From Persecution to Power: Redefining the Witch in Contemporary Society
Burn the witch - A Concise History of Systemic Violence Against Intuitives in Europe
What is a Witch?
It’s quite straightforward: A person who identifies as female or non binary speaking their truth, employing their intuition and wisdom to shape their life.
They function as a traditional healer, practice magic, and hold the authority to self-identify as a witch.
It's crucial to note that the concept of a witch is highly subjective and can carry varying meanings depending on cultural, historical, religious, and individual perspectives. The modern understanding and acceptance of witchcraft as a spiritual practice have contributed to a more diverse and nuanced view of what it means to be a witch in contemporary society.
As a person growing up with fairy tales (often written by white men), I encountered witches only in a one-dimensional way: They would cause harm and hurt the beauty, almost the same as the stepmother but way more evil. They were portrayed with big noses and humps, eating children alive, and causing trouble to society.
The last bit, for sure, was true, as it was and still is easy to cause disruption in a society built by patriarchal and Christian structures where no voices that aren't emerging from masculine throats are silenced. For centuries, there was nothing scarier than a woman or non-binary person in their power, speaking their truths, and standing up for injustice.
It was easy and pretty smart to put them into the box of outsiders to be able to other them. They still scare kids by bringing up the old narratives of witches and ghosts, and unfortunately, I also remember being a little more drawn to empathize with Snow White or Sleeping Beauty than any witch in the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.
This changed when I became a teenager and got access to media outlets that portrayed women in their power who were calling themselves witches. Remember the TV series "Charmed" or "Sabrina"? Yes, that was down my alley. Still, I needed to deep-dive into the history of persecution intuition and the othering of our intuition to fully reclaim and understand the imprints society left on me. The imprints that epigenetics left on me—and on you, too.
Remember, it is proven that we inherit emotional memories, such as trauma, for seven generations. Being born in Europe with Sicilian and German ancestors, I hold imprints of generational trauma such as war, violence, and othering, and yes—my ancestors were both victims and perpetrators.
In our current society, people seem unsure whether gifts that are intangible and channeled by the spiritual realm are OK or not. I encountered some very strong opinions, which is interesting given the fact that almost all native cultures work and worship nature, the ancestors, death, and the cosmic and spiritual realm.
The roots of these strong opinions also lie in the way structural violence was executed and promoted by society and the church for many centuries. Aiming to dismantle the mystic power and implementing structures built on fear to speak up and use your power and voice.
Please read with caution and with a trigger warning: You might feel internal disruption and perhaps relief knowing that your fear of stepping into your very own gifts also resides in this cruel part of documented history that happened not too long ago.
In this article, I aim to shed more light on the psychic medium kind of witch before delving into the incomplete history of violence that women and intuitives of all genders have faced and continue to endure in our society when being themselves.
What is a psychic medium?
A person is referred to as a medium who can come into contact with energies and thereby establish a subtle channel for themselves and others.
A medium serves as a link between worlds and is similar, in a physical sense, to a carrier for the propagation of a signal or something capable of wave propagation.
Mediums are often highly sensitive individuals who can use their senses beyond conventional societal norms. Additionally, they can communicate with energies and beings that also exist outside of societal norms. This occurs through intuition, sensory perceptions, and other impulses. Intention is another important instrument for the work of a medium, through which the so-called channeling, the receiving of information, takes place.
I believe that every human being is capable of being a medium. What it takes to become a channel is highly individual and is often connected to generational traumas, cultural and religious upbringing, and societal norms.
Read our article about The Medial Woman here
In many cultures, and historically, mediums have had a firmly established place in society as intermediaries with the supernatural, the deceased, angels, ancestors, goddesses, the Earth, and the highest form of love. In many religious texts, mediums are referred to as prophets, in ancient Greece as philosophers, as healers, in indigenous cultures as shamans, as oracles, and priestesses.
Due to colonization, missionary efforts, the introduction of patriarchy, and the spread of Christianity, the importance of human intuition, as well as the recognition of subtle energies, was metaphorically burned. This article primarily focuses on the historical development in Europe, as a significant amount of colonization and missionary work originated from there. Simultaneously, the witch hunts over centuries systematically targeted and persecuted intuitive individuals, particularly those identified as female, leading to their degradation.
History
In ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Babylon, or Assyria, subtle energies and their existence were recognized, documented, contributing to unraveling the mysteries of the world, and forming religious communities.
Practicing individuals, those intentionally using their intuition, were punished with death at that time, though not actively persecuted. Except for their gender, origin, associated privileges, or religious attitudes, if politically acceptable to the ruling authority, they were called philosophers, prophets, or oracles.
"You shall not allow a sorceress to live." (Exodus 22:17, Luther Bible)
In the 6th century BCE, the Greek scholar and philosopher Pythagoras founded a community devoted to active meditation and intense spiritual practices to gain insight into the cosmic order. Pythagoras claimed a connection to divine or supernatural forces, receiving information particularly regarding the symbolism of numbers and their mathematical relationships. His insights continue to form an essential basis for mathematics.
Around the same time, the Bible emerged as one of the world's religious texts, frequently referencing angels, spiritual beings, prophets, and divine communication.
In the Old Testament, Saul visits a medium in En-Dor with the intention of contacting the deceased King Solomon. Despite being responsible for the expulsion of sorcerers and diviners (1 Samuel 28:3), Saul, now in need, disguises himself to meet a medium. The encounter is described as intense, revealing, and draining for both the medium and the client. After the session, the woman prepares a feast for Saul and his men, sparing them for their services while simultaneously exploiting them.
Women in this religious scripture often lack names or are labeled as "Anonymous," indicating a clear bias toward male figures. The Bible mentions a few female prophets, including Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, and Anna.
In the Roman Empire, distinctions were made between benevolent and destructive magic (maleficium, "doing evil"). Perceived misuse of magic led to systematic persecution and burning starting from the 3rd century AD.
The origin story of another well-known religious text, the Quran, is attributed to 610 CE when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad, later declared a prophet, communicating the first verses of Surah Al-Alaq: "Read in the name of your Lord!"
In Alexandria in 391 AD, the mathematician, philosopher, and astronomer Hypatia located the sun at the center of the universe. Despite surpassing philosophers of her time, she was murdered by a mob of monks and representatives of the Christian church around 415 AD, likely due to her gender, acquired knowledge, and views conflicting with emerging Christianity.
In 1884, an asteroid (238) was named after Hypatia as a gesture of partial rehabilitation.
Suppression of Female Perspective and Intuition: Burn the witch
In his work "De Civitate Dei" (The City of God), the Christian theologian and philosopher Augustine of Hippo (also known as Saint Augustine) writes around 400 AD about the idea that people can make pacts with demons. He warns that such practices go against Christian values and the relationship with God, urging people to recognize their dependence on God and seek spiritual power and wisdom.
Around 1220, the "Sachsenspiegel" (Saxon Mirror) established a legal system prescribing burning at the stake for those practicing harmful magic. In the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas, a significant medieval church theorist, delved into the so-called "witchcraft acts," reinforcing the legal prosecution for the systematic extermination of those dealing with subtle energies and intuition.
Aquinas argued that humans could not inflict harm on their own; there must be a pact with the devil, claiming women, in particular, were susceptible to such pacts. Witchcraft was officially categorized as "unbelief" and "falling away from the Christian faith."
Around the 15th century, Europe faced harsh winters, crop losses, epidemics, and deteriorating living conditions. Blaming individuals who, contrary to expectations, relied on intuition and self-empowerment, the term "witch" appeared in a secular trial in Lucerne in 1419.
"The content of the term 'witch' was established by ecclesiastical and state legislation and first summarized by the heretic inquisition. The new term 'witch' was finished around 1480." (Wisselinck, Erika: Witches. Why we know so little about their history and what is still wrong about it. Munich: Frauenoffensive 1987)
The Catholic Church legalized the witch hunt in 1484 with the "Hexenbulle" (Witch Bull), a detailed document specifying crimes, rules, punishments, and (torture) procedures during interrogations. The Pope officially confirmed the existence of witchcraft, initiating organized "legal witch burnings."
The focus was on female practitioners, especially those in healing professions. Midwives, who could also be considered witches, were targeted. Their actions, such as using herbal mixtures for beneficial purposes, were no longer seen as positive (Veneficum). The term Venefica, the poison-mixing female person, was assigned to them. All healing practices outside monastery walls were now under suspicion.
Over centuries, witch trials and accusations expanded to include knowledge about women's health, contraception, childbirth, and sexuality. This was fueled by poor harvests, epidemics, and the growth of patriarchy, which further reduced women's status to their ability to give birth. Central Europe experienced a peak during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) when human suffering was more prevalent than ever, seeking scapegoats.
Terms like intuition (inner voice), witch (a person using intuition), magic, and sorcery (using intuition intentionally) represented an inexplicable, unpredictable, and unnatural force deemed dangerous. Self-empowerment, trusting and working with one's intuition, contradicted the spreading mono-religion and patriarchal structure.
With colonization, the witch hunt spread to other territories, contributing to the loss of wise women and men among indigenous peoples worldwide, suppressing knowledge and experiences related to nature, health, culture, and society. Any divergence was labeled "heathen" and "magical," deemed dangerous.
"They practice various heathen customs and rituals, including offerings to idols and sorcerers who claim to be able to heal diseases and bring happiness. Our task as Christian explorers is to proclaim the word of God and free them from their errors." Isco da Gama, Portuguese colonialist, about his journey to India in the late 15th century.
The last execution in Europe occurred in 1782 in Glarus, Switzerland, targeting Anna Göldi. Accused of "poisoning witchcraft" after the death of her employer's child, she had few concrete proofs of guilt. Simultaneously, it is known that she underwent torture, leading to her conviction and execution. In 2008, Anna Göldi was posthumously declared innocent by the Landsgemeinde of the Canton of Glarus, acknowledging the injustice of her trial and execution.
The "Witchcraft Act" was abolished in the United Kingdom in 1951 by Winston Churchill. Still, the family and supporters of Helen Duncan continue to fight for her pardon.
In 1944, Duncan was imprisoned in London based on the "Witchcraft Act." The mother of six was to be declared guilty because she could see into the past and future, predicting events. The British intelligence agency labeled the medium as a fraud but also as an informant who predicted the Allied landing in Normandy in 1944 and established contact with a sailor from the sunken British battleship "HMS Barham."
Duncan was sentenced to nine months in prison, contributing to the revision and eventual abolition of the British legislation of 1542. Until this pardon, at least 80,000 people died in Europe, with 80% of them being women.
In the United Kingdom, in 1951, the "Fraudulent Mediums Act" came into effect, regulating the practices of mediums, especially concerning communication with the deceased and spirits. However, the law was seen as unclear and difficult to enforce, replaced in 2008 by the "Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations," with no reference to the work of mediums.
Protection for mediums exists in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco:
"The state and municipalities, directly or through the assistance of regularly constituted, functioning, and non-profit private entities, will provide assistance to those in need, abandoned or helpless minors, the gifted, the paranormal, and the elderly."
– Art. 174: Constitution of Pernambuco
Channeling Exercise
Duration: 30minutes
What you need: Pens in different colors, paper
Intention: Give room for your intuition to unfold
Let us take a deep breath, as we likely need to after this brief insight into the history of witch burning. The persecution and extermination are documented, leading to the stigmatization of intuition, the feminine, and the mystical.
Although I write (and you may read) from a privileged position, living in a country where working with and expressing intuition is no longer criminally prosecuted, we simultaneously see how in other societies the regulation and punishment of the feminine continue. The feminine is still belittled, the mystical declared as untrue, and children are still raised to fear witches and spirits.
I would like to provide you with impulses so that you can feel for yourself where you still restrict and prevent yourself from truly harnessing your feminine power. All you need is a sheet of paper and colorful pens.
Part 1 - Set the timer for 7 minutes
Feel into a situation where you strongly perceived your intuition, where you did not give it space, and your hunch proved to be correct. Sense the resistance and try to describe how it felt.
Feel into your body, your heart, and your mind. Which of these instances would have allowed you to follow your intuition? What do your body, heart, and mind say to you now?
What was the perceived warning against giving space to the intuition's impulse? Is this warning in relation to reality?
How does the warning look? Grab your pens and draw. Let the energy flow from your fingers.
Done? Great! Take a glass of water and breathe fresh air for 5 Minutes.
Part 2 - Set the timer for 7 minutes
Feel into a situation where you strongly perceived your intuition, where you gave it space, and your hunch proved to be correct. Sense the energy and try to describe how it felt.
Feel into your body, your heart, and your mind. Which of these instances allowed you to follow your intuition? What do your body, heart, and mind say to you now?
What encouraged you to give space to the intuition's impulse? Does this courage continue to resonate with you?
How does this courage look? Grab your pens and draw. Let the energy flow from your fingers.
Done? Great! Take a glass of water and breathe fresh air for 5 Minutes.
Use the final 6 minutes to come back to your place and look at both pictures, let them impact you without judgment.
Place your hand on your heart and say in your mind:
"Thank you for taking the time and space to express my feelings. I acknowledge that there are fears and concerns that hold me back from fully stepping into my greatness. I recognize that I have the courage to practice expanding myself and following my intuition. Thank you for my growth, thank you for every step I take for myself and my inner knowledge. I trust in being guided from the heart and give space to my intuition."