"Double bubble, toil and trouble..." Shakespeare's Witches from Macbeth were a scary sight to behold indeed, with their scraggly hair, tattered clothing and wart ridden faces.
Samantha Stevens, from the 1960s TV series, Bewitched, was a different sort of Witch. Instead of riding through the skies on a broom, she simply twitched her nose to get from place to place. She was a modern day housewife with a few "special" abilities.
Modern day Wiccans, honor the Goddess of the earth and the God of the forest. The modern religion of Wicca has its roots deep within the mythology and history of northern European folk belief. Wicca, with its emphasis on natural living and attunement with the natural world is one of the fastest growing faiths in the world. There are hundreds of thousands of Wiccans, both men and women, in the U.S. alone. Although "Wiccan" is probably a more politically correct term, many Wiccans do not mind referring to themselves as "Witches" Some even insist on it.
What do all of these Witches have in common? Why would a modern day American woman, fashionably dressed, holding a good job and with a nice physical appearance want to call herself a Witch, which in the minds of most Americans resembles the characters of Shakespeare rather than a 1960s TV housewife?
The Shakespearean Witches and many of the other attributes that are associated with the Halloween character witch actually have their roots in Celtic mythology.
Witches are generally thought of as being old, ugly and female. In Celtic tradition the number three has always been special. The Great Goddess of all things was seen as being three entities, Maiden , Mother and Crone. It is the Crone aspect of the Goddess who lends her attributes to the Halloween witch. She is wise and compassionate, yet terrifying. It is the Crone who brings death and who comforts the dying. She takes the souls of the departed into her magic cauldron to await rebirth into the next life. The cauldron, another symbol of the Halloween witch, comes from this association with the Goddess as Crone.
The word "hag", which is often substituted for the word "witch", originally meant "holy woman". In northern Europe she was the tribal shaman, midwife and healer. Usually she was the oldest member of the tribe, having outlived mates, siblings and children. Her knowledge of herbal medicine gave her the ability to both assist the newly born in getting a healthy start in life and ease the pain of the dying.
Sometimes, witches are depicted with green skin or red hair. Both green and red are colors associated in Celtic tradition with fairies. There has always been a connection between fairies and witches, both being thought of as being not quite of this world. An old description in Britain for a fairy or a human being who was thought to have psychic abilities was "greensleeve" or "green jacket". The association of green with the otherworld was so strong that at one time it was considered unlucky to wear green because it might incur the wrath of the fairies who considered it their own color. A person with red hair was also thought to have special otherworldly abilities. An old Celtic tradition that has come to Appalachia is that it is lucky to rub the head of a red headed child.
The broom is a symbol of female power and of the Goddess as Mother and keeper of the hearth. It is an old European tradition, still practiced today, that a newly married couple jumps over a broom together as a symbolic start to their new life as husband and wife.
It is very interesting to note that in Celtic languages there is not a word that translates as "witch". The Irish word "piseogaí" is perhaps the closest word to the English "witch" It translates as one who makes or believes in charms. The middle age idea of the witch as an evil person is a concept that did not take hold in the Celtic mind. Celtic communities have always had their village wise woman or cunning man and even the most Christian members of the community turned to them for help. The witchcraft trials that occurred in Ireland and Scotland were not instigated by the local population. They happened usually as the result of interference by English aristocracy.
The Halloween witch is a complex character with a colorful past. Powerful and wise, and ugly only in the mind of the beholder.