Few figures have captured public imagination quite so successfully as the witch. My fascination with wild plants frequently exposes me references to witches and their uses of herbs. I have long wanted to find out more about the historical roots of this relationship, and to get a sense of how it has evolved throughout history. As we head towards halloween, it seemed like the perfect time to delve into this intriguing subject.
Many questions have been swirling round in my head: Were witches wise herbal women? Was herbal knowledge used as evidence against witches during the gendercidal witch trials? If so, how far back does this relationship go? And lastly, what does all this mean for us and our relationship with wild plants today?
In this blog, I explore 4 areas:
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What is a witch?
The witch is clearly a character with lots of faces in public imaginiation. The cultural references I grew up with range from the wicked witch (and good witch) in The Wizard of Oz, or the three witches in Macbeth, to more modern takes like Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Hermione in Harry Potter.
From a historical perspective, it's clear that the definition of the word 'witch' varied a lot across time and place. Historian Ronald Hutton offers the following definitions:
Someone who causes harm to others by mystical means (the "traditional" definition he's working with)
Any person who uses magic (with those using it for beneficial purposes being 'good' or 'white' witches)
The practitioner of a particular kind of nature-based Pagan religion;
Or as the symbol of independent female authority and resistance to male domination. [4]
The use of the first two defintions are older and have been used throughout history, whereas the latter two evolved in the twentieth century. As I’m taking a historical view most of this blog will relate to the first two definitions though my conclusions definitely relate to the fourth as well.
Hutton defines magic as 'any formalized practices by human beings designed to achieve particular ends by the control, manipulation and direction of supernatural power or spirtiual power concealed within the natural world'. I'm personally interested in how those elements in the natural world link to wild plants and herbs specifically.
Ancient depictions of witches and herbs : Circe and Hecate
One of the oldest examples of a witch we come across in Western culture is Circe, the witch who lured Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. Homer wrote:
"She brought them into her palace, seating them on high-backed chairs, then she mixed them a potion—cheese, barley, and pale honey mulled in Pramnian wine—but into the brew she stirred her wicked drugs to wipe from their memories any thought of home. When they had drunk the potion, she struck them with her wand, drove them into her pigsties, all of them bristling into swine." - They Odyssey, book 10
He doesn't reference which herbs specifically Circe has used as her 'wicked drugs', but it is widely understood to be a herbal concoction.
I read Madeleine Miller's novel, Circe over the summer. Here, discovering and learning the use of herbs is absolutely central to Circe's magic, called "pharmaka", which related to "herbs with wondrous powers, sprung from the fallen blood of gods...as well as those which grow common upon the earth. It is a gift to be able to draw out their powers". Circe's process is imagined as an instinctive and artful labour of love. The Greek godess-witch spent hours isolated on her island experimenting with potions in what can only be described as an intuitive, self taught process.
This re-imagining of the ancient tale goes into a lot more detail than we see in Homer's text itself, and of course is not historical evidence. However, Greek and later Roman culture did incorporate herbs quite significantly into healing so it's not such a jump to imagine that a strong herbal knowledge would have been core to the potions Circe would have been thought to use.
While Circe does have a plant named after her: Circaea lutetiana, academics have found it hard to ascertain why this plant (which is not toxic) was named after the Greek witch-goddess - and its first written use dates back to a 16th century text. [2]
Historically, she has also been associated with mandrake - a link that goes back a lot further. Pliny the Elder said that:
“Mandragora, by some called Circaea, is an odorous herb with yellow juice, with a root resembling a human body... It is gathered by moonlight, with certain religious rites, as if one were taking part in an initiation into sacred mysteries." (Pliny the Elder, Natural History, Book 25, Chapter 94, 1st Century)
Mandrake is of course one of the main herbs associated with witchcraft through the ages, so it's fascinating to see that this connection started as far back as the first century, if not before.
Another notorious witch of the ancient world is Hecate, a goddess in both Greek and Roman traditions, who is often associated with witchcraft (even today), magic, and the underworld particularly in later Roman literature. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses (8 CE), Medea (a priestess of Hecate) gathering herbs for her magic, though specific plant names are not always mentioned.He says:
"Then she turned her steps to a distant plain, Where herbs of potent virtue grew— The dew of which she sprinkled with mystic words, And reaped them with a brazen sickle at the full of the moon. They were herbs with black roots, milky juice, That ripened under the stars with their rays." - Ovid, Metamorphasis, Book 7
What an evocative scene, full of ritual. It shows that the perception of the witch as someone who worked with mysetrious herbs while reciting spells is millenia old. Academics have speculated on which herbs she could be using in this passage, and the typical witch herbs mandrake, henbane and aconite have been considered. But in some ways ascertaining which herb was used is less relevant than the ritualistic nature of the collection and the mystical qualities associated with the plant.
Ronald Hutton notes that depictions of Circe and Medea are distinct from later medieval and early modern representations of witches in that they are both godesses, rather than human. Although they do use their magic for bad, neither is seen as exclusively evil nor do they face any retribution. He concludes that while they have been immensely influential in terms of the development of later European literature, he is not convinced that they are necessarily witches in the same way as the term has since come to be understood as per his 4 pronged definition mentioned above.
Evidence of everyday women being prosecuted for witchcraft in ancient Greece and Rome is apparently quite weak - and although it happened, it was nothing like the scale we see in early modern times so it's hard to ascertain what role herbs specifically played in such accusations. Nonethless we definitely see clearly from Circe and Hecate that the link between herbs and witches certainly dates back to the ancient times even if the context was slightly different.
Towards the witch trials: herbs & sexual deviance
Before 1350, witchcraft was viewed as a means of manipulating nature for personal gain, but it was only considered a criminal offense when it caused harm in some way.[1] What changed in the early modern period was an increased association of witches with the devil.
A gamechanger treatise, the Malleus Maleficarum (or Hammer of the Witches), published in 1486, included an overt accusation of sexual relations with the devil - also naming plants as part of thes supposedly abominable practices.
"Witches are said to make use of certain ointments, by which they are transported through the air and over vast distances, and attend nocturnal gatherings and assemblies of witches, in which they engage in immoral practices with the devil and other spirits... They use herbs and poisonous plants, along with incantations, to invoke the power of the Devil, using these to cause harm to men and beasts alike.” - Malleus Maleficarum, Part 1, Questions 10 & 11)
This was also linked to broader cultural accusations of women as seducers and corrupters of men as per the bibilical Adam and Eve story.
The idea of the witch as a sexual deviant is therefore linked to the herbs she was associated with during this time. While the herbs aren't specifically named in this text, they are assumed to be in the same herbs in the nightshade family mentioned already. They involve belladonna (Atropa belladona), henbane (Hyosciamus niger), and mandrake (Mandragora officinarum). These three plants contain various similar alkaloids, with the primary ones being hyoscyamine and hyoscine (or scopolamine), known for their euphoric effects.
This is actually where the idea of a witch using a broomstick comes from. It was suggested that "flying ointments" were rubbed onto the handle of a broom which is then used to apply them on the genitals where they could more easily absorb into the bloodstream as the skin is thinner and vessels are closer to the surface (I had no idea!). As the broom was then supposedly placed between the legs of the "witches," it was said to symbolize a flying device. [1]
Did this actually happen? Historians have found little evidence indicating that individuals identified as witches in the past actually did this or utilized these particular plants for such intentions.
In addition, a recent found that 425 plants in 97 families were associated with witches and devils in northwest Europe via their common names. However the Solanaceae / nightshade family mentioned which only made up 3% of the data, which leads the authors to conlcude that the link between witches and these herbs specifically is overstated (though the plants are named after witches in Dutch and German). [3]
The witch as a herbal healer
In any event, the witch trials which followed such accusations in Europe and later (but to a lesser extent) north America are without a doubt a huge blight on early modern history. Estimates of the number of women (mostly elderly and poor) burned, hanged, and tortured vary hugely, from 40,000 to millions. This is now thought of as a genocide, or gendercide - and many feminist works state that this memory of being burnt it is ingrained in the collective consciousness of women (Lucy H Pearce in Burning Woman, for example). This resonates with me.
Since the twentieth century, women have been reclaiming the narrative of the witch in contemporary discourse. There has been much said on the subject of witches having also been wise women and healers - including midwives - who were well practiced in herbal medincine. These women were locked out official power structures replaced by male doctors as western medicine developed; a process which is often understood to have coincided with the witch trials which were used to systematically disempower women.
"Women have always been healers...For centuries, women were doctors without degrees, barred from books and lectures, learning from each other, and passing on experience from neighbour to neighbour and mother to daughter. They were called "wise women" by the people, witches or charlatans by the authorities." --- "Witches, Midwives and Nurses", Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English
I have such a huge respect for the legacy of midwives and women herbal healers throughout history. However when I turned to look at the historical literature, it appeared that despite text quoted above in the Malleus Maleficarum, women trialled for being witches were not being tried on the basis of using herbs.
Evidence shows that a very small proportion of the accused witches across Europe referenced as healers or midwives during the witch trials. [2] They were basically just women (predominantly - roughly 85% of accused witches were female) and often in professions which, if they went wrong, could easily lead to people falling ill or dying and thus the accusation of witchcraft - this did include midwives but also brewers, working with processing wheat and preparing food more generally.
One of the studies I mentioned earlier concludes that use of plant names containing the terms witch and devil was probably derogatory rather than an indication of use for witchcraft. The names were found to denote toxic and "weedy" qualities and serving as a cautionary signal for their harmful characteristics. Alternatively, they related to their potentially protective qualities against witchcraft.[3]
I am not sure if this definitively means women weren't herbal healers, but it does seem that the prevailing view of academics and historians was that this wasn't their primary occupation.
The Wild Woman Archetype
So despite strong and undeniable cultural associations between witches and herbs, it appears that this wasn't necessarily reflected by supposed witches actually using herbs on the ground. Yet, I still feel pulled towards the image of the witch being a wise woman who used herbs - and I found myself wondering why.
There is something about her connection to the wild specifically that is speaking to me, and obviously to many others, since this image persists.
In her book, Women who Run with the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estes explores the notion of the wild woman archetype in folk stories, which she relates to woman's innate, intuitive nature —one that has often been suppressed by culture but remains a vital source of creativity, strength, and wisdom.
She defines the word wild, "not in its modern perjorative sense, meaning out of control, but in its original sense, which means to live. anatural life, one in which the criatura, creature has innate integrity and healthy boundaries...They create a metaphor to describe the force which funds all females...you can call it the innate basic nature of women".
If feminine energy is intrinsically linked to the wild and intuition, then could the witch's cultural links to wild plants and herbs be a manifestation of the wild within our psyches? What can the witch teach us at a time when the masculine qualities of control and rationality have dominated our culture?
Archetypes are motifs or images that have recurred throughout human history, so are embedded in our collective unconscious. Carl Jung, who originally explored the theme of archetypes, did not write extensively on witches. However, his work on archetypal concepts can explain the persistant reappearance of the witch and her association with wild plants or herbs throughout history. From a Jungian perspective this could either be via the following:
The Shadow: The witch archetype can be seen as part of the Shadow, which Jung defined as the dark, hidden aspects of ourselves that we reject or fail to recognize. It's not hard to see how the witch could be a manifestation of this, and her links to so-called weeds also being interlinked. I have wondered whether some people's lack of tolerance for wild plants and wild places - which spring naturally from the earth - in some ways is an external manifestation of their rejection of the so called weeds within (see my blog last week on rewilding). Can the witch and her herbs teach us to face our shadow?
Anima/Animus: Jung also described the Anima as the feminine aspect in the male psyche and the Animus as the masculine aspect in the female psyche. The witch archetype, particularly in men’s unconscious, can manifest as a dark or feared version of the Anima—a powerful, independent, and potentially destructive female figure. The witch might represent a man’s fear or misunderstanding of his inner feminine side, particularly when it is linked to untamed emotion, nature, and instinct. This also seems particularly relevant to the witch trials, and the portrayal of the witch as a sexual deviant which could, perhaps, belie the accusers shame at their own impulses. In today's culture, powerful women are still routinely called witches. Politicians from Angela Merkel to Hilary Clinton have been called witches in a discriminatory way. Most recently, Kamala Harris's laugh has been described as a "cackle". But what is it that bothers commentators so much about these women? Is it something in themselves?
The Wise Old Woman or crone: She is the keeper of wisdom, intuition, and connection to nature’s cycles. The Russian Baba Yaga is one such example that Estes explores in her book in the story of Vasalisa. This 'wild hag' is not kind and nuturing but she has a deep message to teach the heroine about her instinctive self. This archetype definitely links to the wise herbal woman who teaches others, sometimes with tough love, how to trust their own intuition and not just reside in what is comfortable.
These are definitely messages we could listen to today when making decisions about how to do what we instinctively know needs to be done even when it feels difficult. Cutting plastics, allowing more wild spaces, consuming less. These are the potential messages of the crone in today’s world.
The Mother Archetype: The witch is often linked to the Mother archetype, especially the Terrible Mother—a figure who can be both nurturing and devouring - a bit like nature itself.m. The witch’s role as both healer and destroyer mirrors the dual aspects of the Mother archetype. Witches are frequently depicted in fairy tales as manipulating life and death through their knowledge of nature - often through potions made from, you guessed it, herbs (think the wicked witch in Snow White). This manifestation of the witch in the mother archetype definitely invites us to look at mental health crises and our own sense of attachment - being correctly seen and understood by others. This is especially true at a time of such polarised debate when people don't feel understood, or seen - and equally avoid seeing others.
I can't help but thinking that these themes have wider repercussions for some of the imbalances we face in the world today and that is why ultimately the archetype of the witch as a wild woman will continue to endure within our psyches.
Concluding thoughts
My exploration of witches and herbs in history has been a rather meandering one, but it has been facinating. It's impossible to do justice to this enormous topic with only a few days' worth of research and I find myself itching to give further time and thought to exploring more. In particular, my exploration has been limited to a narrow slither of western history - there is more to look at in terms of prehistoric influences as well as trends elsewhere in the world. I'd love to look at Shamanism too.
I'm left with the thought that history is not always just about the clinical assessment of fact and evidence (though these are important), but also a consideration of meaning via folklore and mythology - and what this means to us in our present lives. Narratives are important, and for this reason the image of the witch and her herbs is one that I believe will continue to endure and carry weight into the future.
By linking us to our intuitive selves, this archetypal figure, I believe, has a role to play in helping us find that balance we seek in the world.
Resources
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 325, 2024
[4] Hutton, Ronald (2017) The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present. Yale University Press, 2017.
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