A Discussion of The Witches Almanac: Sorcerers, Witches and Magic From Ancient Rome To The Digital Age by Charles Christian, and a discussion of the continual abuse of women today.
“Perhaps the most repetitive (and depressing) theme is the
sexist, anti-feminist, male chauvinist, misogynistic, patriarchal attitudes
that prevails throughout much of the historical ground I cover in this book.”
Christian
“The Greek legends of Circe and Madea, which go back at least 2750 years to Homer, are the archetypical, predatory, females, notorious, both as magicians and dangerous, sexually free women…
From earliest times, it would seem that men have been torn
between wanting to sleep with or slay, female witches and sorcerers.”
Christian
“… men were suspicious, if not positively terrified, of women possessing secret powers, or hidden knowledge they did not understand.”
“This was particularly the case with wise women healers, who were both feared and respected because they understood the secrets of plants and other substances that could cure and kill.”
Christian
Have these ancient views changed?
The author provides a thorough history, along with biographical data on individual women, and men, accused of witchcraft. I am less focused on the specific history than on the overall view of what women have suffered throughout the ages.
The History
The author focuses only in the United Kingdom and North America. Witches and sorcerers became scapegoats after the Black Death (1347-1351). In the Renaissance and the Reformation, the attitude of the church dramatically shifted from largely laissez-faire to an obstinate opposition that encouraged witch hunts, which lead to the Burning Times. The worst period was 1560-1640 when 65,000 women were killed. Unimaginable! Most of the accused witches confessed, but only after extensive torture.
“The changing attitudes and tolerance of the powers that be, whether the religious or secular, towards the different forms of magic, directly influence policy on whether witches and sorcerers were tolerated or persecuted.”
Christian
In North America, most of the witchcraft trials were in the 17th century, especially in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 Early settlers, who were religious extremists, blamed witches for their misfortune. Most of the women were innocent and most of them were killed after testimony of children, testimony that simply was not true. Children were the star prosecution witnesses, and their testimony went unchallenged.
The Witchcraft Act of 1735 passed in England, which stated that being a witch was no longer a criminal offense. This seemed to be the beginning of a better time for witches. There was a British rebirth of witchcraft in the early 1950s. The US had a quiet period for 300 years after the scare and shame of the Salem trials.
Today
Women are still suffering from the abuse of men. Witch hunts continue to exist. Witchcraft is a criminal offense in places such as “Subsaharan Africa, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, parts of the Amazon, Saudi Arabia and Chechnya. Of course, it is mostly women who are targeted.”
Christian
But there is an even more obvious threat to women in the US: the Jeffrey Epstein files. I have written about him before and there is still much more history surrounding him, Ghislain Maxwell, and their trafficking. But the history of these two is not my concern here. My concern is the appalling lack of support for their victims. We are just beginning to understand the extensive cover-up that has occurred and continues. This is no longer a political issue; it is much larger. It is about how powerful men can abuse women, lie about their involvement, and get away with their actions. History, from the time of the witches, is repeating itself.
Two things are clear:
First: We cannot accept any abusive treatment of ourselves or any other woman. I learned recently that even close family friends were guilty of incest. One of the fathers who was kind and talented, and one of my favorites, turned out to be an alcoholic who abused two of his daughters in unbelievable ways. We often wonder, didn’t the mother know? In this case, she was a strong, bright woman, but years ago, no one talked about such things. Women had few options then, and the abuse continued.
Second: Today, many women in their 40s still report parental and spousal abuse. I thought that had stopped. It hasn’t. The Epstein/ Maxwell case provides an even greater reminder. Records show thousands of young women were targeted. Unimaginable. When this horrendous trafficking of young women first came to light, I don’t think any of us were prepared for what we learned.
I wish times were improving for victims, but we have proof from the Epstein files and cover-up that the silence of men, and some women, is still the overwhelming response.
The plight of women, from the time of witches, has remained surprisingly unchanged. While outwardly it may seem different, too many men, especially those in power, still seem to feel as if they get to use, abuse and/or harm women however they like, and they get away with it.
As the author states:
“Perhaps the most repetitive (and depressing) theme is the
sexist, anti-feminist, male chauvinist, misogynistic, patriarchal attitudes
that prevails throughout much of the historical ground I cover in this book.”
This reminds us that the same theme the author saw in the history of witches remains today. While women may no longer be accused of being witches and burned at the stake, they are still victims of abuse and rape from entitled men. And then ignored.
What is changing is that women have a voice and are beginning to use it. The survivors are no longer cowering in secret but talking openly of their abuse. We must believe and support them.
And the most important thing we can all do is:
Stop the Silence.
