Betcha Didn’t Know…

The Salem witch trials occurred during the late 17th century, where according to historical records, thirty people were found guilty of witchcraft and nineteen of them (14 women and 5 men) were executed by hanging.   In late 17th century America those who were thought to be under a witch’s spell were know as “the afflicted” and had one thing in common – all were either girls or young women between the ages of 12 and 20.  When I read that I got me to thinking how three and a half centuries later that same demographic, i.e., adolescent girls, account for the vast majority of individuals who claim to be non-binary.  I will not impute a meaning to those facts except that I don’t believe in coincidences.

~ Why is there a paucity of witches in modern society? ~

The history of witches in the western world dates back centuries when people thought to be witches were renowned for consorting with spirits, magic potions, evil spells, and other-worldly powers.  Meanwhile, wizards and warlocks were also said to have supernatural powers, however, in Anglo-Saxon, the word wizard means “wise man,” while the word warlock means “deceiver.”  So, while society made a clear distinction between good wizards and evil warlocks, witches were almost always portrayed as evil or sinister – Glinda the Good Witch of the North notwithstanding.

The word “witch” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “wicca,” i.e., one who presides over sacrifices.  Like wizards & warlocks, women who had the power to manipulate the physical world could either be good or evil, but over time a woman who presided over “wicked sacrifices” came to be known as a witch, while one who presided over “good sacrifices,” came to be called a “priestess.”  Additionally, when these legends arose centuries ago the life span of human beings was about thirty to thirty-five years and men had a longer life expectancy than women, which I’ll explain in a moment.  And men of the upper classes represented a disproportionate number of the long-lived men simply because they were better fed than the common man.  Consequently, these “older aristocratic men” came to be associated with convention, law, and wisdom.

In pre-literate societies old men were also valued for their memories and were often chosen to rule their tribe or clan or in many cases they at least had the ear of the tribal leader or king and were considered valuable members of their societies.  A prime example is “Merlin” of King Arthur’s Court.  It’s also a fact that in medieval times most men grew beards because it was a sign of manhood, and the respect due the beard was magnified when the beard was white marking experience and stateliness.

But what about women?  In years past women had shorter life spans than men because in addition to suffering the deprivations of the times just as men did, they also had another factor militating against them—childbirth.  Women may be superior biological specimens because of their extra chromosome, but that wasn’t the case before modern medicine reduced the threat of death while giving birth.

Historically, the woman’s role in male dominated societies was one of being a baby-making machine.  Women spent most of their time in the company of infants and small children and were required to amuse them with games and stories, which evolved into folklore and “old wives’ tales.”  They also passed on their home remedies and cures.  In light of their awesome responsibilities, one might think that women would be exalted because they exercised so much control over the family and human life in general; but home remedies and cures can kill as well as cure.

Meanwhile, since most women do not grow beards 🙂  the lines and wrinkles of the aging process were far more apparent on women than on men.  Add the fact that dental hygiene was virtually non-existent in early times it was near impossible to find a person with a mouth full of teeth, especially anyone over the age of fifteen.  This was not so bad for men who could hide a craggy face and an edentate mouth behind a full beard and were looked upon as wise especially if the beard was white, but women were not so lucky.

Because of their unseemly appearance, many societies looked at these near toothless old women with a degree of fear, which was further exacerbated if they happened to engage in curious or questionable activities & remedies that frequently caused as much harm as good.  As a result, the remedies and ‘medicines’ that caused harm or death came to be known as magic potions.

Now comes the interesting part.  Caricature is defined as: “The art or process of producing pictures or descriptions that ludicrously exaggerate the prominent features, peculiarities or defects of persons or things.”  And with that in mind, let’s examine the physiological fact that opposing gums become closer when the lack of teeth can no longer keep the gums apart.  The result is that the nose and chin come closer together, which is why the present-day image of a witch has been caricatured by the personages in classic fairytales such as Snow White and Hansel & Gretel, not to mention Shakespeare’s Macbeth, i.e., old, ugly women having curved noses approaching their curved chins.

Therefore, it appears the reason we see so few witches in modern western society is because the hooked nose, hooked chin caricature of feminine old age has vanished thanks to the miracles of fluoridation and modern dentistry.  So now you know…

Quote of the day: “No one can really understand the political left without understanding that they are about making themselves feel superior, however much they may talk piously about what they are going to do to help others.” – Thomas Sowell