Written by: Taylor Duff | Lifestyle Editor
The spooky season brings many frights, imagination and of course, costumes. Girls around the world might be dressing as witches this Halloween season, or they have done so in the past, or they just know that witches are generally associated with Halloween. When people think of a witch, they most likely appoint an old decrepit woman who rides a magic broom, casts spells and has a diet that consists of children. This depiction is far from what witches are, so where did the term “witch” come from? Where did they come from?
It is believed that the term “witch” was a moniker given to women who practiced witchcraft and satanic rituals and ate children — but that is just what the fairy tales say. One early concept of what a witch is says that in mythology, witches were healers, shamans and spiritual workers who could affect the physical and the spiritual world. They used what is called “herbal medicine,” which is healing people with hand-crafted herbs. Not so different from what everyone in ancient times would do, however, witches were believed to have a special talent for healing. Some of the negative connotations come from Greek and Roman mythology: Deities like Hecate and Circe were goddesses that possessed magic and posed potential threats because of their power.
Whether or not mythology is accurate, the witch hunts during the 15th-18th centuries caused significant harm. These included the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, precipitated by a real-life hysteria that affected many women during the time. A group of teenage girls from Salem, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused multiple local women of witchcraft. The trials resulted in the deaths of 25 innocent women, men and children. The purported witches were hung or crushed, not burned, which is a common misconception, as that was done in Europe during the Middle Ages. There is a museum in Salem, Massachusetts, where visitors can see just how the trials began and ended.
Folklore and stories like “The Crucible,” a play by Arthur Miller, started to paint women as villains and self-absorbed, claiming they were witches. Fairy tales did the same, such as “Hansel and Gretel,” where two siblings travel in the woods and stumble across a witch’s house; she ends up eating them. Witches during this time were generally portrayed as old, bumpy and green; they were meant to look like they arrived out of the devil’s chambers and needed to take sources of life. Green witches appear often in fiction, most famously in “The Wizard of Oz” and its prequel “Wicked,” where the Wicked Witch of the West became the bad guy, and everyone was petrified because she was robbed. In Gothic literature, things looked a little different — witches were usually painted as seductive and beautiful. But even then, they would use their beauty and seductive nature to lure men and hurt them.
Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell — WITCH — was a 1960s feminist group that used guerrilla theater and public rallies to criticize patriarchy and capitalism. Feminist witchcraft movements in the 1970s reclaimed the image that represents the witch as a powerful monarch. Wicca is the largest modern Pagan or Neo-Pagan religion. Its adherents, known as Wiccans, commonly identify as witches and derive inspiration mostly from pre-Christian customs in Europe. Dianic Wicca, which concentrates upon the worship of a goddess figure, or female deity, and publicly supported feminist values, frequently gained influence from the emerging women’s rights movement of the time. Because of this movement, witches are now more popular in pop culture. Movies such as “The Craft” and “The Love Witch” show women usually painted as outcasts or weird embrace their individuality and sex appeal to contradict the patriarchy. Shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “American Horror Story, Coven” showed witches as everyday people who were just trying to navigate the world, and because pop culture sparks, the public made witches more approachable. This also opened up self-expression for LGBTQ+ characters, such as Willow Rosenberg from “Buffy,” emphasizing the connection between magic and gay identity. As environmental problems, feminism and LGBTQ+ rights continue to dominate public discourse, the witch remains a symbol of resistance and self-empowerment.
TikTok, which has #WitchTok; Pinterest; Instagram and more platforms show modern-day people participating in witchcraft. Many creators provide spells, rituals, tarot readings and astrological insights. They show their lifestyles with aspects such as decor, clothing — witch-inspired Gothic apparel with Bohemian and crystal-laden looks, — black hats, pentagrams, jewelry, tattoos, books and much more. Halloween, in particular, has converted the witch into a fun, approachable figure for people of all ages. The internet enables individuals to combine cultural traditions, such as Wicca, Hoodoo and New Age practices, and participate in virtual covens or communal rituals.
Overall, the witch isn’t one type of person. A witch can be multiple types of people, they can be friends, family, teachers, parents and your next-door neighbor. They are someone who embraces their faith and individuality and wears it proudly. Witches just want to be accepted and painted in a light that isn’t demeaning or harmful. The witch is a symbol of feminism and strength and has spent too many years not being understood.
Contact the author at howllifestyle@mail.wou.edu
