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impossible.* The early Church had tried to eradicate the vestiges of this older non-hierarchical tradition by denying the existence of witches or magic outside of the Church. The Canon Episcopi, a Church law which first appeared in 906, decreed that belief in witchcraft was heretical.23 After describing pagan rituals which involved women demonstrating extraordinary powers, it declared: For an innumerable multitude, deceived by this false opinion, believe this to be true and, so believing, wander from the right faith and are involved in the error of the pagans when they think that there is anything of divinity or power except the one God.24 Nevertheless, the belief in magic was still so prevalent in the fourteenth century that the Council of Chartres ordered anathema to be pronounced against sorcerers each Sunday in every church.25 It took the Church a long time to persuade society that women were inclined toward evil witchcraft and devil-worship. Reversing its policy of denying the existence of witches, in the thirteenth century the Church began depicting the witch as a slave of the devil.26 No longer was she or he to be associated with an older pagan tradition. No longer was the witch to be thought of as benevolent healer, teacher, wise woman, or one who accessed divine power. She was now to be an evil satanic agent. The Church began authorizing frightening portrayals of
* The idea that humanity could live without domination and violence, far from being an idealistic myth, is beginning to be substantiated by a new picture of human history. The work of James Mellaart, Marija Gimbutas, and Riane Eisler illustrates that humanity lived as much as 25,000 years in peace, much longer than the 3500-5000 years that it has lived with warfare and domination.