I hope very much that all my twin city witches and witches of color are doing all right during this time. As a member of the twin cities community I’ve been very overwhelmed and upset during recent weeks but I wanted to make a quick note reminding any followers of other members of the witchcraft community that need to hear this: I care about you, if you are protesting or donating I’m so proud of you, and I hope everyone is remaining safe and vigilant.
For those of you who were asking in the comments, she has a video on YouTube that’s kind of like an intro to foraging. I’ve attached it, for all those who are interested
If you take pics of your cards/readings & they come back up as memories, take a moment to reflect on how that energy or the reading itself is relevant to you currently.
The Würzburg witch trials of 1625–1631, which took place in the self-governing Catholic Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg in the Holy Roman Empire in present-day Germany, is one of the biggest mass trials and mass executions ever seen in Europe, and one of the biggest witch trials in history.
The 15th and 16th century had prominent witch hunts, but no one in America talks about them nearly as much as they talk about Salem. Salem, evidently, has become a sort of attraction. There is nothing wrong with bringing up topics as this for educational purposes and getting people interested and excited about learning of history, however it is undeniable that America, specifically the United States, widely ignored the Germanic witch trials. It even barely acknowledges the trials done in England, which were small in comparison to the atrocities committed in Germany during those witch hunts.
“ The height of the German witch frenzy was marked by the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum (“Hammer of Witches”), a book that became the handbook for witch hunters and Inquisitors. Written in 1486 by Dominicans Heinricus Institoris and Jacobus Sprenge, and first published in Germany in 1487, the main purpose of the Malleus was to systematically refute arguments claiming that witchcraft did not exist, to refute those who expressed skepticism about its reality, to prove that witches were more often women than men, and to educate magistrates on the procedures that could find them out and convict them. The main body of the Malleus text is divided into three parts; part one demonstrates the theoretical reality of sorcery; part two is divided into two distinct sections, or “questions,” which detail the practice of sorcery and its cures; part three describes the legal procedure to be used in the prosecution of witches.“ - Witch Trials in Early Modern Europe and New England
“… [The] clerical/political leaders of territories like Eichstätt, Bamberg, Würzburg, Mainz, or Cologne harshly hunted witches, often by violating civil rights of the accused. Torture could be carried out on hearsay evidence from as few as two witnesses, and contrary evidence by equally valid eyewitnesses could be ignored. Although imperial legal codes were supposed to prohibit repeated torture, professors and lawyers argued that further bouts of torture were a mere continuation of the first application. Tortured victims produced fantastic stories and accusations that fed the frenzy of the hunts. By about 1630 this wave of persecutions petered out. Many critics had raised voices against the entire practice of hunting witches. Friends of the persecuted had appealed to the emperor and institutions of imperial government like the Imperial court in Speyer or the Diet which in turn called for a halt. And many of the biggest foes of witches simply died. Witch hunts throughout the empire would continue to sporadically break out until the witch laws were revoked in the eighteenth century. Authorities legally executed the last witch in the empire, Anna Maria Schwägelin, in 1775.” - A Witchy Hunt: Germany 1628
It goes into detail into what the torture was like and what the logic of the time was. Here is an example of some of what it tells in the story you partake in.
“The judge in the middle says, “We need to be more sure about your connection to witchcraft. You will be examined for the devil’s mark.” The armed men take you to a small room. They take off all your clothing. You are too frightened to protest. An official takes a long needle and begins pricking you.He pokes it into your skin. You are too afraid to say something wrong. You barely flinch, even when he sticks it into unmentionable parts. Blood spots your skin.
The man with the pricker says to the guards, “I have incontrovertibly found the devil’s mark on this person!"They allow you to put your clothing back on. Then they escort you into the courtroom again. You stand before the judges. The judge in the middle says, "We now have serious and certain evidence that you are a witch. Further questioning on the matter will be done by our appointed magistrate. Guards, take the prisoner to a cell."The armed men take you by the arms and lead you out of the courtroom, through the courthouse, to stairs that lead down.“
