Old traditions

Sadly, a lot of traditions that started in ancient countries are starting to die out and are being replaced by new traditions, and in ways that is good but it is also a bad thing. I think that revolutionizing witchcraft is important because it's gongi to happen whether peopel like it or not, but the sad thing is that because modern day society is so close minded on witchcraft in general, a lot of traditions are either being dropped or replaced with representations. Let's face it that a lot of old cultures had magic practitioners, such as high priests/priestesses from ancient celtic lands, shamans from small villages, voodoo priests from small tribes, and a lot of them had some rather crude customs, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't learn from them and figure out WHY they did that. Back in ancient times, magic, for some people was a living and not just a practice and they used it every day and passed it on through generations, and if the traditions were passed on then there must have been some credibility to them, right?
A lot of these people used natural ingredients in spells, potions, rituals and charms. They might have used bones, venoms, blood, etc. but that doesn't mean they neccesarily went out and killed these animals or people to get these ingredients. Even if they did kill them, the ingredients must have been important for them to take measures like that and a part of magic is learning from ourselves and others, including those from ancient times because back then people's senses weren't as dilluted as now and they were more in sync with nature and the natural balance of things.
Now, remember that I'm not saying that you should go out and kill a bunch of things, DON'T do that, it's wrong. What I am saying is that we should study why magic practitioners took the actions they did in those times when performnig ceremonies or just in general life because it might support a lot of today's beleifs and fuel your understanding for how magic really works. Have fun!