On Witches

What better time than now to muse on the subject of witches in mythology, folklore, and history. How does that sound? Oh, good. Then let’s begin.

Greek mythology has four well known sorceresses:

• Circe is probably the best known. A daughter of the sun Helios, she turned a romantic rival into the sea monster Scylla for which she was banished to the mythical island of Aeaea. If you read Homer’s “The Odyssey” you will remember that she encounters Odysseus and his crew when they land on Aeaea and turns the crew into swine. But over time, she becomes more benevolent toward them, hosting the men during their year long stay and offering to guide them when they journey off.

• Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft, the patroness of sorcery, mystical arts, and necromancy. She is closely associated with passage to the Underworld, ghosts, and spirits, and is called upon for guidance in conducting rituals, protection of the home and for wisdom especially during transitions and decisions. She is often depicted as phases of the moon and in the cycles of womanhood: Maiden, Mother, and Crone.

• Medea is the daughter of King Aeetes, niece of Circe, a princess of Colchis, a kingdom renowned for its gold and the famed Golden Fleece. Her story revolves around her passionate love affair with Jason, the hero who embarks on his hero’s journey to obtain the Golden Fleece. She betrays her father, assisting Jason and the Argonauts with her magic. They marry after his successful quest and have children. Jason moves on to betray Medea, abandoning her to marry the Princess of Corinth. Overcome with grief and rage, she sends the new wife a poison dress which kills her and her father King Creon. Medea finishes by murdering the children whom she and Jason had together.

• Parciphae is the sister of Circe, Queen of Crete, and wife to King Minos and mother of the half man-half bull monster the Minotaur who was the result of a curse from Poseidon. At first the Minotaur was cared for at home but when he became too out of control, King Minos has his inventor Daedalus to create a Labyrinth to safely house the Monster. (This myth appears in a segment of ‘Kaos”, the Netflix Series which I have mentioned before.)

Here are more witches beginning with Lilith. I wrote a whole post on her which you might be interested to read but here’s a brief recap of who she was. Originating in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology and first mentioned around 500 AD, she was believed to be the first wife created for Adam. From the beginning she wanted to be treated as his equal. When she was not, she fled the Garden of Eden and refused to return. Much maligned as leading men astray and murdering babies, she was also believed to have been made to bear 100 demon babies, one for each day she refused to return to the Garden. Lilith is associated with darkness, the moon, and considered to be the first feminist goddess.

Morgan le Fay has a prominent role in the Arthurian legend. She is connected to the Irish goddess Morrigan associated with war, death and fertility. In early works, around the 12th century, she was portrayed as a healer to King Arthur. In the 13th century, she became an anti-heroine, sent to a coven to become Merlin’s apprentice and lover. Her powers became shape-shifting from queen to fairy to crone to mermaid as she saw fit. In the end she was believed to be a manipulative and devious witch.

Baba Yaga was well known in Slavic folklore as a hideous witch, a wild crone living in the forest in a house supported on large chicken legs which could spin and was surrounded by skulls. She was not your typical grandma, frying and eating unsuspecting children who become lost in the woods. I was particularly intrigued by this tale and when I was a preschooler wondered if my formidable paternal grandmother might be somehow related to her despite hearing that she carried candy in her purse which she gave to children.

Salem Witches were actual women in Salem, Massachusetts. Beginning with three women outcasts, a slave, a beggar, and an elderly woman who were said, in 1692 , to be responsible for the ‘fits’ befalling three young women among whom was the daughter of the Reverend Samuel Parris. By the following year more than 200, people most of whom were women, were accused of dealing with the Devil. The slave Tituba confessed to this. 14 of 20 of those executed were women who were known to be argumentative, outspoken, had sex out of wedlock, were deemed to be too fertile or not fertile, or broke biblical rules. They included women who were rich, poor, young, old, or who had unusual skin markings. Years after the hysteria ended the colony admitted they had made a mistake.

Dion Fortune is the final witch I’ll mention. She is viewed as one of the most influential figures in the birth of modern day witchcraft. Described as a British occultist, Christian Qabalist, ceremonial magician, theosophist, and co-founder of the mystery school Fraternity of Inner Light, she was a Freudian analyst (yep, she was) and an author. Her 7 occult and fantasy themed novels were introductions for many to the occult and she influenced Wicca, a modern Pagan new religious movement.

The theme running through the lives of these mythical or historical once-living witches, only a few of whom I have mentioned, is a reflection of the keen observation of historian Laurel Thatcher Urach: “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Stepping out of the status quo can carry severe penalties, especially for women. Nevertheless, more women today are claiming the archetype of the witch as they negotiate modern day life.

Now, dear Beautiful Stranger, please share your thoughts on witches and what you have read. It’s a gift to read your comments.

Happy Halloween!

My final offering is a treat… this poem by the late Delores Stewart:

Instructions in Magik

You don’t need candles,

only the small slim flame in yourself,

the unrevealed passion

that drives you to rise on winter mornings

remembering summer nights.

You don’t need incense,

only the lingering fragrance

of the life that has gone before,

stew cooking on an open fire,

the good stars, the clean breeze,

the warmth of animals breathing in the dark.

You don’t need a caldron,

only your woman’s body,

where so many of men’s

fine ideas

are translated into life.

You don’t need a wand, hazelwood or oak,

only to follow the supple and impish

With the one who goes dancing

and playing his flute

through imperial trees.

And you don’t need the salt of the earth.

You will taste that soon enough.

These things are the trappings,

the tortoise shell, the wolf skin, the blazoned shield.

It’s what’s inside, the star of becoming

With that ablaze, you have everything you need

to conjure up new worlds.