the witch a mark or 'flesh-brand' on some part of the body.

2. _The Introduction_

It is not clear whether the introduction of a candidate by a member of the
society was an early or a late detail. It is quite possible that it was
early, the introducer standing in the same relation to the candidate as the
Christian sponsors stand to a candidate for baptism. On the other hand, it
is quite comprehensible that, when the witch religion became an object of
persecution, no new member could be admitted unless vouched for by some
trustworthy person. In the cases where the first meetings with the Devil
are recorded, both systems are apparently in vogue. Occasionally, however,
the accounts show a confusion on the part of the recorder. Thus Anne
Chattox said that Mother Demdike introduced her to the Devil in Mother
Demdike's own house, and that she there yielded her soul to him; and in
another place she is reported as saying that 'a thing like a Christian man,
for foure yeares togeather, did sundry times come to this Examinate, and
requested this Examinate to giue him her Soule: And in the end, this
Examinate was contented to giue him her sayd Soule, shee being then in her
owne house, in the Forrest of Pendle.'[240] The two statements are not
inconsistent if we conclude that in her own house she consented to join the
society, and in Mother Demdike's presence she took the vows. As a rule the
men seem to have joined at the direct invitation of the Devil himself,
especially when they came of witch families.

3. _The Renunciation and Vows_

The renunciation of previous errors of faith and the vows of fidelity to
the new belief are part of the ceremony of admission of any convert to a
new religion. The renunciation by the witches was explicit, but the records
are apt to pass it over in a few words, e.g. 'I denied my baptism,' 'I
forsook God and Christ,' 'Ils renient Dieu, la Vierge, et le reste,' 'Vne
renonciation expresse a Iesu-Christ & a la foy'; but occasionally the words
are given in full. Mackenzie, quoting from Del Rio, gives the formula thus:
'I deny God Creator of Heaven and Earth, and I adhere to thee, and believe
in thee.'[241] The actual formula is still extant in the case of the priest
Louis Gaufredy, tried before the Parliament of Aix in 1611:

'Ie Louys Gaufredy renonce a tous les biens tant spirituels que
corporels qui me pourroyent estre conferez de la part de Dieu, de la
vierge Marie & de tous l