10/22/2024
Science has shown us that we all carry the wounds of our ancestors within us. Most evident in Jews are the remnants of the Holocaust, for black Americans it’s slavery. A lesser-known holocaust was three centuries of witch hunts. In the burning times, women were blamed for any trauma the community identified. These women were accused of being witches and the cause of any/all malady and they were then tortured and burned at the stake. Numbers are unverified but it is thought to be around 9 million.
While witches are considered evil by the church, they were healers, midwives, counselors etc. One never hears any criticism of the men who tortured them, put their heads in nailed helmets, their tongues punctured if they spoke, beaten, drowned and burned alive.
Germany has made amends for Hitler’s rule; their children are taught the truth of these atrocities. We are only now, in the United States, speaking more frequently about the traumas we imposed on indigenous people and people of color.
What is less known or spoken of are the burning times throughout Europe from approximately 1450 to 1750. THREE CENTURIES. There were towns void of women, innocent women. Often widows were targeted for the benefit of the accusers who confiscated their property and riches.
It is critical that women of European decent, who carry the repressed memories of that era, that influence current life be healed in order for us to move into our full empowerment to address the current issues of social injustice. And to support our sisters of color who are already working on their own healing.
This practice continues even TODAY. In parts of Africa, men are accusing elderly women of being witches and are hacking and burning them to death. Other countries abuse women in general by differing methods: S*x trafficking, acid burns, r**e and murder, with other abuses from the least to the worse.
There is a distinct connection to the way women have been treated and the way Mother Earth has been treated. Our earth has experienced destruction from mining, fracking, oil and gas drilling and poisoning to her soil and air.
It is long past the time to learn HERstory. In doing so, we can heal the wounds that impact our lives and the world. Our culture has a limited view in HIStory. Recorded by men when they created and controlled the written word. The beginnings of modern western history focus on the story of Adam and Eve and blame Eve, women, and the feminine for all the problems in the world. It left out and eliminated the previous 4000 years of a world that included Goddesses and Gods. A world where both genders shared powerful attributes.
The elimination of respect for the feminine, women, and the earth has affected the self-esteem of females and the self-love of being in a female body as it was naturally created. It is difficult to heal wounds without understanding their source.
Kelly McDaniels, author of Mother Hunger points out how unmothered mothers pass down their wounds from being unmothered. We had lost our value. Fortunately, we are recognizing the causes and wounds of the past. We are learning how to recognize and heal trauma. New stories are being written.
As we approach our yearly celebration of Halloween, all Hallows Eve, the Day of the Dead we celebrate with customs of all sorts. A popular version is one of a witch. Ugly and old. Research now connects this image with the results of the torture that created loss of teeth, broken noses, and green infections. We have twisted abuse into an evil portrayal of mostly innocent women just like us.
Witch craft itself when practiced is a nature-based religion with practitioners honoring the earth, the body, the ground we walk on, and phases of the moon and sun for planting and creating healing plant remedies. Some of the millions of women accused may have been practicing one of the earth crafts. Many women were simply too rich or widowed, too bold or loud, or too beautiful and were taken down, their properties confiscated by the church.
I hope we can reclaim a positive image of witches particularly at Halloween and restore their worth as women. As women are rising now, we bring the innate gifts and qualities we have to give.
We are beginning to hear more and more the longing for collaboration and partnership. An emphasis on community and commonalities. Women have come a long way, and there is a long way to go. The world needs mothering.
Science has shown us that we all carry the wounds of our ancestors within us. Most evident in Jews are the remnants of the Holocaust, for black Americans it’s slavery. A lesser-known holocaust was three centuries of witch hunts. In the burning times, women were blamed for any trauma the community identified. These women were accused of being witches and the cause of any/all malady and they were then tortured and burned at the stake. Numbers are unverified but it is thought to be around 9 million.
While witches are considered evil by the church, they were healers, midwives, counselors etc. One never hears any criticism of the men who tortured them, put their heads in nailed helmets, their tongues punctured if they spoke, beaten, drowned and burned alive.
Germany has made amends for Hitler’s rule; their children are taught the truth of these atrocities. We are only now, in the United States, speaking more frequently about the traumas we imposed on indigenous people and people of color.
What is less known or spoken of are the burning times throughout Europe from approximately 1450 to 1750. THREE CENTURIES. There were towns void of women, innocent women. Often widows were targeted for the benefit of the accusers who confiscated their property and riches.
It is critical that women of European decent, who carry the repressed memories of that era, that influence current life be healed in order for us to move into our full empowerment to address the current issues of social injustice. And to support our sisters of color who are already working on their own healing.
This practice continues even TODAY. In parts of Africa, men are accusing elderly women of being witches and are hacking and burning them to death. Other countries abuse women in general by differing methods: S*x trafficking, acid burns, r**e and murder, with other abuses from the least to the worse.
There is a distinct connection to the way women have been treated and the way Mother Earth has been treated. Our earth has experienced destruction from mining, fracking, oil and gas drilling and poisoning to her soil and air.
It is long past the time to learn HERstory. In doing so, we can heal the wounds that impact our lives and the world. Our culture has a limited view in HIStory. Recorded by men when they created and controlled the written word. The beginnings of modern western history focus on the story of Adam and Eve and blame Eve, women, and the feminine for all the problems in the world. It left out and eliminated the previous 4000 years of a world that included Goddesses and Gods. A world where both genders shared powerful attributes.
The elimination of respect for the feminine, women, and the earth has affected the self-esteem of females and the self-love of being in a female body as it was naturally created. It is difficult to heal wounds without understanding their source.
Kelly McDaniels, author of Mother Hunger points out how unmothered mothers pass down their wounds from being unmothered. We had lost our value. Fortunately, we are recognizing the causes and wounds of the past. We are learning how to recognize and heal trauma. New stories are being written.
As we approach our yearly celebration of Halloween, all Hallows Eve, the Day of the Dead we celebrate with customs of all sorts. A popular version is one of a witch. Ugly and old. Research now connects this image with the results of the torture that created loss of teeth, broken noses, and green infections. We have twisted abuse into an evil portrayal of mostly innocent women just like us.
Witch craft itself when practiced is a nature-based religion with practitioners honoring the earth, the body, the ground we walk on, and phases of the moon and sun for planting and creating healing plant remedies. Some of the millions of women accused may have been practicing one of the earth crafts. Many women were simply too rich or widowed, too bold or loud, or too beautiful and were taken down, their properties confiscated by the church.
I hope we can reclaim a positive image of witches particularly at Halloween and restore their worth as women. As women are rising now, we bring the innate gifts and qualities we have to give.
We are beginning to hear more and more the longing for collaboration and partnership. An emphasis on community and commonalities. Women have come a long way, and there is a long way to go. The world needs mothering.
