All About Witches

It’s Halloween, the most enchanting time of the year and this Halloween, I am inspired more than ever to tell the story of one of the most misunderstood yet magical creatures in history: The Witch!

Vilified and persecuted throughout the years, witches are indeed incredibly fascinating! Not only for their physical look and extravagant fashion style… (I mean… have you seen Malificent’s violet-black, fitted gowns?), but more for their abilities to connect to nature and the spirit world in a way that I wish we all could!

In the following paragraphs, I am going over everything you need to know about these enchanting women, so that you can find the inner Witch inside you this Halloween season. Accompanied with pictures and vision boards, I hope this feature will help you create a beautiful, enchanting, inspiring Halloween moment of your own, whether you are an Instagram creator or just a gal who wants to be a little extra magical this October 31st!

Here’s what we will cover:

• 10 fun facts every aspiring Witch should know
• What is a Witch?
• Hecate, the first Witch of them all
• 15 Famous Witches to summon this Halloween
• Witch fashion: the most stylish witches and their looks
• Top-10 witch essentials
• Witch color palette

Ten fun facts every aspiring witch should know

1. The word “witchcraft” means “craft of the wise”.
2. Witchcraft is practiced by both women and men. The male counterparts of witches are referred to as wizards, warlocks or sorcerers.
3. Halloween is not the only time when witches come out. They also celebrate the 1st day of May and Midsummer’s Eve that coincides with the summer solstice.
4. In Sweden witches come out in Easter, when girls dress up in rags and shawls and go for trick-or-treating, holding a copper kettle. The tradition is said to come from the old belief that witches would fly to a German mountain before Easter to cavort with Satan. On their way back, Swedes would light fires to scare them away, a practice honored today by the bonfires and fireworks across the land.
5. Witches come in all shapes, sizes, ages, colors and ethnicities.
6. Not all witches are Wiccan. There are atheist witches, Christan witches, Jewish witches, Buddhist witches, and witches who follow virtually any other religion you can name.
7. Although tradition depicts witches living reclusively, hidden from the world in some dark forest or castle, some witches are actually very sociable creatures thriving in city-dwelling!
8. The waltz derives from dances enjoyed at secret witches’ balls during the 16th century. It was initially considered very shameful and indecent, but the observing members of high society learned the dance and began enjoying it elsewhere. That’s how the waltz was created.

What is a Witch?

The dictionary definition of a witch goes something like this: “A woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones, popularly depicted as wearing a black cloak and pointed hat and flying on a broomstick.” I love that, it’s absolutely magical and super spooky! But there’s so much more to being a Witch! Let’s see what kind of creatures witches are in reality and how far back in time we find them.

A little bit of Witch history

Although there are some historical records in the Old Testament referring to their existence, the main era they flourished is the Middle Ages. 

These were women who, according to the current norms, were accused for carrying out wicked, evil, diabolical, vicious and malevolent actions.

Because of the hysteria against them, they were arrested, interrogated and very often executed in horrible ways. In modern times, so-called witches try hard to dissolve their notorious, historical reputation. They are regular women like all of us, who might even be living next door. They express a dynamic interest in “magic” which they use to solve hardships and tough issues of life. They are wise women, connected to the unknown to most, the world of spirits, the unseen, vibrations that a regular mind cannot sense, and, above all, to the natural forces of nature which we have all chosen to ignore and, therefore, have completely disconnected with.

They use these elements of nature in a way that brings out their best attributes and create “magic” potions consisting of blended herbs as remedies for colds, illnesses and, sometimes, issues of the mind and the heart.

Their spells can only be words and statements aiming to disperse evil, rather than grasp it and make use of it. Like prayers, affirmations, or energy healing. They love using certain “enchanted” objects to connect to the world of the spirits and creation and help with the healing. Objects like crystals, candles, cauldrons, stardust, smoke, incenses, dream catchers, and spices! And let’s not forget the magical broomstick, the witch’s flying vehicle, which can carry her everywhere in no time! Especially during the night when no one is watching!

Their devoted companion, the black cat, is a lifetime associate who works together with them to carry out their plans.

Hecate, the first witch of them all

Hecate is a goddess in Ancient Greek religion and mythology. She is associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, night, light, magic, witchcraft, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, ghosts, and sorcery. She was the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria, Goddess of the stars, from whom she received her power over heaven, earth, and sea. She is often shown holding a pair of torches or a key. She stands for keeping away the evil spirits.

15 Famous Witches to Summon for an unforgettable Halloween costume

1. Hecate, Goddess of Witchcraft

2. Circe from the Odyssey

3. Glinda The Good Witch from Wicked

4. Elphaba from Wicked AKA The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz

5. Sabrina from Sabrina the Teenage Witch

6. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter

7. Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty

8. The Evil Queen from Snowwhite

9. Mary Poppins from Mary Poppins

10. Zelena from Once Upon a Time

Witch fashion: The most stylish witches and their looks

Witches are back in fashion! After the film The Wizard of Oz, The Wicked Witch of the West became the most well-known fictional villain of all time. The green-screened witch dressed in a long black dress, a black pointed hat, flying on a broom became a standard for what witches resemble. But since then, witch fashion has become much more than pointy black hats! With Angelina Jolie’s incredibly stylish black sexy dresses in Malificent, The Evil Queen’s tight fitted, faux leather Victorian-style dresses in Once Upon a Time, and Hermione Granger’s classic tailored school-girl little suites with a preppy edge, witch inspired looks are amongst the most elegant, fantastical, cutting-edge and impressive in the world of fashion.

Top-10 witch essential objects

1. A witch’s hat

The peaked, black, wide-brimmed hat has its origins in many fashions throughout history, but it was during the pervasive years of the Middle Ages and medieval periods when the term “witchcraft” took such a villainous meaning that the pointy black hat became a symbol for witches. 

A few centuries later, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ premiered, with The Wicked Witch of the West flying around wearing her pointy black hat, and so this accessory became synonymous with witches in the modern world too.

There are many versions of witch hats to choose from. Some are simple, some more ornamented. Whatever you are looking for, you can probably find it at any costume or Halloween store, and on Amazon. If you are in the mood for some creative crafts, you can buy a simple version like this one and ornament it yourself with things like:

• black tulle
• green or purple velvet ribbons
• plastic spiders
• cut-out golden paper moons and stars
• hey
• Spider-webs

Here are some versions of the peaked, black, wide-brimmed hat for inspiration:

2. A Witch’s broom

The most common superstition connected with broom lore was that they were used  by witches to fly on which originated from their ceremonies, witches dancing with a stick between their legs, jumping high in the air riding the broom. The broom is considered a magical instrument in many cultures.  Its purpose is very important: to clean. Not materially, but energetically! A broom is used to purify a specific space or environment. In pagan traditions, it was used to cleanse the sacred circle before entering to perform a ritual.

Throughout history, it has been used in marriage ceremonies because it represents the balance between both masculine (the phalic wooden handle) and feminine (the bristles) energies.

Fun fact: But how was the myth of the flying witch on a broom created? In the Europe of the Middle Ages, people loved using rye as a hallucinogen. It was a very dangerous process because if it were consumed in high dosages it could be lethal, so they discovered that, when used in smaller dosages and absorbed through the skin, it was very powerful without the danger of poisoning. So, they covered the broomstick with the ointment and used them to get high. That’s where the symbolism came from: they were using their brooms, to get high, to “fly”.

3. The magic wand

In pagan tradition, the wand is used to direct energies. It represents the element of air and is between 15 and 20 inches long and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made by stone, metal, crystal or, in modern times, plastic. A wand that is used for magic purposes is called a magic wand. 

Magicians, wizards, witches, sorcerers, and fairies all use magic wands in order to give their magical powers a boost, and it was considered a source of magic.

The origin of the magic wand: A Greek Invention

The first references to magic wands come from the Greek writer, Homer, and appear in his works, The Iliad and The Odyssey. The god Hermes used a magic wand that Homer called “a rod” to put people to sleep and then to wake them up again. The goddess Athena also used her magic wand to turn Odysseus into an old man, and with a flick of her wand, she made him young again. The witch-goddess Circe also used her magic wand to turn Odysseus’s men into pigs.

Disney witches and their magic wands

Have you noticed that in every Disney fantasy movie there is bound to be a magic wand? Here are some of the most famous Disney characters with a wand:

• Cinderella’s Fairy God-Mother
• Ursula the Sea Witch in the Little Mermaid
• The Blue Fairy in Pinocchio
• Tinkerbell in Peter Pan
• Malificent’s Rod in Sleeping Beauty
• Maoui’s magic fish hook in Moana

4. The black cat

It is believed that witches can transform themselves in black cats when they need to be in disguise.

There are all sorts of beliefs about black cats, based on prejudice and superstition. It is believed by some that when a black cat is approaching, it brings good luck, but when it walks away, the good luck is driven away with it. There are also cultures, like in Japan and the Celtic Nations, in which black cats bring something positive and good to people.

Although in very old times black cats used to be praised and loved as gods, in Middle Ages, they became the symbol of bad luck and evil. Maybe because of their color and also because they hang around at night in the dark.

In ancient Egypt black cats were actually considered divine creatures. In 2800 BC, the Egyptian goddess Bastet who was the protector of all lower Egypt, and the Goddess responsible for protecting the pharaoh. Bastet took the form of a gorgeous black cat, and since then, people in Egypt consider black cats as direct descendants of Bastet and treat them with the utmost respect and love.

The partnership of witches and black cats also derives from the fact that both hide well in the dark since black color remains unseen at night, in the absence of light.

Nowadays, that people have become more open-minded and less obsessed or concerned about superstitions of this kind, our lovely and adorable black fur friends receive what they always deserve: our true love, care and respect.

5. Candles

The candles represent the meeting point between the material (the wax) and the spiritual (the flame).

The candle is a symbol of Fire and is used to support the other instruments.

To use a candle, however, it is not enough to just light the wick, you will also have to “dress it.”

To do this, you need to rub oil on the body of the candle, concentrating on the magic work you want to run.

Don’t forget candle holders!

You can find them on Amazon US and on Amazon UK.

Witch color palette

Orange, green, purple and black are the most recognizable, traditional colors of witches. Black is, predominantly the color that witches prefer, with touches of green, bordeaux, purple and sometimes indigo blue details found in parts of their extravagant outfit and home decor.

During Halloween, we can also see witches wearing a lot of oranges to match with the season of harvest and the orange color of vegetables and fall leaves.