Halloween is approaching and what better way to celebrate this holiday then dressing up as a witch. Witches, black cats, cauldrons and broomsticks play a prominent role in the modern celebration of Halloween but what about the history behind it all?
When you think of a witch you will most likely think of the popular culture version of an ugly old hag with warts that flies on a broom wreaking havoc by casting spells. Although this is what most people think of, it is not completely accurate if you go way back to the beginning of history.
History of Witches
Witches were most often revered in ancient times; often know as being healers of their communities. Think of the traditional Indian medicine man, this is how witches were thought of, women who helped those who were sick. When the rise of Christianity came about, witches were deemed as evil because people could not explain where they received their "powers" to heal.
The height of this condemnation toward witches came in the late 1600's and more often referred to as the Salem Witch Trials. Women and men were both accused of being witches and this usually stemmed from just a single persons accusation. These accusations were also not built on actual seeing of "evil" doings and most often just based on not likening someone or their social status.
Witch Testing Methods
The Malleus Maleficarum - The Hammer of Witches was published as the definitive guide to witch-hunting. There were torturous tests that townspeople used to prove that an accused person was indeed a witch. One such test was to inflict a wound on the accused woman or man to see if they bled. Witches were thought to not bleed since they were "of the devil."
Another test the accused would ensure would be "dunking," this is where the person would be thrown into a lake or pond and if they sunk to the bottom they would be considered innocent, if they floated to the top they were guilty. Of course this barbaric test would prove nothing since the person being dunked would inevitably die from drowning anyway.
Perhaps the most evil of all of the retributions given out to a proven witch would have to be burning at the stake. An accused witch would be tied to a large wooden pole and then burned alive as the townspeople watched and often chanted in glee.
Witches: Evil or Innovative?
The rich history of witches has given way to parodies of the infamous witch woman with movies and television shows portraying these spiritual women. Long gone are the trials and accusations of women who more than likely were innocent and were just early practitioners of homeopathic medicine.
In all respects, we should honor witches of our past, for if these women were alive today would be seen as modern pioneers of medicine.
 | This brief history of witches illustrates the changing attitudes toward them through the centuries. |
 | By modern standards, the witch tests used in Salem during the Witch Trials were barbaric and unfair. Hysteria in the community led to some very unusual ways of determining guilt as well as strange forms of testimony in the Salem court. |
We all know what a witch wears and uses, but how did these things come to be associated with witches? The answers lie in some well-known works of fiction. |
Afraid of witches? Learning the facts about witches will help you separate the reality of the Wiccan religion from the scary stories told in fiction. |
 | During times of witch hysteria, exhibiting the signs of being a witch meant torture and execution for the accused. |
