How many of us
dressed as witches for Halloween as children or even as adults?
The black gown and cone hat has become almost synonymous with the
holiday, right up there with pumpkins, ghosts and bats.
But the witch is more than just a symbol of Halloween.
The word witch
comes from Wicca, an ancient earth based religion.
With the introduction of Christianity to pagan cultures, Wicca
was suppressed and given an aura of danger, which led to the belief that
those who practiced the ancient ways were evil.
The popular image of a withered old crone comes partially from
this attempt to encourage conformity.
Associating the village wise woman with devil worship and her
herbal concoctions with evil potions ensured that any spiritual problems
would be brought to a local Christian priest.
Dressing witches in black and giving them warts also aided in
creating the perception of a harbinger of evil – black implying sin
and warts implying a diseased and cursed individual.
The fact of the
matter is that wiccans don’t believe in the devil, so obviously
couldn’t have worshipped him. Also,
most pagan beliefs follow a rule that says everything you do will
rebound on you times three meaning do good and lots of good will come
your way – do bad and lots of bad comes your way.
So how did a religion based on harmony and peace
become known as something so evil?
That’s a topic too broad and controversial to get into in a
small article like this, but never fear!
Wicca is alive and well in our modern lives and is in fact
gaining in popularity. In
fact, Halloween itself is only one of our holidays and celebrations that
has its roots in ancient religion.
In a further attempt to convert the masses, Christianity absorbed
many of the special days and deities of these cultures. Halloween, ground hog day, Valentines Day, and May Day all
have roots in Wicca and other old religions.
© 2005 Jenn Andrus
