Season of the Witch

Season of the Witch — page 7

Season of the Witch — page 8 — EA Lord of the Abzu The Mesopotamians worshipped many gods and goddesses but Ea was one of the most important They believed he was the source of all magical wisdom Ea was something of a trickster Legend tells that he used his cunning to outwit Enlil the supreme god of the Mesopotamians The story goes that while sitting at home in the Abzu Ea’s underground ocean realm he was struck with the idea of creating something truly special Using figures moulded from clay Ea created the human race From that moment on humanity served the gods and spread across the Earth in their multitudes Enlil became enraged with humanity’s constant clamour as the noise of their lives made it impossible for him to sleep Unable to withhold his anger Enlil created a flood to sweep the lands and rid himself of the maddening humans But the clever Ea foresaw Enlil’s murderous plan Desperate to save his people from a watery doom Ea ordered a man called Atrahasis to build a ship and invite all of humanity on board When Enlil’s flood rose to cover the whole face of the Earth the boat lifted with it and the people were saved all thanks to Ea Lord of the Abzu

Season of the Witch — page 9 — Dispelling the Myths what a witch looks like The classic witch in countless stories is an old woman wearing robes and a pointed hat flying on a broomstick with her black cat companion But where do these ideas come from Broomsticks Witches are often portrayed flying through the sky There are drawings from as far back as the year 1400 that show witches darting through the sky on broomsticks also called besoms The broomstick myth may have come from witches creating potions from strong smelling ingredients The potions affected the witch’s mind creating sensations that made them feel as if they were flying through the air They applied these potions to their bodies with a broomstick 14

Season of the Witch — page 10 — Pointed hats In fairy tales and films witches are nearly always seen wearing a black pointed hat You might even have worn a hat like that yourself for Hallowe’en But why of all the hats that have ever existed is this the one associated with witches One theory dates back to the Middle Ages when it was fashionable for women to wear a type of headdress called a hennin These were conical hats that were sometimes as tall as 80 cm Around this time the Catholic Church believed witches were usually women and that they gained their magical powers from the Devil Priests may have made a connection between women’s pointy hennins and the Devil’s horns which turned into a link between witches and pointed hats Green skin The idea of green skinned witches was born in 1939 with the film The Wizard of Oz This was one of the first films to be made in colour and the film studio wanted to make full use of this new technology to impress the audience So they added lots of colour to the film including giving the main character Dorothy ruby red shoes and the Wicked Witch of the West bright green skin The idea that witches have green skin has stuck with us for over 80 years 15

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