Many are under the misconception that the concept of ““witchcraft” is deeply intertwined with the Christian tradition. In truth, the idea of witchcraft reaches as far back as ancient Greece: In Homer’s Odyssey, for instance, the character of Circe is frequently referred to as a witch, capable of transforming men into animals. Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of ancient Greek curse tablets, called “katares,” throughout modern-day Greece. Many Roman statutes, moreover, feature numerous references to “illicit magic,” forbidding its use or practice.
In later centuries, the persecution of perceived “heresies” became more egregious as the influence of Christianity expanded. Women who did not sufficiently integrate into the social mores of the day were largely ostracized and regarded with dubiousness. Slowly, the caricature of the “witch” emerged, generally referring to physically decrepit old crones that were also able to carry malignant powers in their body. By the 16th century, the idea of witches had fermented significantly enough to produce the infamous “witch trials.” Local gossip could be sufficient enough to incriminate women if a particular justice of the peace was vehement enough. It is estimated that between 30,000-60,000 people were executed for witchcraft in the early modern era.
Now, as societies have increasingly secularized, the concept of witchcraft has largely been debunked. The most popular manifestations of it are largely confined to the domain of entertainment in movies, or shows like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Bewitched, or the recently released Disney production Agatha, All Along. Interestingly enough, today many women do adhere to the “Wiccan” ideology, a set of rituals and experiences that commemorate the beginning and ending of each season. The most sacred holiday to “Wiccan’s is Samhain which takes place on October 31st, or Halloween. In that spirit, let’s explore some of the myths and misconceptions that have percolated around witchcraft throughout the centuries.
Myth #1: Witches Were Burned at The Stake
It’s a common belief that convicted witches were burned at the stake for their transgressive behavior. While that would certainly be more dramatic, in England and the American colonies, witchcraft was prosecuted as a felony charge. Therefore, witches were primarily hanged rather than burned.
Myth #2: The Catholic Church Was Wholly Culpable in Witch Persecution
The Catholic Church was not entirely, or even wholly, responsible for the persecution of witches throughout Europe and North America. In fact, when the Catholic Church was at the zenith of its power, between the 11th and 14th century; very few witches died. One of the Catholic Church’s most infamous persecutions, the ignominious Spanish Inquisition, witches were not predominant targets. Instead, the Catholic Church was primarily engaged in eliminating “heretics,” or those who had converted to either Islam or Judaism.
Ironically, the courts most responsible for trying and killing witches were local courts, ones completely unaffiliated with religious dogma. “Community courts” often served as slaughterhouses for vulnerable women, sentencing over 90% of witches to their doom. Most local courts were staffed by professionals, which at this time almost exclusively consisted of men.
All denominations of Christianity were complicit in persecuting witchcraft: Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists and Anglicans. Orthodox sects of Christianity resonate throughout Eastern Europe were the least likely to engage in “witch-hunts,” carrying out little to no prosecution of witches.
Myth #3: The Victims of Witch-Hunting Were Exclusively Female
Though witchcraft was predominantly associated with women, that shouldn’t suggest that men were entirely exempt from suspicion or persecution. In Scandinavia, men were disproportionately accused of witchcraft in comparison to women. In Europe at-large, during the “witch” persecutions, around 6,000 men, or 10 to 15 percent of the total, were summarily executed for witchcraft. It should be noted, moreover, that the majority of formal accusations against women for alleged sorcery were made by fellow women.
Myth #4: Millions of Innocents Were Persecuted for Witchcraft
While it is easy to regard the Middle Ages as a period of ignorance, beholden to the atavistic dogmatism of Catholicism; the reality is more nuanced. Most judges and jurymen were highly dubious about the existence of unseen magical powers that people were capable of wielding. Even then, many properly perceived the phenomenon of witchcraft as a con-scheme perpetuated by grifters. Oftentimes, accusations were merely a ruse to discriminate against unattractive neighbors.
Myth #5: Witches Were Followers of a Pagan Fertility Cult
The myth that witches were adherents of an ancient fertility cult persisted into the 20th century, largely as a consequence of Egyptologist Margaret Murray asserting it was so in the Encyclopedia Brittanica. Murray believed that modern witches worshiped a Horned God of fertility and the underworld, who Christians promptly interpreted as the Devil. The more prosaic reality is that most “witches” were ordinary Christian women who found themselves discredited by their neighbors.
Myth #6: Wiccans Have a “Dark Bible”
Contemporary Wiccans are presently believed to subscribe to a set of beliefs espoused in a “Dark Bible.” This notion has perhaps been further popularized by movies like Doctor Strange: Into the Multiverse, where the antagonist, the “Scarlet Witch” derives much of her power from a sacred text referred to as “The Darkhold.” In reality, while Wiccans do adhere to a spiritual book called a grimoire, or “Book of Shadows; it is merely a diary where they record information they may find useful in practicing their faith. It is not, contrary to popular belief, a book of spells or bewitchments.
Myth #7: Witchcraft is Inherently Evil
Particularly in North America, colonialism led to the demonization of many existing indigenous practices. Anything that did not conform to prevalent notions of civility or Christianity were viewed as evil, bad, and unnatural. Magic is usually a way of reframing supernatural events we are not yet able to understand, which is why many of the extant practices in use by the native peoples promulgated suspicion amongst European settlers. Interestingly, in today’s age, many of those same traditions initially proffered by Native Americans have been co-opted as “New Age” and become astonishingly popular.
Myth #7: The Salem Witch Tests
In Salem, the city in Massachusetts most closely associated with the witch trials in North America, magistrates purportedly placed an infamously stupid “stress test” on suspected witches: Accused witches were unceremoniously tossed into water while bound. If they floated, it could be reasonably confirmed they were a witch. If they instead drowned, well, at least they weren’t a witch.
This is a myth. The most common methods applied to test a person suspected of sorcery was to have them either recite the “Lord’s Prayer” or to examine the witch’s body closely for conspicuous physical defects. People in Salem believed that if a person was truly in communion with the Devil, there would be physical markers.
Myth #8: The Nature of Witch Covens
When people today think of witch covens, it is often viewed derogatorily. Yet, a witch coven is simply a small congregation of people, usually women, who gather to celebrate their sabbaths: the six holidays during the year that denote the changing of seasons. Covens commemorate rites of passage in a person’s life, like the birth of a child, weddings, menopause and death. It’s actually quite quaint.
For additional Halloween-related content, reference the following articles:
7 Essential Halloween Traditions
10 Creepy Vintage Halloween Costumes