As three-pound bags of chocolate line grocery store shelves and crinkled leaves overtake the paths to class, it becomes evident: witchy season is upon us.

Long-standing Halloween stereotypes, from grinning jack-o-lanterns to jet-black cats, dominate costume stores, party isles, and movie releases each autumn, narrowly defining the holiday in our cultural lens. However, many of these symbols deserve critical examination. The historical role of witches speaks more to gender-based persecution and social prejudice than playful broomsticks and pointed hats.

While mass media frequently characterizes witches as “evil,” “ugly” or “slutty,” many classroom narratives focus on the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries as a “moral panic” that set into Western Europe and the United States, most prevalent in Scotland and during the Salem Witch Trials (Smithsonian).

Often excluded from mainstream discussion, witch hunts also arose in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe (Ortiz, Equal Times). For instance, accusations of sorcery and associations with the devil served as justification for imprisoning Afro-Caribbeans during the Inquisition, while many African women fell victim to a witch craze in Colombia during the 1630s. In colonial Brazil, many Catholic Portuguese also lived in exile due to witchcraft accusations, while African religious communities were seen as diabolic and faced torture (Dashu, A Secret History of Witches).

Witch hunts did not disappear in the 1600s. The UN estimates thousands of murders of “witches” continue to occur annually, in addition to millions of beatings and banishments. With cases reported in Nepal, Indonesia, and sub-Saharan Africa among other locations, victims are still burned alive, stoned or beheaded. The majority of victims are women, and witchcraft accusations often attempt to conceal gender-based violence. Some legal systems even permit the killing of accused witches. In a prominent case, the Saudi religious police created an Anti-Witch Unit in 2009 to arrest “conjurers.” Witch hunts are alive and strong (Horowitz, The New York Times).

Now, a turn to some powerful responses that are enabling women to reclaim agency.

Countering a history of violence and subordination, witches have become symbols of female empowerment and political activism. Women with political power often serve as targets -- from Cleopatra and Anne Boleyn to Nancy Pelosi -- but they also push back (Miller, The Guardian). In 1968, W.I.T.C.H, or the Women’s International Terrorist Collective from Hell, gained popularity as a feminist group fighting both capitalism and patriarchy, most notably targeting Wall Street. The group developed a sense of sisterhood with branches across the country (Harloe, Mother Jones; McGill, Vice).

Male high-profile figures have recently begun to use the phrase “witch hunt” to suggest their victimization in an attempt to prompt a role reversal. In response to the rise of the #MeToo movement and numerous sexual assault accusations against Harvey Weinstein, Woody Allen complained of a “witch hunt atmosphere.” Lindy West responded in a New York Times op-ed with the now iconic statement, “Sure, if you insist, it’s a witch hunt. I’m a witch, and I’m hunting you” (West, The New York Times).

How can we re-define collective memory and alter stereotypical representations of witches? What responsibility do we hold to honor the experiences of the many women who have faced persecution in witch hunts? How can witches become more widespread symbols of female resilience and radical power?

One answer comes in “Piras: Historia de Brujas” (Pyres: History of Witches), an exhibition at Parque de la Memoria in Buenos Aires that commemorates victims of state violence during Argentina’s military dictatorship of the 1970s. Piras, a project by the group Totem Tabu, examines the origins of the witch figure, its repercussions in Latin America, and its connections to the present.

Distinctive pyres, the structures historically used for executions and burning rituals, invite viewers to critically question canonical representations and assumptions surrounding witches. Totem Tabu sheds light on the witch figure in order to recognize historically censored ideologies and their relevance to the present.

Here is a brief tour:

Pira de la gran bruja/Pyre of the great witch:

“The figure of an exultant, powerful, sexualized and autonomous woman was combated until turned into ashes. The inquisitors saw any woman who did not completely align with the limits of her prescribed roles as a subject perturbed by the established social order, and all signs of autonomy were prone to be considered witchery” (Nihjenson).

Deviating from “prescribed roles,” the apparent threat of powerful female figures has inspired recurring backlash. Social media now serves as a particularly common platform for targeting women and attempting to reduce their validity through labels like “witch.” As this pyre suggests, expectations continue to both relegate women to subordinate roles and pressure them to appear happy, social and without worry. Any woman appearing “Lone, foreign, single, widowed, poor, old, sad, healed” merited suspicion and accusation (Nihjenson). Contradictory expectations remain prevalent; while independent, bold women insight suspicion, those who appear lone, discontent or overly serious do as well.

Pira de la pocima/Pyre of the potion:

“It is known that women called witches used to know the power and properties of plants; it was them that utilized and practiced medicine. With time, knowledge that was not codified by universities was condemned to darkness and denoted for being considered heretic or false. Objects like the caldron, fetishes, herbs, recipes and conjures are some of the elements that make up this pyre” (Nihjenson).

The pyre of the potion reveals another double standard. While women practiced medicinal healing, institutions such as universities assumed select practices, giving them validity through the label “medicine,” and condemning others as heretics. Through this pyre, we can consider how we have come to define medicine and who remains excluded in this definition.

Pira del cuerpo femenino/Pyre of the female body:

“The woman’s body has been a battlefield that inscribes moral debates registered by distinct institutions that structure society (church, state, family). Sexuality, health, sanity, emotional links, desired and undesired maternity, and beauty parameters are some featureswhere the woman’s body, and women as a social body, are seen coerced, punished and blamed” (Nihjenson).

The pyre of the female body sparks reflection over current debates surrounding abortion and sexual autonomy. Female sexuality, health, and sanity have become highly political, defining politicians´ identities and inspiring mass social movements. While decisions regarding an individual´s body are highly personal, “Bodies function here as instruments necessary for the politics of exploitation and indoctrination (Nihjenson). The use of bodies for exploitation and indoctrination recalls scenes from “The Handmaid´s Tale,” cautioning us to remain vigilant as women lose decision-making over their bodies.

Totem Tabu’s work calls us to re-conceptualize the witch figure in an act of collective resistance against scapegoating and negative female stereotypes. During a period of media saturated by commercialized representations of Halloween, exhibitions like Piras prompt us to imagine witches as agents for female autonomy, self-determination, and political action. Whether by speaking out on social media, creating art exhibitions, or reading about witch hunts, numerous avenues arise to promote a new dialogue. Rather than mindlessly passing over common witch representations this autumn, we can recall a more complex history and promote the figure as a symbol of social defiance.

xoxo,

Julia

Davidson student, avid planner, and baking enthusiast with a love for river-centered cities.

Sources to read through and learn more about the persecution of witches:

A brief history of the Salem Witch Trials:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-the-salem-witch-trials-175162489/

A discussion of witch hunts and memory:

https://www.equaltimes.org/in-memory-of-the-witches?lang=en#.Xai0lOdKjOQ

Excerpt from A Secret History of Witches examining hunts in South America: https://www.suppressedhistories.net/secrethistory/colhuntsouth.html

A look at 21st century witches:

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/05/opinion/the-persecution-of-witches-21st-century-style.html

An examination of the link between witch accusations and assertive women: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/07/cursed-from-circe-to-clinton-why-women-are-cast-as-witches

A timeline of witch hunts: https://www.motherjones.com/media/2017/10/a-brief-history-of-witch-hunts-real-and-imagined/

Explanation of W.I.T.C.H. and discussion with two former members:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43gd8p/wicked-witch-60s-feminist-protestors-hexed-patriarchy

New York Times op-ed by Lindy West:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/opinion/columnists/weinstein-harassment-witchunt.html

Descriptions of the Piras exhibit and the significance of each pyre: https://www.palermomio.com.ar/piras-historias-de-brujas/

Exhibition catalogue (in Spanish): https://www.palermomio.com.ar/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/CatalogoBrujas.pdf