Firstly, I would like to say that the following information is aimed, mostly, at past witchcraft and I apologise if any Pagan readers take any of it into offence, for one reason or another.

From childhood we all have a clear, preconceived idea of what a witch looks like- an ugly old woman wearing a black cloak and a tall, pointed, wide brimmed hat, who gets around by flying through the air on a broom stick and who is frequently to be found cackling wickedly while stirring some foul-smelling brew in a black cauldron or casting evil spells. The picture is often extended to include a black cat that goes everywhere with her and a tumbledown cottage. Unfortunately the clarity of our perception of the traditional witch does not extend to witchcraft; or in other words, we couldn?e more wrong.

At certain periods in history hysteria and paranoia overcame many societies, and with them came the belief that all their troubles were the result of witchcraft. For the alleged crime of witchcraft a simple accusation was often enough to guarantee the horrific torture of the accused to extract a confession, then he or she would be subjected to a protracted and agonising execution.

The confusion over the exact nature of witchcraft was far from helped by the writings of Margaret Murray, a British anthropologist, archaeologist and Egyptologist, who was born in 1863 and died in 1963, and who became interested in witchcraft in the course of her study of Egyptology. It was her contention, as set out in her book, The Witch-cult in Western Europe, published in 1921, that the history of witchcraft was an ongoing one, that witchcraft was originally an old Pagan, organized religion dating back to earliest times and that the witchcraft which was the centre of so much hysteria in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was a remnant of this ancient religion.
Some of Murray?onclusions were based on The Golden Bough, written by Sir James Frazer and published in 1890, in which the author raised the question of witchcraft having Palaeolithic origins. Murray, however, took the matter much further and maintained that there was a strong connection between what was known about some of the early Pagan religious practices and the rites that were described by those confessing to witchcraft during the period of witchcraft hysteria, part of her research having included written records of witchcraft trials. According to her way of thinking, the supposed old religion of witchcraft had been alive, in part, all the time but had been driven underground by Christianity. The theory was that the old rituals had survived because of the meetings of a series of coverns throughout the ages.
Murray?uggestion that witchcraft represents a continuing and continuous Pagan religion was the subject of much controversy. Her theory is upheld by many modern witches but much of it has been rejected by modern scholars on the grounds of lack of evidence. She did not do her credibility much good by publication of The Divine King in England in 1954 in which she contended that from William the Conqueror on every English King as far as James I and VI was a closet witch and also alleged that over the centuries many statesmen had been killed by witch?itual rather than by the presumed means.
Murray?heories of witchcraft as an unbroken, secret, Pagan religion that had suddenly become more prominent and more public during periods noted for their witchcraft hysteria did not take into account the part that the Church played in this hysteria. Nor did it place enough emphasis on the fact that the confessions that were a major part of the basis of her research were completely contrived. A great many such confessions were extracted by some form of enforced distress, whether this took the form of excruciating torture by some terrible device or some more subtle form, and the similarity that was a feature of these even from country to country was largely because of the degree of standardization of the questions. The similarity in witchcraft trials in different countries was far greater than might be supposed because of existence of Malleus Maleficarum, a book on witchcraft first published in Germany in 1486 and known as the ?mer of the Witches? kind of guide book to witchcraft and the prosecution of witches, which was adopted as a kind of guidebook for witchcraft trials throughout Europe and later England.

Demons
Demons were generally associated with witchcraft in at least two respects. They were supposedly given the role of helpers to witches after the latter had taken allegiance to their master, the Devil. In order not to advertise their evil presence, the demons took the form of creatures whose presence would not cause suspicion. These commonly included cats, dogs, hares, rabbits, toads and ravens. Such demonic witches?sistants were known as familiars.
Ashtaroth
The best known and most major of the demons included Ashtaroth. He was associated with science and secrets and was thought to be useful in rituals relating to divination. Supposedly he gave off a terrible stench. Ashtaroth was linked with witchcraft for his alleged role in demonic possession, being one of the senior demons supposedly involved in the possession of the Loudun nuns.
Asmodeus
Another well-known and major demon is Asmodeus. He was associated with rage, revenge, lust and lechery, and was regarded as the demon most likely to be at the heart of any demonic possession of a sexual nature. It was said that if witches and sorcerers successfully conjured him up he could help them attack or destroy their enemies.
Beelzebub
Another major and powerful demon was Beelzebub. He was regarded as being the prince of demons and was known as the Lord of the Flies, because he often adopted the shape of a fly when he made an appearance. He was traditionally linked with witchcraft in that he was thought to reign over sabbats. This was appropriate since he was associated with gluttony and orgies and supposedly copulated with the witches in the course of the sabbats. His name was chanted by witches at sabbats and at black masses. Like Ashtaroth, he was said to have been involved in the demonic possession of the Loudun nuns.
Belial
Another major demon was Belial. His name is sometimes used as a synonym for Satan, but as a demon he was associated with treachery and lies and with the creation of wickedness in humankind, especially when this wickedness was associated with sexual perversion, lust or lechery. He was considered to be not only exceptionally evil but exceptionally, and deceptively, beautiful in appearance.