Broomsticks, cauldrons and pointy hats often come to mind when someone says the word “witch.” Around Halloween and spooky season, famous characters and specific imagery surfaces when witches are mentioned.
From the Wicked Witch of the West to the Sanderson Sisters from “Hocus Pocus“, women using magic for evil (and in some cases, good) has shaped cultural understandings of the craft. But these, among other stereotypes, are far from the truth for real-life practitioners.
Here’s a breakdown on the history of witchcraft and an answer to the age-old question, “Are witches real?”
What is witchcraft?
Witchcraft is a nebulous term and is hard to distinctly define as it is open to interpretation depending on the practitioner or scholar.
As a practice, witchcraft dates back as early as the 10th century. However, it grew in prominence as a Renaissance phenomenon around the 15th century, said Fabrizio Conti, Ph.D., historian and lecturer in history at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy.
“We can define witchcraft as a series of beliefs that were put together by intellectual means,” he said.
According to Conti, historical interpretations of witchcraft depend on certain scholars. For instance, some believe all witchcraft shares the same elements and beliefs everywhere. However, others take an approach similar to historian Richard Kieckhefer, who stated certain mythologies in witchcraft are found in specific geographical locations and not in others, defining witchcraft as more individual, cultural and regional.
“We can have a degree of a shade of differences,” said Conti. “In northern Italy, for instance, you have, according to Kieckhefer, different mythologies of witchcraft: Click here to read the rest of this article
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