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PaganNewsBeagle Airy Monday October 27

Happy Monday, Beagle fans! It's Airy Monday, celebrating the Element of Air and the realm of the mind. Today, we are concentrating on looking deeper at the "Halloween" witch, including Witch's hats; nude on a broom; reclaiming Halloween stereotypes; academic studies of witchcraft.

Where does the Witch's Hat come from? According to this essay at Salon, the high-peaked hat may have originally been a medieval attempt to identify Jews (who were then associated with devil-worshippers and witches.)

Why are witches so often depicted nude on a broom? Atlas Obscura uncovers the cultural origins of this enduring image. (The linked story contains nudity, and is mildly NSFW.)

Tired of the Halloween witch images that surface every October? Some modern Pagans, like Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary are reclaiming elements of the pop culture stereotype.

Want to study the history of witches? The University of Pennsylvania's Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft journal might be just what you are looking for.

More academic works on Witchcraft can be found in the series Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic.

 

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