When considering the European Witch hunt era, many have viewed it as a form of female oppression resulting from patriarchal misogyny. This is an argument that has endured to a great extent in modern circles. In actuality, most accusations of Witchcraft at that time were from female, rather than male,
“witnesses,” whose hysterics were neither gendered nor an exclusive result of a patriarchal age.
European society, for the most part, was just as oppressive of women before and after the period spanning 1400 to 1700; there was not a notable increase in misogyny during this time.20
It’s easy for feminists and modern Witches—both of which I personally consider myself to be—to see Witchcraft persecutions as a feminine holocaust or even a gynocide,21 and to fantasize about the nature of a glorious pre-Christian, Pagan age of matriarchy, magick, and Goddess worship. It simply did not exist.
Although I identify as male, I do not make this claim or cite other historical information with ulterior motives in mind. Being pro-feminist myself—one who strives for balance between all genders—the best I can do in this field (which, admittedly, is not my expertise) is to present the most accurate information I can. Unfortunately, some strains of radical feminism make claims that are based on only partially examined history. Because of increasing awareness of feminism and its implications in modern Witchcraft and Neopaganism, a number of emotionally loaded, exaggerated, and altogether erroneous notions have woven themselves into modern thought. Luckily, these notions seem to be losing power with time.
Still, the fact remains that women sadly were, and continue to be, more societally demeaned than men. It would be folly to think that gender played no role in the Witch hunts; it most certainly did.
Though most of the accused were women—about three-quarters of them—plenty of men, children, and even animals were also murdered across Europe. (Yes, animals were actually tried as defendants in the eighteenth century, showing the enormous amount of insecurity and paranoia still present in the populace. And yes, the animals—alleged to be shapeshifting demons or familiars—were often represented by lawyers.)
The view of the Witch hunts as a specifically female genocide took hold in the feminist women’s rights movement at around the time that its members were shifting their focus from public issues (such as social and political rights) to private issues. At this time, many proponents of radical feminism linked issues such as sexual abuse and domestic violence directly to the influence of a patriarchal society. Naturally, the image of the renowned evil female Witch came to be seen as an archetype of
the victimized and helpless woman made inferior by male political domination. Of course, any stance challenging this view can easily be seen as anti-feminist by those who tend to view everything through the lens of historic female subordination.
It is sorrowing and likewise presently empowering for a modern Witch or feminist to contemplate the possibility of an enormous persecution of innocent herbal healers, midwives, benign spellcasters, and others who are virtually “free” and altogether naturalistic. Such activities are viewed as belonging to the domestic sphere, which is, more often than not, paralleled with privacy, femininity, and secrecy—things that both modern Witches and feminists are familiar with.
History’s horrific events, including minority persecutions of all types, trigger highly emotional reactions in us. While this is quite understandable, especially for those whose biological or spiritual predecessors were oppressed, history mustn’t be only partially examined. The validity of any claim, however emotionally charged, must be researched. This is not to downplay the seriousness of the European Witch hunts and their horrifying brutality, but only to say that discernment is crucial when seeking to understand the facts of any violent minority oppression (or any extreme issue for that matter), especially if the claims seem curiously grandiose. This is not to say that emotions must be nullified or done away with, but only that attachments to subjective viewpoints can easily skew or exaggerate events. This can actually weaken the legitimacy and credibility of one’s viewpoints, which can in turn influence future events where a persecuted or once-persecuted group is concerned.
With time, accusations of European women, men, children, and animals as being Witches and devils faded into history. New scientific and psychological advancements served to make this ephemeral hysteria obsolete.
When the last Witchcraft Act was repealed in England in 1951, only a glimmer of the fear present in the Witchcraft persecutions remained. But because many people seem to require a spiritual arch-nemesis to operate, it’s doubtful that fears of Witchcraft or other forms of magick will disappear in the West. Indeed, it’s apparent that these fears haven’t dissipated in South Asia, Southeast Asia, areas of Africa, and other parts of the world, which makes a total disappearance questionable. However, we can at least hope that history has revealed itself to a large enough degree of comprehension and accuracy to, like the charm of an old Witch, ward against its repetition.
1
Thaumaturgy is magick (often healing magick) with the goal of producing effects in one’s reality, as opposed to theurgy, the mystical practice of putting the practitioner closer to the divine through ritual or meditation. The notion of thaumaturgy is often restricted, in Classical Antiquity, to
miracle-workers; those who were said to exhibit supernatural and divine abilities.
2
John Michael Greer, The New Encyclopedia of the Occult. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 2003, 517.
3
Ibid., 291. Used with permission.
4
Jeffrey Burton Russell, Witchcraft in the Middle Ages. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1972, 14.
5
Alan Charles Kors and Edward Peters (editors), Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary History. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001, 73.
6
Ibid., 15.
7
Michael Streeter, Witchcraft: A Secret History. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 2002, 94.
8
Douglas Linder, “A Brief History of Witchcraft Persecutions before Salem,” University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, 2005,
www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/Witchhistory.html, accessed May 2007.
9
Streeter, Witchcraft, 88.
10
Jules Michelet, Satanism and Witchcraft: A Study in Medieval Superstition. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel Press, 1939, 133-134.
11
Streeter, Witchcraft, 92-95.
12
Gustav Henningsen, “‘The Ladies from Outside’: An Archaic Pattern of the Witches’ Sabbath,” in Bengt Ankarloo and Gustav Henningsen (editors), Early Modern European Witchcraft: Centres and Peripheries. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1990, 193-194.
13
Diane Purkiss, The Witch in History: Early Modern and Twentieth- Century Representations.
London: Routledge, 1996, 8.
14
Brian P. Levack,The Witch-hunt in Early Modern Europe. New York: Longman, 1987, 25.
15
Russell, Witchcraft in the Middle Ages, 84.
16
Purkiss, The Witch in History, 8.
17
Greer, The New Encyclopedia of the Occult, 77.
18
Ibid., 315-316.
19
Purkiss, The Witch in History, 8.
20
Streeter, Witchcraft, 100.
21
Mary Daly, Gyn/Ecolog y: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism. London: Women’s Press, 1979, 208.
Conclusion
We live between two Pillars—that of Severity, and that of Mildness. If we err more to one side than the other, we will inevitably be called upon to rebalance our positions. Duality exists, it seems, in order to teach us to be skillful jugglers of light and darkness.
—KALA TROBE The Witch’s Guide to Life