What’s a Witch Anway?

October 1oth and all is well. Leaves are changing. Chai is brewing. And All Hallows Eve is approaching.

While we enjoy the mainstream hoopla and stream Hocus Pocus 2, I want to unpack some of the modern associations that we have about witches. Why do we fear them? Why do we think they can fly? Why do they use such creepy ingredients in their potions? And what’s up with the pointy hats?

Let’s start with the word “witch.” It has roots in the Gothic word “Weihs” which means ‘holy’ or ‘sacred.’  The Germanic root is “Weihan” which means ‘consecrate.’ The Anglo Saxon root is “Wicce” which means ‘divination’. In “the Three Kings of Cologne” (c. 1400) the word “wicca” translates as Magi. And have you noticed how close Magi is to Magic? The etymology suggests that witches were something sacred, or serve something sacred.

The question is, sacred to whom? The word and the concept were not demonized until the 15th century, when the authorities of the Catholic church were systematically eradicating anything that seemed to oppose the patriarchal, hierarchical agenda of the Church doctrine. There is much that can be found if you research the inquisition and the details are too many for this short article, but it seems clear that the women who were targeted during the inquisition were the healers, midwives, visionaries, shamans, wise women, astrologers, alchemists, oracles and Earth protectors of Europe. The connotation that we have of witches as devil-worshippers was completely contrived by the Church, and it took 200 years to turn pagan tradition into something to be feared.  Over the years witches became convenient scape-goats for crop failure and hardship. Ugly and disturbing layers were added to the stereotype, mostly by people trying to make a name for themselves in the Church or making ‘confessions’ under torture to avoid capital punishment.

The word “hag” meant ‘one who has sacred knowledge’. It wasn’t originally an insulting term. I’m not saying everyone who identifies as a witch is sacred. I do believe that black magic is a real thing and that some people engage with the occult in irresponsible ways.  And I’m not saying that witches are good and the Catholic Church is bad. To make such a black and white distinction would be as  irreverent as the Church 😉 I simply want to share the historical significance of some of our understandings of witches and where they originate.

So, what is the significance of the pentagram? It’s the signature of Venus. The planet Venus makes a 5-pointed star, or 5-petaled rose during her 8 year cycle around the sun.  Much can also be said about the pentagram and sacred geometry. It follows the golden ratio and a star can be divided into fractals of stars/pentagrams. The angles of a pentagram are 108 degrees, which is a sacred number in Vedic and Buddhist philosophies.  Read more here and here

The number 13, usually thought of as bad luck or the number in a witch’s coven, is also connected to the Golden Ration and Phi. Thirteen is the 7th number in the Fibonacci sequence. There are 13 lunar cycles in a year, another nod to the Divine Feminine. And numerologically, 13 is the number of transcendence. Maybe thirteen isn’t bad luck; maybe it’s been labeled as such so that we don’t tap into the transcendent powers of fractal time (natural time is fractal; it spirals. It’s not linear).

Black conical hats- originally a symbol of knowledge? In ancient times, golden conical hats were worn by the star-trackers and priests. In Mongolia & China, conical hats was a symbol of status. It was also worn by noble people of Europe before it became a symbol of shame and punishment for heretical behavior.

The broom & flying- Flying is a metaphor for journeying. Some witches were shamans who traveled to other realms, often with the help of plants. Some anthropologists say that the broom was actually a short rod used to apply hallucinogenic ointments to sensitive areas of the body, where the compounds could be absorbed into the blood without unpleasant digestive effects (Forbes). The broom could also be a hollow-stemmed plant like Angelica (Angelica archangelica) or Elder (Sambucus nigra) that have long been seen as bridges to other realms.

What about the grotesque animal parts like Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog? These came from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. And these likely were codes for plants. Eye of newt could be a pseudonym for mustard seeds. Medieval herbalists would often use creative and peculiar names for plants such as “bloody fingers” for foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and “swine snout” for dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).

Black cats? Just like the number 13, black cats can mean good luck or bad luck. Black cats were sometimes seen as the familiars of witches, or even a witch who has shape-shifted and taken the form of a cat. But a good friend of mine once told me that black cats catch curses. So good or bad, that’s for you to decide. I think it depends on who you believe is doing the true cursing, and who you believe is doing the true healing.