When women gather beneath trees

My Initiative here in World Pulse is to keep the past known, the story of women from our past intentionally kept from us. As another Halloween passes I once again reflect on the Herstory of my Ancestresses through the ongoing work of Max Dashu. Recently she offered those of us who are studying her works a broadcast on “Legacy of Witch Hunts” which took place in the countries of my ancestresses in Europe, in the 16th to 18th centuries.

This was at a time in Europe when the word “colonization” grew, the conquering of peoples, traditions and lands, the origin of the name “colonize” meaning “slavery”. Max’s work documents for us the hidden truths of the past, what was and is intentionally kept from being taught as history (his story) in our schools and libraries. Writing what I continue to learn from her series of books and online presentations is an ongoing priority for me, learning it myself and bringing her information to members of World Pulse with my own reflections on why her discoveries are so important to be kept known and repeated to others not able to be studying directly with her.

As colonization spread across Europe with land taxes demanded from people unable to pay, a class of landlords formed with the enslavement of “peasants”, people who were living on these lands. The words “colonie” and “colonization were created. Law codes were influenced by Christian priests and laws were written against “witches”, those holding on to old pagan ceremonies. “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (Old Testament book of Exodus 22:18). Punishments brought loss of land, flogging, serfdom, metal helmets forced on women with spikes under their tongues to torture and prevent them from speaking, a slave class created mostly of peasant (poor farmer) people, enforced by bishops through manuals written for priests. In the 11th century laws were passed against what was called “witchcraft”, with estimates of 40,000 to 50,000 witch executions in Europe between the years 1450 and 1750, 75%-80% of those executed being women. When I learned this as a teenager I was determined to know more. Discovering Max Dashu’s work, being able to study directly from her and to keep her work known here for you with her knowledge and support has become an important priority for me.

Women’s ceremonies as simple as laying offerings at wells for the gift of water became excuse for punishment, torture and death by dunking participating women in water until they died, or by forcing a woman to wear a metal helmet with a spike under her tongue, or famously by burning her in a fire. Throughout Europe women were captured and thrown off walls for “seducing men by magical acts”. Priests declared that women had caused harvest failure, and their organs were taken as harvest. Fire was used to suppress what was called the sorcery and sexual whoredom of women and a full Inquisition spread across Europe to punish any woman who did not behave in the ways that any priest declared law. Ancient goddess figures were seen as devils and anyone even mentioning goddesses was accused of devil worship. Women were accused of being witches who "go by the night", any ceremony under the moon scorned as pagan, women dancing around a fire described as witch gatherings, participants accused of killing babies, making babies sick, burning babies, and eating their fat in order to “fly” to meet together. This framework of witch hunting was crafted and within three decades judicial torture to extract the confessions of women was used to force one woman to name another to save her own life.

Tortures included the “witches chair”. A woman would be dunked continually in water and considered a witch if she survived, or was pulled on a rack until death if she did not name others, poor women being the main target. Communities were forced to watch. Universities and intellectuals taught "patriarchical scientism" – male authority as natural biological superiority. Women resisting were often described as being hysterical and were locked into institutions.

Between the 1850’s to 1950’s it was still very difficult for women to enter universities but our foremothers began to have firsts in entering job fields such as first female lawyers, judges, an increase in teachers and entry into other paid work fields. There are still, as is being documented here within World Pulse, many battles to fight. Child marriage is still happening. Women are still being beaten by men for disagreeing or not following expected life paths, for challenging ongoing discrimination - and we still face this seemingly endless violence against women and girls taking place in so many forms. We are still being disbelieved, having to prove violence being done to us. We are still being accused of being witches if we speak too strongly. Those of us carrying the truth of the past and the reality and beauty of women's ceremonies are still punished for even speaking about these realities and these traditions, herstory still being described as fiction, our ability to heal seen as fake, seen as “she devils”, threatening society, “too radical” for challenging that the continued encoding and support for male violence is still seen as necessary and celebrated, the message that an outspoken woman must be subdued and that this behaviour of dominance and suppression is expected of men. Art reinforcing images of men with weapons holding women by the hair. Messages that witches reverse the natural order of male domination, that men are to “wear the pants in the family”, that men are "emasculated" when women are allowed to speak freely and strongly, that women wearing perfume are prostitutes, that older women helping beaten women escape should be burned at the stake or have their tongues cut out. That men who do not beat women are being controlled by women, “cockolded”. That beating a woman will break the spell (18th century Europe). That strong women cause impotence. That only men should be doctors and that women healers should be mistrusted. That men are meant to be “in charge”. Every 10 to 15 years throughout time there has been evidence of women revolting, speaking up, but this information remains hidden or dismissed as radical banter. By recognizing our past we undo the dogma of women gathering together being dangerous, of women honouring trees in ancient ceremonies the woods being myth, of women playing music as heresy, as women dancing around a fire in ceremonies that date back through centuries being bad for crops and animals, of the innocence and power of the ceremonies once respected as natural and part of the celebration of life. By remembering we recognize that what we need as a global community is for all women to be respected and free to soar, to remember, to gather, to be working together for our own freedom and for all of our children to soar into this world of peace that we have envisioned together for centuries.

Thanks to Max Dashu for the herstorical documentation that we are able to study and learn through her years of research.

Thanks to World Pulse for this chance to share and keep documented and known our news, our information and our work with each other for the global society we know is possible.