Thank you Jan for all your research behind this piece. I had no idea that the women persecuted where Christians, more evidence on how women are perceived in too many church settings. Because of my own disillusionment with the Roman Catholic faith and a growing awareness of the cycles and importance of nature, I have been attracted to Céile Dé, an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition. https://www.ceilede.co.uk/ While this may not be their official position, one of the teachers shared that they are too Christian for most pagans and too pagan for most Christians! Right on that edge you speak of!
Loved this article, Jan, thank you! I don't exactly identify as a witch either (only because I can't lock into a single identity). I did, however, name my substack "Witchcraft & Metaphysics" because I wanted to honor, and create a safe space for, all those who do identify as such. I want to do at least some small part to shake loose the stigma that still exists around the word. Thanks for putting yourself out there and bringing this to light!
HI Jenna, I totally get the resistance to locking into a single identity. There is so much stigma around the word and it can be frustrating. We are the recipients of a long history of cultural changes around the concept of "witch" which hopefully will continue in a more positive direction.
Hi Carrie. That's a terrible burden. When you are silenced keep thinking your thoughts. Whenever there's a crack in the wall of silence whisper your words. Use codes and symbols that's the way all silenced views have prevailed.
I joined Substack in January, with the intention of sharing my ancestors' folkways & folk religion. I'd become obsessed with the fact that when I'm doing my genealogical research I'm discovering myriad religious affiliations -- or none at all -- in my family and it got me thinking about how we come to faith (or, don't). I wrote a lengthy essay about it (called Religiosity) and in it I discussed how at first it seemed so odd to me that my family -- Germans rooted in the same area of Pennsylvania in which they settled in the 1700s -- were basically practicing the same religions until the late 1800s/early 1900s and then they occasionally branched out and embraced faiths based on their geography (the church that was within a relatively close distance from their homes) and sometimes (but rarely, the faiths of their spouses). But overall...we're very, very, very unchanging in our faiths. At least on paper -- because church records do not necessarily reflect one's 'beliefs,' right?
I then began thinking about the fact that literally all religion/faith/belief is simply a human-created concept, right? Some 'one' invented every set of beliefs and we choose which one(s) resonate w/ us based on a number of factors. In my Pennsylvania German ancestry we are mostly sect religions, Reformed and Lutheran. Our folk religion is largely rooted in Germanic pagan beliefs and (pre-Reformation, medieval) Catholicism. Yet, I'm certain there were plenty of my ancestors (especially ancients) who held no beliefs at all -- or perhaps, something we know nothing of and which has never been recorded!?
I'm rambling here, aren't I? I guess my point is...my heart breaks (also) for the women tried & convicted of witchcraft in 1600s British Colonial America. Right here in Pennsylvania we had one witch trial...it was presided over by William Penn; Penn asked the woman if she rode a broomstick. Misunderstanding the question (due to a language barrier) she replied, "Yes." Penn reminded the jury, there is no law against riding through the air on a broomstick. The woman was found guilty of, "having the common fame of being a witch, but not guilty in the manner and form she stands indicted." If only all witch trials had ended so peacefully.♡
Hi Jessica, how fascinating that you are diving deep into your ancestor's beliefs. Germanic pagan beliefs and pre-Reformation, medieval Catholicism is a gold mine of interesting and illuminating beliefs and information once you get beyond the surface. William Penn was a Quaker so I'm not surprised that he scoffed at "riding a broomstick". I live in CT the very first colony to co9nduct a "witch trial". I'll be checking out your publication Ridge & Valley Rooted. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Jan...when you check out RVR you'll see it has morphed into a general sharing of our life in Nature. Unfortunately, my older posts were not well-received (many have few readers at all) and so, my focus shifted a bit (my ancestors' beliefs still make occasional appearances, though!). All the same, I appreciate your interest.
These evil episodes are part of history and happen to this very day. Ignorance plus power equals injustice. Truth is of utmost importance in order to evolve in consciousness.
My goodness, Jan. There are so many parts of this that made my heart fill with recognition and affirmation, as if it was written just for me. Clearly, though, it touches tender places in many of us. I broke off formal associations with organized [Christian] religion around 30 years ago, this after an almost equal number of years as a member of a church. It was a meaningful - if perhaps not fully explored - part of my identity. What provoked the departure was my eventual recognition of the depth of the hypocrisy and judgement therein. Mostly, this became apparent when I began attending a different, more evangelical church in college. Looking back, that one had more cult-like qualities that I didn't see at the time. Once it became clear, I couldn't stay. Without realizing, I'd let it shape how I saw myself (always an unworthy "sinner"), how I thought about others, and vice versa. Now, the earth is my church, and nature herself my teacher. Instead of abandoning Christianity, I've made room for other forms of spiritual expression to find their places alongside it. The t-shirt is both delightful and sobering, as was this thought-provoking essay. Thank you.
Hi Elizabeth, I think there are so many people who share a similar experience. Evangelicalism, been there, done that, twenty years worth, though the last ten I began to drift. Deep forays into religion, philosophy, spirituality, and more esoteric systems have given me a deep appreciation of the mystery of God/the Divine. No one really knows, all we can do is humbly approach and desire Truth, Beauty, Goodness and Love and walk away from evil as best we understand it and recognize it. We are mere mortals after all.
Thank you as always Jan for your thoughtful piece. I identify as a witch, I follow the wheel of the year and the paths of the moon. I am not in a coven and my path is my own. I’ve been in covens Gardenerian and Alexandrian and for me they were too regimented. One earlier one used to smack your hands if you diverted from the lines written for rituals and said what came from the heart. My journey around the wheel works for me, it would t necessarily benefit anyone else. It’s been honed through decades and is still being. I don’t teach, it’s not my path. I do help if asked questions but always say that it’s what works for me. I light my candles to the God and the Goddess in all their aspects. We are all following something but it has to be our own journey.
Ambermoggie, Thank you for sharing your story. Hand smacking for "imperfection" sounds a lot like Catholic school in years past! I hear a lovely serenity in your comment. The solitary path, the understanding of what is and isn't yours to do, knowing the places you do and do not belong, and the satisfaction of having found what is yours. Indeed we are all following something, best to do that with intention or the crowd will just carry you along. Blessings.
I live in Scotland (Dumfries) and when I was on a walk not long ago spotted a plaque to the women tortured and killed for witchcraft (again, as you say, they weren't witches; and even if they were, it shouldn't have been a crime). The hysteria was all around us. :-(
Hello Karl, Thanks for commenting. I looked up Dumfries to see what it was like and Oh my! Google images showed me lots and lots of castles! Then among the many photos of castles I came upon a beautiful autumn landscape of Minnigaff Hills that took my breath away. Unfortunately, Scotland was a hot bed of witch persecution and execution. I liked the article you attached because while we can't go back and change history, nor can we really ever fully understand the way people thought about the world at a different point in history (imagine what folks in a thousand years will think about the 20th century) we do have a duty to remember, preserve and acknowledge history even the awful parts.
"Scotland was a hot bed of witch persecution and execution"
Very true. I get the Scottish Pagan Federation magazine, and recently it had an extended article about the time, and the social context, and how many people were killed.
Thank you, Jan, for this heartfelt tribute to caring, innocent women, sacrificed on dubious evidence to satisfy benighted minds and hearts. Now if we could only dispel that black cape, pointed hat and broomstick as we traveled to Oz.
Ah, the "iconic" garb of the witch. Some embrace it and some despise it. It does seem to continue a ridiculous stereotype but I'm sure it sells and like so many things continues because some profit off of it.
Wow. You just defined me. I have always held strong spiritual beliefs, and I work for a church, but I refuse to join or attend church, mostly bc of the way I grew up. I am very connected to the Earth and my close friends and family embrace my witchy side. I love the concept of living on the edge of my spiritual beliefs.
The edge is the only place to be! It's what keeps you alert, your instincts sharp and your intuition in tune. The edge is also the growth edge that keeps pulling you along as CS Lewis says "further up and further in" + “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
I do hate the politicism of the phrase ‘witch hunt’, used by people (mostly men) that haven’t a clue as to what they are speaking about. Insulting to the original women and men who were hunted and murdered.
It’s always interesting when a word or phrase morphs into a sweeping statement meant to conjure a certain feeling. Since we are not currently under a system even remotely like what was common several hundred years ago calling something a “witch hunt” today really can demean the original events from which the term was coined. But words are powerful and individuals have their own responses to them. I remember about 25 years ago when my state began an “Adopt a Highway” campaign where civic organizations would claim a highway and then volunteers would keep it clean of trash etc. There was then a backlash from parents of adopted children who were angry at the use of the word Adopt being applied to a highway. I see their point but also the line of thought that to adopt means to take on and care for something. Of course why our tax dollars weren’t taking care of the highways is a different conversation. Words have power and how we use them matters.
Let me start by saying that this is a very moving piece. Funny that my husband and I were talking about this very subject sometime back after watching a documentary/ travel program on the Witch Trials. I made the comment that had I been living in the time of the witch trials I would have most certainly been accused as well. To my surprise my husband agreed with me! The conversation was about how many healers, midwives and wise women lost their lives under the sanctions of the Church. Europe had their own time of the Witch Trials where accused women were physically searched by men for unusual signs in what can only be described in a sexual way. How mortifying it must have been for these women to be so violated and how horrific it must have been being accused when they had done nothing wrong.
I no longer attend church but I am Christian. I’v become disillusioned by the way people who don’t fit the “Christian Cookie Cutter” have been treated in very unchristian ways by churches. I want no part of that.
I live as close as I can to the rhythms of the Earth and my seasonal changes are based on the Moon not our modern calendar. I believe that each living thing has a spirit and should be treated with respect. I grow and use herbs/plants for cleansing and medicine. I’m still trying to figure out the Goddess aspect as a Christian but the more I learn the more it makes sense. I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that she was displaced by men dictating the early Church. So all this being said, does this make me a Witch? What exactly is a Witch? What specifically defines her or him?
Hi Rebecca, you know how I love words and their etymologies and "witch" has a fascinating history. I offer you this from etymonline.com "Oxford English Dictionary says of uncertain origin; Liberman says "None of the proposed etymologies of witch is free from phonetic or semantic difficulties." It's a difficult word with difficult associations. I suspect that's because it is a word that holds our collective projections of fear. It is sad though that Christianity has been so molded by rationalism and modernism that it found no way to incorporate the pastoral and agricultural, earth based celebrations and practices into its official structure. That's always been relegated to "folk" Christianity and often expelled or considered parochial at best and heretical at worst. That's so odd because Jesus himself, used nature as a book of metaphors for spiritual truth as the parables in the gospels shows. The whole Old Testament "dominion over nature" thing has not served the earth or the people of the earth well. We would have been better prioritizing the "consider the lilies of the field" thing instead. There are some who identify as Christian Witches, and they get flack from both sides. Perhaps like me you too are a "witch" in the folkloric sense.
Hi Debra, Ha- we have the same shirt! Great minds think alike as they say. I recently watch a documentary about the witch trials in preparation for this essay and was astounded to learn that there are as many as 100 million descendants of those accused in Salem. How fascinating that you are one of them.
Thank you Jan for all your research behind this piece. I had no idea that the women persecuted where Christians, more evidence on how women are perceived in too many church settings. Because of my own disillusionment with the Roman Catholic faith and a growing awareness of the cycles and importance of nature, I have been attracted to Céile Dé, an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition. https://www.ceilede.co.uk/ While this may not be their official position, one of the teachers shared that they are too Christian for most pagans and too pagan for most Christians! Right on that edge you speak of!
Loved this article, Jan, thank you! I don't exactly identify as a witch either (only because I can't lock into a single identity). I did, however, name my substack "Witchcraft & Metaphysics" because I wanted to honor, and create a safe space for, all those who do identify as such. I want to do at least some small part to shake loose the stigma that still exists around the word. Thanks for putting yourself out there and bringing this to light!
HI Jenna, I totally get the resistance to locking into a single identity. There is so much stigma around the word and it can be frustrating. We are the recipients of a long history of cultural changes around the concept of "witch" which hopefully will continue in a more positive direction.
I have been silenced.
Hi Carrie. That's a terrible burden. When you are silenced keep thinking your thoughts. Whenever there's a crack in the wall of silence whisper your words. Use codes and symbols that's the way all silenced views have prevailed.
Jan, I really enjoyed this essay...
I joined Substack in January, with the intention of sharing my ancestors' folkways & folk religion. I'd become obsessed with the fact that when I'm doing my genealogical research I'm discovering myriad religious affiliations -- or none at all -- in my family and it got me thinking about how we come to faith (or, don't). I wrote a lengthy essay about it (called Religiosity) and in it I discussed how at first it seemed so odd to me that my family -- Germans rooted in the same area of Pennsylvania in which they settled in the 1700s -- were basically practicing the same religions until the late 1800s/early 1900s and then they occasionally branched out and embraced faiths based on their geography (the church that was within a relatively close distance from their homes) and sometimes (but rarely, the faiths of their spouses). But overall...we're very, very, very unchanging in our faiths. At least on paper -- because church records do not necessarily reflect one's 'beliefs,' right?
I then began thinking about the fact that literally all religion/faith/belief is simply a human-created concept, right? Some 'one' invented every set of beliefs and we choose which one(s) resonate w/ us based on a number of factors. In my Pennsylvania German ancestry we are mostly sect religions, Reformed and Lutheran. Our folk religion is largely rooted in Germanic pagan beliefs and (pre-Reformation, medieval) Catholicism. Yet, I'm certain there were plenty of my ancestors (especially ancients) who held no beliefs at all -- or perhaps, something we know nothing of and which has never been recorded!?
I'm rambling here, aren't I? I guess my point is...my heart breaks (also) for the women tried & convicted of witchcraft in 1600s British Colonial America. Right here in Pennsylvania we had one witch trial...it was presided over by William Penn; Penn asked the woman if she rode a broomstick. Misunderstanding the question (due to a language barrier) she replied, "Yes." Penn reminded the jury, there is no law against riding through the air on a broomstick. The woman was found guilty of, "having the common fame of being a witch, but not guilty in the manner and form she stands indicted." If only all witch trials had ended so peacefully.♡
Hi Jessica, how fascinating that you are diving deep into your ancestor's beliefs. Germanic pagan beliefs and pre-Reformation, medieval Catholicism is a gold mine of interesting and illuminating beliefs and information once you get beyond the surface. William Penn was a Quaker so I'm not surprised that he scoffed at "riding a broomstick". I live in CT the very first colony to co9nduct a "witch trial". I'll be checking out your publication Ridge & Valley Rooted. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Jan...when you check out RVR you'll see it has morphed into a general sharing of our life in Nature. Unfortunately, my older posts were not well-received (many have few readers at all) and so, my focus shifted a bit (my ancestors' beliefs still make occasional appearances, though!). All the same, I appreciate your interest.
These evil episodes are part of history and happen to this very day. Ignorance plus power equals injustice. Truth is of utmost importance in order to evolve in consciousness.
Yes, too true, even today we witness similar events.
My goodness, Jan. There are so many parts of this that made my heart fill with recognition and affirmation, as if it was written just for me. Clearly, though, it touches tender places in many of us. I broke off formal associations with organized [Christian] religion around 30 years ago, this after an almost equal number of years as a member of a church. It was a meaningful - if perhaps not fully explored - part of my identity. What provoked the departure was my eventual recognition of the depth of the hypocrisy and judgement therein. Mostly, this became apparent when I began attending a different, more evangelical church in college. Looking back, that one had more cult-like qualities that I didn't see at the time. Once it became clear, I couldn't stay. Without realizing, I'd let it shape how I saw myself (always an unworthy "sinner"), how I thought about others, and vice versa. Now, the earth is my church, and nature herself my teacher. Instead of abandoning Christianity, I've made room for other forms of spiritual expression to find their places alongside it. The t-shirt is both delightful and sobering, as was this thought-provoking essay. Thank you.
Hi Elizabeth, I think there are so many people who share a similar experience. Evangelicalism, been there, done that, twenty years worth, though the last ten I began to drift. Deep forays into religion, philosophy, spirituality, and more esoteric systems have given me a deep appreciation of the mystery of God/the Divine. No one really knows, all we can do is humbly approach and desire Truth, Beauty, Goodness and Love and walk away from evil as best we understand it and recognize it. We are mere mortals after all.
Thank you as always Jan for your thoughtful piece. I identify as a witch, I follow the wheel of the year and the paths of the moon. I am not in a coven and my path is my own. I’ve been in covens Gardenerian and Alexandrian and for me they were too regimented. One earlier one used to smack your hands if you diverted from the lines written for rituals and said what came from the heart. My journey around the wheel works for me, it would t necessarily benefit anyone else. It’s been honed through decades and is still being. I don’t teach, it’s not my path. I do help if asked questions but always say that it’s what works for me. I light my candles to the God and the Goddess in all their aspects. We are all following something but it has to be our own journey.
Ambermoggie, Thank you for sharing your story. Hand smacking for "imperfection" sounds a lot like Catholic school in years past! I hear a lovely serenity in your comment. The solitary path, the understanding of what is and isn't yours to do, knowing the places you do and do not belong, and the satisfaction of having found what is yours. Indeed we are all following something, best to do that with intention or the crowd will just carry you along. Blessings.
Thank you Jan
I live in Scotland (Dumfries) and when I was on a walk not long ago spotted a plaque to the women tortured and killed for witchcraft (again, as you say, they weren't witches; and even if they were, it shouldn't have been a crime). The hysteria was all around us. :-(
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/plea-dumfries-memorial-nine-women-27191252
Hello Karl, Thanks for commenting. I looked up Dumfries to see what it was like and Oh my! Google images showed me lots and lots of castles! Then among the many photos of castles I came upon a beautiful autumn landscape of Minnigaff Hills that took my breath away. Unfortunately, Scotland was a hot bed of witch persecution and execution. I liked the article you attached because while we can't go back and change history, nor can we really ever fully understand the way people thought about the world at a different point in history (imagine what folks in a thousand years will think about the 20th century) we do have a duty to remember, preserve and acknowledge history even the awful parts.
"Scotland was a hot bed of witch persecution and execution"
Very true. I get the Scottish Pagan Federation magazine, and recently it had an extended article about the time, and the social context, and how many people were killed.
Thank you, Jan, for this heartfelt tribute to caring, innocent women, sacrificed on dubious evidence to satisfy benighted minds and hearts. Now if we could only dispel that black cape, pointed hat and broomstick as we traveled to Oz.
Ah, the "iconic" garb of the witch. Some embrace it and some despise it. It does seem to continue a ridiculous stereotype but I'm sure it sells and like so many things continues because some profit off of it.
Wow. You just defined me. I have always held strong spiritual beliefs, and I work for a church, but I refuse to join or attend church, mostly bc of the way I grew up. I am very connected to the Earth and my close friends and family embrace my witchy side. I love the concept of living on the edge of my spiritual beliefs.
The edge is the only place to be! It's what keeps you alert, your instincts sharp and your intuition in tune. The edge is also the growth edge that keeps pulling you along as CS Lewis says "further up and further in" + “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
I do hate the politicism of the phrase ‘witch hunt’, used by people (mostly men) that haven’t a clue as to what they are speaking about. Insulting to the original women and men who were hunted and murdered.
It’s always interesting when a word or phrase morphs into a sweeping statement meant to conjure a certain feeling. Since we are not currently under a system even remotely like what was common several hundred years ago calling something a “witch hunt” today really can demean the original events from which the term was coined. But words are powerful and individuals have their own responses to them. I remember about 25 years ago when my state began an “Adopt a Highway” campaign where civic organizations would claim a highway and then volunteers would keep it clean of trash etc. There was then a backlash from parents of adopted children who were angry at the use of the word Adopt being applied to a highway. I see their point but also the line of thought that to adopt means to take on and care for something. Of course why our tax dollars weren’t taking care of the highways is a different conversation. Words have power and how we use them matters.
Let me start by saying that this is a very moving piece. Funny that my husband and I were talking about this very subject sometime back after watching a documentary/ travel program on the Witch Trials. I made the comment that had I been living in the time of the witch trials I would have most certainly been accused as well. To my surprise my husband agreed with me! The conversation was about how many healers, midwives and wise women lost their lives under the sanctions of the Church. Europe had their own time of the Witch Trials where accused women were physically searched by men for unusual signs in what can only be described in a sexual way. How mortifying it must have been for these women to be so violated and how horrific it must have been being accused when they had done nothing wrong.
I no longer attend church but I am Christian. I’v become disillusioned by the way people who don’t fit the “Christian Cookie Cutter” have been treated in very unchristian ways by churches. I want no part of that.
I live as close as I can to the rhythms of the Earth and my seasonal changes are based on the Moon not our modern calendar. I believe that each living thing has a spirit and should be treated with respect. I grow and use herbs/plants for cleansing and medicine. I’m still trying to figure out the Goddess aspect as a Christian but the more I learn the more it makes sense. I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that she was displaced by men dictating the early Church. So all this being said, does this make me a Witch? What exactly is a Witch? What specifically defines her or him?
Hi Rebecca, you know how I love words and their etymologies and "witch" has a fascinating history. I offer you this from etymonline.com "Oxford English Dictionary says of uncertain origin; Liberman says "None of the proposed etymologies of witch is free from phonetic or semantic difficulties." It's a difficult word with difficult associations. I suspect that's because it is a word that holds our collective projections of fear. It is sad though that Christianity has been so molded by rationalism and modernism that it found no way to incorporate the pastoral and agricultural, earth based celebrations and practices into its official structure. That's always been relegated to "folk" Christianity and often expelled or considered parochial at best and heretical at worst. That's so odd because Jesus himself, used nature as a book of metaphors for spiritual truth as the parables in the gospels shows. The whole Old Testament "dominion over nature" thing has not served the earth or the people of the earth well. We would have been better prioritizing the "consider the lilies of the field" thing instead. There are some who identify as Christian Witches, and they get flack from both sides. Perhaps like me you too are a "witch" in the folkloric sense.
Thank you Jan❤️
Hi Debra, Ha- we have the same shirt! Great minds think alike as they say. I recently watch a documentary about the witch trials in preparation for this essay and was astounded to learn that there are as many as 100 million descendants of those accused in Salem. How fascinating that you are one of them.