SCOTTISH WITCHCRAFT (PART III)

SCOTTISH WITCHCRAFT III. We must know the past to understand the present. Who were the real Scottish witches in the past, and who are they now? Wise women and men were the real witches in ancient times, in Gaelic called bean/fear fease, the midwives (bean ghlùine) or the death midwives or keening women (bean chaointe). But these names and the relationship of the people with these persons changed from the beginning of the witch hunt. The witch in Scottish folklore is a horrible woman, with selfish acts and acts against the community, she is a hated person. This idea began to germinate in the minds of the people of that time. And little by little the trust in that ancestral wisdom was forgotten. In the witchcraft trials there was no evidence to prove that the accused acted wickedly or against the people of the village, but the seed was planted.... It's curious that the accused persons were always the so-called "wise people" but almost never the healers or midwives. The wise people had a link with the diaone sith /daoine sìthy (the sidhe beings helped them in their tasks). These people helped cure illnesses, find lost people and animals, helped the dying to pass to the other side, predicted the weather, etc...However midwives and healers almost never had that special link. All these people and the tasks they did in society were really important and blended in over time. Sadly is that instead of appreciating all that knowledge and tradition, people started to judge without knowing the truth. Panic spread uncontrollably and the most authentic traditions were almost eradicated. To be continued... References: @cailleachsherbarium Pic: Monzie Witches Stone

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