The Symbols Of Halloween Explained

Witch

     The word witch comes from the Saxon word Wicca, or the Wise One.  Witchcraft began in a time when magicians were the scientists of their day.  By using witchcraft, they tried to understand and control the forces of nature.
     This attempt to control nature goes all the way back to the cave dwellers who drew elaborate paintings on their walls to assist them in the killing of animals.  They believed that by painting something, you could make it happen, a form of imitative magic.  Besides mixing medicines and potions, creating charms, fortune-telling, and interpreting the will of the gods, witches were called upon t end wet and dry spells for farmers.
     Halloween was celebrated by witches who gathered in covens of 13 people and performed magical rites.  They danced about on broomsticks, which may have served as magic wands and vaulting poles to help them across streams and thorny patches on their way to the sabbath.

Familiars    

     A familiar was a spirit who took an animal form to help the witch in her magical work.  If one of these was a domestic animal (a pet dog or cat, for example) it was also called an imp.  Imps were believed to be the witch's double.  If it was wounded or died, the same fate wold befall the witch.  But, then again, imps were very hard to kill. 





Cat

     Cats were held in high regard by any ancient cultures.  The Egyptians used cats to rid their grain storehouses of mice.  And on of their gods was the cat-headed goddess Bast.

     Hecate rules over witches, wizards, and ghosts in ancient Greece and Rome and was served by a priestess who was a cat.  The Phoenicians in their voyages to Western Europe traded cats for tin.  And the cat was also sacred to the Norse goddess Freya, who personified beauty, love, marriage, and the dead.

     It was believed any color cat could be a familiar or imp.  But black cats probably gained such superstitious prominence because most cats look black after dark.

Owl



     The owl was the familiar to the Greek goddess Athena.  She symbolized wisdom, and thus the owl also became a symbol of wisdom.  But to the ancient Romans the owl was the harbinger of evil. 

     Emperors of the Middle Ages feared the owl's glossy stare and its screech.  They identified the bird with death and disorder.

Toad

     The toad's spit and body parts were used in a witch's brew.  Witch's toads are viewed as evil because, when in danger, they give off a substance that irritates the eyes, nose and mouth of humans.

Bat

     Bat's blood was an ingredient in the ointment used by witches attending their sabbath.  Bat's wings and entrails were also used in their brews.  Early drawings show witches worshipping a horned creature who sometimes possessed bat wings.  Of course their frightening appearance and nighttime habits contribute to their evil reputation.

The Cauldron

     Witches used cauldrons to cook their food while traveling to the sabbath.  Others, seeing the witches around the cauldron, viewed it with great suspicion.

to be continued...