Don’t feel too badly for Saint Catherine of Siena, shown here besieged by demons in a work from 1500. In the Late Middle Ages, a number of female saints became well-known for their mystical visions. Some of these were heavenly, but other times they were not. Frequently, the visions conveyed an idea that female sexuality […]
Saint Catherine of Siena and Female Saint’s Mystical Visions Read More »
When I think of Matthew Hopkins, self-styled “Witchfinder General,” I think about episodes in human history where we really went wrong. This image is from Hopkins’ 1647 book, _The Discovery of Witches_, and shows him overseeing the confessions of women naming their demonic familiars. Under Matthew Hopkins’ short career of three years, about 300 women
Witch Hunting Tools and Techniques Read More »
Hey, anyone down for some yoga? For me, it depends on the context.This illustration is from an early 17th-century manuscript and illustrates an _asana_, or yoga pose, that looks an awful lot like the one called _kukkutasana_, or “rooster pose” shown in the second picture. If this seems arcane and not very practical to you,
Magical Superpowers of Yogis Read More »
Wanna hear about the most famous witch in all of Scottish history? Who wouldn’t, right? This would be one Isobel Gowdie, who gave four testimonials in 1662 confessing her involvement in harmful magical practices and consorting with the devil.Gowdie’s trial is better documented than any other witchcraft confession. Although she was probably treated poorly during
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Everyone has heard of the infamous witch-hunt craze of Early Modern Europe, resulting in the executions of thousands of people, mainly women, based on groundless accusations. The figure in this image from 1629 of “Robin Goodfellow,” is of course the fairy-type known as Puck, made famous by Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Magical witches and the
Puck’s and Early Modern European Witch-hunts Read More »
By the Early Modern period in England, many people associated witches with their accompanying animals called “familars.” At the bottom of this woodcut you can see “Boy” (also “Boye”) the dog and alleged familiar of the military leader Prince Rupert of the Rhine, who died with his master in battle in 1644.The familiars of 17th-century
Witches and their Familiars Read More »
This 16th-century woodcut shows some witches happily gathering ’round a pair of devils. Crimes commonly thought to have been committed by witches included murder of children, cannibalism, and carnal acts with Satan (#Q-Anonfortheages). Many trial records go into minute detail about subjects we would consider crazy, like the accused witches’ sexual intercourse with demons, marks
Medieval Witches and Their Crimes With Devils Read More »
What sort of woman flies around at night, perhaps leading a pack of hunters or accommodated by an assortment of animals, and works magic in the homes of certain women? Although a witch might fit the bill, this description applied to a belief in a variety of magical females across Europe in the Late Middle
The Bendanti of Medieval Europe Read More »
Of the many shady undertakings committed by Helen Duncan, witchcraft was not one of them. But nonetheless, during the Second World War the Scottish Spiritualist and show-woman was convicted under the 1735 Witchcraft Act. Duncan spent nine months in jail, and was the last person prosecuted in Britain under this legislation.An irony is that Duncan
Helen Duncan and the 1735 Witchcraft Act Read More »
No surprise, much more documentation survives regarding naming ceremonies for the wealthy versus regular people in Ancient and Medieval societies. This is certainly the case with Japanese history. Isn’t it fantastic, though, that amidst the paucity of evidence — I mean, we know *so* little about Japanese childbirth and naming practices — we at least
Japan’s “Scroll of the Hungry Ghosts” Read More »
If you wanted to get ahold of the most important book of magic in the Middle Ages — I mean, inspire-the-most-fantasy-Buffy-the-Vampiresque sorts of spells magic, replete with demons, charms, incantations, arcane use of astrology, etc., then you would have to look no further than the _Picatrix_.It sounds like the name of a Pokemon, but Picatrix
“Picatrix” the Middle Ages Book of Magic Read More »
When is it almost like Christmas even though it’s not Christmas? Why, It’s when you get a chance to learn that there is an actual Icelandic legend about necropants, of course!.Those zany Icelandic peoples had it hard in the 17th century — most of society was desperately poor and without recourse to making their lives
Necropants of Icelandic History Read More »
My four-year old nephew has learned about swear words. Coaching her son about the importance of context, she tells him “words have power, don’t they?” (My sister is very smart).Some words, of course, have more combustibility than others, but readers here no doubt can agree that their power lies in the mind of the person
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Why I had never heard of Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825-1875) before this week seems crazy to me: he is one of the most fascinating people in American history. So that you, dear readers, also cease to abide in similar ignorance, might I introduce this man?.Randolph was descended on his father’s side from the white Virginia
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Here you see an image from around 1800 of one Chloe Russell, the purported author of _The Complete Fortune Teller and Dream Book_. Only a handful of copies exist today, but they provide a tantalizing glimpse into the tastes of some Americans for the occult, and an association of black Americans having access to magical
Purported Author Chloe Russell Read More »
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, almost the entire continent of Africa was taken over by various European states and business entrepreneurs. Among this area was the eastern state of Tanganyika, modern Tanzania. The two men featured here in chains are reflective of many who rose up against the German colonialist government in
Maji Maji Uprising of Tanganyika Read More »
It’s always super fun to look at eccentric Victorians, and I think the extreme Egyptian-philes of the 19th century take the cake. On that note, might I introduce the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn? Pictured here are two of the most (in)famous members, Aleister Crowley (he trained there before breaking off to start
The Society of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Read More »
Featured here is an evening sky shot of Faiyum, which for millennia was an important oasis in Egypt and definitely a place on my bucket list to see one day. The region preserves an unusual amount of evidence from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Two recurring themes emerge from these sources — the concern with
Oasis of Faiyum in Ancient Egypt and Rome Read More »
Based on the following description, whom do you think I might be describing?:. This man lived during the first century of the Roman Empire. According to ancient sources, he was born to a woman who was visited by a supernatural being who told her that she would conceive a divine son. As the child
This painting, from Ukrainian artist “AveOko”, is called “Mofar (3)”, and is a modern rendition of a figure from the Hutsul culture. The Hutsuls, a mountain- and- forest- dwelling people in Western Ukraine, consider mofars to be a type of shamen, using herbalism and folk magic. Mofars are considered neither evil nor good per se,
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