October 9, 2010

This one's gonna go on for a while so get a snack if you need to.

Witches, continued.

Okay, so I should preface this by saying I'm Lutheran. That's where my theology is. Sometimes, when I wander off into rarely traversed territory, people wonder where I'm going so I think it's important to tell you where I come from.

But, aside from being Lutheran, I recognize that there are other systems of theology, other religions that are much, much older than Judaism or Christianity. Many of them are what I would term "Earth religions", those that have some basis in the elements. Many others have multiple layers of deities or, perhaps, none at all. There's just a lot of stuff out there with more being discovered (rediscovered) everyday.

So, I'm taking this class about the Goddess religions in pre- and early-history. It's taught by a woman who was raised Catholic, holds multiple advanced degrees in religion and theological studies and attended Mt. Angel Seminary, a Benedictine seminary here in Oregon. She's also a practicing Wiccan and helped to found a women's spirituality group here in Portland called SisterSpirit.

In my small group tonight, we spent a little time talking about the burnings of witches during the time of the Plague. Many of these women had been healers, offering herbs and whatnot as cures for common ailments. When the Plague came and, suddenly, they were unable to cure people, they were branded "witches" and put to death in a myriad of horrible ways.

Thankfully, enough of us are enlightened enough now to not burn people who prescribe herbal tea for our ailments. I surely would have been burned at the stake. I don't know how many times I've told someone to have a cup of tea when they get the sniffles.

But what is the link between witches and October?

Specifically, it's Halloween. Halloween has often been referred to as the "Witches New Year." Well, okay. When darkness falls on the evening of the Samhain, it's the beginning of the Celtic New Year. How did we get this mixed up? Honestly, I believe that it's because, secretly, everyone wants to be Irish.

No matter. It's the time when it is believed (apparently both by the wiccan-before-it-was-Wicca peasants of the british Isles and by the Catholic Church) that the veil between the worlds is at it's thinnest.

The Catholics, as was their custom, co-opted Samhain and named it All Hallow's Eve (Halloween) and followed it with All Saints Day. They all serve the same purpose. Where Samhain was said to be a time to honor one's ancestors, All Saints Day is, well, a time to honor one's ancestors.

Where does that leave us?

With an incomplete understanding of a religion older than Christianity.

With a holiday that seems to celebrate ghosts and demons, but was intended to honor our ancestors.

With a Halloween store that thinks that jars of eyeballs and bags of fingers are an accurate portrayal of witches.

Tomorrow, less politics and religion and more Octoberiffic goodness.