The Witches Hat

Today every child knows, that witches wear pointy hats. The black pointy hat is strongly weaved into our modern witch archetype. No witch on Halloween comes out without this attribute. But where does this image comes from?

Is it just fantasy and imagination or does the pointy hat has its roots in the middle ages?

Many modern witches don’t use it in their rites, spells and workings. Some even reject the image of the witch with the pointy hat, the broom, black cat and boiling cauldron. Where there any real witches in the past, who wore the witch-hat during the ages?

History:

In fact nobody really knows why the black pointy hat got a popular symbol for witches. Or in its more colorful variation (decorated with stars) for the magician.

Like other symbols that does pop up in our imagination, when we think about witches- like the broom, cauldron, black cats and toads, the conical hat appeared on some woodcuts from the middle ages and the renaissance. But on the woodcuts not all witches wore the pointy hat, the same goes for the other witchcraft symbols. Some witches were depicted with the pointy hat, others with cauldrons, some rinding on brooms, and some riding on the stang- so the pointy hat was just one of many symbols that were connected to witchcraft in the past. And the depiction of witches with conical hats, was popular in England and Scotland.

Some believe that the pointy hat had its origin in the conical hats that were worn by the noble people in the middle ages (like the Hennin), but that it got out of date over time, and only the rural people hold on to this fashion.

But when rural people in general should have worn these hats, why were they associated with witchcraft over time. And I personal know now depictions of rural people with conical hats. 

When we go deeper into the history, we can find some interesting things in the bronze age. In Germany golden conical hats were found, decorated with suns and stars. And they really look like the popular witch-hats. Some scholars believe, that these hats were worn by priests or sorcerers/shamans as ritual headgear. So maybe in the bronze age conical hats were worn by some priests/esses and sorcerers/sorceresses. Near china were found some indo-european mummies, some females of these mummies wore conical hats made from leather. Some scholars believe, these females were sorceresses or shamanesses of the indo-european age. So maybe the symbolism of the conical hats as attributes of special people that had a connection to magic and the otherworld, have  really deep roots.

In ancient Greece the goddess Hekate was strongly connected to witchcraft. And on some statues she was depicted with a phrygian cap. The phrygian cap was a conical hat. So that a ancient goddess of witchcraft was depicted with a conical hat, maybe had some connection to our view of the witches- hat. But the phrygian cap was brimless.

Another God that has deep connections to magic, the otherworld and to witches and sorcerers, is Odin. He was depicted with a black hat that had a huge brim (but this hat was not conical). And maybe sorcerers and witches also wore hats like this, during this time.

But all these are just theories, nobody knows today why the conical hat got so popular in our modern days. What we know is that witches in the renaissance and middle ages were depicted on some woodcuts with the conical hat. And that some artists used this image in fairy tales and books for children. For example the wicked witch of the west was depicted with a conical hat and later in the television she was also portrayed in this manner.

Symbolism and personal use:

I always had a crush on the image of the witch, with the black conical hat. I was really drawn by this image. And I was also drawn by the other symbols that are weaved into our witchcraft archetype, in a similar way. First I began to use brooms, cauldrons and stangs in my rites, spells and workings. These worked as tools very fine for me. And then I also reclaimed the witch-hat for my rites. I began to wear it in my workings. First I noticed that the pointy hat is a helper in energy work. When I draw down the power of the stars or of the moon, the energy flow more centered into me. Then I noticed that the brim is a helper in trance work, threw the shadow that the brim casts on my face. After some weeks of using the hat, I noticed that it got something like a trigger. Every time I put on my hat, I got into the right state of mind, for spells and rites.

I also noticed, the spirits do react to the hat, like it is a symbol to them, that the person that wears the conical hat is a spirit worker- or spirit walker, someone who interacts with them. I noticed that “negative” spirits were more distant to me, during I wore it and that other spirits were more interested in the interaction with me, then it was normal in my rites (without the hat).

I think that the conical hat is a symbol of the otherness. A symbol of the otherworldly (or under-worldly) powers. Like masks can be helpers in connecting oneself with these powers, the pointy hat can help the witch/shaman/sorcerer to delve into the otherness of the underworld, to be more a part of these other world and to interact with it.

In folklore not only the witches and magicians are depicted with pointy hats, but also dwarfs, elves and fairies. So I think that the pointy hat brings a human more into the world of these otherworldly beings. Like the witches of the Germanic times put on trollskin*- to be more like these creatures, to work in the world of them.

I also introduced the use of the pointy hat into our circle. We do wear the pointy hat in our rites to strengthen the group mind (like other circles/covens use robes and other ritual dresses). We have empowered our hats to connect us to life force when ever we use them, so that the life force runs through the conical hat into our bodies. We have also empowered our hats to protect us in our rites against “evil” spirits and harmful influences.

And it is a nice view, when a group of witches stand on a clearing in the woods on a full moon night, or when we stand on a starlit night on a crossroad during the dark moon.

Or when we make our spirit-procession on Halloween. Then we witches go with our pointy hats, lanterns, brooms or stangs, through our village. We invite the restless spirits into our procession to walk with us through the night (and open a gateway between the worlds that some of them can pass through this).

I think it is time, that more witches reclaim this powerful symbol in their rites. Because the pointy witches hat can help you to tap into the power- that lies inside of the witch archetype.

* It is not known what the trollskin was- some believe It was a kind of costume, others believe it was a green unguent that was used in rites of the witches and colored their skin green.

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The Tools And Symbols Of The Witch Archetype

Every child knows which tools witches are using.

Witches have brooms to fly in moonlit nights through the sky.

They have big cauldrons in wich they make potions from herbs.

They use flying ointment to leave the earth, through the chimney of the hearth.

They have black cats as pets, or toads. And the witches do wear the black pointy hats.

They have imps and familiar spirits that do their bidding.

They live outside of the village, in their scary houses, near dark woods filled with wonders and horrible creatures.

All these symbols are rooted in our modern witch archetype.

But many modern witches use the elemental weapons from ceremonial magic in their rites, the athame, chalice, pentacle and wand. Many think that the archetypical witch tools are just fantasy equipment. But if you look closer to this tools and symbols, they tell you stories of the past and of their way to use them as modern witchcraft tools.

I will look at these tools and symbols in the next days to tell you the stories behind them.

The cauldron and the hearth

The broom

The stang

Other tools Of the craft

The witches hat

The witches flight

Familiar spirits and witchcraft animals

The outcast witch

The witches woods

The Power Of The Witch Archetype

 Since the traditions of modern witchcraft came out of the broom closet, witchcraft has undergone a reinvention or a rebirth. Many modern witches shy away from the archetypical image of the witch, with her many symbols like broom, cauldron, pointy hat, black cat, toads and other nightly creatures, the famous familiar spirits, spells, hexes and curses, contact to the spirits of the dead, shape shifting into animals, the knowledge of herbs and poisons, the legendary flying ointment, meetings on crossroads and old cemeteries or the fly through the night on broomsticks or pitchforks.

Many modern witches claim that the stereotypical witch is only fantasy and that in truth witchcraft is and was different than this image.

Witchcraft evolved into a modern religion, which is a good thing. Modern witches gather on the seasonal festivals, celebrate the seasonal changes, belief in and honor the Great Goddess and the Horned God and some of these witches work positive magic- without harming or manipulating other people.

They use the the symbols of the ceremonial magic in their rites: the athame, the chalice, the wand and the pentacle. And their rituals are also influenced by the ceremonial magic in their structure.

But at the same time modern witchcraft has lost (for me personal) much of its  mystical side, a lot of the magic and its power.

The spells of many modern witches seem (to me personal) more like positive thinking with the help of some material supplies (like candles and herbs) and positive affirmations. And many modern witches don’t even belief in real magic, for them the magic, the rites and the spells are something psychological, through which them they are talking to their unconsciousness, through their spells they can work changes with their unconsciousness. This kind of magic is more a type of placebo effect sometimes.

But in the archetype of the witch, with all its many symbols, there you can find much truths about witchcraft. Our modern archetype of the witch has changed and evolved over time, the archetype of the evil witch is changing into something more positive and more ambivalent. For centuries the archetype of the witch was only seen as evil. Now in many movies, books and fantasy the witches can be supportive and good. They can be a guides for heroes, a helper in need AND someone who can also act against their enemies. And this ambivalent image of the witch is the original one. Even the most ancient witches of our culture Medea and Circe, could be helpers of the heroes, could heal and bless. But at the same time they could get a nightmare if you tried to work against them.

But you don’t have to look back into the shadows of the centuries- if you want to come into contact with the power behind the witch archetype. Our MODERN archetype is filled with many things, that can work if you use them. And when you use them- you will tap into a pattern. The broom can be a working tool in many witcheries, the cauldron can be used to empower herbal mixtures, amulets and to make potions. Even the pointy hat- that is so strongly connected to our modern archetypical witch, can be a powerful tool in your witchcraft. If you work with the symbols that are connected to the archetypical witch- you can draw power from this archetype in your rites and spells. But at the same time in our MODERN witch aretype lies the seeds of old witchcraft- there they were able to survive hidden and open to see at the same time. The symbols of the archetypical witch are telling us stories of the past, of the old witches in the villages not so long ago…

In the old times there were no books about witchcraft (exept some grimoires) and people who were drawn to witchcraft, could not learn it from books, like it is today. When people were interested in witchcraft they had to use the information they got from folklore about witches. Maybe they tried out things they heard in stories- what witches do. Stories about people that went into the night, in search for forbidden knowledge and power, about people that went out of the village, to secret places, to meet with the spirits of old and when they came back, they were changed, they got witches. And then when the inner draw of these people who wanted to be witches, was strong enough, they overcame their fear and went into the night themselves. To the old crossroads, gallows hills, burial mounds, or into the dark woods, where the veils between the human world and the other side were (and still are) more thin. If they had enough talent, will or luck, they would be able to meet a spirit and through the contact to this spirit (wich got their familiar spirit) they would learn witchcraft from this spirit- or the spirit helped to awake the witch-fire inside of them, this witch-fire lay dormant in them, sleeping in their blood, all the time and this fire drew them to their journey. And through this inner fire and the contact to the spirit(s) they got witches.

I think it is time that the modern witches reclaim the power of the old witch, the ability to make contact to familiar spirits, the dead and the spirits that surrounds us, the power to leave the body and fly through the night or to shape shift (in trance) into animals, the power to bless and to curse threw spells that make real changes- not just placebo effects. To find again the knowledge of the herbs. It is time to meet again on the old crossroads and dance with the spirits, to dig graveyard dirt on nightly cemeteries, to contact the underworld/otherworld, celebrate rites in moonlit clearings of the dark woods, with pointy hats, brooms and cauldrons that boil over a fire, or to work spells on the hearth of our home. And to meet with the Witchqueen on her crossroads in the time of the dark moons. It is time to awaken the witch-fire again…

The Archetypical Witch

The light of the full moon is illuminating the night. The moonbeams are enchanting a clearing in a dark wood. On this clearing a bonfire is burning. Over the flames of the fire, there hangs a boiling bronze cauldron. The solitary scream of an owl is cutting through the silence of the night.

On the clearing a woman is standing, clad in dark clothes, black  like the midnight in a moonless night.

In her hands she holds an old broom made from brush. On her head she has a black pointy hat, with a big brim that casts shadows over her face. You can not see her age. When someone is able to see beyond the shadows, that are veiling her face, for some she appears as ugly old hag. For some as the wise old woman, with a cunning smile and warm eyes. To some maybe even as a young, beautiful and seductive sorceress. But in reality she is ageless.

Near the feet of this strange woman three fat toads are sitting and it seems that they are watching the fire. And near this woman you can see a strange shadow, moving in the darkness. The eyes of this shadowy creature are glowing in the dark, they reflect the glow of the fire. You can see that this shadow is not a demon, but a black cat. Bats are flying around the fire and are hunting for insects, that were summoned by the light of the fire. The shapes of spirits appear for a second in the flames and in the smoke of the fire, it is like they are ensouling the fire and the smoke. But in the next moment they are gone.

The boiling in the cauldron gets louder and the witch is using the handle of her broom like a spoon, to stir her potion.

A loud laughing is haunting through the night, some crows are scared out of their resting places in the trees and are flying away from the fire. The cat makes an arching and is hissing but the witch didn’t stop to laugh. Her laughing can be heard all around the countryside.

She is the Archetypical Witch.

She is feared by many people, others are searching for her knowledge and her power, some are going to her when they need her help. Maybe to get a spell that hinders an unfaithful man from straying, or to banish an evil spirit, or to bring the luck back into a home, or to help a loved one to get healed in times of illness or maybe to curse an enemy.

When it is about these things, the people forget their fear- or overcome them and go to her.

And also when it is about the thresholds in life. At birth she is the midwife, she is guiding the elderly on their last journey while they are dying and after death she is the one that buries the corpse, she opens the doors to the light of the otherworld- if spirits lost their way after death.

In all these times the blessing of the Archetypical Witch is needed.

But many are fearing her dark side, she is the nightmare of all those people who do evil.

They are scared by her power, they are frightened that maybe she will curse them, for the evil things that they have done. And because of this fear, they are hunting her, try to control her or maybe take away her power. But the Archetypical Witch is cunning, even when her enemies are thinking that she is crazy, when they project their own shadows on her- all their fears and their own wickedness. They try to make the people believe- that she is evil and wicked- so that she gets feared also by other people.

The Archetypical witch was has never dissapeard, she was never truly beaten, nobody was able to break her. She was always there, lingering in the shadows, on the liminal places, on the crossroads, near hollow hills or gallow hill, on old cemetries and on the clearings of the dark woods, she was always was there beneath the things, in the edges and fringes and all the thresholds. She was hidden in the shadows, but always on the pulse of the things that happened.

She was waiting there, waiting that the times will change again. That the people will see more than the evil old hag in her, that the people will search again for her power and her many blessings.

She is standing on the clearing of her dark woods, in the shadows at midnight under the light of the full moon. And she looks into her potion, that is boiling in her cauldron, there she sees what once was, what is happening in the now ans what maybe will be come into being…. and the spirits talk to her through the shadows, whispering the secrets into her ears, she knows the ancient Queen of Crossroads- the Mistress Witchcraft. And she knows the Black Man of the Sabbath, the Horned Lord and Cunning Master. Through her they stayed alive too- and the Archetypical Witch brought their power and blessings into the world until this day…