@jointhecovn burnt bitches unite #burnedatthestake #witchhistory #factsyoudidntknow #witchtok ♬ Suspense, horror, piano and music box - takaya
The witch is a common archetype of who people push their associations and projections of women onto. In this post we’ll explain what sort of (ridiculous) accusation would warrant a burning , with some answering that may surprise you. Many of the signs of being a witch stem from the invention of the printing press which meant more circulated news.
During this time there was a rise and activate push of christianity by the church replacing the ancient pagan multi-god religions. Many villages and towns had older women who were their local healers, the church needed the people to put their trust in them instead of these women. This campaign started a genocide against women to disrupt their place of power within society.
Are you a woman? Well there’s already a high percentage you’re being BURNED. Throughout the Malleus, women are virtually synonymous with the appetites of the flesh, and, in the minds of the authors, this carnal desire and this lust leads women to naturally align with the devil. “all [witchcraft] comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.”6
Did something unlucky or bad happen around you? BURN: “where there are maleficiales, misfortunes that are perceived to be malicious, there must be witches”
Deny the Catholic Faith? Automatic BURN for non-believers.
Are you very attractive to men? BURN
Are you very unattractive to men? BURN
Do you have not have any children? BURN. It was believed the devil could cause infertility, abortion or sterility, and sexual dysfunction in men. Of course you’re a witch if any of this happened to you.
Are you close to an animal? Unfortunately you’re getting BURNED as witches are believed to have familiars or magical creatures to help them do their witch bidding.
Are you a midwife or help delivering babies? Well you’re probably a witch then which means you’re getting BURNED. Believed to kill babies in the womb and at birth for personal use of their drinking blood in rituals, and even worse for the babies who live who are believed to be offered up as patrons to the devil. Knowledge of herbal remedies also added to suspicion.
Do you have a birthmark? Well that could be a witches mark and you’ll be getting BURNED.
Do you have a crooked nose? Imperfect posture? Wrinkles? Women could be accused of simply “looking like a witch”.
Do you not have any children? Many accusations of witchcraft were made after a child, or several children had fallen ill or even died suddenly for no obvious reason. Indeed, the most famous witch trial of all, the Salem Witch Trial, came about after small children in the Massachusetts village started suffering from seizures. Almost without fail, childless women would be blamed. It was commonly believed that such women were simply jealous of mothers with their children and used their black magic to make them suffer. BURN.
Do you talk to yourself? Well you are most definitely muttering black magic spells under your breath. BURN.
Ever accidentally owned out of date milk? BURN. The most notable case of curdled milk being cited as evidence of black magic was at the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Here, the grand jury heard that several of the accused had spoiled milk in their houses, while neighbors also attested that some of them caused milk to curdle just by walking past it. Cows and their milk were a vital resource at this time. If a cow stop producing milk, or should the milk be of poor quality, it could leave a person or family on the brink of destitution and starvation. It would also leave them angry and looking for someone to blame – and often, a ‘strange’ female neighbor was the easiest target.
Are you older than 40? Then you generally would've been seen as a more suspicious character, especially if you lived alone. IN 1962, when America was gripped by the Salem Witch Trials, the vast majority of the 200 suspects were women in their late 40s or 50s. BURN.
Had sex outside of marriage? Then you would most certainly be BURNED. For most of history, women were expected to follow strict roles. This was especially true when it came to sex and sexuality. Transgressing from these was a sure-fire way of earning the suspicion of your neighbors and being accused of being a witch. The Malleus Malifcarum, the 16th-century guide to spotting witches was hung up on sex.
Don’t dress perfectly? Suspicion of different dress was especially strong in the Puritan communities of North America. And, again, it was women who were expected to follow strict dress codes, and who would be judged the most harshly if they attempted to show any individual sense of style. BURN.
Financially independent? Back in the 16th and 17th centuries, independent women – that is, women who lived alone, without a man to support them – were often viewed with suspicion. And if an independent woman was financially comfortable, then jealous neighbors might well accuse her of being a witch. Around 9 in 10 of the women executed for witchcraft between the years 1620 and 1725 were financially independent. BURN.
Left handed? BURN. Suspicion of left-handedness has been around for centuries. It’s even been called ‘a mark of the devil‘, and so any woman seen using their left hand for writing or for other common, everyday tasks, might have found herself under suspicion of practicing dark magic.
Cat owner? BURN. Celtic peoples, believed that cats were actually humans who had committed bad deeds in their lives and so, after dying, were forced to return to earth in feline form. From that point onward, cats were seen as malevolent spirits, therefore owning one would raise suspicion. We’ve actually debunked the reason why witches have black cats in another video.
You get the point. It almost feels like a woman could simply breathe wrong and be set alight. Let us know what characteristic would have put you on the burning list.
Further Reading:
18 Reasons One is Executed for Witchcraft During 'The Burning Times'