Witches

During the inquisition people were tortured and killed for much less than what modern witches are all about. The inquisition was an instrument to keep people in line and oppressed. Fear makes people mouldable. Unfortunately “people who were different” were accused and victimized by there fellow men. Afraid of suspicion and intrigue it was easier to point to someone ells. Fear is a powerful and evil weapon. Among the victims were midwifes and herbalist healers because they possessed power over life and death. Also single women weren’t save because they were seen as peculiar. The persecution wasn’t limited to these groups. I explicitly name these women and men because their persecution formed the image of the witch. The Maleus Malleficarum described how to recognize a true witch and what she or he was guilty of. This guidebook for the inquisition was written in 1486 and has played a major part in the witch trials and still shows a stereotype image of what people understand a witch to be like. This image is wrongly embedded in our collective consciousness. Wrongly because: the Maleus must be placed in its time, a time of the plague, poverty, superstition, power changes and fear among the population. Wrongly also because modern men disassociates from the horrors of the inquisition but at the same time holds on to the old image of the witch. Who believes that the influence of a book like the Maleus belongs to the past is mistaken. One has only to look at the influence of Mein Kampf and the persecution of the Jews, only 60 years ago.

Why still use the word witch despite the misconceptions?

Witch is a name of honor. By using the name victims are not forgotten. It honors the victims of persecutions; it changes the name from negativity into something positive. Words posses power and can be charged by whatever the user puts into it. I also use the name witch to make a connection to pre-Christian religion. Religion manifesting itself through polytheism, spirituality surrounding us and within us, forces of nature, the mystery. Herbalists and magicians used this ancient wisdom and knowledge. They knew their place in the universe and in the cycle of life. I try to follow in their footsteps.