Witchcraft and the Oppression of women

http://www.progressiveu.org/131139-witchcraft-and-the-oppression-of-women

A witch traditionally has been considered a wise woman. The title was an acknowledgement of ancient wisdom and applicable modalities which had been practiced and protected by women since the beginning of civilization. “Indo-European root “Weik” which has to do with religion and magic, Norse “wihl” meant craftiness, “wik/ wikk/wihen/weihen” meant in Germany ‘holy’ and to predict and to consecrate.”1 Many early civilizations were termed matriarchal. This directly reflects a long historical tradition of societies based on women and their practices. There is an enormous amount of documentation on the subject of cultures started and maintained by women. The absence of this material as being viewed as “common” is a direct result of the oppression of women, her cultures and achievements in order to keep her oppressed and docile. Even her most exalted and revered name for eons was Goddess “Devi” would now be used against her, usurped and termed “Devil”.

The severe and shameful oppression of women and their contributions to society has been hidden throughout the world or at best a rarely or untold story. The deaths of accused witches (heretics) is a direct result of this oppression and reached it’s peak from 1200 to 1800A.D. varying in range from 100,000 to 9 million persons but, the percentage of women killed, during this time, is consistent in all references. Eighty percent of the people accused, tortured, and burned during the witch hunts were women! There is a systematic behavior of scholastic and intellectual men who have feared women and her powers dating as far back pre-Paleolithic and Neolithic times. Europe witnessed this massive hunt, torture and killing of women and men who were also viewed as pagan/heretics. The pagans refused to give up their matrilineal culture and practices. Their very lives of planting and harvesting depended on it. The witch hunts became a useful vehicle as an attempt to stamp out the ancient pagan traditions built around the worship of the Goddess and Gods. “If life is inherently evil, the church fathers needed someone to blame; and who better to blame than woman, who creates life from her own body? Living women, also, can be publicly punished, as the iconic and illusory Devil can never be.” 2 Plus the church had a long tradition of taking over the most celebrated pagan holidays and began to call them Christian to gain the support of the people of the land. The church hijacked the yearly pagan celebration of the Sun and made it the celebration of the son now called Christmas.

There were many who stood to benefit from the fallout of the witch hunts or the oppression of women. What did women have or possess and who stood to benefit is really at the crux of the witch hunts? The witch hunters became wealthy by simply pointing out women and collecting money for it. Due to an enormous number of men dying during the Crusades and various religious wars, thousands of women were left widowed and alone and heaven forbid, “independent of men” and in charge of her own sexuality. Naturally these women and some children, now, found themselves in the possession of “huge” feudal estates due to their spouse’s or parent’s, untimely, deaths. For far too many feudal lords, vassals and serfs chose to go off to fight in the “Holy Wars” for monetary gain, rather than remain at home guarding and protecting their women children and lands. Monasteries were immediately appointed to look after these widows and orphaned children. Women who were accused and killed as witches’ property reverted directly to the Church. The property obtained increased the wealth and power of the Church. “Thousands and thousand of acres of land, homes, farms and businesses, personal wealth and goods-all were stripped from the accused witch, and absorbed into the Church.”3 The institutional oppression of women has always been to make sure she was assigned to someone other than herself, be it a husband, father or guardian from as early as the Hellenstic (Goddess Hellen) Greco Roman age. But the natural matrilineal patterns continue to emerge, even today with 75% of households are run by women according to the latest Census. God forbid woman re-member and connect to her well known ancient ways termed “pagan” and her well known history (herstory) known by church and other intellectuals.

During the European witch hunts many approached were used to isolate and murder women. Even something as absurd as a woman having a pimple could result in her being hung or burned. This holocaust remains a cornerstone as a sample of the treatment of women by men that directly reflect on the atrocities against women today. Denial and confession of being a witch were “both” punishable by death. She could not win under any circumstances. Numerous natural experiences were deemed witch craft. Women who wanted freedom from male dominance and oppression could claim to be witch initially to live alone, something which had been frowned upon for centuries.

Christine De Pizan, a well known scholar and writer in the 1300’s wrote extensively on the topic of the oppression of women by here own feelings of depression due to the constant brow beating women were forced to endure daily. She brilliantly writes a history of women which had been suppress and unknown to her as she receives a visit from 3 feminine entities who educate her on why she should be proud to be called women and uncovers a glorious past of women and her numerous contributions. She is charged to begin to educate women and to found a city of women to relearn what had been lost. She is given instruction on how to construct the new city of women. Could knowledge of this information become a reason to severely oppress women? Even today, women are reluctant to learn of her ways for fear of still being termed a witch. Christine

“The Roman Catholic Church was uneasy in Europe at this time, being constantly accused of priestly corruption, luxuriousness, and political chicanery. Europeans were “backsliding” into their indigenous paganism, Gnostic beliefs were circulating sub rosa, and communities of medieval “hippies” were springing up everywhere.” The threatened church could not tolerate the mass “apostasy” of its rich southern feudal elites.”4 With the invention of the printing press, women’s stories could be read by all. A distraction would be needed.

The use of systemic fear became a powerful tool. The European culture at this time consisted of Monarchs, Lords, Vassals, Serf and the Church. Food was grown and harvested harvest as a direct result of the Goddess traditions with the cycles of the moon. The moon was associated with women because of the 28 ½ rotation through the zodiac constellations which correlated to the exact cycle in women. The Goddess of Agriculture was over the planting and harvesting of crops. When printing began, besides the Bible, the most popular item published were calendars for the use of harvesting according to moon cycles. The Pagan culture was immersed in the feminine culture and did not want to give up their ancient practices. These pagan practices were usurped by the Church. The church also practiced magic and banned the people from practicing it and made the church the only “authority” to practice magic. Pagans had been for centuries well versed through oral tradition by the wise women/witches in how to use the elements for the benefit of the people for agriculture. “In 1484, therefore, Pope Innocent VIII pronounced a Papal Bull against the now-suddenly-discovered crime of witchcraft. He denounced witchcraft as an organized conspiracy of the Devil’s army against the peace and common order of the Holy Christian Empire (a peace and common order which people living under that empire had rarely experienced).”5 Two years later the two monks published the Malleus “Male”ficarum (Hexenhammer, The Hammer of Witches”) book it was used as the official handbook for the witch-hunters and used as “priestly and psychological justification” for the already “religiously” aggravated hatred and fear of women. “Witches were accused of instigating extramarital sex, of inhibiting potency, hindering conception, slaying infants in the womb-all threats to patriarchal property inherence especially since women and children were viewed as property of their husbands and guardians who were now dead.

During the Inquisition torture chambers, women were raped and sexually abused by their tortures and all with the blessings of the priest. The torture instruments were blessed by the priest before they were used. The witch hunts eventually became a natural holocaust. The witch hunts were put in place as a curbing of peasant rebellions. Later the Intellectuals and Reformist became strong supporters of the witch hunts. The Reformist men were fanatic haters of witchcraft. Luther is quoted saying “I would have no compassion on the witches! I would burn them all.”7 Of course he did not support the peasant rebellions either.

In conclusion the witch hunts or the oppression of women is a systemic behavior adopted world wide and it is up to women, not men, to go beyond adopted fears and reconnect with herself and learn her history because those who don’t know their history will repeat it.