Jones, and Christopher Walken, among others), and Christina Ricci was cast as Katrina van Tassel. A well-regarded supporting cast was headed by Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Richard Griffiths and Ian McDiarmid. Mostly well received by critics, and with a special mention to Elfman's gothic score, the film won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction, as well as two BAFTAs for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. A box office success, Sleepy Hollow was also a turning point for Burton. Along with change in his personal life (separation from actress Lisa Marie), Burton changed radically in style for his next project, leaving the haunted forests and colorful outcasts behind to go on to directing Planet of the Apes which, as Burton had repeatedly noted, was "not a remake" of the earlier film. 2000s Burton (right) and Pedro Almodóvar at the première of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Madrid, in 2007 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Roald Dahl. Starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka, Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket, and Deep Roy as the Oompa-Loompas, the film generally took a more faithful approach to the source material than the 1971 adaptation, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, although some liberties were taken, such as adding Wonka's issue with his father (played by Christopher Lee). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. The film made over $207 million domestically. Filming proved difficult as Burton, Depp, and Danny Elfman had to work on this and Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) at the same time, which was Burton's first full-length stop motion film as a director, featuring the voices of Johnny Depp as Victor and Helena Bonham Carter as Emily . Burton directed his first music video, "Bones", in 2006. "Bones" is the sixth overall single by American indie rock band The Killers and the second released from their second studio album, Sam's Town. Starring in this video were actors Michael Steger and Devon Aoki. Burton went to direct a second music video for The Killers, "Here with Me", starring Winona Ryder, released in 2012.[19] The DreamWorks/Warner Bros. production Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, based on the 1979 Broadway musical, was released on December 21, 2007. Burton's work on Sweeney Todd won the National Board of Review Award for Best Director,[20] received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director,[21] and won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction. The film blends explicit gore and Broadway tunes, and was well received by critics. Johnny Depp's performance as Sweeney Todd was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2005, filmmaker Shane Acker released his short film 9, a story about a sentient rag doll living in a post-apocalyptic world who tries to stop machines from destroying the rest of his eight fellow rag dolls. The film won numerous awards and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. After seeing the short film, Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov, director of Wanted, showed interest in producing a feature-length adaptation of the film. Directed by Acker, the full-length film was produced by Burton, written by Acker (story) and Pamela Pettler (screenplay, co-writer of Corpse Bride), and featured the voice work of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, and Crispin Glover, among others. 2010s Burton speaking about 9 at Comic-Con, 2009 Tim Burton appeared at the 2009 Comic-Con in San Diego, California, to promote both 9 and Alice in Wonderland; the latter won two Academy Awards, for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. In Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland, the story is set 13 years after the original Lewis Carroll tales. Mia Wasikowska was cast as Alice. The original start date for filming was May 2008.[22] Torpoint and Plymouth were the locations used for filming from September 1 – October 14, and the film remains set in the Victorian era. During this time, filming took place in Antony House in Torpoint.[23] 250 local extras were chosen in early August.[24][25] Other production work took place in London.[26] The film was originally to be released in 2009, but was pushed to March 5, 2010.[27] The film starred Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter; Matt Lucas as both Tweedledee and Tweedledum; Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen; Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat; Anne Hathaway as the White Queen; Alan Rickman as Absolem the Caterpillar; Michael Sheen as McTwisp the White Rabbit; and Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts, with his face and voice added onto a CGI body. Burton produced the film's sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016).[28] Dark Shadows once again saw the collaboration of Burton with actors Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, composer Danny Elfman, and costume designer Colleen Atwood. The film was released on May 11, 2012, and received mixed reviews from critics. Burton co-produced Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter with Timur Bekmambetov, who also served as director (they previously worked together in 9). The film, released on June 22, 2012, was based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, who wrote the film's screenplay and also authored Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. The film starred Benjamin Walker as Abraham Lincoln, Anthony Mackie as William H. Johnson, Joseph Mawle as Lincoln's father Thomas, Robin McLeavy as Lincoln's mother, Nancy, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lincoln's love interest (and later wife), Mary Ann Todd. The film received mixed reviews.[29][30] He then remade his 1984 short film Frankenweenie as a feature-length stop motion film, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.[31] Burton has said, "The film is based on a memory that I had when I was growing up and with my relationship with a dog that I had."[32] The film was released on October 5, 2012, and met with positive reviews.[33] Burton directed the 2014 biographical drama film Big Eyes about American artist Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), whose work was fraudulently claimed in the 1950s and 1960s by her then-husband, Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz), and their heated divorce trial after Margaret accused Walter of stealing credit for her paintings. The script was written by the screenwriters behind Burton's Ed Wood, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia, in mid-2013. The film was distributed by The Weinstein Company and released in U.S. theaters on December 25, 2014. It received generally positive reviews from critics.[34][35] In September 2016, an adaptation of Ransom Riggs's novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, directed by Burton, was released, starring Asa Butterfield and Eva Green.[36] Burton also directed a live-action adaptation of Dumbo, released in 2019, with Colin Farrell, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, and Michael Keaton starring. Unrealized projects Further information: Tim Burton's unrealized projects After Kevin Smith had been hired to write a new Superman film, he suggested Burton to direct.[37] Burton came on and Warner Bros. set a theatrical release date for the summer of 1998, the 60th anniversary of the character's debut in Action Comics.[38] Nicolas Cage was signed on to play Superman, Burton hired Wesley Strick to rewrite Smith's script, and the film entered pre-production in June 1997. For budgetary reasons, Warner Bros. ordered another rewrite from Dan Gilroy, delayed the film, and ultimately put it on hold in April 1998. Burton then left to direct Sleepy Hollow.[38] Burton has depicted the experience as a difficult one, citing differences with producer Jon Peters and the studio, stating, "I basically wasted a year. A year is a long time to be working with somebody that you don't really want to be working with."[39] In 2001, The Walt Disney Company began to consider producing a sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas, but rather than using stop motion, Disney wanted to use computer animation.[40] Burton convinced Disney to drop the idea. "I was always very protective of ['Nightmare'], not to do sequels or things of that kind," Burton explained. "You know, 'Jack visits Thanksgiving world' or other kinds of things, just because I felt the movie had a purity to it and the people that like it... Because it's a mass-market kind of thing, it was important to kind of keep that purity of it."[41] Regardless, in 2009, Henry Selick stated that he could make a sequel to Nightmare if he and Burton could create a good story for it.[42] In 2012, Shane Acker confirmed that Burton would work with Valve to create his next animated feature film, Deep. Like 9, the film would take place in a post-apocalyptic world (although set in a different universe). Deep would be another darker animated film, as Shane Acker has expressed his interest in creating more PG-13 animated films.[43] Since then, there have been no further mentions of Deep, with Acker focusing on another project announced in 2013 (Beasts of Burden).[44][45] On January 19, 2010, it was announced that after Dark Shadows, Burton's next project would be Maleficent, a Wicked-like film that showed the origin and the past of Sleeping Beauty's antagonist Maleficent. In an interview with Fandango published February 23, 2010, however, Burton denied he was directing any upcoming Sleeping Beauty film.[46] However, on November 23, 2010, in an interview with MTV, Burton confirmed that he was indeed putting together a script for Maleficent.[47] It was announced by The Hollywood Reporter on May 16, 2011, that Burton was no longer attached to Maleficent.[48] It was reported that Burton would direct a 3D stop motion animation adaptation of The Addams Family, which was confirmed by Christopher Meledandri,[49] but the project was scrapped on July 17, 2013.[50] On July 19, 2010, Burton was announced as the director of the upcoming film adaptation of Monsterpocalypse.[51] In 2011, it was reported that Burton was working on a live-action adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame starring Josh Brolin, who would also be co-producing. The project did not move forward.[52][53] In July 2012, following the release of both Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, it was announced that screenwriter and novelist Seth Grahame-Smith was working alongside Burton on a potential Beetlejuice sequel. Actor Michael Keaton has also expressed interest in reprising his role as the title character along with Winona Ryder.[54][55] In October 2017, Deadline Hollywood reported that Mike Vukadinovich was hired to write a script in time for the film's 30th anniversary.[56] In April 2019, Warner Bros. stated the sequel had been shelved.[57] Frequent collaborators Main article: List of frequent Tim Burton collaborators Personal life Burton was married to Lena Gieseke, a German-born artist. Their marriage ended in 1991 after four years.[58] He went on to live with model and actress Lisa Marie; she acted in the films he made during their relationship from 1992 to 2001, most notably in Sleepy Hollow, Ed Wood, and Mars Attacks!. Burton developed a romantic relationship with English actress Helena Bonham Carter, whom he met while filming Planet of the Apes. Marie responded in 2005 by holding an auction of personal belongings that Burton had left behind, much to his dismay.[59] Burton and Bonham Carter have two children: a son, William Raymond, named after his and Bonham Carter's fathers, born in 2003; and a daughter, Nell, born in 2007.[60] Bonham Carter's representative said in December 2014 that she and Burton had broken up amicably earlier that year.[61] It is unclear whether or not they were married; Bonham Carter has used the word divorce when discussing the end of their relationship[62] while other news outlets state that they never married.[61] On March 15, 2010, Burton received the insignia of Chevalier of Arts and Letters from then-Minister of Culture Frédéric Mitterrand.[63] The same year, Burton was the President of the Jury for the 63rd annual Cannes Film Festival, held from May 12 to 24 in Cannes, France.[64] Exhibitions From November 22, 2009, to April 26, 2010, Burton had a retrospective at the MoMA in New York with over 700 "drawings, paintings, photographs, storyboards, moving-image works, puppets, maquettes, costumes and cinematic ephemera", including many from the filmmaker's personal collection.[65] From MoMA, the "Tim Burton" exhibition traveled directly to Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne. Running from June 24 to October 10, 2010, the ACMI exhibition incorporated additional material from Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which was released in March 2010.[66] "The Art of Tim Burton" was exhibited at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from May 29 to October 31, 2011, in the Museum's Resnick Pavilion.[67] LACMA also featured six films of Tim Burton's idol, Vincent Price.[68] "Tim Burton, the exhibition/Tim Burton, l'exposition" was exhibited at the Cinémathèque Française from March 7 to August 5, 2012, in Paris, France.[69] All of Tim Burton's movies were shown during the exhibition. "Tim Burton at Seoul Museum of Art" was exhibited as a promotion of Hyundai Card at Seoul Museum of Art from December 12, 2012, to April 15, 2013, in Seoul, South Korea.[70] This exhibition featured 862 of Burton's works including drawings, paintings, short films, sculptures, music, and costumes that have been used in the making of his feature-length movies. The exhibition was divided into three parts: the first part, "Surviving Burbank", covered his younger years, from 1958 to 1976. The second, "Beautifying Burbank", covers 1977 to 1984, including his time with CalArts and Walt Disney. The last segment, "Beyond Burbank", covers 1985 onward.[71] "Tim Burton and His World" was exhibited at the Stone Bell House from March 3 to August 8, 2014, in Prague, Czech Republic.[72] The exhibition later premiered at the Museu da Imagem e do Som in São Paulo, Brazil, on February 4, 2016, and lasted until June 5.[73] The exhibition was later held in Artis Tree in Taikoo Place, Hong Kong, from November 5, 2016, to January 23, 2017.[74] The exhibition returned to Brazil from May 28 to August 11, 2019, being held at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in Brasília.[75] Burton's first exhibition in the United States in nearly a decade, Lost Vegas: Tim Burton, opened in October 2019 at The Neon Museum in Las Vegas.[76] Filmography See also: Tim Burton filmography and Tim Burton's unrealized projects Directed features Year     Title     Distributor 1985     Pee-wee's Big Adventure     Warner Bros. 1988     Beetlejuice 1989     Batman 1990     Edward Scissorhands     20th Century Fox 1992     Batman Returns     Warner Bros. 1994     Ed Wood     Touchstone Pictures 1996     Mars Attacks!     Warner Bros. 1999     Sleepy Hollow     Paramount Pictures 2001     Planet of the Apes     20th Century Fox 2003     Big Fish     Sony Pictures Releasing 2005     Charlie and the Chocolate Factory     Warner Bros. Pictures Corpse Bride 2007     Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2010     Alice in Wonderland     Walt Disney Pictures 2012     Dark Shadows     Warner Bros. Pictures Frankenweenie     Walt Disney Pictures 2014     Big Eyes     The Weinstein Company 2016     Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children     20th Century Fox 2019     Dumbo     Walt Disney Pictures Books     Burton on Burton, edited by Mark Salisbury (1995, revised editions 2000, 2006)     The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories (1997)     The Art of Tim Burton, written by Leah Gallo (2009)     The Napkin Art of Tim Burton: Things You Think About in a Bar, edited by Holly Kempf and Leah Gallo (2015)" (wikipedia.org) "Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. In the evening before All Saints' Day (1 November), children in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "Trick or treat". The "treat" is usually some form of candy, although in some cultures money is given instead. The "trick" refers to a threat, usually idle, to perform mischief on the homeowner(s) or their property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating usually occurs on the evening of October 31. Some homeowners signal that they are willing to hand out treats by putting up Halloween decorations outside their doors; others simply leave treats available on their porches for the children to take freely. Houses may also leave their porch light on as a universal indicator that they have candy. In Scotland and other parts of Britain and Ireland, the tradition of guising, going house to house at Halloween and putting on a small performance to be rewarded with food or treats, goes back at least as far as the 16th century, as does the tradition of people wearing costumes at Halloween. There are many accounts from 19th-century Scotland and Ireland of people going house to house in costume at Halloween, reciting verses in exchange for food, and sometimes warning of misfortune if they were not welcomed.[1][2] While going house to house in costume has long been popular among the Scots and Irish, it is only in the 2000s that saying "Trick or treat" has become common in Scotland and Ireland.[3] Prior to this, children in Ireland would commonly say "Help the Halloween Party" at the doors of homeowners.[3] In North America, trick-or-treating has been a Halloween tradition since the 1920s. The earliest known occurrence there of the Scottish Halloween custom of "guising" – children going from house to house for food or money while disguised in costume[2] – is from 1911, when children were recorded as having done this in Ontario, Canada.[4] The activity is prevalent in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, and northwestern and central Mexico. In the last, this practice is called calaverita (Spanish diminutive for calavera, "skull" in English), and instead of "Trick or treat", the children ask, "¿Me da mi calaverita?" ("Can you give me my little skull?"), where a calaverita is a small skull made of sugar or chocolate.... History Ancient precursors Traditions similar to the modern custom of trick-or-treating extend all the way back to classical antiquity, although it is extremely unlikely that any of them are directly related to the modern custom. The ancient Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis records in his book The Deipnosophists that, in ancient times, the Greek island of Rhodes had a custom in which children would go from door-to-door dressed as swallows, singing a song, which demanded the owners of the house to give them food and threatened to cause mischief if the owners of the house refused.[5][6][7] This tradition was claimed to have been started by the Rhodian lawgiver Cleobulus.[8] Origins Since the Middle Ages, a tradition of mumming on a certain holiday has existed in parts of Britain and Ireland. It involved going door-to-door in costume, performing short scenes or parts of plays in exchange for food or drink. The custom of trick-or-treating on Halloween may come from the belief that supernatural beings, or the souls of the dead, roamed the earth at this time and needed to be appeased. It may otherwise have originated in a Celtic festival, held on 31 October–1 November, to mark the beginning of winter. It was Samhain in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany. The festival is believed to have pre-Christian roots. In the 9th century, the Catholic Church made 1 November All Saints' Day. Among Celtic-speaking peoples, it was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies (the Aos Sí), and the souls of the dead, came into our world and were appeased with offerings of food and drink. Similar beliefs and customs were found in other parts of Europe. It is suggested that trick-or-treating evolved from a tradition whereby people impersonated the spirits, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf. S. V. Peddle suggests they "personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune".[9] Impersonating these spirits or souls was also believed to protect oneself from them.[10] "A soul-cake, a soul-cake, have mercy on all Christian souls for a soul-cake." — a popular English souling rhyme[11] At least as far back as the 15th century, among Christians, there had been a custom of sharing soul-cakes at Allhallowtide (October 31 through November 2).[12][13] People would visit houses and take soul-cakes, either as representatives of the dead, or in return for praying for their souls.[14] Later, people went "from parish to parish at Halloween, begging soul-cakes by singing under the windows some such verse as this: 'Soul, souls, for a soul-cake; Pray you good mistress, a soul-cake!'"[15] They typically asked for "mercy on all Christian souls for a soul-cake".[16] It was known as 'Souling' and was recorded in parts of Britain, Flanders, southern Germany, and Austria.[17] Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas".[18] The wearing of costumes, or "guising", at Hallowmas, had been recorded in Scotland in the 16th century[19] and was later recorded in other parts of Britain and Ireland.[20] There are many references to mumming, guising or souling at Halloween in Britain and Ireland during the late 18th century and the 19th century. In parts of southern Ireland, a man dressed as a Láir Bhán (white mare) led youths house to house reciting verses—some of which had pagan overtones—in exchange for food. If the household donated food it could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla', but if they refused to do so, it would bring misfortune.[21] In Scotland, youths went house to house in white with masked, painted or blackened faces, reciting rhymes and often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.[20][22][23] In parts of Wales, peasant men went house to house dressed as fearsome beings called gwrachod, or presenting themselves as the cenhadon y meirw (representatives of the dead).[20] In western England, mostly in the counties bordering Wales, souling was common.[13] According to one 19th century English writer "parties of children, dressed up in fantastic costume […] went round to the farm houses and cottages, singing a song, and begging for cakes (spoken of as "soal-cakes"), apples, money, or anything that the goodwives would give them".[24] Girl in a Halloween costume in 1928 in Ontario, Canada, the same province where the Scottish Halloween custom of "guising" is first recorded in North America A contemporary account of guising at Halloween in Scotland is recorded in 1895, where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money.[25] The earliest known occurrence of the practice of guising at Halloween in North America is from 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada reported on children going "guising" around the neighborhood.[4] American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of the holiday in the US; The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), and references souling in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America"; "The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Burn's poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used. In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe'en is out of fashion now."[26] Kelley lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, a town with 4,500 Irish immigrants, 1,900 English immigrants, and 700 Scottish immigrants in 1920.[27] In er book, Kelley touches on customs that arrived from across the Atlantic; "Americans have fostered them, and are making this an occasion something like what it must have been in its best days overseas. All Hallowe'en customs in the United States are borrowed directly or adapted from those of other countries".[28] While the first reference to "guising" in North America occurs in 1911, another reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.[29] The earliest known use in print of the term "trick or treat" appears in 1927, from Blackie, Alberta:     Hallowe’en provided an opportunity for real strenuous fun. No real damage was done except to the temper of some who had to hunt for wagon wheels, gates, wagons, barrels, etc., much of which decorated the front street. The youthful tormentors were at back door and front demanding edible plunder by the word “trick or treat” to which the inmates gladly responded and sent the robbers away rejoicing.[30] The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the start of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but do not depict trick-or-treating.[31] The editor of a collection of over 3,000 vintage Halloween postcards writes, "There are cards which mention the custom [of trick-or-treating] or show children in costumes at the doors, but as far as we can tell they were printed later than the 1920s and more than likely even the 1930s. Tricksters of various sorts are shown on the early postcards, but not the means of appeasing them".[32] Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the first U.S. appearance of the term in 1932,[33] and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.[34] Behavior similar to trick-or-treating was more commonly associated with Thanksgiving from 1870 (shortly after that holiday's formalization) until the 1930s. In New York City, a Thanksgiving ritual known as Ragamuffin Day involved children dressing up as beggars and asking for treats, which later evolved into dressing up in more diverse costumes.[35][36] Increasing hostility toward the practice in the 1930s eventually led to the begging aspects being dropped, and by the 1950s, the tradition as a whole had ceased. Increased popularity Almost all pre-1940 uses of the term "trick-or-treat" are from the United States and Canada. Trick-or-treating spread throughout the United States, stalled only by World War II sugar rationing that began in April, 1942 and lasted until June, 1947.[37][38] Magazine advertisement in 1962 Early national attention to trick-or-treating was given in October, 1947 issues of the children's magazines Jack and Jill and Children's Activities,[39] and by Halloween episodes of the network radio programs The Baby Snooks Show in 1946 and The Jack Benny Show and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in 1948.[40] Trick-or-treating was depicted in the Peanuts comic strip in 1951.[41] The custom had become firmly established in popular culture by 1952, when Walt Disney portrayed it in the cartoon Trick or Treat, and Ozzie and Harriet were besieged by trick-or-treaters on an episode of their television show.[42] In 1953 UNICEF first conducted a national campaign for children to raise funds for the charity while trick-or-treating.[43] Although some popular histories of Halloween have characterized trick-or-treating as an adult invention to re-channel Halloween activities away from Mischief Night vandalism, there are very few records supporting this. Des Moines, Iowa is the only area known to have a record of trick-or-treating being used to deter crime.[44] Elsewhere, adults, as reported in newspapers from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, typically saw it as a form of extortion, with reactions ranging from bemused indulgence to anger.[45] Likewise, as portrayed on radio shows, children would have to explain what trick-or-treating was to puzzled adults, and not the other way around. Sometimes even the children protested: for Halloween 1948, members of the Madison Square Boys Club in New York City carried a parade banner that read "American Boys Don't Beg."[46] The National Confectioners Association reported in 2005 that 80 percent of adults in the United States planned to give out confectionery to trick-or-treaters,[47] and that 93 percent of children, teenagers, and young adults planned to go trick-or-treating or participating in other Halloween activities.[48] Phrase introduction to the UK and Ireland Despite the concept of trick-or-treating originating in Britain and Ireland in the form of souling and guising, the use of the term "trick or treat" at the doors of homeowners was not common until the 1980s, with its popularisation in part through the release of the film E.T.[49] Guising requires those going door-to-door to perform a song or poem without any jocular threat,[50] and according to one BBC journalist, in the 1980s, "trick or treat" was still often viewed as an exotic and not particularly welcome import, with the BBC referring to it as "the Japanese knotweed of festivals" and "making demands with menaces".[51] In Ireland before the phrase "trick or treat" became common in the 2000s, children would say "Help the Halloween Party".[3] Very often, the phrase "trick or treat" is simply said and the revellers are given sweets, with the choice of a trick or a treat having been discarded. Etiquette Two children trick-or-treating on Halloween in Arkansas, United States Trick-or-treating typically begins at dusk which can vary according to region on October 31. It can range between 5:30PM–9:00PM. Some municipalities specify times that can be found on city/town sites. Some municipalities choose other dates.[52] Homeowners wishing to participate sometimes decorate their homes with artificial spider webs, plastic skeletons and jack-o-lanterns. While not every residence may be decorated for the holiday, those participating in the handing out of candy will opt to leave a porch light on to signify that the opportunity for candy is available. Some homeowners may go as far as asking trick-or-treaters for a "trick" before providing them with candy, while others simply leave the candy in bowls on the porch. The nonprofit Food Allergy Research & Education says on its website that in 2014 it started the practice of teal pumpkins as decorations to indicate that a house is giving out items other than food. This inspired Alicia Plumer, the mother of an autistic son, to start the blue bucket movement in 2018. Plumer's son carried a blue bucket, and National Autism Association president Wendy Fournier encouraged the use of blue buckets by other autistic children, to indicate that they might not have the abilities of other children but still deserved to be included.[53] Local variants Guising "Guising" redirects here. For other uses, see Guising (disambiguation). Halloween shop in Derry, Northern Ireland. Halloween masks are called ‘false faces’ in Ireland.[54] In Scotland and Ireland, "guising" – children going from door to door in disguise – is traditional, and a gift in the form of food, coins or "apples or nuts for the Halloween party" (in more recent times chocolate) is given out to the children.[3][55][56] The tradition is called "guising" because of the disguises or costumes worn by the children.[2][57] In the West Mid Scots dialect, guising is known as "galoshans".[58] Halloween masks are referred to as ‘false faces’ in Ireland and Scotland.[54] While guising has been recorded in Scotland in the 16th century, a more contemporary record of guising at Halloween in Scotland is in 1895, where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit, and money.[25] Guising also involved going to wealthy homes, and in the 1920s, boys went guising at Halloween up to the affluent Thorntonhall, South Lanarkshire.[59] An account of guising in the 1950s in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, records a child receiving 12 shillings and sixpence, having knocked on doors throughout the neighbourhood and performed.[50] In Ireland, kids in their masks and costumes would commonly say "Help the Halloween Party" at the doors of homeowners.[3][60] Growing up in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 1960s, Michael Bradley recalls kids asking, “Any nuts or apples?”.[61] There is a significant difference from the way the practice has developed in North America with the jocular threat. In Scotland and Ireland, the children are only supposed to receive treats if they perform a party trick for the households they go to. This normally takes the form of singing a song or reciting a joke or a funny poem which the child has memorised before setting out.[50] Occasionally a more talented child may do card tricks, play the mouth organ, or something even more impressive, but most children will earn plenty of treats even with something very simple. Often they won't even need to perform.[55] While going from door to door in disguise has remained popular among Scots and Irish at Halloween, the North American saying "trick-or-treat" has become common in the 2000s.[3][60] Trunk-or-treat Trunk-or-treating event held at St. John Lutheran Church & Early Learning Center in Darien, Illinois Some organizations around the United States and Canada sponsor a "trunk-or-treat" on Halloween night (or on occasion, a day immediately preceding Halloween or a few days from it on a weekend, depending on what is convenient), where trick-or-treating is done from parked car to parked car in a local parking lot, often at a school or church. This annual event began in the mid-1990s as a "Fall Festival" for an alternative to trick-or-treating, but became "trunk-or-treat" two decades later. The activity involves the open trunk of a car, displaying candy, and often games and decorations. Some parents regard trunk-or-treating as a safer alternative to trick-or-treating;[62] while other parents see it as an easier alternative to walking the neighborhood with their children. Some have called for more city or community group-sponsored trunk-or-treats, so they can be more inclusive.[63] These have become increasingly popular in recent years.[64] Other Children of the St. Louis, Missouri area are expected to perform a joke, usually a simple Halloween-themed pun or riddle, before receiving any candy; this "trick" earns the "treat".[65] Children in Des Moines, Iowa also tell jokes or otherwise perform before receiving their treat. In most areas where trick-or-treating is practiced, it is strictly meant for children. In fact, there are a diversity of opinions regarding when to end trick or treating, the most restrictive of which is age 12, the least restrictive at any age, and a common rule of thumb being "if you are old enough to drive a car you are too old to beg strangers for candy".[66] It is generally expected that a teenager will transition into more mature expressions of celebrating the holiday, such as fancy dress, games, and diversions like bonfires and bobbing for apples, and sweets like caramel apples, and teenagers will often attend school or community events with a Halloween theme where there will be dancing and music.[67] Dressing up is common at all ages, adults will often dress up to accompany their children, and young adults may dress up to go out and ask for gifts for a charity. In some parts of Canada, children sometimes say "Halloween apples" instead of "trick or treat". This probably originated when the toffee apple was a popular type of candy. Apple-giving in much of Canada, however, has been taboo since the 1960s when stories (of almost certainly questionable authenticity) appeared of razors hidden inside Halloween apples; parents began to check over their children's "loot" for safety before allowing them to eat it. In Quebec, children also go door to door on Halloween. However, in French-speaking neighbourhoods, instead of "Trick or treat", they will simply say "Halloween", though it traditionally used to be "La charité, s'il-vous-plaît" ("Charity, please").[68] In Portugal, children go from house to house in All Saints Day and All Souls Day, carrying pumpkin carved lanterns called coca,[69] asking everyone they see for Pão-por-Deus singing rhymes where they remind people why they are begging, saying "...It is for me and for you, and to give to the deceased who are dead and buried"[70] or "It is to share with your deceased"[71] If a door is not open or the children don't get anything, they end their singing saying "In this house smells like lard, here must live someone deceased". In the Azores the bread given to the children takes the shape of the top of a skull.[72] The tradition of pão-por-Deus was already recorded in the 15th century.[73] After this ritual begging, takes place the Magusto and big bonfires are lit with the "firewood of the souls". The young people play around smothering their faces with the ashes. The ritual begging for the deceased used to take place all over the year as in several regions the dead, those who were dear, were expected to arrive and take part in the major celebrations like Christmas and a plate with food or a seat at the table was always left for them.[74] In Sweden, children dress up as witches and monsters when they go trick-or-treating on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) while Danish children dress up in various attires and go trick-or-treating on Fastelavn (or the next day, Shrove Monday). In Norway, "trick-or-treat" is called "knask eller knep", which means almost the same thing, although with the word order reversed, and the practice is quite common among children, who come dressed up to people's doors asking for, mainly, candy. Many Norwegians prepare for the event by consciously buying a small stock of sweets prior to it, to come in handy should any kids come knocking on the door, which is very probable in most areas. The Easter witch tradition is done on Palm Sunday in Finland (virvonta). In parts of Flanders and some parts of the Netherlands and most areas of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, children go to houses with homemade beet lanterns or with paper lanterns (which can hold a candle or electronic light), singing songs about St. Martin on St. Martin's Day (the 11th of November), in return for treats.[75] In Northern Germany and Southern Denmark, children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating on New Year's Eve in a tradition called "Rummelpott [de]".[76] Trick or Treat for Charity UNICEF started a program in 1950 called Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF in which trick-or-treaters ask people to give money for the organization, usually instead of collecting candy. Participating trick-or-treaters say when they knock at doors "Trick-or-treat for UNICEF!"[77] This program started as an alternative to candy. The organization has long produced disposable collection boxes that state on the back what the money can be used for in developing countries. In Canada, students from the local high schools, colleges, and universities dress up to collect food donations for the local Food Banks as a form of trick-or-treating. This is sometimes called "Trick-or-Eat"." (wikipedia.org) "Halloween costumes are costumes worn on or around Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. An early reference to wearing costumes at Halloween comes from Scotland in 1585, but they may pre-date this. There are many references to the custom during the 18th and 19th centuries in the Celtic countries of Scotland, Ireland, Mann and Wales. It has been suggested that the custom comes from the Celtic festivals of Samhain and Calan Gaeaf, or from the practise of "souling" during the Christian observance of Allhallowtide. Wearing costumes and mumming has long been associated with festivals at other times of the year, such as on Christmas.[1] Halloween costumes are traditionally based on frightening supernatural or folkloric beings. However, by the 1930s costumes based on characters in mass media such as film, literature, and radio were popular. Halloween costumes have tended to be worn mainly by young people, but since the mid-20th century they have been increasingly worn by adults also.... History of Halloween costumes An early 20th-century Irish Halloween mask (a "rhymer" or a "vizor") displayed at the Museum of Country Life. The wearing of costumes at Halloween may come from the belief that supernatural beings, or the souls of the dead, roamed the earth at this time. The practice may have originated in a Celtic festival, held on 31 October–1 November, to mark the beginning of winter. It was called Samhain in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and Calan Gaeaf in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. The festival is believed to have pre-Christian roots. After the Christianization of Ireland in the 5th century, some of these customs may have been retained in the Christian observance of All Hallows' Eve in that region—which continued to be called Samhain/Calan Gaeaf—blending the traditions of their ancestors with Christian ones.[2][3] It was seen as a liminal time, when the spirits or fairies (the Aos Sí), and the souls of the dead, could more easily come into our world.[4] It was believed that the Aos Sí needed to be propitiated to ensure that the people and their livestock survived the winter. From at least the 16th century,[5] the festival included mumming and guising,[6] which involved people going house-to-house in costume (or in disguise), usually reciting verses or songs in exchange for food.[6] It may have originally been a tradition whereby people impersonated the Aos Sí, or the souls of the dead, and received offerings on their behalf. Impersonating these beings, or wearing a disguise, was also believed to protect oneself from them.[7] It is suggested that the mummers and guisers "personify the old spirits of the winter, who demanded reward in exchange for good fortune".[8] F. Marian McNeill suggests the ancient pagan festival included people wearing masks or costumes to represent the spirits, and that faces were marked (or blackened) with ashes taken from the sacred bonfire.[5] In parts of southern Ireland, a man dressed as a Láir Bhán (white mare) led youths house-to-house reciting verses—some of which had pagan overtones—in exchange for food. If the household donated food it could expect good fortune from the 'Muck Olla'; not doing so would bring misfortune.[9] In 19th century Scotland, youths went house-to-house with masked, painted or blackened faces, often threatening to do mischief if they were not welcomed.[6] In parts of Wales, men went about dressed as fearsome beings called gwrachod,[6] while in some places, young people cross-dressed.[6] Elsewhere in Europe, mumming and costumes were part of other yearly festivals. However, in the Celtic-speaking regions they were "particularly appropriate to a night upon which supernatural beings were said to be abroad and could be imitated or warded off by human wanderers".[6] It has also been suggested that the wearing of Halloween costumes developed from the custom of souling, which was practised by Christians in parts of Western Europe from at least the 15th century.[10][11] At Allhallowtide, groups of poor people would go door-to-door, collecting soul cakes – either as representatives of the dead,[12] or in return for saying prayers for them.[13] One 19th century English writer said it "used to consist of parties of children, dressed up in fantastic costume, who went round to the farm houses and cottages, singing a song, and begging for cakes (spoken of as "Soal-cakes"), apples, money, or anything that the goodwives would give them".[14] The soulers typically asked for "mercy on all Christian souls for a soul cake".[15] The practice was mentioned by Shakespeare his play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593).[16][17] Christian minister Prince Sorie Conteh wrote on the wearing of costumes: "It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints' Day, and All Hallows' Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving to the next world. In order to avoid being recognised by any soul that might be seeking such vengeance, people would don masks or costumes to disguise their identities".[18] In the Middle Ages, statues and relics of martyred saints were paraded through the streets at Allhallowtide. Some churches who could not afford these things had people dress as saints instead.[19][20] Some believers continue the practice of dressing as saints, biblical figures, and reformers in Halloween celebrations today.[21] Many Christians in continental Europe, especially in France, believed that on Halloween "the dead of the churchyards rose for one wild, hideous carnival," known as the danse macabre, which has often been depicted in church decoration.[22] An article published by Christianity Today claimed the danse macabre was enacted at village pageants and at court masques, with people "dressing up as corpses from various strata of society", and suggested this was the origin of Halloween costume parties.[23][24] People in Halloween Costumes The custom of guising at Halloween in North America is first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood.[25] In 19th century America, Halloween was often celebrated with costume parades and "licentious revelries".[26] However, efforts were made to "domesticate" the festival to conform with Victorian era morality. Halloween was made into a private rather than public holiday, celebrations involving liquor and sensuality de-emphasized, and only children were expected to celebrate the festival.[27] Early Halloween costumes emphasized the gothic nature of Halloween, and were aimed primarily at children. Costumes were also made at home, or using items (such as make-up) which could be purchased and utilized to create a costume. But in the 1930s, A.S. Fishbach, Ben Cooper, Inc., and other firms began mass-producing Halloween costumes for sale in stores as trick-or-treating became popular in North America. Halloween costumes are often designed to imitate supernatural and scary beings. Costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts,[28] skeletons, witches, goblins, trolls, devils, etc. or in more recent years such science fiction-inspired characters as aliens and superheroes. There are also costumes of pop culture figures like presidents, athletes, celebrities, or characters in film, television, literature, etc. Another popular trend is for women (and in some cases, men) to use Halloween as an excuse to wear sexy Child in a plain white mask or revealing costumes, showing off more skin than would be socially acceptable otherwise.[29] Young girls also often dress as entirely non-scary characters at Halloween, including princesses, fairies, angels, cute animals and flowers. Halloween costume parties generally take place on or around October 31, often on the Friday or Saturday prior to the holiday. Halloween parties are the 3rd most popular type of party held in Western countries, falling behind only to Super Bowl & New Year's Eve parties.[30] College students dressed up for Halloween. A couple trying Halloween face masks at a costume store in Iowa Economics of Halloween costumes [31] Researchers conducted a survey for the National Retail Federation in the United States and found that 53.3 percent of consumers planned to buy a costume for Halloween 2005, spending $38.11 on average (up $10 from the year before). They were also expected to spend $4.96 billion in 2006, up significantly from just $3.3 billion the previous year.[32] The troubled economy has caused many Americans to cut back on Halloween spending. In 2009, the National Retail Federation anticipated that American households would decrease Halloween spending by as much as 15% to $56.31.[33] In 2013, Americans spent an estimated $6.9 billion to celebrate Halloween, including a predicted $2.6 billion on costumes (with more spent on adult costumes than for children's costumes) and $330 million on pet costumes.[34][35] In 2017 it was estimated that Americans would spend $9.1 billion on Halloween merchandise with $3.4 billion of that being on spend on Halloween costumes.[36] Another survey by NRF showed that 67% of Halloween shoppers would buy Halloween costumes spending $3.2 Billion in 2019.[37] And it is estimated that the Halloween spending in 2020 could reach $8 billion Halloween costumes in the contemporary Western world sometimes depict people and things from present times and are sometimes read in terms of their political and cultural significance. Halloween costumes are sometimes denounced for cultural appropriation when they uncritically use stereotypical representations of other groups of people such as gypsies and Native Americans.[39][40] Immigration and Customs Enforcement Secretary Julie Myers was involved in a scandal when she awarded "Best Costume" at the ICE Halloween party to an 'escaped Jamaican prisoner' dressed in dreadlocks and blackface." (wikipedia.org) "Glitter is an assortment of small, reflective particles that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles reflect light at different angles, causing the surface to sparkle or shimmer. Glitter is similar to confetti, sparkles and sequins, but somewhat smaller. Since prehistoric times, glitter has been made from many different materials including stones such as malachite, and mica,[1] as well as insects[2] and glass.[3] Modern glitter is usually manufactured from the combination of aluminum and plastic which is rarely recycled leading to calls from scientists for bans on plastic glitter.... Glitter manufacturing Magnified nail polish The first production of modern plastic glitter is credited to the American machinist Henry Ruschmann, Sr., who found a way to cut sheets of plastic such as mylar into glitter in 1934.[1] During World War II, glass glitter became unavailable so Ruschmann found a market for scrap plastics, which were ground into glitter.[1][5] In 1943, he purchased Meadowbrook Farm in Bernardsville, New Jersey where he founded Meadowbrook Inventions, Inc. to produce industrial glitter.[6] Decades later he filed a patent for a mechanism for cross-cutting films as well as other related inventions.[7] Today over 20,000 varieties of glitter are manufactured in a vast number of different colors, sizes, and materials.[8] One estimate suggests 10 million pounds (4.5 million kilograms) of glitter was either purchased or produced between the years of 1989 and 2009 however the source[9] provides no evidence or reference point. Commercial glitter ranges in size from 0.002 to .25 inches (0.05 to 6.35 mm)[10] a side. First, flat multi-layered sheets are produced combining plastic, coloring, and reflective material such as aluminium, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, and bismuth oxychloride. These sheets are then cut into tiny particles of many shapes including squares, triangles, rectangles, and hexagons.[10] Ancient glitter Mica Glittering surfaces have been found to be used since prehistoric times in the arts and in cosmetics. The modern English word "glitter" comes from the Middle English word gliteren, possibly by way of the Old Norse word glitra.[11] However, as early as 30,000 years ago, mica flakes were used to give cave paintings a glittering appearance.[1] Prehistoric humans are believed to have used cosmetics,[12] made of powdered hematite, a sparkling mineral.[13] 8,000 years ago people of the Americas were using powdered , to produce a bright greyish-white glittering paint used for objects of adornment.[14] The collecting and surface mining of galena was prevalent in the Upper Mississippi Valley region by the Cahokia native peoples, for regional trade both raw and crafted into beads or other objects.[14] From 40,000 BC to 200 BC, ancient Egyptians, produced "glitter-like substances from crushed beetles"[15] as well as finely ground green malachite crystal. Researchers believe Mayan temples were sometimes painted with red, green, and grey glitter paint made from mica dust, based on infrared scans of the remnants of paint still found on the structures in present-day Guatemala.[16] Why glitter is used Glitter nail polish Iridescent fishing lures Furniture made of glitter PVC. Prior to fabrics made with modern glitter, sequins were sewn or woven on to fabric to give it a glittering appearance. Edible glitter made from gum arabic and other ingredients is even used by culinary artists.[17] Glitter is used in cosmetics to make the face and nails shiny or sparkly. Additionally, it is commonly used in arts and crafts to color, accessorise and texture items. The small, brightly colored particles often stick to clothing, skin, and furniture, and can be difficult to remove. It is also used on optically variable inks. Glitter coatings or finishes are frequently used on fishing lures to draw attention by simulating the scales of prey fish.[18] Due to its unique characteristics, glitter has also proven to be useful forensic evidence. Because of the tens of thousands of different commercial glitters, identical glitter particles can be compelling evidence that a suspect has been at a crime scene. Forensic scientist Edwin Jones has one of the largest collections of glitter consisting of over 1,000 different samples used in comparison of samples taken from crime scenes. Glitter particles are easily transferred through the air or by touch, yet cling to bodies and clothing, often unnoticed by suspects.[19] Subculture Glitter can be seen as a tool of fashion used by various subcultures, as it allows for a visible statement to be worn and seen on the body. This is because it has been theorized to be a "flickering signifier", or something that destabilizes known notions of popular culture, identity, and society.[20] Glitter is associated with "fringe cultures", which often use excessive glam and glamor such as glitter to evoke a deeper understanding between the relationships of commercialized popular culture and "high" culture, or "high-brow" art.[21] Used by glam rockers, such as David Bowie, Gary Glitter and Iggy Pop, glitter is also used as a tool to help blur gender lines. This helped to create the more extreme "glitter rock" – an even more heightened version of glam rock.[22] Glitter is also used by nail artists and make-up artists to make statements about femininity and beauty standards. The flashy, sparkling nature of glitter allows users to push standard ideas of beauty and what is and isn't considered "excessive" in terms of make-up. Glitter is usually associated with nightlife and not professionalism, but wearing it in different settings can push these boundaries.[20] Glitter is also used for glitter bombing, which is an act of protest in which activists throw glitter on people at public events.[23] Glitter bombers have frequently been motivated by, though not limited to, their targets' opposition to same-sex marriage.[24] Some legal officials argue glitter bombing is technically assault and battery. It is possible for glitter to enter the eyes or nose and cause damage to the cornea or other soft tissues potentially irritating them or leading to infection,[25] depending on the size of the glitter. Whether a prosecutor would pursue the charges depends on a number of factors." (wikipedia.org) "Various images are used traditionally to symbolize death; these rank from blunt depictions of cadavers and their parts to more allusive suggestions that time is fleeting and all men are mortals. The human skull is an obvious and frequent symbol of death, found in many cultures and religious traditions.[1] Human skeletons and sometimes non-human animal skeletons and skulls can also be used as blunt images of death; the traditional figures of the Grim Reaper – a black-hooded skeleton with a scythe – is one use of such symbolism.[2] Within the Grim Reaper itself, the skeleton represents the decayed body whereas the robe symbolizes those worn by religious people conducting funeral services.[2] The skull and crossbones motif (☠) has been used among Europeans as a symbol of both piracy and poison.[3] The skull is also important as it remains the only "recognizable" aspect of a person once they have died.[3] Decayed cadavers can also be used to depict death; in medieval Europe, they were often featured in artistic depictions of the danse macabre, or in cadaver tombs which depicted the living and decomposed body of the person entombed. Coffins also serve as blunt reminders of mortality.[4] Europeans were also seen to use coffins and cemeteries to symbolize the wealth and status of the person who has died, serving as a reminder to the living and the deceased as well.[4] Less blunt symbols of death frequently allude to the passage of time and the fragility of life, and can be described as memento mori;[5] that is, an artistic or symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death. Clocks, hourglasses, sundials, and other timepieces both call to mind that time is passing.[3] Similarly, a candle both marks the passage of time, and bears witness that it will eventually burn itself out as well as a symbol of hope of salvation.[3] These sorts of symbols were often incorporated into vanitas paintings, a variety of early still life. Certain animals such as crows, cats, owls, moths, vultures and bats are associated with death; some because they feed on carrion, others because they are nocturnal.[3] Along with death, vultures can also represent transformation and renewal.[3] Religious symbols Veve of Maman Brigitte, the loa of death in Haitian Vodou. Religious symbols of death and depictions of the afterlife will vary with the religion practiced by the people who use them. Tombs, tombstones, and other items of funeral architecture are obvious candidates for symbols of death.[3] In ancient Egypt, the gods Osiris and Ptah were typically depicted as mummies; these gods governed the Egyptian afterlife. In Christianity, the Christian cross is frequently used on graves, and is meant to call to mind the crucifixion of Jesus.[3] Some Christians also erect temporary crosses along public highways as memorials for those who died in accidents. In Buddhism, the symbol of a wheel represents the perpetual cycle of death and rebirth that happens in samsara.[6] The symbol of a grave or tomb, especially one in a picturesque or unusual location, can be used to represent death, as in Nicolas Poussin's famous painting Et in Arcadia ego. Images of life in the afterlife are also symbols of death. Here, again, the ancient Egyptians produced detailed pictorial representations of the life enjoyed by the dead. In Christian folk religion, the spirits of the dead are often depicted as winged angels or angel-like creatures, dwelling among the clouds; this imagery of the afterlife is frequently used in comic depictions of the life after death.[3] In the Islamic view of the Afterlife, death is symbolised by a black and white ram which in turn will be slain to symbolise the Death of Death. The Banshee also symbolizes the coming of death in Irish Mythology.[3] This is typically represented by an older woman who is seen sobbing to symbolize the suffering of a person before their death.[3] Colors Black is the color of mourning in many European cultures. Black clothing is typically worn at funerals to show mourning for the death of the person. In East Asia, white is similarly associated with mourning; it represented the purity and perfection of the deceased person's spirit.[7] During the Victorian era, purple and grey were considered to be mourning colors in addition to black.[8] Furthermore, in Revelation 6 in The Bible, Death is one of the four horsemen; and he rides a pale horse." (wikipedia.org) "A magician, also known as an archmage, mage, magus, magic-user, spellcaster, enchanter/enchantress, sorcerer/sorceress, warlock, witch, or wizard, is someone who uses or practices magic derived from supernatural, occult, or arcane sources.[2]: 54  Magicians are common figures in works of fantasy, such as fantasy literature and role-playing games, and enjoy a rich history in mythology, legends, fiction, and folklore. Character archetypes The Enchanter Merlin, by Howard Pyle, from The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1903) People who work magic are called by several names in fantasy works, and terminology differs widely from one fantasy world to another. While derived from real-world vocabulary, the terms: magician, mage, magus, enchanter/enchantress, sorcerer/sorceress, warlock, witch, and wizard, each have different meanings depending upon context and the story in question.[3]: 619  Archmage is used in fantasy works to indicate a powerful magician or a leader of magicians.[3]: 1027  The Love Potion by Evelyn De Morgan (1903) Enchanters typically practice a type of imbued magic that produces no permanent effects on objects or people, and are temporary, or of an indefinite duration, or which may require some item or act, to nullify or reverse. For example, this could include enchanting a weapon or tool to be more (or less) effective, enchanting a person or object to have a changed shape or appearance, creating illusions intended to deceive the observer, compelling a person to perform an action they might not normally do, or attempting to charm or seduce someone.[3]: 318  For instance, the Lady of the Green Kirtle in C. S. Lewis's The Silver Chair can transform herself into a large green serpent. She also enchants Rilian, compelling him to forget his father and Narnia. And when that enchantment is broken, she attempts further enchantments with a sweet-smelling smoke and a thrumming musical instrument to attempt to baffle him and his rescuers into forgetting them again.[4] The term sorcerer has moved from meaning a fortune-teller, or "one who alters fate", to meaning a practitioner of magic who can alter reality. They are also sometimes shown as able to conjure supernatural beings or spirits, such as in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Due to this perception of their powers, this character may be depicted as feared, or even seen as evil. In sword and sorcery works, typically the hero would be the sword-wielder, thus leaving the sorcery for his opponent. Villainous sorcerers were so crucial to pulp fantasy that the genre in which they appeared was dubbed "sword and sorcery".[3]: 885  Witch (an—often female—practitioner of witchcraft) and wicked (an adjective meaning "bad, evil, false") are both derivative terms from the word, wicca (an Old English word with varied meaning, including: soothsayer, astrologer, herbalist, poisoner, seductress, or devotee of supernatural beings or spirits). L. Frank Baum combined these terms in naming the Wicked Witch of the West, and other witches in the Land of Oz. Baum named Glinda the "Good Witch of the South" in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In The Marvelous Land of Oz, he dubbed her "Glinda the Good," and from that point forward and in subsequent books, Baum referred to her as a sorceress rather than a witch to avoid the term that was more regarded as evil.[5] In modern fiction, a witch may be depicted more neutrally, such as the female witches (comparable to the male wizards) in the Harry Potter series of books by J. K. Rowling. In medieval chivalric romance, the wizard often appears as a wise old man and acts as a mentor, with Merlin from the King Arthur stories being a prime example.[6]: 195  Wizards such as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter are also featured as mentors, and Merlin remains prominent as both an educative force and mentor in modern works of Arthuriana.[3]: 637 [7] Wizards can be cast similarly to the absent-minded professor: being foolish and prone to misconjuring. They can also be capable of great magic, both good or evil.[2]: 140–141  Even comical magicians are often capable of great feats, such as those of Miracle Max in The Princess Bride; although he is a washed-up wizard fired by the villain, he saves the dying hero.[8] Other wizards, such as Saruman from The Lord of the Rings or Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter, can appear as hostile villains.[6]: 193  Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea explored the question of how wizards learned their art, introducing to modern fantasy the role of the wizard as protagonist.[9] This theme has been further developed in modern fantasy, often leading to wizards as heroes on their own quests.[10] Such heroes may have their own mentor, a wizard as well.[3]: 637  In role-playing games Magicians in role-playing games often use names borrowed from fiction, myth and legend. They are typically delineated and named so that the game's players and game masters can know which rules apply.[3]: 385  Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson introduced the term "magic-user" in the original Dungeons & Dragons as a generic term for a practitioner of magic (in order to avoid the connotations of terms such as wizard or warlock); this lasted until the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, where it was replaced with mage (later to become wizard). The exact rules vary from game to game.[citation needed] The wizard or mage, as a character class, is distinguished by the ability to cast certain kinds of magic but being weak in combat; sub-classes are distinguished by strengths in some areas of magic and weakness in others.[11] Sorcerers are distinguished from wizards as having an innate gift with magic, as well as having mystical or magical ancestry.[12] Warlocks are distinguished from wizards as creating forbidden "pacts" with powerful creatures to harness their innate magical gifts. Appearance White-haired and white-bearded wizard with robes and hat In fantasy, a magician may be shown wearing a pointed hat, robes, and/or a cloak. In more modern stories, a magician may be dressed similarly to a stage magician, wearing a top hat and tails, with an optional cape. A magician's crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball commonly associated with clairvoyance, fortune-telling, or scrying. Wands and staves have long been used as requirements for the magician.[6]: 152  Possibly derived from wand-like implements used in fertility rituals, such as apotropaic wands, the earliest known instance of the modern magical wand was featured in the Odyssey, used by Circe to transform Odysseus's men into animals. Italian fairy tales put wands into the hands of powerful fairies by the Late Middle Ages.[17] Today, magical wands are widespread in literature and are used from Witch World to Harry Potter. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf refuses to surrender his own staff, breaking Saruman's, which strips the latter of his power. This dependency on a particular magical item is common, and necessary to limit the magician's power for the story's sake – without it, the magician's powers may be weakened or absent entirely.[18] In the Harry Potter universe, a wizard must expend much greater effort and concentration to use magic without a wand, and only a few can control magic without one; taking away a wizard's wand in battle essentially disarms them.[citation needed] Magicians normally learn spells by reading ancient tomes called grimoires, which may have magical properties of their own.[3]: 126  Sorcerers in Conan the Barbarian often gained powers from such books, which are demarcated by their strange bindings. In worlds where magic is not an innate trait, the scarcity of these strange books may be a facet of the story; in Poul Anderson's A Midsummer Tempest, Prince Rupert seeks out the books of the magician Prospero to learn magic. The same occurs in the Dungeons and Dragons-based novel series Dragonlance Chronicles, wherein Raistlin Majere seeks out the books of the sorcerer Fistandantilus. In JK Rowling's Harry Potter series, wizards already have skills of magic but they need to practise magic in Wizarding Schools in order to be able to use it properly. Some magicians, even after training, continue their education by learning more spells, inventing new ones (and new magical objects), or rediscovering ancient spells, beings, or objects. For example, Dr. Strange from the Marvel Universe continues to learn about magic even after being named Sorcerer Supreme. He often encounters creatures that haven't been seen for centuries or more. In the same universe, Dr. Doom continues to pursue magical knowledge after mastering it by combining magic with science. Fred and George Weasley from Harry Potter invent new magical items and sell them as legitimate defense items, new spells and potions can be made in the Harry Potter Universe; Severus Snape invented a variety of jinxes and hexes as well as substantial improvements in the process of making potions; Albus Dumbledore, along with Nicolas Flamel, is credited with discovering the twelve uses of dragon's blood. Limits on magic A common motif in fiction is that the ability to use magic is innate and often rare, or gained through a large amount of study and practice.[3]: 616  In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, it is mostly limited to non-humans, such as the Istari (more commonly known as wizards), or elves crafting magical items. In many writers' works, it is reserved for a select group of humans,[citation needed] such as in Katherine Kurtz's Deryni novels, JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels or Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy universe. A common limit invented by Jack Vance in his The Dying Earth series, and later popularized in role-playing games is that a wizard can only cast a specific number of spells in a day.[3]: 385  In Larry Niven's The Magic Goes Away, once an area's mana is exhausted, no one can use magic.[3]: 942  Magic may require rare and precious materials, such as rare herbs or flowers (often selected by rituals), minerals or metals such as mercury, parts of creatures such as the eye of a newt, or even fantastic ingredients like the cool of a soft breeze on a summer's day. Even if the magician lacks scruples, obtaining the materials in question may be difficult.[19] This can vary by fantasy work. Many magicians require no materials at all;[3]: 617  or those that do may require only simple and easily obtained materials. Role-playing games are more likely to require such materials for at least some spells for game balance reasons.[20][self-published source?] Use of magic in society At other times, magic and technology do develop in tandem; this is most common in the alternate history genre.[citation needed] Patricia Wrede's Regency fantasies include a Royal Society of Wizards and a technological level equivalent to the actual Regency; Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy series, Robert A. Heinlein's Magic, Incorporated, and Poul Anderson's Operation Chaos all depict modern societies with magic equivalent to twentieth-century technology. In Harry Potter, wizards have magical equivalents to non-magical inventions; sometimes they duplicate them, as with the Hogwarts Express train. In the magic-noir world of the Dresden Files, wizards generally keep a low profile, though there is no explicit prohibition against interacting openly with non-magical humanity. The protagonist of the series, Harry Dresden, openly advertises in the Yellow Pages under the heading "Wizard" and maintains a business office, though other wizards tend to resent him for practicing his craft openly. Dresden primarily uses his magic to make a living finding lost items and people, performing exorcisms, and providing protection against the supernatural.[22] "Magic, sometimes spelled magick,[1] is an ancient practice rooted in rituals, spiritual divinations, and/or cultural lineage—with an intention to invoke, manipulate, or otherwise manifest supernatural forces, beings, or entities in the natural world.[2] It is a categorical yet often ambiguous term which has been used to refer to a wide variety of beliefs and practices, frequently considered separate from both religion and science.[3] Connotations have varied from positive to negative at times throughout history,[4] Within Western culture, magic has been linked to ideas of the Other,[5] foreignness,[6] and primitivism;[7] indicating that it is "a powerful marker of cultural difference"[8] and likewise, a non-modern phenomenon.[9] During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic to be a sign of a primitive mentality and also commonly attributed it to marginalised groups of people.[8] In modern occultism and neopagan religions, many self-described magicians and witches regularly practice ritual magic;[10] defining magic as a technique for bringing about change in the physical world through the force of one's will. This definition was popularised by Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), an influential British occultist. This view has been incorporated into chaos magic and the new religious movements of Thelema and Wicca. Etymology One of the earliest surviving accounts of the Persian mágoi was provided by the Greek historian Herodotus. The English words magic, mage and magician come from the Latin term magus, through the Greek μάγος, which is from the Old Persian maguš. (𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁|𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁, magician).[11] The Old Persian magu- is derived from the Proto-Indo-European megʰ-*magh (be able). The Persian term may have led to the Old Sinitic *Mγag (mage or shaman).[12] The Old Persian form seems to have permeated ancient Semitic languages as the Talmudic Hebrew magosh, the Aramaic amgusha (magician), and the Chaldean maghdim (wisdom and philosophy); from the first century BCE onwards, Syrian magusai gained notoriety as magicians and soothsayers. Since the nineteenth century, academics in various disciplines have employed the term magic but have defined it in different ways and used it in reference to different things. One approach, associated with the anthropologists Edward Tylor (1832–1917) and James G. Frazer (1854–1941), uses the term to describe beliefs in hidden sympathies between objects that allow one to influence the other. Defined in this way, magic is portrayed as the opposite to science. An alternative approach, associated with the sociologist Marcel Mauss (1872–1950) and his uncle Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), employs the term to describe private rites and ceremonies and contrasts it with religion, which it defines as a communal and organised activity. By the 1990s many scholars were rejecting the term's utility for scholarship. They argued that the label drew arbitrary lines between similar beliefs and practices that were alternatively considered religious, and that it constituted ethnocentric to apply the connotations of magic—rooted in Western and Christian history—to other cultures. Branches or types White, gray and black Historian Owen Davies says the term "white witch" was rarely used before the 20th century.[15] White magic is understood as the use of magic for selfless or helpful purposes, while black magic was used for selfish, harmful or evil purposes.[16] Black magic is the malicious counterpart of the benevolent white magic. There is no consensus as to what constitutes white, gray or black magic, as Phil Hine says, "like many other aspects of occultism, what is termed to be 'black magic' depends very much on who is doing the defining."[17] Gray magic, also called "neutral magic", is magic that is not performed for specifically benevolent reasons, but is also not focused towards completely hostile practices.[18][19] High and low Historians and anthropologists have distinguished between practitioners who engage in high magic, and those who engage in low magic.[20] High magic, also known as theurgy and ceremonial or ritual magic,[21] is more complex, involving lengthy and detailed rituals as well as sophisticated, sometimes expensive, paraphernalia.[20] Low magic and natural magic[21] are associated with peasants and folklore[22] with simpler rituals such as brief, spoken spells.[20] Low magic is also closely associated with sorcery and witchcraft.[23] Anthropologist Susan Greenwood writes that "Since the Renaissance, high magic has been concerned with drawing down forces and energies from heaven" and achieving unity with divinity.[24] High magic is usually performed indoors while witchcraft is often performed outdoors.[25] History Main article: History of magic Mesopotamia Magic was invoked in many kinds of rituals and medical formulae, and to counteract evil omens. Defensive or legitimate magic in Mesopotamia (asiputu or masmassutu in the Akkadian language) were incantations and ritual practices intended to alter specific realities. The ancient Mesopotamians believed that magic was the only viable defense against demons, ghosts, and evil sorcerers.[26] To defend themselves against the spirits of those they had wronged, they would leave offerings known as kispu in the person's tomb in hope of appeasing them.[27] If that failed, they also sometimes took a figurine of the deceased and buried it in the ground, demanding for the gods to eradicate the spirit, or force it to leave the person alone.[28] The ancient Mesopotamians also used magic intending to protect themselves from evil sorcerers who might place curses on them.[29] Black magic as a category did not exist in ancient Mesopotamia, and a person legitimately using magic to defend themselves against illegitimate magic would use exactly the same techniques.[29] The only major difference was that curses were enacted in secret;[29] whereas a defense against sorcery was conducted in the open, in front of an audience if possible.[29] One ritual to punish a sorcerer was known as Maqlû, or "The Burning".[29] The person viewed as being afflicted by witchcraft would create an effigy of the sorcerer and put it on trial at night.[29] Then, once the nature of the sorcerer's crimes had been determined, the person would burn the effigy and thereby break the sorcerer's power over them.[29] The ancient Mesopotamians also performed magical rituals to purify themselves of sins committed unknowingly.[29] One such ritual was known as the Šurpu, or "Burning",[30] in which the caster of the spell would transfer the guilt for all their misdeeds onto various objects such as a strip of dates, an onion, and a tuft of wool.[30] The person would then burn the objects and thereby purify themself of all sins that they might have unknowingly committed.[30] A whole genre of love spells existed.[31] Such spells were believed to cause a person to fall in love with another person, restore love which had faded, or cause a male sexual partner to be able to sustain an erection when he had previously been unable.[31] Other spells were used to reconcile a man with his patron deity or to reconcile a wife with a husband who had been neglecting her.[32] The ancient Mesopotamians made no distinction between rational science and magic.[33][34][35] When a person became ill, doctors would prescribe both magical formulas to be recited as well as medicinal treatments.[34][35][36] Most magical rituals were intended to be performed by an āšipu, an expert in the magical arts.[34][35][36][37] The profession was generally passed down from generation to generation[36] and was held in extremely high regard and often served as advisors to kings and great leaders.[38] An āšipu probably served not only as a magician, but also as a physician, a priest, a scribe, and a scholar.[38] The Sumerian god Enki, who was later syncretized with the East Semitic god Ea, was closely associated with magic and incantations;[39] he was the patron god of the bārȗ and the ašipū and was widely regarded as the ultimate source of all arcane knowledge.[40][41][42] The ancient Mesopotamians also believed in omens, which could come when solicited or unsolicited.[43] Regardless of how they came, omens were always taken with the utmost seriousness.[43] Incantation bowls Main article: Incantation bowl See also: Jewish magical papyri Mandaic-language incantation bowl A common set of shared assumptions about the causes of evil and how to avert it are found in a form of early protective magic called incantation bowl or magic bowls. The bowls were produced in the Middle East, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria, what is now Iraq and Iran, and fairly popular during the sixth to eighth centuries.[44][45] The bowls were buried face down and were meant to capture demons. They were commonly placed under the threshold, courtyards, in the corner of the homes of the recently deceased and in cemeteries.[46] A subcategory of incantation bowls are those used in Jewish magical practice. Aramaic incantation bowls are an important source of knowledge about Jewish magical practices.[47][48][49][50][51] Egypt Ancient Egyptian Eye of Horus amulet In ancient Egypt (Kemet in the Egyptian language), Magic (personified as the god heka) was an integral part of religion and culture which is known to us through a substantial corpus of texts which are products of the Egyptian tradition.[52] While the category magic has been contentious for modern Egyptology, there is clear support for its applicability from ancient terminology.[53] The Coptic term hik is the descendant of the pharaonic term heka, which, unlike its Coptic counterpart, had no connotation of impiety or illegality, and is attested from the Old Kingdom through to the Roman era.[53] heka was considered morally neutral and was applied to the practices and beliefs of both foreigners and Egyptians alike.[54] The Instructions for Merikare informs us that heka was a beneficence gifted by the creator to humanity "... in order to be weapons to ward off the blow of events".[55] Magic was practiced by both the literate priestly hierarchy and by illiterate farmers and herdsmen, and the principle of heka underlay all ritual activity, both in the temples and in private settings.[56] The interior walls of the pyramid of Unas, the final pharaoh of the Egyptian Fifth Dynasty, are covered in hundreds of magical spells and inscriptions, running from floor to ceiling in vertical columns.[57]: 54  These inscriptions are known as the Pyramid Texts[57]: 54  and they contain spells needed by the pharaoh in order to survive in the Afterlife.[57]: 54  The Pyramid Texts were strictly for royalty only;[57]: 56  the spells were kept secret from commoners and were written only inside royal tombs.[57]: 56  During the chaos and unrest of the First Intermediate Period, however, tomb robbers broke into the pyramids and saw the magical inscriptions.[57]: 56  Commoners began learning the spells and, by the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, commoners began inscribing similar writings on the sides of their own coffins, hoping that doing so would ensure their own survival in the afterlife.[57]: 56  These writings are known as the Coffin Texts.[57]: 56  After a person died, his or her corpse would be mummified and wrapped in linen bandages to ensure that the deceased's body would survive for as long as possible[60] because the Egyptians believed that a person's soul could only survive in the afterlife for as long as his or her physical body survived here on earth.[60] The last ceremony before a person's body was sealed away inside the tomb was known as the Opening of the Mouth.[60] In this ritual, the priests would touch various magical instruments to various parts of the deceased's body, thereby giving the deceased the ability to see, hear, taste, and smell in the afterlife.[60] Amulets Main article: Amulet The use of amulets, (meket) was widespread among both living and dead ancient Egyptians.[61][57]: 66  They were used for protection and as a means of "...reaffirming the fundamental fairness of the universe".[62] The oldest amulets found are from the predynastic Badarian Period, and they persisted through to Roman times.[63] Judea Main article: Witchcraft in the Middle East In the Mosaic Law, practices such as witchcraft (Heb. קְסָמִ֔ים), being a soothsayer (מְעוֹנֵ֥ן) or a sorcerer (וּמְכַשֵּֽׁף) or one who conjures spells (וְחֹבֵ֖ר חָ֑בֶר) or one who calls up the dead (וְדֹרֵ֖שׁ אֶל־הַמֵּתִֽים) are specifically forbidden as abominations to the Lord.[64] Although magic was forbidden by Levitical law in the Hebrew Bible, it was widely practised in the late Second Temple period, and particularly well documented in the period following the destruction of the temple into the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries CE.[69][70][71] Asia Further information: Asian witchcraft [icon]    This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2023) China Main article: Chinese shamanism Further information: Taoism Chinese shamanism, alternatively called Wuism (Chinese: 巫教; pinyin: wū jiào; lit. 'wu religion, shamanism, witchcraft'; alternatively 巫觋宗教 wū xí zōngjiào), refers to the shamanic religious tradition of China.[72][73] Its features are especially connected to the ancient Neolithic cultures such as the Hongshan culture.[74] Chinese shamanic traditions are intrinsic to Chinese folk religion.[75] Various ritual traditions are rooted in original Chinese shamanism: contemporary Chinese ritual masters are sometimes identified as wu by outsiders,[76] though most orders do not self-identify as such. Also Taoism has some of its origins from Chinese shamanism:[72][77] it developed around the pursuit of long life (shou 壽/寿), or the status of a xian (仙, "mountain man", "holy man").[72] Taoism in ancient times until the modern day has used rituals, mantras, and amulets with godly or supernatural powers. Taoist worldviews were thought of as magical or alchemical.[78] Greco-Roman world Hecate, the ancient Greek goddess of magic Main articles: Magic in the Greco-Roman world and Sorcery (goetia) The English word magic has its origins in ancient Greece.[79] During the late sixth and early fifth centuries BCE, the Persian maguš was Graecicized and introduced into the ancient Greek language as μάγος and μαγεία.[14] In doing so it transformed meaning, gaining negative connotations, with the magos being regarded as a charlatan whose ritual practices were fraudulent, strange, unconventional, and dangerous.[14] As noted by Davies, for the ancient Greeks—and subsequently for the ancient Romans—"magic was not distinct from religion but rather an unwelcome, improper expression of it—the religion of the other".[80] The historian Richard Gordon suggested that for the ancient Greeks, being accused of practicing magic was "a form of insult".[81] This change in meaning was influenced by the military conflicts that the Greek city-states were then engaged in against the Persian Empire.[14] In this context, the term makes appearances in such surviving text as Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Hippocrates' De morbo sacro, and Gorgias' Encomium of Helen.[14] In Sophocles' play, for example, the character Oedipus derogatorily refers to the seer Tiresius as a magos—in this context meaning something akin to quack or charlatan—reflecting how this epithet was no longer reserved only for Persians.[82] In the first century BCE, the Greek concept of the magos was adopted into Latin and used by a number of ancient Roman writers as magus and magia.[14] The earliest known Latin use of the term was in Virgil's Eclogue, written around 40 BCE, which makes reference to magicis... sacris (magic rites).[83] The Romans already had other terms for the negative use of supernatural powers, such as veneficus and saga.[83] The Roman use of the term was similar to that of the Greeks, but placed greater emphasis on the judicial application of it.[14] Within the Roman Empire, laws would be introduced criminalising things regarded as magic.[84] In ancient Roman society, magic was associated with societies to the east of the empire; the first century CE writer Pliny the Elder for instance claimed that magic had been created by the Iranian philosopher Zoroaster, and that it had then been brought west into Greece by the magician Osthanes, who accompanied the military campaigns of the Persian King Xerxes.[85] Ancient Greek scholarship of the 20th century, almost certainly influenced by Christianising preconceptions of the meanings of magic and religion, and the wish to establish Greek culture as the foundation of Western rationality, developed a theory of ancient Greek magic as primitive and insignificant, and thereby essentially separate from Homeric, communal (polis) religion. Since the last decade of the century, however, recognising the ubiquity and respectability of acts such as katadesmoi (binding spells), described as magic by modern and ancient observers alike, scholars have been compelled to abandon this viewpoint.[86]: 90–95  The Greek word mageuo (practice magic) itself derives from the word Magos, originally simply the Greek name for a Persian tribe known for practicing religion.[87] Non-civic mystery cults have been similarly re-evaluated:[86]: 97–98      the choices which lay outside the range of cults did not just add additional options to the civic menu, but ... sometimes incorporated critiques of the civic cults and Panhellenic myths or were genuine alternatives to them.     — Simon Price, Religions of the Ancient Greeks (1999)[88] Katadesmoi (Latin: defixiones), curses inscribed on wax or lead tablets and buried underground, were frequently executed by all strata of Greek society, sometimes to protect the entire polis.[86]: 95–96  Communal curses carried out in public declined after the Greek classical period, but private curses remained common throughout antiquity.[89] They were distinguished as magical by their individualistic, instrumental and sinister qualities.[86]: 96  These qualities, and their perceived deviation from inherently mutable cultural constructs of normality, most clearly delineate ancient magic from the religious rituals of which they form a part.[86]: 102–103  A large number of magical papyri, in Greek, Coptic, and Demotic, have been recovered and translated.[90] They contain early instances of:     the use of magic words said to have the power to command spirits;[91]     the use of mysterious symbols or sigils which are thought to be useful when invoking or evoking spirits.[92] The practice of magic was banned in the late Roman world, and the Codex Theodosianus (438 AD) states:[93] Further information: Medieval European magic and Sorcery (goetia) Magic practices such as divination, interpretation of omens, sorcery, and use of charms had been specifically forbidden in Mosaic Law [94] and condemned in Biblical histories of the kings.[95] Many of these practices were spoken against in the New Testament as well.[96][97] Some commentators say that in the first century CE, early Christian authors absorbed the Greco-Roman concept of magic and incorporated it into their developing Christian theology,[84]and that these Christians retained the already implied Greco-Roman negative stereotypes of the term and extented them by incorporating conceptual patterns borrowed from Jewish thought, in particular the opposition of magic and miracle.[84] Some early Christian authors followed the Greek-Roman thinking by ascribing the origin of magic to the human realm, mainly to Zoroaster and Osthanes. The Christian view was that magic was a product of the Babylonians, Persians, or Egyptians.[98] The Christians shared with earlier classical culture the idea that magic was something distinct from proper religion, although drew their distinction between the two in different ways.[99] A 17th-century depiction of the medieval writer Isidore of Seville, who provided a list of activities he regarded as magical For early Christian writers like Augustine of Hippo, magic did not merely constitute fraudulent and unsanctioned ritual practices, but was the very opposite of religion because it relied upon cooperation from demons, the henchmen of Satan.[84] In this, Christian ideas of magic were closely linked to the Christian category of paganism,[100] and both magic and paganism were regarded as belonging under the broader category of superstitio (superstition), another term borrowed from pre-Christian Roman culture.[99] This Christian emphasis on the inherent immorality and wrongness of magic as something conflicting with good religion was far starker than the approach in the other large monotheistic religions of the period, Judaism and Islam.[101] For instance, while Christians regarded demons as inherently evil, the jinn—comparable entities in Islamic mythology—were perceived as more ambivalent figures by Muslims.[101] The model of the magician in Christian thought was provided by Simon Magus, (Simon the Magician), a figure who opposed Saint Peter in both the Acts of the Apostles and the apocryphal yet influential Acts of Peter.[102] The historian Michael D. Bailey stated that in medieval Europe, magic was a "relatively broad and encompassing category".[103] Christian theologians believed that there were multiple different forms of magic, the majority of which were types of divination, for instance, Isidore of Seville produced a catalogue of things he regarded as magic in which he listed divination by the four elements i.e. geomancy, hydromancy, aeromancy, and pyromancy, as well as by observation of natural phenomena e.g. the flight of birds and astrology. He also mentioned enchantment and ligatures (the medical use of magical objects bound to the patient) as being magical.[104] Medieval Europe also saw magic come to be associated with the Old Testament figure of Solomon; various grimoires, or books outlining magical practices, were written that claimed to have been written by Solomon, most notably the Key of Solomon.[105] In early medieval Europe, magia was a term of condemnation.[106] In medieval Europe, Christians often suspected Muslims and Jews of engaging in magical practices;[107] in certain cases, these perceived magical rites—including the alleged Jewish sacrifice of Christian children—resulted in Christians massacring these religious minorities.[108] Christian groups often also accused other, rival Christian groups such as the Hussites—which they regarded as heretical—of engaging in magical activities.[102][109] Medieval Europe also saw the term maleficium applied to forms of magic that were conducted with the intention of causing harm.[103] The later Middle Ages saw words for these practitioners of harmful magical acts appear in various European languages: sorcière in French, Hexe in German, strega in Italian, and bruja in Spanish.[110] The English term for malevolent practitioners of magic, witch, derived from the earlier Old English term wicce.[110] Ars Magica or magic is a major component and supporting contribution to the belief and practice of spiritual, and in many cases, physical healing throughout the Middle Ages. Emanating from many modern interpretations lies a trail of misconceptions about magic, one of the largest revolving around wickedness or the existence of nefarious beings who practice it. These misinterpretations stem from numerous acts or rituals that have been performed throughout antiquity, and due to their exoticism from the commoner's perspective, the rituals invoked uneasiness and an even stronger sense of dismissal.[111][112] An excerpt from Sefer Raziel HaMalakh, featuring various magical sigils (סגולות segulot in Hebrew) In the Medieval Jewish view, the separation of the mystical and magical elements of Kabbalah, dividing it into speculative theological Kabbalah (Kabbalah Iyyunit) with its meditative traditions, and theurgic practical Kabbalah (Kabbalah Ma'asit), had occurred by the beginning of the 14th century.[113] One societal force in the Middle Ages more powerful than the singular commoner, the Christian Church, rejected magic as a whole because it was viewed as a means of tampering with the natural world in a supernatural manner associated with the biblical verses of Deuteronomy 18:9–12.[further explanation needed] Despite the many negative connotations which surround the term magic, there exist many elements that are seen in a divine or holy light.[114] The divine right of kings in England was thought to be able to give them "sacred magic" power to heal thousands of their subjects from sicknesses.[115] Diversified instruments or rituals used in medieval magic include, but are not limited to: various amulets, talismans, potions, as well as specific chants, dances, and prayers. Along with these rituals are the adversely imbued notions of demonic participation which influence of them. The idea that magic was devised, taught, and worked by demons would have seemed reasonable to anyone who read the Greek magical papyri or the Sefer-ha-Razim and found that healing magic appeared alongside rituals for killing people, gaining wealth, or personal advantage, and coercing women into sexual submission.[116] Archaeology is contributing to a fuller understanding of ritual practices performed in the home, on the body and in monastic and church settings.[117][118] The Islamic reaction towards magic did not condemn magic in general and distinguished between magic which can heal sickness and possession, and sorcery. The former is therefore a special gift from God, while the latter is achieved through help of Jinn and devils. Ibn al-Nadim held that exorcists gain their power by their obedience to God, while sorcerers please the devils by acts of disobedience and sacrifices and they in return do him a favor.[119] According to Ibn Arabi, Al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yusuf al-Shubarbuli was able to walk on water due to his piety.[120] According to the Quran 2:102, magic was also taught to humans by devils and the fallen angels Harut and Marut.[121] Frontispiece of an English translation of Natural Magick published in London in 1658 During the early modern period, the concept of magic underwent a more positive reassessment through the development of the concept of magia naturalis (natural magic).[84] This was a term introduced and developed by two Italian humanists, Marsilio Ficino and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.[84] For them, magia was viewed as an elemental force pervading many natural processes,[84] and thus was fundamentally distinct from the mainstream Christian idea of demonic magic.[122] Their ideas influenced an array of later philosophers and writers, among them Paracelsus, Giordano Bruno, Johannes Reuchlin, and Johannes Trithemius.[84] According to the historian Richard Kieckhefer, the concept of magia naturalis took "firm hold in European culture" during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,[123] attracting the interest of natural philosophers of various theoretical orientations, including Aristotelians, Neoplatonists, and Hermeticists.[124] Adherents of this position argued that magia could appear in both good and bad forms; in 1625, the French librarian Gabriel Naudé wrote his Apology for all the Wise Men Falsely Suspected of Magic, in which he distinguished "Mosoaicall Magick"—which he claimed came from God and included prophecies, miracles, and speaking in tongues—from "geotick" magic caused by demons.[125] While the proponents of magia naturalis insisted that this did not rely on the actions of demons, critics disagreed, arguing that the demons had simply deceived these magicians.[126] By the seventeenth century the concept of magia naturalis had moved in increasingly 'naturalistic' directions, with the distinctions between it and science becoming blurred.[127] The validity of magia naturalis as a concept for understanding the universe then came under increasing criticism during the Age of Enlightenment in the eighteenth century.[128] Despite the attempt to reclaim the term magia for use in a positive sense, it did not supplant traditional attitudes toward magic in the West, which remained largely negative.[128] At the same time as magia naturalis was attracting interest and was largely tolerated, Europe saw an active persecution of accused witches believed to be guilty of maleficia.[124] Reflecting the term's continued negative associations, Protestants often sought to denigrate Roman Catholic sacramental and devotional practices as being magical rather than religious.[129] Many Roman Catholics were concerned by this allegation and for several centuries various Roman Catholic writers devoted attention to arguing that their practices were religious rather than magical.[130] At the same time, Protestants often used the accusation of magic against other Protestant groups which they were in contest with.[131] In this way, the concept of magic was used to prescribe what was appropriate as religious belief and practice.[130] Similar claims were also being made in the Islamic world during this period. The Arabian cleric Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab—founder of Wahhabism—for instance condemned a range of customs and practices such as divination and the veneration of spirits as sihr, which he in turn claimed was a form of shirk, the sin of idolatry.[132] The Renaissance Main article: Renaissance magic Renaissance humanism saw a resurgence in hermeticism and Neo-Platonic varieties of ceremonial magic. The Renaissance, on the other hand, saw the rise of science, in such forms as the dethronement of the Ptolemaic theory of the universe, the distinction of astronomy from astrology, and of chemistry from alchemy.[133][page needed] There was great uncertainty in distinguishing practices of superstition, occultism, and perfectly sound scholarly knowledge or pious ritual. The intellectual and spiritual tensions erupted in the Early Modern witch craze, further reinforced by the turmoil of the Protestant Reformation, especially in Germany, England, and Scotland.[133][page needed] In Hasidism, the displacement of practical Kabbalah using directly magical means, by conceptual and meditative trends gained much further emphasis, while simultaneously instituting meditative theurgy for material blessings at the heart of its social mysticism.[134] Hasidism internalised Kabbalah through the psychology of deveikut (cleaving to God), and cleaving to the Tzadik (Hasidic Rebbe). In Hasidic doctrine, the tzaddik channels Divine spiritual and physical bounty to his followers by altering the Will of God (uncovering a deeper concealed Will) through his own deveikut and self-nullification. Dov Ber of Mezeritch is concerned to distinguish this theory of the Tzadik's will altering and deciding the Divine Will, from directly magical process.[135] In the nineteenth century, the Haitian government began to legislate against Vodou, describing it as a form of witchcraft; this conflicted with Vodou practitioners' own understanding of their religion.[136] In the sixteenth century, European societies began to conquer and colonise other continents around the world, and as they did so they applied European concepts of magic and witchcraft to practices found among the peoples whom they encountered.[137] Usually, these European colonialists regarded the natives as primitives and savages whose belief systems were diabolical and needed to be eradicated and replaced by Christianity.[138] Because Europeans typically viewed these non-European peoples as being morally and intellectually inferior to themselves, it was expected that such societies would be more prone to practicing magic.[139] Women who practiced traditional rites were labelled as witches by the Europeans.[139] In various cases, these imported European concepts and terms underwent new transformations as they merged with indigenous concepts.[140] In West Africa, for instance, Portuguese travellers introduced their term and concept of the feitiçaria (often translated as sorcery) and the feitiço (spell) to the native population, where it was transformed into the concept of the fetish. When later Europeans encountered these West African societies, they wrongly believed that the fetiche was an indigenous African term rather than the result of earlier inter-continental encounters.[140] Sometimes, colonised populations themselves adopted these European concepts for their own purposes. In the early nineteenth century, the newly independent Haitian government of Jean-Jacques Dessalines began to suppress the practice of Vodou, and in 1835 Haitian law-codes categorised all Vodou practices as sortilège (sorcery/witchcraft), suggesting that it was all conducted with harmful intent, whereas among Vodou practitioners the performance of harmful rites was already given a separate and distinct category, known as maji.[136] Baroque period Further information: Isaac Newton's occult studies During the Baroque era, several intriguing figures engaged with occult and magical themes that went beyond conventional thinking. Michael Sendivogius (1566–1636), a Polish alchemist, emphasized empirical experimentation in alchemy and made notable contributions to early chemistry. Tommaso Campanella (1568–1639), an Italian philosopher, blended Christianity with mysticism in works like The City of the Sun, envisioning an ideal society governed by divine principles. Jakob Böhme (1575–1624), a German mystic, explored the relationship between the divine and human experience, influencing later mystical movements. By the nineteenth century, European intellectuals no longer saw the practice of magic through the framework of sin and instead regarded magical practices and beliefs as "an aberrational mode of thought antithetical to the dominant cultural logic – a sign of psychological impairment and marker of racial or cultural inferiority".[141] As educated elites in Western societies increasingly rejected the efficacy of magical practices, legal systems ceased to threaten practitioners of magical activities with punishment for the crimes of diabolism and witchcraft, and instead threatened them with the accusation that they were defrauding people through promising to provide things which they could not.[142] This spread of European colonial power across the world influenced how academics would come to frame the concept of magic.[143] In the nineteenth century, several scholars adopted the traditional, negative concept of magic.[128] That they chose to do so was not inevitable, for they could have followed the example adopted by prominent esotericists active at the time like Helena Blavatsky who had chosen to use the term and concept of magic in a positive sense.[128] Various writers also used the concept of magic to criticise religion by arguing that the latter still displayed many of the negative traits of the former. An example of this was the American journalist H. L. Mencken in his polemical 1930 work Treatise on the Gods; he sought to critique religion by comparing it to magic, arguing that the division between the two was misplaced.[144] The concept of magic was also adopted by theorists in the new field of psychology, where it was often used synonymously with superstition, although the latter term proved more common in early psychological texts.[145] In the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, folklorists examined rural communities across Europe in search of magical practices, which at the time they typically understood as survivals of ancient belief systems.[146] It was only in the 1960s that anthropologists like Jeanne Favret-Saada also began looking in depth at magic in European contexts, having previously focused on examining magic in non-Western contexts.[147] In the twentieth century, magic also proved a topic of interest to the Surrealists, an artistic movement based largely in Europe; the Surrealism André Breton for instance published L'Art magique in 1957, discussing what he regarded as the links between magic and art.[148] The scholarly application of magic as a sui generis category that can be applied to any socio-cultural context was linked with the promotion of modernity to both Western and non-Western audiences.[149] The term magic has become pervasive in the popular imagination and idiom.[7] In contemporary contexts, the word magic is sometimes used to "describe a type of excitement, of wonder, or sudden delight", and in such a context can be "a term of high praise".[150] Despite its historical contrast against science, scientists have also adopted the term in application to various concepts, such as magic acid, magic bullets, and magic angles.[7] Many concepts of modern ceremonial magic are heavily influenced by the ideas of Aleister Crowley. Modern Western magic has challenged widely-held preconceptions about contemporary religion and spirituality.[151] The polemical discourses about magic influenced the self-understanding of modern magicians, several whom—such as Aleister Crowley —were well versed in academic literature on the subject.[152] According to scholar of religion Henrik Bogdan, "arguably the best known emic definition" of the term magic was provided by Crowley.[152] Crowley—who favoured the spelling 'magick' over magic to distinguish it from stage illusionism[1]—was of the view that "Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will".[152] Crowley's definition influenced that of subsequent magicians.[152] Dion Fortune of the Fraternity of the Inner Light for instance stated that "Magic is the art of changing consciousness according to Will".[152] Gerald Gardner, the founder of Gardnerian Wicca, stated that magic was "attempting to cause the physically unusual",[152] while Anton LaVey, the founder of LaVeyan Satanism, described magic as "the change in situations or events in accordance with one's will, which would, using normally acceptable methods, be unchangeable."[152] The chaos magic movement emerged during the late 20th century, as an attempt to strip away the symbolic, ritualistic, theological or otherwise ornamental aspects of other occult traditions and distill magic down to a set of basic techniques.[153] These modern Western concepts of magic rely on a belief in correspondences connected to an unknown occult force that permeates the universe.[154] As noted by Hanegraaff, this operated according to "a new meaning of magic, which could not possibly have existed in earlier periods, precisely because it is elaborated in reaction to the "disenchantment of the world"."[154] For many, and perhaps most, modern Western magicians, the goal of magic is deemed to be personal spiritual development.[155] The perception of magic as a form of self-development is central to the way that magical practices have been adopted into forms of modern Paganism and the New Age phenomenon.[155] One significant development within modern Western magical practices has been sex magic.[155] This was a practice promoted in the writings of Paschal Beverly Randolph and subsequently exerted a strong interest on occultist magicians like Crowley and Theodor Reuss.[155] The adoption of the term magic by modern occultists can in some instances be a deliberate attempt to champion those areas of Western society which have traditionally been marginalised as a means of subverting dominant systems of power.[156] The influential American Wiccan and author Starhawk for instance stated that "Magic is another word that makes people uneasy, so I use it deliberately, because the words we are comfortable with, the words that sound acceptable, rational, scientific, and intellectually correct, are comfortable precisely because they are the language of estrangement."[157] In the present day, "among some countercultural subgroups the label is considered 'cool'"[158] Sorcery is a legal concept in Papua New Guinea law, which differentiates between legal good magic, such as healing and fertility, and illegal black magic, held responsible for unexplained deaths.[159] Conceptual development According to anthropologist Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard, magic formed a rational framework of beliefs and knowledge in some cultures, like the Azande people of Africa.[160] The historian Owen Davies stated that the word magic was "beyond simple definition",[161] and had "a range of meanings".[162] Similarly, the historian Michael D. Bailey characterised magic as "a deeply contested category and a very fraught label";[163] as a category, he noted, it was "profoundly unstable" given that definitions of the term have "varied dramatically across time and between cultures".[164] Scholars have engaged in extensive debates as to how to define magic,[165] with such debates resulting in intense dispute.[166] Throughout such debates, the scholarly community has failed to agree on a definition of magic, in a similar manner to how they have failed to agree on a definition of religion.[166] According with scholar of religion Michael Stausberg the phenomenon of people applying the concept of magic to refer to themselves and their own practices and beliefs goes as far back as late antiquity. However, even among those throughout history who have described themselves as magicians, there has been no common ground of what magic is. Randall Styers noted that attempting to define magic represents "an act of demarcation" by which it is juxtaposed against "other social practices and modes of knowledge" such as religion and science.[174] The historian Karen Louise Jolly described magic as "a category of exclusion, used to define an unacceptable way of thinking as either the opposite of religion or of science".[175] Modern scholarship has produced various definitions and theories of magic.[176] According to Bailey, "these have typically framed magic in relation to, or more frequently in distinction from, religion and science."[176] Since the emergence of the study of religion and the social sciences, magic has been a "central theme in the theoretical literature" produced by scholars operating in these academic disciplines.[165] Magic is one of the most heavily theorized concepts in the study of religion,[177] and also played a key role in early theorising within anthropology.[178] Styers believed that it held such a strong appeal for social theorists because it provides "such a rich site for articulating and contesting the nature and boundaries of modernity".[179] Scholars have commonly used it as a foil for the concept of religion, regarding magic as the "illegitimate (and effeminized) sibling" of religion.[180] Alternately, others have used it as a middle-ground category located between religion and science.[180] The context in which scholars framed their discussions of magic was informed by the spread of European colonial power across the world in the modern period.[143] These repeated attempts to define magic resonated with broader social concerns,[9] and the pliability of the concept has allowed it to be "readily adaptable as a polemical and ideological tool".[130] The links that intellectuals made between magic and those they characterized as primitives helped to legitimise European and Euro-American imperialism and colonialism, as these Western colonialists expressed the view that those who believed in and practiced magic were unfit to govern themselves and should be governed by those who, rather than believing in magic, believed in science and/or (Christian) religion.[8] In Bailey's words, "the association of certain peoples [whether non-Europeans or poor, rural Europeans] with magic served to distance and differentiate them from those who ruled over them, and in large part to justify that rule."[6] Many different definitions of magic have been offered by scholars, although—according to Hanegraaff—these can be understood as variations of a small number of heavily influential theories.[177] Intellectualist approach Edward Tylor, an anthropologist who used the term magic in reference to sympathetic magic, an idea that he associated with his concept of animism The intellectualist approach to defining magic is associated with two prominent British anthropologists, Edward Tylor and James G. Frazer.[181] This approach viewed magic as the theoretical opposite of science,[182] and came to preoccupy much anthropological thought on the subject.[183] This approach was situated within the evolutionary models which underpinned thinking in the social sciences during the early 19th century.[184] The first social scientist to present magic as something that predated religion in an evolutionary development was Herbert Spencer;[185] in his A System of Synthetic Philosophy, he used the term magic in reference to sympathetic magic.[186] Spencer regarded both magic and religion as being rooted in false speculation about the nature of objects and their relationship to other things.[187] Tylor's understanding of magic was linked to his concept of animism.[188] In his 1871 book Primitive Culture, Tylor characterized magic as beliefs based on "the error of mistaking ideal analogy for real analogy". [189] In Tylor's view, "primitive man, having come to associate in thought those things which he found by experience to be connected in fact, proceeded erroneously to invert this action, and to conclude that association in thought must involve similar connection in reality. He thus attempted to discover, to foretell, and to cause events by means of processes which we can now see to have only an ideal significance".[190] Tylor was dismissive of magic, describing it as "one of the most pernicious delusions that ever vexed mankind".[191] Tylor's views proved highly influential,[192] and helped to establish magic as a major topic of anthropological research.[185] James Frazer regarded magic as the first stage in human development, to be followed by religion and then science. Tylor's ideas were adopted and simplified by James Frazer.[193] He used the term magic to mean sympathetic magic,[194] describing it as a practice relying on the magician's belief "that things act on each other at a distance through a secret sympathy", something which he described as "an invisible ether".[190] He further divided this magic into two forms, the "homeopathic (imitative, mimetic)" and the "contagious".[190] The former was the idea that "like produces like", or that the similarity between two objects could result in one influencing the other. The latter was based on the idea that contact between two objects allowed the two to continue to influence one another at a distance.[195] Like Taylor, Frazer viewed magic negatively, describing it as "the bastard sister of science", arising from "one great disastrous fallacy".[196] Where Frazer differed from Tylor was in characterizing a belief in magic as a major stage in humanity's cultural development, describing it as part of a tripartite division in which magic came first, religion came second, and eventually science came third.[197] For Frazer, all early societies started as believers in magic, with some of them moving away from this and into religion.[198] He believed that both magic and religion involved a belief in spirits but that they differed in the way that they responded to these spirits. For Frazer, magic "constrains or coerces" these spirits while religion focuses on "conciliating or propitiating them".[198] He acknowledged that their common ground resulted in a cross-over of magical and religious elements in various instances; for instance he claimed that the sacred marriage was a fertility ritual which combined elements from both world-views.[199] Some scholars retained the evolutionary framework used by Frazer but changed the order of its stages; the German ethnologist Wilhelm Schmidt argued that religion—by which he meant monotheism—was the first stage of human belief, which later degenerated into both magic and polytheism.[200] Others rejected the evolutionary framework entirely. Frazer's notion that magic had given way to religion as part of an evolutionary framework was later deconstructed by the folklorist and anthropologist Andrew Lang in his essay "Magic and Religion"; Lang did so by highlighting how Frazer's framework relied upon misrepresenting ethnographic accounts of beliefs and practiced among indigenous Australians to fit his concept of magic.[201] Functionalist approach The functionalist approach to defining magic is associated with the French sociologists Marcel Mauss and Emile Durkheim.[202] In this approach, magic is understood as being the theoretical opposite of religion.[203] Mauss set forth his conception of magic in a 1902 essay, "A General Theory of Magic".[204] Mauss used the term magic in reference to "any rite that is not part of an organized cult: a rite that is private, secret, mysterious, and ultimately tending towards one that is forbidden".[202] Conversely, he associated religion with organised cult.[205] By saying that magic was inherently non-social, Mauss had been influenced by the traditional Christian understandings of the concept.[206] Mauss deliberately rejected the intellectualist approach promoted by Frazer, believing that it was inappropriate to restrict the term magic to sympathetic magic, as Frazer had done.[207] He expressed the view that "there are not only magical rites which are not sympathetic, but neither is sympathy a prerogative of magic, since there are sympathetic practices in religion".[205] Mauss' ideas were adopted by Durkheim in his 1912 book The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life.[208] Durkheim was of the view that both magic and religion pertained to "sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden".[209] Where he saw them as being different was in their social organisation. Durkheim used the term magic to describe things that were inherently anti-social, existing in contrast to what he referred to as a Church, the religious beliefs shared by a social group; in his words, "There is no Church of magic."[210] Durkheim expressed the view that "there is something inherently anti-religious about the maneuvers of the magician",[203] and that a belief in magic "does not result in binding together those who adhere to it, nor in uniting them into a group leading a common life."[209] Durkheim's definition encounters problems in situations—such as the rites performed by Wiccans—in which acts carried out communally have been regarded, either by practitioners or observers, as being magical.[211] Scholars have criticized the idea that magic and religion can be differentiated into two distinct, separate categories.[212] The social anthropologist Alfred Radcliffe-Brown suggested that "a simple dichotomy between magic and religion" was unhelpful and thus both should be subsumed under the broader category of ritual.[213] Many later anthropologists followed his example.[213] Nevertheless, this distinction is still often made by scholars discussing this topic.[212] Emotionalist approach Further information: Magical thinking and Psychological theories of magic The emotionalist approach to magic is associated with the English anthropologist Robert Ranulph Marett, the Austrian Sigmund Freud, and the Polish anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski.[214] Marett viewed magic as a response to stress.[215] In a 1904 article, he argued that magic was a cathartic or stimulating practice designed to relieve feelings of tension.[215] As his thought developed, he increasingly rejected the idea of a division between magic and religion and began to use the term "magico-religious" to describe the early development of both.[215] Malinowski similarly understood magic to Marett, tackling the issue in a 1925 article.[216] He rejected Frazer's evolutionary hypothesis that magic was followed by religion and then science as a series of distinct stages in societal development, arguing that all three were present in each society.[217] In his view, both magic and religion "arise and function in situations of emotional stress" although whereas religion is primarily expressive, magic is primarily practical.[217] He therefore defined magic as "a practical art consisting of acts which are only means to a definite end expected to follow later on".[217] For Malinowski, magical acts were to be carried out for a specific end, whereas religious ones were ends in themselves.[211] He for instance believed that fertility rituals were magical because they were carried out with the intention of meeting a specific need.[217] As part of his functionalist approach, Malinowski saw magic not as irrational but as something that served a useful function, being sensible within the given social and environmental context.[218] Ideas about magic were also promoted by Sigmund Freud. The term magic was used liberally by Freud.[219] He also saw magic as emerging from human emotion but interpreted it very differently to Marett.[220] Freud explains that "the associated theory of magic merely explains the paths along which magic proceeds; it does not explain its true essence, namely the misunderstanding which leads it to replace the laws of nature by psychological ones".[221] Freud emphasizes that what led primitive men to come up with magic is the power of wishes: "His wishes are accompanied by a motor impulse, the will, which is later destined to alter the whole face of the earth to satisfy his wishes. This motor impulse is at first employed to give a representation of the satisfying situation in such a way that it becomes possible to experience the satisfaction by means of what might be described as motor hallucinations. This kind of representation of a satisfied wish is quite comparable to children's play, which succeeds their earlier purely sensory technique of satisfaction. [...] As time goes on, the psychological accent shifts from the motives for the magical act on to the measures by which it is carried out—that is, on to the act itself. [...] It thus comes to appear as though it is the magical act itself which, owing to its similarity with the desired result, alone determines the occurrence of that result."[222] In the early 1960s, the anthropologists Murray and Rosalie Wax put forward the argument that scholars should look at the magical worldview of a given society on its own terms rather than trying to rationalize it in terms of Western ideas about scientific knowledge.[223] Their ideas were heavily criticised by other anthropologists, who argued that they had set up a false dichotomy between non-magical Western worldview and magical non-Western worldviews.[224] The concept of the magical worldview nevertheless gained widespread use in history, folkloristics, philosophy, cultural theory, and psychology.[225] The notion of magical thinking has also been utilised by various psychologists.[226] In the 1920s, the psychologist Jean Piaget used the concept as part of his argument that children were unable to clearly differentiate between the mental and the physical.[226] According to this perspective, children begin to abandon their magical thinking between the ages of six and nine.[226] According to Stanley Tambiah, magic, science, and religion all have their own "quality of rationality", and have been influenced by politics and ideology.[227] As opposed to religion, Tambiah suggests that mankind has a much more personal control over events. Science, according to Tambiah, is "a system of behavior by which man acquires mastery of the environment."[228] Ethnocentrism The magic-religion-science triangle developed in European society based on evolutionary ideas i.e. that magic evolved into religion, which in turn evolved into science.[203] However using a Western analytical tool when discussing non-Western cultures, or pre-modern forms of Western society, raises problems as it may impose alien Western categories on them.[229] While magic remains an emic (insider) term in the history of Western societies, it remains an etic (outsider) term when applied to non-Western societies and even within specific Western societies. For this reason, academics like Michael D. Bailey suggest abandon the term altogether as an academic category.[230] During the twentieth century, many scholars focusing on Asian and African societies rejected the term magic, as well as related concepts like witchcraft, in favour of the more precise terms and concepts that existed within these specific societies like Juju.[231] A similar approach has been taken by many scholars studying pre-modern societies in Europe, such as Classical antiquity, who find the modern concept of magic inappropriate and favour more specific terms originating within the framework of the ancient cultures which they are studying.[232] Alternately, this term implies that all categories of magic are ethnocentric and that such Western preconceptions are an unavoidable component of scholarly research.[229] This century has seen a trend towards emic ethnographic studies by scholar practitioners that explicitly explore the emic/etic divide.[233] Many scholars have argued that the use of the term as an analytical tool within academic scholarship should be rejected altogether.[234] The scholar of religion Jonathan Z. Smith for example argued that it had no utility as an etic term that scholars should use.[235] The historian of religion Wouter Hanegraaff agreed, on the grounds that its use is founded in conceptions of Western superiority and has "...served as a 'scientific' justification for converting non-European peoples from benighted superstitions..." stating that "the term magic is an important object of historical research, but not intended for doing research."[236] Bailey noted that, as of the early 21st century, few scholars sought grand definitions of magic but instead focused with "careful attention to particular contexts", examining what a term like magic meant to a given society; this approach, he noted, "call[ed] into question the legitimacy of magic as a universal category".[237] The scholars of religion Berndt-Christian Otto and Michael Stausberg suggested that it would be perfectly possible for scholars to talk about amulets, curses, healing procedures, and other cultural practices often regarded as magical in Western culture without any recourse to the concept of magic itself.[238] The idea that magic should be rejected as an analytic term developed in anthropology, before moving into Classical studies and Biblical studies in the 1980s.[239] Since the 1990s, the term's usage among scholars of religion has declined.[235] Witchcraft Main articles: Witchcraft and Sorcery (goetia) The historian Ronald Hutton notes the presence of four distinct meanings of the term witchcraft in the English language. Historically, the term primarily referred to the practice of causing harm to others through supernatural or magical means. This remains, according to Hutton, "the most widespread and frequent" understanding of the term.[240] Moreover, Hutton also notes three other definitions in current usage; to refer to anyone who conducts magical acts, for benevolent or malevolent intent; for practitioners of the modern Pagan religion of Wicca; or as a symbol of women resisting male authority and asserting an independent female authority.[241] Belief in witchcraft is often present within societies and groups whose cultural framework includes a magical world view.[242] Those regarded as being magicians have often faced suspicion from other members of their society.[243] This is particularly the case if these perceived magicians have been associated with social groups already considered morally suspect in a particular society, such as foreigners, women, or the lower classes.[244] In contrast to these negative associations, many practitioners of activities that have been labelled magical have emphasised that their actions are benevolent and beneficial.[245] This conflicted with the common Christian view that all activities categorised as being forms of magic were intrinsically bad regardless of the intent of the magician, because all magical actions relied on the aid of demons.[101] There could be conflicting attitudes regarding the practices of a magician; in European history, authorities often believed that cunning folk and traditional healers were harmful because their practices were regarded as magical and thus stemming from contact with demons, whereas a local community might value and respect these individuals because their skills and services were deemed beneficial.[246] In Western societies, the practice of magic, especially when harmful, was usually associated with women.[247] For instance, during the witch trials of the early modern period, around three quarters of those executed as witches were female, to only a quarter who were men.[248] That women were more likely to be accused and convicted of witchcraft in this period might have been because their position was more legally vulnerable, with women having little or no legal standing that was independent of their male relatives.[248] The conceptual link between women and magic in Western culture may be because many of the activities regarded as magical—from rites to encourage fertility to potions to induce abortions—were associated with the female sphere.[249] It might also be connected to the fact that many cultures portrayed women as being inferior to men on an intellectual, moral, spiritual, and physical level.[250] Magicians The Magician card from a 15th-century tarot deck Many of the practices which have been labelled magic can be performed by anyone.[251] For instance, some charms can be recited by individuals with no specialist knowledge nor any claim to having a specific power.[252] Others require specialised training in order to perform them.[251] Some of the individuals who performed magical acts on a more than occasional basis came to be identified as magicians, or with related concepts like sorcerers/sorceresses, witches, or cunning folk.[252] Identities as a magician can stem from an individual's own claims about themselves, or it can be a label placed upon them by others.[252] In the latter case, an individual could embrace such a label, or they could reject it, sometimes vehemently.[252] Economic incentives can encourage individuals to identify as magicians.[142] In the cases of various forms of traditional healer, as well as the later stage magicians or illusionists, the label of magician could become a job description.[252] Others claim such an identity out of a genuinely held belief that they have specific unusual powers or talents.[253] Different societies have different social regulations regarding who can take on such a role; for instance, it may be a question of familial heredity, or there may be gender restrictions on who is allowed to engage in such practices.[254] A variety of personal traits may be credited with giving magical power, and frequently they are associated with an unusual birth into the world.[255] For instance, in Hungary it was believed that a táltos would be born with teeth or an additional finger.[256] In various parts of Europe, it was believed that being born with a caul would associate the child with supernatural abilities.[256] In some cases, a ritual initiation is required before taking on a role as a specialist in such practices, and in others it is expected that an individual will receive a mentorship from another specialist.[257] Davies noted that it was possible to "crudely divide magic specialists into religious and lay categories".[258] He noted for instance that Roman Catholic priests, with their rites of exorcism, and access to holy water and blessed herbs, could be conceived as being magical practitioners.[259] Traditionally, the most common method of identifying, differentiating, and establishing magical practitioners from common people is by initiation. By means of rites the magician's relationship to the supernatural and his entry into a closed professional class is established (often through rituals that simulate death and rebirth into a new life).[260] However, Berger and Ezzy explain that since the rise of Neopaganism, "As there is no central bureaucracy or dogma to determine authenticity, an individual's self-determination as a Witch, Wiccan, Pagan or Neopagan is usually taken at face value".[261] Ezzy argues that practitioners' worldviews have been neglected in many sociological and anthropological studies and that this is because of "a culturally narrow understanding of science that devalues magical beliefs".[262] Mauss argues that the powers of both specialist and common magicians are determined by culturally accepted standards of the sources and the breadth of magic: a magician cannot simply invent or claim new magic. In practice, the magician is only as powerful as his peers believe him to be.[263] Throughout recorded history, magicians have often faced skepticism regarding their purported powers and abilities.[264] For instance, in sixteenth-century England, the writer Reginald Scot wrote The Discoverie of Witchcraft, in which he argued that many of those accused of witchcraft or otherwise claiming magical capabilities were fooling people using illusionism." (wikipedia.org) "The dog or domestic dog (Canis familiaris[4][5] or Canis lupus familiaris[5]) is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. The dog is derived from an ancient, extinct wolf,[6][7] and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative.[8] The dog was the first species to be domesticated,[9][8] by hunter–gatherers over 15,000 years ago,[7] before the development of agriculture.[1] Due to their long association with humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals[10] and gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.[11] The dog has been selectively bred over millennia for various behaviors, sensory capabilities, and physical attributes.[12] Dog breeds vary widely in shape, size, and color. They perform many roles for humans, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and the military, companionship, therapy, and aiding disabled people. Over the millennia, dogs became uniquely adapted to human behavior, and the human-canine bond has been a topic of frequent study.[13] This influence on human society has given them the sobriquet of "man's best friend".... Domestication Main article: Domestication of the dog The earliest remains generally accepted to be those of a domesticated dog were discovered in Bonn-Oberkassel, Germany. Contextual, isotopic, genetic, and morphological evidence shows that this dog was not a local wolf.[22] The dog was dated to 14,223 years ago and was found buried along with a man and a woman, all three having been sprayed with red hematite powder and buried under large, thick basalt blocks. The dog had died of canine distemper.[23] Earlier remains dating back to 30,000 years ago have been described as Paleolithic dogs, but their status as dogs or wolves remains debated[24] because considerable morphological diversity existed among wolves during the Late Pleistocene.[1] This timing indicates that the dog was the first species to be domesticated[9][8] in the time of hunter–gatherers,[7] which predates agriculture.[1] DNA sequences show that all ancient and modern dogs share a common ancestry and descended from an ancient, extinct wolf population which was distinct from the modern wolf lineage.[6][7] Most dogs form a sister group to the remains of a Late Pleistocene wolf found in the Kessleroch cave near Thayngen in the canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, which dates to 14,500 years ago. The most recent common ancestor of both is estimated to be from 32,100 years ago.[25] This indicates that an extinct Late Pleistocene wolf may have been the ancestor of the dog,[8][1][26] with the modern wolf being the dog's nearest living relative.[8] The dog is a classic example of a domestic animal that likely travelled a commensal pathway into domestication.[24][27] The questions of when and where dogs were first domesticated have taxed geneticists and archaeologists for decades.[9] Genetic studies suggest a domestication process commencing over 25,000 years ago, in one or several wolf populations in either Europe, the high Arctic, or eastern Asia.[10] In 2021, a literature review of the current evidence infers that the dog was domesticated in Siberia 23,000 years ago by ancient North Siberians, then later dispersed eastward into the Americas and westward across Eurasia.[22] Breeds Dogs are the most variable mammal on earth with around 450 globally recognized dog breeds.[10] In the Victorian era, directed human selection developed the modern dog breeds, which resulted in a vast range of phenotypes.[8] Most breeds were derived from small numbers of founders within the last 200 years,[8][10] and since then dogs have undergone rapid phenotypic change and were formed into today's modern breeds due to artificial selection imposed by humans. The skull, body, and limb proportions vary significantly between breeds, with dogs displaying more phenotypic diversity than can be found within the entire order of carnivores. These breeds possess distinct traits related to morphology, which include body size, skull shape, tail phenotype, fur type and colour.[8] Their behavioural traits include guarding, herding, and hunting,[8] retrieving, and scent detection. Their personality traits include hypersocial behavior, boldness, and aggression,[10] which demonstrates the functional and behavioral diversity of dogs.[8] As a result, present day dogs are the most abundant carnivore species and are dispersed around the world.[10] The most striking example of this dispersal is that of the numerous modern breeds of European lineage during the Victorian era.[7] Biology Anatomy Main article: Dog anatomy Skeleton All healthy dogs, regardless of their size and type, have an identical skeletal structure with the exception of the number of bones in the tail, although there is significant skeletal variation between dogs of different types.[28][29] The dog's skeleton is well adapted for running; the vertebrae on the neck and back have extensions for powerful back muscles to connect to, the long ribs provide plenty of room for the heart and lungs, and the shoulders are unattached to the skeleton allowing great flexibility.[28][29] Compared to the dog's wolf-like ancestors, selective breeding since domestication has seen the dog's skeleton greatly enhanced in size for larger types as mastiffs and miniaturised for smaller types such as terriers; dwarfism has been selectively utilised for some types where short legs are advantageous such as dachshunds and corgis.[29] Most dogs naturally have 26 vertebrae in their tails, but some with naturally short tails have as few as three.[28] The dog's skull has identical components regardless of breed type, but there is significant divergence in terms of skull shape between types.[29][30] The three basic skull shapes are the elongated dolichocephalic type as seen in sighthounds, the intermediate mesocephalic or mesaticephalic type, and the very short and broad brachycephalic type exemplified by mastiff type skulls.[29][30] Senses Further information: Dog anatomy § Senses A dog's senses include vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and sensitivity to Earth's magnetic field. Another study has suggested that dogs can see Earth's magnetic field.[31] Coat Main article: Dog coat Dogs display wide variation in coat type, density, length, color, and composition The coats of domestic dogs are of two varieties: "double" being familiar with dogs (as well as wolves) originating from colder climates, made up of a coarse guard hair and a soft down hair, or "single", with the topcoat only. Breeds may have an occasional "blaze", stripe, or "star" of white fur on their chest or underside.[32] Premature graying can occur in dogs from as early as one year of age; this is associated with impulsive behaviors, anxiety behaviors, fear of noise, and fear of unfamiliar people or animals.[33] Tail There are many different shapes for dog tails: straight, straight up, sickle, curled, or corkscrew. As with many canids, one of the primary functions of a dog's tail is to communicate their emotional state, which can be crucial in getting along with others. In some hunting dogs the tail is traditionally docked to avoid injuries. Health Main article: Dog health Some breeds of dogs are prone to specific genetic ailments such as elbow and hip dysplasia, blindness, deafness, pulmonic stenosis, cleft palate, and trick knees. Two severe medical conditions significantly affecting dogs are pyometra, affecting unspayed females of all breeds and ages, and Gastric dilatation volvulus (bloat), which affects larger breeds or deep-chested dogs. Both of these are acute conditions and can kill rapidly. Dogs are also susceptible to parasites such as fleas, ticks, mites, hookworms, tapeworms, roundworms, and heartworms, which is a roundworm species that lives in the hearts of dogs. Several human foods and household ingestibles are toxic to dogs, including chocolate solids, causing theobromine poisoning, onions and garlic, causing thiosulphate, sulfoxide or disulfide poisoning, grapes and raisins, macadamia nuts, and xylitol.[34] The nicotine in tobacco can also be dangerous to dogs. Signs of ingestion can include copious vomiting (e.g., from eating cigar butts) or diarrhea. Some other symptoms are abdominal pain, loss of coordination, collapse, or death.[35][page needed] Dogs are also vulnerable to some of the same health conditions as humans, including diabetes, dental and heart disease, epilepsy, cancer, hypothyroidism, and arthritis. Lifespan Further information: Aging in dogs The typical lifespan of dogs varies widely among breeds, but for most, the median longevity (the age at which half the dogs in a population have died and half are still alive) ranges from 10 to 13 years.[36][37] The median longevity of mixed-breed dogs, taken as an average of all sizes, is one or more years longer than that of purebred dogs when all breeds are averaged.[36][37][38] For dogs in England, increased body weight has been found to be negatively correlated with longevity (i.e., the heavier the dog, the shorter its lifespan), and mixed-breed dogs live on average 1.2 years longer than purebred dogs.... Behavior Main article: Dog behavior See also: Dog behavior § Behavior compared with other canids Dog behavior is the internally coordinated responses (actions or inactions) of the domestic dog (individuals or groups) to internal and external stimuli.[58] As the oldest domesticated species, dogs' minds inevitably have been shaped by millennia of contact with humans. As a result of this physical and social evolution, dogs have acquired the ability to understand and communicate with humans more than any other species and they are uniquely attuned to human behaviors.[13] Behavioral scientists have uncovered a surprising set of social-cognitive abilities in domestic dogs. These abilities are not possessed by the dog's closest canine relatives or other highly intelligent mammals, such as great apes, but rather parallel to children's social-cognitive skills.[59] Unlike other domestic species selected for production-related traits, dogs were initially selected for their behaviors.[60][61] In 2016, a study found that only 11 fixed genes showed variation between wolves and dogs. These gene variations were unlikely to have been the result of natural evolution and indicate selection on both morphology and behavior during dog domestication. These genes have been shown to affect the catecholamine synthesis pathway, with the majority of the genes affecting the fight-or-flight response[61][62] (i.e., selection for tameness) and emotional processing.[61] Dogs generally show reduced fear and aggression compared with wolves.[61][63] Some of these genes have been associated with aggression in some dog breeds, indicating their importance in both the initial domestication and later in breed formation.[61] Traits of high sociability and lack of fear in dogs may include genetic modifications related to Williams-Beuren syndrome in humans, which cause hypersociability at the expense of problem-solving ability.[64] Intelligence Main article: Dog intelligence Dog intelligence is the dog's ability to perceive information and retain it as knowledge for applying to solve problems. Studies of two dogs suggest that dogs can learn by inference and have advanced memory skills. A study with Rico, a Border Collie, showed that he knew the labels of over 200 different items. He inferred the names of novel things by exclusion learning and correctly retrieved those new items immediately and four weeks after the initial exposure. A study of another Border Collie, Chaser, documented his learning and memory capabilities. He had learned the names and could associate by verbal command over 1,000 words.[65] Dogs can read and react appropriately to human body language such as gesturing and pointing and human voice commands. One study of canine cognitive abilities found that dogs' capabilities are no more exceptional than those of other animals, such as horses, chimpanzees, or cats.[66] One limited study of 18 household dogs found that they lacked spatial memory, and were more focussed on the "what" of a task rather than the "where".[67] Dogs demonstrate a theory of mind by engaging in deception.[68] An experimental study showed compelling evidence that Australian dingos can outperform domestic dogs in non-social problem-solving, indicating that domestic dogs may have lost much of their original problem-solving abilities once they joined humans.[69] Another study revealed that after undergoing training to solve a simple manipulation task, dogs faced with an unsolvable version of the same problem look at the human, while socialized wolves do not.[70] Communication Main article: Dog communication Dog sounds 0:15 A dog making noises and barking Problems playing this file? See media help. Dog communication is how dogs convey information to other dogs, understand messages from humans and translate the information that dogs are transmitting.[71]: xii  Communication behaviors of dogs include eye gaze, facial expression, vocalization, body posture (including movements of bodies and limbs), and gustatory communication (scents, pheromones, and taste). Humans communicate to dogs by using vocalization, hand signals, and body posture. Ecology Population The dog is probably the most widely abundant large carnivoran living in the human environment.[72][73] In 2013, the estimated global dog population was between 700 million[74] and 987 million.[75] About 20% of dogs live as pets in developed countries.[76] In the developing world, dogs are more commonly feral or communally owned, with pet dogs uncommon. Most of these dogs live their lives as scavengers and have never been owned by humans, with one study showing their most common response when approached by strangers is to run away (52%) or respond aggressively (11%).[77] Little is known about these dogs, or the dogs in developed countries that are feral, strays, or are in shelters because the great majority of modern research on dog cognition has focused on pet dogs living in human homes.[78] Competitors and predators Although dogs are the most abundant and widely distributed terrestrial carnivores, feral and free-ranging dogs' potential to compete with other large carnivores is limited by their strong association with humans.[72] For example, a review of the studies in dogs' competitive effects on sympatric carnivores did not mention any research on competition between dogs and wolves.[79][80] Although wolves are known to kill dogs, they tend to live in pairs or in small packs in areas where they are highly persecuted, giving them a disadvantage facing large dog groups.[79][81] Wolves kill dogs wherever they are found together.[82] In some instances, wolves have displayed an uncharacteristic fearlessness of humans and buildings when attacking dogs to the extent that they have to be beaten off or killed.[83] Although the numbers of dogs killed each year are relatively low, it induces a fear of wolves entering villages and farmyards to take dogs and losses of dogs to wolves have led to demands for more liberal wolf hunting regulations.[79] Coyotes and big cats have also been known to attack dogs. In particular, leopards are known to have a preference for dogs and have been recorded to kill and consume them, no matter what their size.[84] Siberian tigers in the Amur River region have killed dogs in the middle of villages. This indicates that the dogs were targeted. Amur tigers will not tolerate wolves as competitors within their territories, and the tigers could be considering dogs in the same way.[85] Striped hyenas are known to kill dogs in their range.[86] Diet See also: Dog food A Golden Retriever gnawing on a pig's foot Dogs have been described as omnivores.[12][87][88] Compared to wolves, dogs from agricultural societies have extra copies of amylase and other genes involved in starch digestion that contribute to an increased ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet.[11] Similar to humans, some dog breeds produce amylase in their saliva and are classified as having a high starch diet.[89] However, more like cats and less like other omnivores, dogs can only produce bile acid with taurine and they cannot produce vitamin D, which they obtain from animal flesh. Also more like cats, dogs require arginine to maintain its nitrogen balance. These nutritional requirements place dogs halfway between carnivores and omnivores.[90] Range Dogs were introduced to Antarctica as sled dogs, but were later outlawed by international agreement due to the possible risk of spreading infections.[99] Roles with humans Domestic dogs inherited complex behaviors, such as bite inhibition, from their wolf ancestors, which would have been pack hunters with a complex body language. These sophisticated forms of social cognition and communication may account for their trainability, playfulness and ability to fit into human households and social situations. These attributes have given dogs a relationship with humans that has enabled them to become one of the most successful animals today.[100] The dogs' value to early human hunter-gatherers led to them quickly becoming ubiquitous across world cultures. Dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and the military, companionship and aiding disabled individuals. This influence on human society has given them the nickname "man's best friend" in the Western world. In some cultures, however, dogs are also a source of meat.[101][102] Pets Siberian Huskies are pack animals that still enjoy some human companionship It is estimated that three-quarters of the world's dog population lives in the developing world as feral, village, or community dogs, with pet dogs uncommon.[103][page needed] "The most widespread form of interspecies bonding occurs between humans and dogs"[104] and the keeping of dogs as companions, particularly by elites, has a long history.[14] Pet dog populations grew significantly after World War II as suburbanization increased.[14] In the 1950s and 1960s, dogs were kept outside more often than they tend to be today[105](the expression "in the doghouse" - recorded since 1932[106] - to describe exclusion from the group implies a distance between the doghouse and the home) and were still primarily functional, acting as a guard, children's playmate, or walking companion. From the 1980s, there have been changes in the pet dog's role, such as the increased role of dogs in the emotional support of their human guardians.[107][page needed] People and their dogs have become increasingly integrated and implicated in each other's lives[108][page needed] to the point where pet dogs actively shape how a family and home are experienced.[109] There have been two significant trends occurring within the second half of the 20th century in pet dogs' changing status. The first has been "commodification", shaping it to conform to social expectations of personality and behavior.[109] The second has been the broadening of the family's concept and the home to include dogs-as-dogs within everyday routines and practices.[109] A vast range of commodity forms aims to transform a pet dog into an ideal companion.[110] The list of goods, services, and places available is enormous: from dog perfumes, couture, furniture and housing to dog groomers, therapists, trainers and caretakers, dog cafes, spas, parks and beaches and dog hotels, airlines and cemeteries.[110] Dog training books, classes, and television programs proliferated as the process of commodifying the pet dog continued.[111] The majority of contemporary dog owners describe their pet as part of the family, although some ambivalence about the relationship is evident in the popular reconceptualization of the dog-human family as a pack.[109] Some dog trainers, such as on the television program Dog Whisperer, have promoted a dominance model of dog-human relationships. However, it has been disputed that "trying to achieve status" is characteristic of dog-human interactions.[112] The idea of the "alpha dog" trying to be dominant is based on a disproved theory about wolf packs.[113][114] Pet dogs play an active role in family life; for example, a study of conversations in dog-human families showed how family members use the dog as a resource, talking to the dog, or talking through the dog; to mediate their interactions with each other.[115] Increasingly, human family-members engage in activities centered on the dog's perceived needs and interests, or in which the dog is an integral partner, such as dog dancing and dog yoga.[110] According to statistics published by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association in the National Pet Owner Survey in 2009–2010, an estimated 77.5 million people in the United States have pet dogs.[116] The same source shows that nearly 40% of American households own at least one dog, of which 67% own just one dog, 25% two dogs and nearly 9% more than two dogs. There does not seem to be any gender preference among dogs as pets, as the statistical data reveal an equal number of male and female pet dogs. Although several programs promote pet adoption, less than one-fifth of the owned dogs come from shelters.[116] A study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to compare humans and dogs showed that dogs have the same response to voices and use the same parts of the brain as humans do. This gives dogs the ability to recognize human emotional sounds, making them friendly social pets to humans.[117] Workers Dogs have lived and worked with humans in many roles. In addition to dogs' role as companion animals, dogs have been bred for herding livestock (collies, sheepdogs),[118][page needed][12] hunting (hounds, pointers)[119][page needed] and rodent control (terriers).[12] Other types of working dogs include search and rescue dogs,[120] detection dogs trained to detect illicit drugs[121] or chemical weapons;[122] guard dogs; dogs who assist fishermen with the use of nets; and dogs that pull loads.[12] In 1957, the dog Laika became the first animal to be launched into Earth orbit, aboard the Soviets' Sputnik 2; she died during the flight.[123][124] Various kinds of service dogs and assistance dogs, including guide dogs, hearing dogs, mobility assistance dogs and psychiatric service dogs, assist individuals with disabilities.[125][126] Some dogs owned by people with epilepsy have been shown to alert their handler when the handler shows signs of an impending seizure, sometimes well in advance of onset, allowing the guardian to seek safety, medication, or medical care.[127] Athletes and models See also: Conformation show People often enter their dogs in competitions, such as breed-conformation shows or sports, including racing, sledding and agility competitions. In conformation shows, also referred to as breed shows, a judge familiar with the specific dog breed evaluates individual purebred dogs for conformity with their established breed type as described in the breed standard. As the breed standard only deals with the dog's externally observable qualities (such as appearance, movement and temperament), separately tested qualities (such as ability or health) are not part of the judging in conformation shows. Food Main article: Dog meat Dog meat is consumed in some East Asian countries, including Korea,[128][page needed] China,[101] Vietnam[102] and the Philippines,[129] which dates back to antiquity.[130] Based on limited data, it is estimated that 13–16 million dogs are killed and consumed in Asia every year.[131] In China, debates have ensued over banning the consumption of dog meat.[132] Following the Sui and Tang dynasties of the first millennium, however, people living on northern China's plains began to eschew eating dogs, which is likely due to Buddhism and Islam's spread, two religions that forbade the consumption of certain animals, including the dog. As members of the upper classes shunned dog meat, it gradually became a social taboo to eat it, even though the general population continued to consume it for centuries afterward.[133] Dog meat is also consumed in some parts of Switzerland.[134] Other cultures, such as Polynesia and pre-Columbian Mexico, also consumed dog meat in their history. Dog fat is also reportedly believed to be beneficial for the lungs in some parts of Poland[135][136] and Central Asia.[137][138] Proponents of eating dog meat have argued that placing a distinction between livestock and dogs is Western hypocrisy and that there is no difference in eating different animals' meat.[139][140][141][142] Dogs were depicted to symbolize guidance, protection, loyalty, fidelity, faithfulness, alertness, and love.[168] In ancient Mesopotamia, from the Old Babylonian period until the Neo-Babylonian, dogs were the symbol of Ninisina, the goddess of healing and medicine,[169] and her worshippers frequently dedicated small models of seated dogs to her.[169] In the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods, dogs were used as emblems of magical protection.[169] In China, Korea and Japan, dogs are viewed as kind protectors.[170] In mythology, dogs often serve as pets or as watchdogs.[170] Stories of dogs guarding the gates of the underworld recur throughout Indo-European mythologies[171][172] and may originate from Proto-Indo-European religion.[171][172] In Greek mythology, Cerberus is a three-headed, dragon-tailed watchdog who guards the gates of Hades.[170] Dogs are also associated with the Greek goddess Hecate.[173] In Norse mythology, a bloody, four-eyed dog called Garmr guards Helheim.[170] In Persian mythology, two four-eyed dogs guard the Chinvat Bridge.[170] In Welsh mythology, Annwn is guarded by Cŵn Annwn.[170] In Hindu mythology, Yama, the god of death, owns two watchdogs who have four eyes. They are said to watch over the gates of Naraka.[174] A black dog is also considered to be the vahana (vehicle) of Bhairava (an incarnation of Shiva).[175] In Christianity, dogs represent faithfulness.[170] Within the Roman Catholic denomination specifically, the iconography of Saint Dominic includes a dog, after the hallow's mother dreamt of a dog springing from her womb and becoming pregnant shortly after that.[176] As such, the Dominican Order (Ecclesiastical Latin: Domini canis) means "dog of the Lord" or "hound of the Lord" (Ecclesiastical Latin: Domini canis).[176] In Christian folklore, a church grim often takes the form of a black dog to guard Christian churches and their churchyards from sacrilege.[177] Jewish law does not prohibit keeping dogs and other pets.[178] Jewish law requires Jews to feed dogs (and other animals that they own) before themselves and make arrangements for feeding them before obtaining them.[178] The view on dogs in Islam is mixed, with some schools of thought viewing it as unclean,[170] although Khaled Abou El Fadl states that this view is based on "pre-Islamic Arab mythology" and "a tradition to be falsely attributed to the Prophet."[179] Therefore, Sunni Malaki and Hanafi jurists permit the trade of and keeping of dogs as pets.[180] Terminology     Dog – the species (or subspecies) as a whole, also any male member of the same.[181]     Bitch – any female member of the species (or subspecies).[182]     Puppy or pup – a young member of the species (or subspecies) under 12 months old.[183]     Sire – the male parent of a litter.[183]     Dam – the female parent of a litter.[183]     Litter – all of the puppies resulting from a single whelping.[183]     Whelping – the act of a bitch giving birth.[183]     Whelps – puppies still dependent upon their dam." (wikipedia.org)
  • Condition: New other (see details)
  • Condition: New; box has wear. Please see photos and description.
  • Shape: Dog
  • Power Source: Corded
  • Occasion: Halloween
  • Size: Medium
  • Area of Use: Balcony, Bridge, Lawn, Porch, Indoor/Outdoor, Foyer, Living Room
  • Indoor/Outdoor: Indoor & Outdoor
  • MPN: 0-02159496-5
  • Item Length: 16.5 in
  • Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
  • Item Height: 20.5 in
  • Style: Novelty
  • Features: Light Up, Glittered, Indoor/Outdoor, Retired
  • Finish: Glitter
  • Item Width: 7.7 in
  • Pattern: No Pattern
  • Character: Skeleton Dog
  • Color: Black
  • Material: Sisal
  • Franchise: Totally Ghoul
  • Subject: Dog
  • Brand: Kmart
  • Type: Pre-Lit Halloween Decoration
  • Theme: Animals & Dinosaurs
  • Time Period Manufactured: 2010-2019
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: China

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