The image of the burning witch is as far away from historical reality as was the old belief in them conspiring against the world. Still, both narratives have survived the centuries. Nowadays, people caught up in controversies compare themselves to those burned by the stake to gain sympathies, and recent crises have given voice to those searching for an evil plan in politicians, doctors, and so many more. In times of crisis images of (real and imagined) threat become so popular, they can easily grow over our head.
In this post, I want to question these threatening images born in fear and confusion!
The story of my witch can be helpful today, I think. She lived in the 17th century, which was a time of great crisis. She experienced wars and disease decimating huge parts Europe for at least the second time in only a few centuries, and was over all exposed to a lot of dystopia response.
One of these responses was narrative that had been getting more and more attention since the middle of the 14th century: The belief in witches. Witches were assumed to have formed a bond with the devil. For him, they abduct children, destroy the harvest, and travel into the nearby hilltops to have an orgy with him and his demons. Read this older post, if you want to know more about the myth behind Walpurgis night!
Witches were believed to be very well organized. Mostly female, because following humoral theory the females were more perceptive to certain negative emotions and therefor easier manipulated, they formed a collective acting in secret against the well-being of this world. Once one woman was suspected of witching, she was questioned and tortured until she accused others, all in the hope of ending the collective acting in the shadows. Historically, witch hunts, at least in central Europe, were often connected to crop failure and unpredictable weather. A guilty one was needed and not easy to be found. Conspiracy theories in general were believed to be more common in the early modern days than nowadays, and authorities, such as the Vatican, struggled with educating people to know better. But that is another topic.
This very brief summary already showcases the key features often described to unite conspiracy theories in all their different versions.
The belief in witches assumes resourceful people acting in secret, influencing the reality we live in from behind the scenes. There is this secret organization plotting against us! It’s the same narrative you can find in many modern conspiracy theories. The Nazis never left but are plotting around on the dark side of the moon! The elites abduct children to produce adrenochrome – it always comes down to a secret organization having this big plan we all just need to recognize.
Speaking of recognizing the plot: Once your thoughts go down that road, anything can look suspicious. A vaccine to protect you from deadly disease? You wish. A youth organization fighting against human made climate change? Might be sent by Satan to distract us. The state your living in? Probably doasn’t exist …
…before you think I’ve lost it: I recently had to do research on a conspiracy theory denying the state of Germany by rephrasing a few details from our unique founding after the second world war, and I could never really decide whether to laugh or cry. It comes down to wordplays such as not recognizing our constitution because it still has its historic name “Grundgesetz” calling it the basic laws, because of, well, historical reasons. Since these argumentations are then used to act up against authorities and collect weapons, crying is probably more appropriate.
So, yes, since there is a secret plot against life going on here, anything has a bigger meaning than most people think. The weather could be the weather … or could be a curse sent by a witch. Infertility could be a thing some people struggle with, especially in times of famines and plagues making their round, or … you know, some weird woman might dance around a fire thinking of your sperm on a full moon.
What now?
I think we have to remind ourselves now and then that we also live in times of great crisis.
We have experienced a modern plague letting all kinds of conspiracy theories flourish, while making mental illness a second pandemic. We have experienced the longest period of political stability in the western world come to an end, and are now living with the daily threat of being at war ourselves. We are experiencing capitalism failing and our climate changing rapidly.
One of these situations alone could have a strong affect on people witnessing it, and all of those combined can be overwhelming and cause a strong dystopian response. Searching for the big and secret plan in everything is so much easier than just accepting that right now, we have to stay strong and keep the hope up.
Because yes, I think there is still hope for all of us. Hope for our climate, hope for Russia to finally retreat from Ukrainian ground, hope for life to feel good again. Current debates about gender identity and mental health make me hopeful for society to become more inclusive, and I think we’re getting better in understand how culturally diverse humanity has always been.
So, let’s use the reminder of the great witching conspiracy for keeping the hope up. It never is as easy as conspiracy theories make it look like. There is no big plot, no hidden signs and such. Sometimes, awful things happen, and we just have to deal with them in a useful way.
Embracing your gender identity (whichever it might be), trying to live climate friendly, be open to new scientific breakthroughs, and withstand attempts to use our daily worries for fascist reasoning – this is what I get out of reading about the witching myth.
Maissen, T. (2018). Frühe Neuzeit. C.H.Beck: München.
Decker, R. (2003). Die Päpste und die Hexen. Primusverlag.
https://www.nationalgeographic.de/geschichte-und-kultur/2020/09/qanon-wie-eine-gefaehrliche-verschwoerungserzaehlung-in-deutschland
Butter (2021). Verschwörungstheorien. Eine Einführung. BPD.
Mistress witch writes 