By Stephen William, UK based Author of: ”Nostradamus His Prophecy Finally Explained.” Available on Amazon Kindle now. Mysticism has been around since the dawn of humankind. It appears to be the basis of all religions, as the originators of these had mystical experiences to obtain their philosophies and teachings. It was only later that mysticism appeared to be banished from most religions and was consigned to being a practice of the long distant past and could even be considered as heretical.
However, Mysticism in the form of mediumship which village healers/midwives, “wise women” , “cunning folk” or indeed the Woman of Endor many centuries previously used, has always been running in parallel with organized religion, although it was viewed by the established Churches hierarchies’ as heresy. Some modern Christians may say that some of these people traditionally were regarded as witches. Yet many of these folk healers and charmers would have been regular church attendees as their prominent position in their communities would almost compel them to be. Also, some of these people continued to serve their communities right into the late 19th and early 20th centuries in rural Britain and other countries. In Britain, they often used Biblical phrases, prayers and Christian symbols in their work as various writers who have studied their activities have recorded . They therefore in most cases cannot be viewed as emissaries of darkness to the modern mind and certainly not to the many ordinary church going folk in previous times. To common people of most societies these cunning folk were trusted healers either by spiritual or herbal medicine means (some of their herbal remedies are still used today with proven results) and bringers of visions of the future and departed loved ones . They were not seen as harmful as” witches” were seen to be . In fact, some of their work concerned the removal alleged “curses” by suspected “witches” by often Biblical incantations or prayers. Some readers may be sceptical of curses being placed on people by “witches” or anyone else and say that such things do not exist, However the uncomplicated folk of past times often put a run of misfortunes down to such things as curses. Somebody who could alleviate their concerns or worries and seem to provide a solution to their real or imagined problems would be most welcome in their community . Modern day clinical professionals often have patients who present themselves with exaggerated or psychosomatic symptoms yet treat them with kindness and appropriate treatment . So did these healers in those more primitive times. Conventional religious figures of authority such as bishops, priests etc. sometimes classified these cunning folk as not much better than “witches” themselves . Yet their popularity amongst the working folk and even the educated middle classes and local gentry for their services either mystical or medicinal, does not seem to have been discouraged by this ecclesiastical disapproval. Perhaps it because they did produce satisfactory results in curing people or produced spiritual outcomes whether predictive or by afterlife contact? Even in those less sophisticated times people were not completely gullible and would have not spent their hard-earned cash if their cures and messages were not credible. In the case of farm labourers, they were impoverished in a way that rarely exists in the developed world today. A DISPLAY OF A CUNNING WOMAN AND HER EQUIPMENT IN A MUSEUM IN ENGLAND. Perhaps we should not be surprised at their popularity with the general population. Conventional doctors up to the 1923 were still using bloodletting by both instrumentation and leeches for various medical conditions, which seems almost unbelievable now. The 1923 edition of “The Principles and Practice of Medicine” which includes such techniques bears this out . In the late Middle Ages and Renaissance Europe, university educated doctors would draw up a horoscope of the patient for their diagnosis ! Even the most “alternative” healer today would not do this! Therefore, the methods of the cunning folk did not seem outlandish to the techniques of “real” doctors. From a spiritual perspective , the cunning folk’s mystical contact with the Afterlife and their predictions of likely personal events in the future would have comforted people who had hard lives and much more limited lifespans than most modern people. Conventional religion did not offer such practical proof of a spiritual dimension to existence , just texts written many centuries before delivered by priests and ministers who had no practical evidence of the Afterlife themselves. Yet in many cases the cunning folk’s proof of a mystical dimension of existence would have actually strengthened most people’s religious belief. The term “cunning folk” is a British-English term in origin .However, it is used to describe similar mystics throughout Europe in the past 1000 years by historians of various nationalities. The local names of such people include, Kloge Folk(Wise Folk) Denmark, Toverdoktors (Magic doctors) the Netherlands, Devins-Guerisseurs( Soothsayers -Healers) France, Berendanti ( Good Walkers) Italy. Cunning Folk were sometimes mistakenly persecuted under anti-witchcraft laws in many countries. However, as they were often respectable church going members in their communities, they were left alone most of the time. Many cunning folk were purely following their family tradition and their herbal skills were often taught to them by older members of their families. Their mystical contact skills were also passed on this way if they did not come naturally to them. Sometimes these skills were passed on to non-members of the family. No doubt they mostly paid for their training. Or perhaps naturally gifted mystics were taught additional healing skills to assist the local cunning person free of charge and to expand the practice. As there were thousands of these folk in all countries providing these services, that was very possible. So why did these people decline in popularity and in practice, especially in the English-speaking world ? Possibly because they were replaced mainly by another group of mystical people in modern times. Although the term “cunning-folk” was a British term, many of the people who could be described by this term from many countries migrated to the Americas and in particular the USA over the past four centuries. Pennsylvania for example had quite a few “cunning- folk” practising in the State. Some of them were also practising Quakers . The Biblical restrictions on direct spiritual contact did not seem to bother them ! Yet that should not really surprise us ,as the Quakers of Pennsylvania were Christian radicals who originally migrated from England to escape persecution from the more conventional Protestant religion there. Having a more progressive outlook on direct spiritual contact would possibly appeal to some of them. However, the presence of “cunning folk” in America which interests me mainly is the cunning folk who lived in New York State in the early 1800s. There were some in Wayne County in the west of the State ,when the Fox Sisters often credited with the birth of Modern Spiritualism first apparently had their mystical experiences . The family had only moved there for a year from Canada when the younger teenage Fox Sisters produced what they called “spirit rappings”. They did these to public audiences around New York State and soon their abilities became a worldwide sensation and led to the birth of Modern Spiritualism. Obviously as is well known the Fox Sisters are controversial figures and not only has some of their work has been discredited, but one of them even in her later years even admitted to faking her earlier performances. However, this was in return for large sums of money from a sensationalist newspaper and a book publisher that wanted a bestselling book. As modern mystics we know direct communication with the spiritual dimension and the departed is possible and we can prove it. Therefore, even if the Fox Sisters were frauds , where did they get their inspiration from that such direct spiritual contact was possible? The Fox Sisters apparently did not display any mediumistic abilities before arriving in New York State. Their family apparently seemed to be conventional practising Methodists. A few decades before their arrival in the area, the Church of The Latter-Day Saints was formed a few miles away from where they settled to live. The founders of this new church incorporated some of Cunning Folk practices into their new religion. These included the use of” seer stones” which were divination objects used by some cunning folk in their work. Some of the founders of what is more commonly known as Mormonism said they used “seer stones” to produce texts for their new religion. Whether “seer stones” work or not is open to debate, as most modern mediums or mystics do not need to use such objects. Yet it does prove that some of the cunning folks practices had an influence on the other people around them in that area. Perhaps the younger Fox Sisters became fascinated with their activities even if they possibly had no mystic ability themselves? Or perhaps their “spirit rappings” for public performances ,overshadowed an actual ability ,but trickery to produce audible noises for public consumption, destroyed in many people’s minds their total credibility? What it did do though by the publicity generated, is create an opportunity for genuine mystics ,whether they were cunning-folk or natural mystics to come out the back rooms or kitchens etc. to satisfy the public’s thirst for knowledge of the spiritual side to existence. Sure, some frauds were amongst the people that came forward and saw it as a way to make money by giving a simulated act of spiritual phenomena , but most were genuine as they have been throughout history. This of course led to the modern Spiritualist Movement which is still successfully expanding throughout the world and other forms of mysticism. So Cunning Folk in many instances became Spiritualists and Spiritual Mediums. Some still retained their original identity from whatever ethnic background they originated from .However as modern scientifically proven medicine became more effective especially from the 1930s onwards the demand for their medicinal services diminished and many became purely spiritual in practice, instead of herbalists etc. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, Mysticism appears to be the basis of most religions. It now seems to be emerging from reading about other people’s mystical experiences long ago and having modern ones ourselves. Hopefully this time mystical experience will remain the gift for everyone and not just a forbidden secret. ©Stephen William International Copyright. If you wish to discuss anything contained in this or any of my other articles ,please contact me on stephenwhealing@gmail.com My book which covers modern mysticism as well as Nostradamus’s , is available at only US $ 3.45 on Amazon Kindle or FREE TO READ if you are a Kindle Unlimited member. please follow this following link https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B098LS5PM7/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MBDF06G549ZKJ6XFKMCJ |
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