A Coven of Witches

A Coven of Witches

Will and Guy's selection of witch jokes, stories and funny pictures.  Our research reveals a strange mixture of ancient and modern folklore, also witch stories with a grain of truth contrasting with myths which have no substance.

• A Coven of Witches (Wicce)
• The Coven of Pendle Witches, England 1612
• Salem Witchcraft Trials 1692
• 13 Witch Jokes (One for each member of the coven)
• Witches Broomsticks
• Top 10 Famous Witches
• Movies Featuring a Coven of Witches
• Beware! Witches on the Loose

A Coven of Witches (Wicce)

Did you know that a coven of witches, means a gathering of 13 witches.  Unfortunately, for some of us, a coven of witches can gather not just at Halloween, but at any time of the year.  Wife, mother-in-law, sister, niece, aunties, .... hmm that's a lot of witch power.

English has many nouns which apply to either gender for example, child, spy, or even angel.  Originally witch was one of these neutral words, but increasingly, witch is a female preserve, and the equivalent male word became warlock. 

There are other older words for witch, and they do have gender specific endings, wicca (male) and wicce (female).  Curiously, the plural of wicca and wicce is wiccan.

The oldest pre-Christian meaning for wicce and wicca includes fortune-teller as well as creator of sorcery, medicine and black magic.  As with many ancient cults, most of the wiccan secrets were passed on by word of mouth.  Then just when information started to be written down, witches were literally hunted down and killed, thus not much incentive for them to write things down! Indeed, the 't' first appears in the word wiTch in reference to witch hunts in the 16th century.

Another Anglo-Saxon documents have the spelling as 'Wica'.  Many Saxon tribes had a 'wise man' or 'wise woman', who were consulted for potions to cure illnesses.  It was a natural development of human nature to produce magic potions, which may (or may not) act as love charms, or spells to satisfy peoples' desires.

A Coven of Witches Brewing a Spell

The Coven of Pendle Witches, England 1612

Here is a true story; the Pendle Witches actually existed back in England in 1612.  The coven of thirteen Pendle witches even have names: Magaret Pearson, Elizabeth Southerns, Jennet Preston, Alizon Device, Elizabeth Device, James Device, Anne Whittle, alias Chattox, Anne Redferne, Alice Nutter, Katherine Hewitt, John Bulcock, Jane Bulcock and Isobel Robey.

The Pendle Witches' modus operandi was to create an effigy of the victim, often out of clay.  They stuck pins in the effigy, and then burnt it.  The witches believed this would cause the victim to fall ill and die.   More importantly, the subject of their witchcraft also believed in the power of the 'picture of clay'.

At least 9 of the Pendle coven were hanged at the jail in Lancaster, England in 1612.  But before the women were hanged their accusers obtained confessions.  Here is an enlightening extract of how the coven of witches went about their evil trade in witchcraft.

Anne Whittle, alias Chattox sayth, that one Robert Nutter, late of the Greene-head in Pendle, was bewitched by this examinate, the said Demdike, and widdow Lomshawe, (late of Burnley) now deceased. And she further sayth, that the said Demdike shewed her, that she had bewitched to death, Richard Ashton.

Bloody Liz - Summon the Spirts

For this legend to work you need a darkened room with a big mirror.  When you are sitting comfortably light a candle, look into the mirror and chant 'Bloody Liz' 13 times.  (The number of witches in a coven.)  As you chant 'Bloody Liz' for the 13th time over your left shoulder you will see a dark figure in a cloak.

Note 1: There were two 'Lizes', or Elizabeth's, amongst the coven of Pendle Witches. 

Note 2: Modern versions of the summons of the spirits use 'Bloody Mary' instead of 'Bloody Liz'.

Salem Witchcraft Trials 1692

The bare facts are these, from June to September of 1692, nineteen witches were hanged at the aptly named Gallows Hill, near Salem in Massachusetts.  13 of those hung were women, coincidentally 13 is the number of witches in a coven.  The other 6 were men, but do remember that at this time men were called witches rather than warlocks.

Let us bear in mind that the Witchcraft trial took place against a back-drop of 17th century Puritanism.  What happened was that 6-year-old Betty Parris became ill in Salem.  There is speculation that she was poisoned by bread containing a fungus called ergot of rye. 

Tituba, an Indian slave was a central figure in the saga.  Following pressure at her trial, Tibuta told tales of Satan instructing her to do his work.  At this distance, one has to speculate on whether there was a language barrier here, did Tituba speak in English, or were her words translated from a Native American dialect?  The upshot of Tituba's sensational confession was that the voices of those seeking to play down the affair were drowned by those who thirsted after a good old Puritanical witch hunt. 

A feature of the Salem Witchcraft Trials is how ordinary(ish) actions could be attributed to witchcraft if that was what was in the accuser's mind. Once they rounded up a few likely suspects, frail old women who liked to drink and acted strangely, there was no holding the hunt for witches.  In four separate hanging parties, 19 men and women were sent to the gallows between June and September 1692.

It surprised me to learn that over 30 more suspects were rounded up and tried for witchcraft, but these 30 were acquitted, thus the Massachusetts Puritans seem to be true to their beliefs - even if those beliefs were flawed as judged by history.

Oudewater Witches

South of Utrecht is the infamous town of Oudewater, where some of the world's strangest witch trials were held in the late 1500's. The accused women 'were weighed on scales in the Heksenwaag (Witches' Weigh House), Leeuweringerstraat 2, to determine whether or not they were witches' (Frommers). Why? Because it was widely believed at the time that witches had no souls and weighed nothing, thus they could fly on brooms through the air effortlessly. If you visit this town today you can be weighed and receive a certificate (if you weigh enough) that states you are Not a witch!

13 Witch Jokes (One for each member of the coven)

1. One of the witch's coven gave birth to twins.  The problem arose when the other witches could not tell which witch was witch. 
2. Member Edna was a dog trainer by day, then by night she went from wags to witches. 
3. When the coven travelled to an out-of-town gathering, Martha could not make it, she was a poor traveller and phoned in broom sick.
4. Celia tried to fly to the coven meeting, but her broomstick broke, no worries, she witch-hiked with Sheila.
5. The other 12 witches asked Gladys why she put her broomstick in the washing machine.  Gladys replied that she wanted a clean sweep.
6. Ivana kept on climbing up walls so now the other members of the coven call her 'Ivy'.
7. One day Astrid dropped off at the astrologer's, she wanted to know her horror-scope.
8. Leslie could not distinguish between Tiny Tina and a stag the coven were chasing.   Betty said, 'It's easy, one is a haunted stag, the other is a stunted hag'.
9. Celia asked Edna why she carried a pencil sharpener.  'It's to keep my has pointed came the reply'.
10. When Gladys went to the zoo she bought two tickets.  Leslie asked 'Why?'.  'One to get, and one to get out replied Gladys'.
11. Astrid asked Ivy where she bought her garden furniture.  'At the Ideal Gnome' exhibition' came the reply.
12. When ever the coven have a brew up, they always drink their tea from a flying saucer.
13. What happened when the coven's darts team lost all their matches?  They had a spell in the second division.

Witches Broomsticks

The significance of a witches broomstick, or should it be witches' broomsticks, is a fusion of several ideas.

1. There is the plant fertility ritual where the women who plant the crops and vegetables jump over the broomstick to urge the plants to grow tall and strong. 
2. Linked to jumping over the broomstick is the idea that handfasting couples would jump over the broomstick as part of a betrothal ceremony.  Hence the phrase 'living over the broomstick', meaning living together but married.
3. Witches are supernatural beings who need to fly, thus the broomstick becomes the perfect vehicle for travelling to and from the after-life.
4. Allied to this mystic idea is the use of the broomstick for a witch's spells and other mischief.
5. A more mundane use of witches broomsticks is for leaping over streams and other rural obstacles.

More on Witches Broomsticks

While witches traditionally ride broomsticks, the male equivalent, warlocks, ride pitchforks.

Then raw material for fashioning broomsticks is witch-hazel.  Witches prefer besom brooms with their circular arrangement of bristles.  Modern brooms with their flat alignment of bristles maybe good for sweeping leaves, but they are no good for witchcraft.

Harry Potter preferred the Quidditch to the traditional witches broomstick.

In Holland a witch was allowed to declare her broomstick as a tax deductable item.

A Witch's Familiar

Explaining a witch's 'Familiar' is a complex topic.  It can mean an assistant, who could help the witch by keeping a lookout, and giving warnings of interlopers.  Familiar can also mean an alter ego that a witch could change into and thus move around un-detected.  In both of these roles you could think of Familars as evil spirits.

Cats, particularly back cats, are the most form of a witch's familiar.  However, they could be other animals such as toads, owls or even mice.  The uglier the beast the more suitable is to be a familiar.

Top 10 Famous Witches (Plus three to complete the coven)

1. Sleeping Beauty - The story would have no power without the evil witch.
2. The Witch of Rapunzel another witch from the coven of the Brothers Grimm.  This witch famously uses her hair to climb to the top of the tower.
3. The Wicked Witch of the West, featured in the Wizard of Oz.
4. Samantha Stephens in Bewitched.  The star of the show, a benign witch played by Elizabeth Montgomery.
5. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - The Chronicles of Nania.
6. Willow Rosenberg in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Alyson Hannigan made this witch memorable.
7. The Blair Witch Project.  Cult film where characters are lost in a Maryland wood.
8. Anne Boleyn seems an unlikely witch; more a scapegoat for not bearing Henry VIII any children.  However, she did have a sixth finger, a sure sign of a witch at least in the middle ages.
9. The Witch of Endor is mentioned in the Bible:  'Behold there is a woman that has a familiar spirit at Endor entioned in the Bible.' 1 Samuel 28:7
10. Old Dorothy Clutterbuck.  An enigma, re-establishing the 'Wicca', in 20th century England.
11. One of the oldest witches is Medea of Greek Mythology, she was involved with Jason of the Golden Fleece.  Few later witches sunk to Medea's depths of killing their their own childen.
12. The Witches of Eastwick.  One of the best witches films, starring Jack Nicolson, Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon.
13. Macbeth - Again not one witch but three!

Shakespeare's Macbeth - The Witches' Caldron

'Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog'
'Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing'

'For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and babble'

'Double, double, toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and caldron bubble'

Witches at Halloween

Halloween is the witches favourite time of year.  On the night of Samhain, 31st October, witches gather in their coven.  The purpose of this meeting is to weave spells;  for examples witches cast spells to sever sour relationships and end bad situations.  If possible witches should create such destructive spells during the waning phase of the moon.

While the three witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth were concerned with predicting the future (Double, double toil and trouble).  At Halloween, a coven of witches traditionally focuses their attention on the spirits of the dead.  Indeed, this is where the black cat comes into the legend, for it is believed that a witch can turn into a black cat and thus freely enter the spirit world. 

Witches use the powers of the waxing moon to improve the efficacy of good luck spells.  For example, they use white candles for positive energy and green candles for healing.  Here is a witches spell to cure nightmares: repeat this incantation 13 times:

'Red leaves, gift from earth,
Birth to death and death to birth,
Keep all evil far away,
Day to night and night to day.'

Here is a famous witches poem - The Witching Hour by John Keats

Tis the witching hour of night,
Or bed is the moon and bright,
And the stars they glisten, glisten,
Seeming with bright eyes to listen
For what listen they?

Movies Featuring a Coven of Witches

• Rosemary's Baby (1967) film by Roman Polanski (book by Ira Levin).
• Crowhaven Farm (1970)  Maggie and Ben move into the farm to try to save their troubled marriage.  They soon see why the farm has a reputation for being haunted by spirits, and why it maybe the home of an ancient coven of witches.
• Deadtime Stories (1986)  A traveller falls victim to a coven of witches.
• Practical Magic (1998) With Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are the witches.
• Underworld (2003) by Len Wiseman.
• Charmed T.V. Series.
• Coven of Witches read by Vincent Price (He of Dracula Fame)

Unfortunately, we have not been able to get a copy or a transcript of the Film Featuring a Coven of Witches

Footnote:
Please send us your stories about a coven of witches

See more funny Halloween jokes, also clean pumpkin jokes

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