What's up Witches!
Let’s just say that more or less of what we know about witches is technically wrong. They do not wear pointy headgears, concoct potions in a huge cauldron, have a cackling laugh or warts all over their faces. These are only a few of the many things that popular social media’s disseminated about witches and witchcraft
In fact, some would even like to believe that witch-burnings were propaganda-driven. That is, however, a discussion for some other time. Here are a few facts about witchcraft to clear a few misconceptions.
Not all witches are evil.
It sounds obvious because a lot of us know mostly about witchcraft from Wizard of Oz , Harry Potter , and the likes. But witchcraft in real life has a very negative connotation, so much so, that witches were once given death sentences to cleanse the society. But there have been, throughout history, practitioners of white magic as well. Witchcraft is not synonymous to black magic. It is an umbrella term that includes both white and black magic.
Hardly any ‘witch’ was ever burnt at a stake.
Only a handful of witches were ever burnt on stakes in real life. Even during the well-known Salem Witch Trials, 165 people were accused out of which 31 were imprisoned, of which 19 were sentenced to death. Out of those 19 people, 18 were women who were hanged to death. The one remaining was a man who refused to admit that he was a witch and was crushed to death with stones. So, immolation was never the primary means of execution as it was not permissible by law. In fact, in America none of the accused were burnt.
Witches have no gender limits (in fact no race, creed, orientation limits either)
It was believed for the longest time that witchcraft was mostly a female activity. But there are male counterparts of witches as well, mostly referred to as wizards, warlocks or sorcerers. Countless men and women have been persecuted throughout history in suspicion of practicing witchcraft.
No solid evidence was required to convict a person of witchcraft.
This does not make much sense but then it happened in a society writhing under baseless superstitions. ‘Evidence’ like appearances in a dream was enough to book a case against someone.
Malleus Maleficarum : the witch-hunting manual that became the gospel of every witch-hunter.
The book Malleus Maleficarum became the go-to handbook on how to deal with a witch for the hysteric masses and the witch-hunters alike. It was a legal and theological document written by two clergymen, which offered tips like shave the hair off the witch’s body so that she can’t hide magical objects. Go, figure.
Halloween is not the only time when all the witches come out.
Halloween is more fun than serious but unlike popular belief, it is not especially marked in a witch’s calendar. They are also believed to celebrate the first day of May or Beltane and Midsummer’s eve that coincides with the summer solstice. In fact, Easter is associated with witches in Sweden.
Witches used broomsticks to fly. Almost.
It is one of the facts harder to believe but not if you take it figuratively. Practitioners of witchcraft experimented with herbs and potions. And in doing so, they might have used a mandrake plant, which has hallucinatory properties. It made people euphoric and even hallucinate at times. There were rituals that were performed in the nude and involved rubbing a herbal ointment that contained mandrake. After the ointment was put in the private parts, it caused a floating sensation. That sensation has been likened to that of floating on a broomstick.
Add comment
Comments