Desperately Seeking Wisdom: Witch Way Is Best

...by the pricking of my thumbs…….something wicked this way comes.....’.

…..Potions, cauldrons, wonky-hats, broomsticks..… How do we change or improve perceptions – about anything – when the 'world' (in this example, media, literature, folklore...) conspires to portray an almost universally negative image of a subject? In our case, witches. A couple of options spring to mind; employ an image consultant or create opportunities whereby the damned subject appears more integrated. Love them or loathe them, witches always invite comment, be it amusement or high dudgeon. They’ve been re-invented, of course for the contemporary market. Highly clichéd, and in the mode of ‘they-were- the- traditional-alternative-therapists', - Nanny McPhee, Weird Sisters, Harry Potter, and ( personal favourite) Samantha from Bewitched (the über domestic goddess – she tidied up a child’s playroom with a nose-wiggle).

I blame Shakespeare, but also thank him for the opening quotes (Macbeth) for therein lies a clue. What DID/DO witches represent? And why have they remained prevalent over the centuries? Probably our universal, evolutionary fear of 'different'. Maybe an anthropological mirror, reflecting prejudices and the terrifying ease with which humans can turn on outcast groups for scapegoating. You have to admit, as a genre they have earned their keep over the years, not only for authors; we frighten children with them, use them as a reason for dressing up at Halloween and, - truly scary - they underpin our human fears surrounding the ‘unacceptable woman’ (topic narrows to lady witches, thanks to Mr Jung) - the lone female, unattached, independent, aloof. Moreover, witches are commonly sought-out, in other words, we go to them, not vice versa. But why were these magical matriarchs isolated and persecuted, as in Salem, USA? Male herbalists or proto- apothecaries (traditionally monks) did not suffer the same fate. The 'dare to be different' thesis does not go far enough- daring to be different and powerful- now that IS scary.

Ponder… when we have exhausted the resources of conventional medicine and seek out a recommended therapist, or undergo an optional treatment or programme, is this continuing the centuries old tradition of seeking wisdom which is beyond us? Our mainstream doctors also have knowledge 'beyond us', 7 years at medical school has seen to that. Is it then, the perception of this genre's 'other worldly' knowledge that is the main attraction? Terrestrial knowledge, thanks to the internet is at our finger-tips, no magic there. Mr Rumsfeld (no warlock, it must be stated) might have hit on something with the infamous 2002 quote ,"there are known knowns and there are unknown knowns…." Perhaps not knowing - not wanting to know provides the power- something beyond us has mysticism and therefore might work. The mortal world calls this a placebo, but 'witchcraft' sounds so much more forbidding and therefore easier to pillory.

Recent history provides a startling modern example of such discrimination. The 'night witches' (WW2 female Soviet bomber pilots who flew over 23,000 bombing raids against the German military from 1942 to the end of the war) were so named after the whoosh of air caused by their silent engines, cut pre-bombing to evade detection. That such a pejorative title was attached to these super-humanly brave women is intriguing. As with the socially 'different' women who practised natural healing, these aviator 'witches' had crossed the line, entered the patriarchal domain (war, medicine) and had to be controlled by some means- negative labelling is a powerful technique.

….and finally, back to the Macbeth …let's not forget that the above quote was spoken by the witches about Macbeth. Yes indeed, he sought them out. His ego swamped his judgment and he fatally misinterpreted the 'not of woman borne' statement ….so for those of you bent on regicide, beware……. As for the rest of us?.. Continue to seek those who ply the modern wisdoms. Far from flighty, we need such mysteries to keep us grounded.