Some herbs used at the time, like deadly nightshade, wolfsbane, and henbane, are known to produce sensations of flying. It's not likely that the witches really went anywhere at all the drugs probably just caused an altered state of consciousness or a transcendental experience where they believed they were somewhere else. So how about flying? It is thought that after applying the ointment, the women would straddle the broomsticks and jump and dance around in the open fields, giving them the sensation of flying as the drugs took effect.Ĭlergymen of the time debated as to whether the ointments actually allowed the witches to physically fly, or if it was a delusion created by the Devil, or if it was a sort of out-of-body experience where the souls of the witches left their bodies and flew to the Sabbath. In a 15th-century manuscript, theologian Jordanes de Bergamo writes of how "the witches confess that.they anoint a staff and ride on it to the appointed place or anoint themselves under the arms and in other hairy places." (It's not recommended that you try this at home.) They would apply the ointment to the end of the broomstick and use it to apply to their genitals. Since every woman likely had a broomstick in the house, it makes sense that it would have made an easy and convenient tool for the application of these ointments.
MOON BROOM STANDING UP SKIN
The problem with these plants was that eating them could cause unpleasant side effects like nausea, vomiting, and skin problems. But they found that when they made an ointment out of the plants and applied it to their skin, they could have the hallucinogenic effects without the other problems. They also discovered that the places where the ointments seemed to be most easily absorbed were in the armpits and the thin mucous membranes of the genitals. Naturally, when humans come across something that adds a little excitement to their lives, they want to know more about it. People experimented not just with ergot, but also with other plants that had hallucinogenic effects. Rarely did they have a job outside the home and when they did, they often had to hold several jobs just to make the same amount of money as a man. Boredom, Bread, and BroomsticksĬenturies ago, women didn't have the choices they have today and were generally considered second-class citizens.
The idea of a "flying ointment", a cream or salve that allowed witches to "fly", also dates back to around this time. The first reference to witches riding on brooms goes back to the year 1453, when a clergyman (yes, a man) named Guillaume Edelin confessed to making a pact with the Devil and flying to the Sabbath on a broomstick. Where did the idea of these magical, mischievous, flying women come from? There is a rather interesting theory as to their origins.īut first, a little history. The drawings are so familiar that we don't even question them anymore, but if you stop to think about them, they are a rather strange image. Broom or Besom Symbolism and Meaning - How Did Brooms Become Associated with Witches?Īround Halloween, we often see silly pictures of witches flying on broomsticks.
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