Weekend of the Witch: History

Witches and wizards are people thought to possess magical powers or to command supernatural forces. They appear in the myths and folktales of many cultures. The word witch usually refers to a female, though male witches exist in some traditions. Men who possess the powers associated with witchcraft are often known as wizards. Witches are, for the most part, humans who gained arcane power either through birthright or, more commonly, by making a pact with some sort of spirit.  They often have a familiar animal or spirit.

Are They Bad or Good? 

In many myths and legends, witches are evil, dishonest, or dangerous. Some cultures do not consider them fully human. If not evil by nature, witches may be possessed by demons or wicked spirits determined to harm humans according to the religious teaching.  Yet ordinary men and women may learn magic for the purpose of hurting others. Such people are sometimes called sorcerers and sorceresses rather than wizards and witches. Historically, practitioners of white magic were known as white witches, and they were more folk healers than devious people out for double, double toil and trouble. These witches and wizards are popularly associated with the worship of Mother Earth or Nature.African tradition distinguishes between good magicians, or medicine men, and bad magicians, or sorcerers. Both types are distinct from the nonhuman witch.

Witch Hunt

Thousands of years ago, people were forced to live much more primitive lives than we currently know today.  Without the luxury of modern medicine and treatments, when a person was sick, ill or in pain there was little that could be done about it.  Becoming ill was much more dangerous in those ancient days, and the ramifications of any sickness were frequently much more serious.  During those early days, there were some sage women that learned the value of healing herbs, and other types of homeopathic treatments.  These women were actually very wise when it came to their knowledge of herbal remedies.  Many people received aid and were helped by the homemade remedies made by these wise women.  These astute women, skilled in the art of natural medicine, also sometimes functioned as midwives and assisted in the delivery of babies, using various plant-based medicines to ease the pain and suffering experienced during childbirth.

During ancient times, wizards had earned respect and recognition for their knowledge, astrology, philosophy, alchemy and healing powers, for which some of the wizards were elevated to the position of God in ancient religion. Their mastery in alchemy made them contemporaries of ancient scientists, they made great discoveries in metallurgy and chemistry. The magical feats of the ancient wizards are legendary. For example, it is a legend that the ancient poet Virgil escaped a prison by sailing on a boat, which he simply drew on the prison wall. He is later credited to have founded a sorcery school in Naples. Some of the wizards were known as Magi, possessors of magical powers that could control the weather elements. The word Magic is derived from the word Magi. In ancient Egypt, Thoth was considered to be the God of Magic and Writing, who is equivalent to the Greek deity Hermes Trismegistus. The writings of Hermes are known as Hermetica, and it has been an inspiration for ancient and modern wizards alike, due to its deep knowledge of philosophy, alchemy, astrology, and magic.

Little was understood about healing and medicine in those ancient days, and as Christianity spread across Europe, many clergy from the church felt very upset by the existence of learned women who were healing others with medicine and other remedies.  As far as the church was concerned, all healing should be done strictly through men in the church.  There were many others who felt that if a person was sick or ill that it was God’s punishment for some sin committed and the suffering that came from it was just something that must be dealt with by the afflicted person.  Over time, the healers began to be associated and accused of various things including heresy, being anti-Christian and eventually many were accused of devil worship.

During the Middle Age in Europe, the belief in witches was widespread. Witches were said to be worshipers of the Devil. Thousands of women and some men were tortured and executed after being accused of witchcraft. The common image of a witch’s execution shows a large group of hysteric people surrounding the guilty person on a burning pyre—but immolation was not the primary means of execution used for those accused of witchcraft.

Historically-rooted misogyny led many to believe that women were somehow more susceptible to the dark arts or temptation by the Devil, and therefore more likely to be witches. For instance, the Laws of Alfred, written by King of Wessex Alfred the Great in AD 893, specified witchcraft as an expressly female activity. But men practiced, too, and were called many different names, including a wizard, a warlock, or a sorcerer.  Traditional, magical healers (men as often as women) were sometimes prosecuted, but only if they were seen to have misused their powers, harming instead of helping. Healers sometimes even encouraged witch-hunting, helping clients to identify the person who had bewitched them.

It's also often said that witches were accused for profit. Usually the authorities themselves are said to have profited, but sometimes its neighbors who coveted the alleged witch's property. In truth, while some courts did confiscate the accused's goods, many did not, and most witches were too poor to have possessions worth coveting anyway.

Countless women and men were indiscriminately persecuted for witchcraft throughout history. During the Trier Witch Trials in Germany, which lasted from 1581 to 1593, a total of 368 people were executed—and many of the victims were leading male figures of the cities and surrounding villages, including judges, councilors, priests, and deans of colleges. In the Würzburg Witch Trial, which stretched from 1626 to 1631, 157 men, women, and children were burned at the stake for such random reasons as allegedly humming songs with the Devil to being a vagrant unable to give an explanation as to why they were passing through the town of Würzburg.

The English who settled in North America brought along a fear of witches. A witch hunt in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692 resulted in the execution of 19 people. During the Salem Witch Trials, no one was burned to death; all of the accused that pled their cases and were found guilty during the Trials in 1692 were hanged. In fact, no one found guilty of witchcraft was ever executed by burning in the American colonies—immolation wasn't permissible by English law. But one person was pressed to death by large stones: Giles Corey, a man who refused to plead guilty or not guilty for charges of witchcraft during the Trials. The court found Corey guilty despite staying mute by using the French legal precedent of “peine forte et dure.” Corey is the only person in US history to be pressed to death by court order. Even today, accusations of witchcraft can lead to violence in some parts of the world.

Because most witches are human, their behavior varies more than the restrained personalities of mythical beings. Witches are generally very social, often forming groups called Covens. Their governing bodies are always odd numbered, typically a group of three or thirteen.  Witches themselves typically display a degree of caution and stealth, due to residual memories from the witch-hunts of old in some parts of the world.