https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-evarc-12b5d1e
History and Meaning of a Witches Hat
There are a couple possibilities as to where the witches hat came from. One is the sad practice in 1215 in forcing Jewish men to wear a conical hat to show their outsider status at the time. But as the witches hat is a British and American association, and Britain decided to use a badge instead of a hat to identify Jewish people, so this is a less likely possibility. What is more probable is the associations with Quakers in 1600’s England.
Quakers, or the Society of Friends, believed that women were equal to men, that God was experienced directly, and that people weren’t inherently sinful. This was seen as a threat to the Church of England at the time in part because women were allowed to have a voice. The beliefs about the Quakers ranged from that they were heretical and thus evil, to horny… especially the women. Quakers were fashionable for their time, and guess what was fashionable? If you guessed tall, black, conical hats you would be correct.
This was a time where witches were also coming into awareness and not in a good way. I’m sure there were more than a few Quaker women accused of witchcraft during the trials of this time.
From there we don’t see a witch in her recognizable hat until around 1720. At which time superstition and magic were shifting into the background, the scientific revolution was almost at hand. The popular depiction of a witch in England spread.
In the Wizard of Oz the Wicked Witch of the West had the, by now, iconic black pointed hat with the large brim. This was the first time that witches were depicted as green in popular media.
There are a lot of examples of conical hats in history. But to us the witches hat is special, for obvious reasons. So wear your hat with pride, it’s an important symbol of power, wisdom, and rebellion.
Persecuted as a Witch
Merga Bien Born in the 1560’s and died 1603. She was accused of being a witch in Fulda Germany. She was tried as one of the first witches in these trials which took place from 1603-1606. She had married three times and she became the heiress of her first two husbands, leaving her quite well to do. This came into play later during the trials. When she married Blasius Bien (1588) she moved away from Fulda but later returned. Her return was due to troubles with her husband’s employer wherein she had spoken out against them, which was utterly unacceptable of the times.
In March of 1603 the first arrests were being made. Not long after Merga was arrested on June 19th. Regardless of the plea made by her husband in the court of Speyer, she was jailed despite being pregnant.
In the course of the trial she was accused of having relations with the devil in order to become pregnant since she and her current husband, Blasius, had been barren for fourteen years. They had no previous children. Further it was contrived that she murdered her second husband along with her children and a family member from her third husband’s employer. She was forced to confess to all of these crimes. Having been judged as guilty she was then burned alive, in Fulda, at the stake in the autumn of 1603.
These trials began as a result of prince-abbot Balthasar von Dernbach of the Fulda monastery who was a devout Catholic and follower of Counter-Reformation. He had been exiled in 1576 for his beliefs by the Lutherans but returned in 1602 and regained control over perceived religious liberalism. He re-implemented his policies and began the witch hunt and searches for other undesirables. By his side in these trials and as accuser, was Balthasar Nuss whom he met during his exile. Later Nuss admitted to having accused 205 (although was said to have actually accused 239) people, for which he was imprisoned 13 years and beheaded in 1618. These trials came to an end a year after Balthasar von Dernbach died on March 15, 1605. The trials had lasted three years and was one the four largest witch trials in Germany killing approximately 250 persons.
Woman of the trials burned alive at the stake
- In Autumn 1603 1 known victim
- In 1604, 59 known victims
- In 1605, 70 known victims
- In 1606, 7 known victims
History of Witchcraft and Magic
In the Middle Paleolithic (neanderthal) there is a controversy as to the existence of our religious beginnings in that time (300,000-50,000).
Upper Paleolithic religious beliefs, around 50,000 yrs ago, has via discovered complex body art, been possibly connected to shamanic religions. Dating back to possibly 30,000BCE the discovery of a figurine now known as the Venus of Willendorf, named after the area in Austria she was found, is one such piece. She is to this day seen on many altars.
There is evidence that animism is one of the oldest held beliefs followed by belief in an afterlife, then shamanism and ancestor worship. Modern day hunter-gatherers’, and possibly our Paleolithic ancestors’, religions are naturally unique compared to each other, but especially when compared to larger “world” religions. Religion is not really a separate topic in most hunter-gatherer societies today, rather their beliefs are woven throughout their daily life. Some similarities between hunter-gatherer groups are sacred healing dances, rituals marking life events, plus gods and spirits that are typically not all knowing and may or may not really care about human rules and their day to day life.
Shamanism is defined as: “a religion practiced by indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia that is characterized by belief in an unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive only to shamans.” by Meriam-Webster dictionary.
Around 12,000BC there was a shift in society’s structure, which were the early signs of hierarchical groups. This is a time when worship grew to include both one person’s ancestors and tribal ancestors alike. Stonehenge is one such example of the changes from more individualized to group oriented practices.
In Galilee, in 2008, a 12,000 year old skeleton of a woman was found. She was approximately 45 when she died and had problems with her spine that would have caused her to probably drag her feet. But what was interesting is that she was found relatively intact ( the culture from that time and place was known to mess with skeletons) and with bones from several animals with her including leopard, eagle, boar, aurochs, and around fifty turtle shells. All of that together has the scientists surmising that she was a shaman of some sort. I think that’s pretty awesome.
Religion (or latin religionem ‘to show respect for what is sacred) “is an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience.” World History Encyclopedia. “Religion” was not different from mythology until more recent times. It was based on the world around them existing in a Universe filled with higher supernatural beings that had created all that was, including the cosmos.
Tarot
The Four and Seven of Swords. These two jumped out at me. In this deck the four shows a hedgehog held up in its’ hole under the snowy ground. The seven shows a panther lying facing us, with other ones in the background facing each other.
They both speak about survival and solitude but from different perspectives. One speaks to retreating and the other meeting things semi head on. Both serve their purposes.
The Four takes refuge inwardly in the Self, away from others and seeks silence to still the mind. The Seven looks outwardly for places to hide in plain sight while re-acclimating itself. Both are looking to their surroundings and any threats.
How do you protect yourself? Considered, in what way do you function best? Introvert or extrovert? The introvert will regain itself once it has had time away not having to deal with others and their energies. The extrovert will be out in the open using the energy around them in order to recharge. Once both collect themselves they can integrate back in with everyone else. These coping mechanisms are vital for each individual’s survival. Watching ourselves, collecting insights about ourselves is what we must do everyday. The more we know the better we can prepare to face the world around us. If someone attacks with unfounded volatility, what will you do? Escape or charge? Fight or flight. Who are you?
As witches we are bound to ask ourselves the hard questions about who we are and how we will grow. This isn’t exclusive to Witchery but lets face it, witches are the topic at hand.
The Guardian of the Night Tarot by MJ Cullinane
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https://pluralism.org/ancient-roots-historical-challenges
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4958132/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_religion
https://www.themarysue.com/the-history-of-the-witch-hat/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_hat
https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/8233627
- Stadtarchiv Fulda: Bestand XVI B 1/2 : Kurtzer Sumarischer Bericht 1618 (Kopie)
- Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg: (Kopien)
- Bestand 90a/836: Peinliche Untersuchung gegen Balthasar Nusser…..
- Bestand 91/900: Prozess Balthasar Nuß
- Bestand 255 (Reichskammergericht): B71 In Sachen Bien
- Ingrid Möller-Münch: … ach Gott, so wil ich es gethan haben. Das Leben der Merga Bien (Biographie). Beitrag zur Hexenverfolgung im Hochstift Fulda (1603–1606), Fulda 2008, 55 S.
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