The Art of Witchcraft

A Pointy Black Hat

Witchcraft, do you believe? A large black caldron bubbling over with rat tails, human bones, and trickery. It is the practice of magic, for evil purposes. Witches cast spells on people and call forth evil demons to slay them. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Make yourself a voodoo doll and begin to play. If you believe, stick a pin in the doll and whomever your nemesis is will feel the pain. 

The Salem Witches

In May of 1747 a woman named Alse Young was the first to be hanged for being a witch. The notorious Salem Witch trials started in 1692. 19 people were executed by hanging. Fourteen women and five men. There are certain markings identified to assure the townsfolk you were indeed a witch. Moles, and skin tags were two. 

Witches have a long and elaborate history. There are passages in the Bible. They were known to be flying harpies that fed on the flesh of babies.

Do witches really fly around on brooms? Laughingly enough, no. This was a pagan folklore. Menfolk would actually straddle a broom to encourage the growth of their crops. Imagine that if you will.

Enchanting

A female witch is called an enchantress. A male witch is a warlock. Along with the female witch comes the black cat. Some people to this day do not like black cats because of the association with witches. If a black cat walks under the ladder you are on its bad luck. Or so they say.

An old witch is called a hag. Unflattering and unfriendly, stay away from her.

Bubble Bubble

The witches from Macbeth came up with the infamous lines. Bubble, bubble toil and trouble. Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. A coven of witches repeats these lines as they stir whatever foul liquid they have bubbling in their caldron. When these words are murmured, they cast a spell. When many witches gather, it is referred to as a coven. A coven of witches set on casting spells and doing dirty deeds. They may send their black cat to spy on whomever crosses their path.

When we talk witches, we are talking long ago. Do you think there are witches in the here and now? The way the world is now it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest. We have everything else why not witches. We do see them parading around on Halloween. 

The Wizard of Oz

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We all fondly remember the wicked witch of the west from The Wizard of Oz. Margaret Hamilton played the part. She also played Almira Gulch, the wicked witch's counterpart in the movie. It was to be her most memorable role. She passed away when she was 82 years old. She resided in a nursing home in Connecticut. I, for one, will never forget her performance in The Wizard of Oz. My oldest grandson loved the movie so whenever he spent the night we would watch it.

Witches were given a bad name by people who were afraid of them because they were different. People who are scared do horrendously stupid things. Hence, the Salem Witch Trials. 

There are good witches and bad witches. I believe good witches still exist. They just call themselves by a different name.  A good witch may have helped many people with concoctions for various illnesses. 

A bad witch will forever be seen as someone riding a broomstick with a black cat on the back of it. If only that were true, I might try it myself. I’d love to ride a broomstick and see the world below. If only. 

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So, if you look out your window and see someone riding by on their broomstick it may be me. Only if you believe.

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But I’d have a dog as my copilot.

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