Just in time for Halloween, here is my last installment on "superstitions". As Donovan said in the 1960s, "Must be the season of the witch."
What we call "witchcraft" has existed for the last 30,000 years of human history in various forms. Thus, it is not surprising that there is no consensus on just what witchcraft is. Is it simply "devil worship?" Or is it the feminine/womanly practicing of the healing arts (herbal and floral medicine, knowledge of childbirth, midwifery for example)? Please read my previous detailed post regarding this subject at the following web address: http://historyspaces.blogspot.com/2011/10/drugs-wise-women-witchcraft-medieval.html
Margaret Hamilton (see above) created the most memorable image of a witch in "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939. She wore a pointed hat to finish off the draping black outfit she sported in the film. Why do witches wear pointed hats? One superstition states that the point of the hat is a reverential symbol of the horns of the Devil.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The horns of the Devil. |
But another source ("The Not So Wicked Witch" by Stella Maris, A&E Monthly Magazine, October, 1994) says that 19th century book illustrators invented the image as a negative reference to superstitious rural folk who might wear such hats which were very much out of style.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Sweeping her tracks from the sky. |
And why do witches fly around on broomsticks? One superstition states that the broom was used in order to sweep away the witch's tracks in the sky so no other individual, thing or spirit could follow her.
And why have they been so closely associated with brooms in the first place? Supposedly, the magic staff of a witch was used to cast spells, and also to draw a circle on the ground within which the witch could conger forth the Devil and other evil spirits. To possess a magic staff was sure evidence of witchcraft, so witches disguised their staffs as brooms by attaching a small sheath of straw to them and placing them right out in the open in their homes.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Magic staff disguised as a broom. |
Other historical sources say that it was a common practice for rural English women to leave a broom next to their door to let visitors know they were away. Also, midwives ("witches") in ancient Rome, after delivering a baby, would protect the mother and new baby from "evil spirits" by using a broom to sweep the doorsteps of the home in which the birth had just occurred. (Extra tidbit. Who was the first President of the U.S. to be born in a hospital, and not by a doctor or midwife at home? Jimmy Carter.)
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| First President born in a hospital. |
And what do witches have to do with the superstition that Friday, the 13th, is an unlucky day? A "coven" of witches consists of 13 individuals. Twelve of them are witches, and the 13th member is the Devil. And why is Friday the "unlucky" day? According to Christian tradition, Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday. There were thirteen people at the Last Supper, the 13th being Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus. The "Flood" described in The Bible which inundated the world started on a Friday, raining for forty days and forty nights.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| There were 13 people at "The Last Supper." |
Many individuals who are called "witches" are really no more or less than members of the "Wiccan" religion. They are followers of the "old ways" I have previously mentioned. One member of this religious group said, "The Wiccan religion is a nature based religion, it's a world religion. It has a basic philosophy to do no harm and to be of service. We honor the divine, which some people call God."
It has been estimated that there are at least 100,000 active, self declared pagans and members of the Wiccan religion in the United States. Some Wiccan churches have tried to attain the tax exempt status of the traditional churches in the U.S.. So, love them as a symbol of fun at Halloween, or hate them as devil worshippers, witches have been a part of human civilization for thousands of years. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| "Have a happy All Hallows Eve." |
FINIS