Concubines, Cats, and Cauldrons
The History Of The Witch
Magic, witches, fear, warlocks, the witches have been portrayed as both the villain and the heroine, the bad and the good, the killer, and the healer. Witchcraft as a spiritual practice predates Christianity but you know, the victor writes history, so many of our predispositions to witches both in modern culture, film, and even history have been dictated by one key factor:
How Women Are Perceived By The Society
I do want to caveat this with the fact that the practice of witchcraft is not exclusive to one gender and many practitioners do not identify themselves as female. One of my dearest friends, Devin, is a practicing witch but is not a female nor does he identify as a female.
Witches have been depicted as evil and good. Witches have been depicted as a villain and also as a hero. One pervasive theme is overarching. How witches are viewed in the arts and culture is based on how the culture views women. The witch has been a figurative whipping boy (girl?) for cultures that fear the power and independence of women.
Today we are going to look at a brief overview of the history of witches. This is not intended to be an in-depth view but mainly to see how women were viewed impacted how witches were portrayed in different…
