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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy Do Witches Fly on Brooms?
The more you know... Happy Halloween, DUers!
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/why-do-witches-fly-brooms
Why Do Witches Fly on Brooms?
October 30, 2014 | by Lisa Winter
The number one Halloween costume for at least the last five years has been a witch. Aside from the pointy hat, the most recognizable accessory for any witch is her trusty broom. The image of a witch flying around on her broomstick is very iconic of Halloween, but where did this legend originate? As it turns out, the broomstick might have been a way to get high on hallucinogenics.
The origins of the myth come from the late Middle Ages, when suspected witchcraft was met with being burned at the stake. Medieval times, if youre not familiar, were not a great time to live. A series of famine, disease, and war killed large portions of the population. Anyone suspected of performing magic or having questionable morals was assumed to have been in cahoots with the devil and became a catch-all scapegoat for the cause of those problems. Those who practiced magic were often using herbs to treat various conditions, though various side effects made them appear like sorcery. Some concoctions were used recreationallynot medicinallywhich is where the legend of the broomstick comes in.
The ingredients of these witches brews typically included nightshade (Atropa belladonna), devils snare, (Datura stramonium), black henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), and mandrake (Mandragora officinarum). The blended ointment is able to bring on psychoactive symptoms that induces hallucinations. These herbs are high in alkaloids, which makes them very toxic. Even if ingested in small quantities, nausea and vomiting can occur. Applying the herbs topically minimizes the negative side effects without interrupting the hallucinations.
Not all areas of the skin are able to able to absorb the brew in the same way. Sweat glands in the armpits are good at absorbing the mixture, but women during that time period wore immense amounts of clothing that were layered and tight-fitting. They covered the neck and made the armpits hard to reach. There was one other location that readily absorbed the brew: the genitals.
Those who wished to use the mixture on the genitals were now tasked with getting it up there. It is believed that the broomstick became the preferred tool. The earliest evidence of this comes from the investigation of Lady Alice Kyteler, who was suspected of using witchcraft to kill her husband in 1324:
Jordanes de Bergamo, a Medieval writer who studied witches behavior, had this to say in the 15th century:
After applying the ointment to the genitals with the broomstick, the psychoactive effects began to sit in. Getting high in this manner has been described as feeling weightless, like you're disassociating from the ground, free to move in any direction. After straddling a greased-up hallucinogenic broomstick, the user subsequently experienced the feeling of flying. Over several centuries, the story morphed into what we commonly think of today.
However, its hard to know exactly how forthcoming the historical accounts are, particularly because of fear associated with witchcraft during that time. Most of these sources come from judges who may have embellished details and from accused witches, who likely gave forced confessions under extreme duress.
Now the next time someone asks you, Why do witches ride on broomsticks? youll be able to proudly respond: To shove hallucinogenic drugs into their vaginas, of course.
Happy Halloween!
[Hat tip: David Kroll, Forbes]
shraby
(21,946 posts)shenmue
(38,503 posts)[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)hifiguy
(33,688 posts)an automated robot cat trolley.
lindysalsagal
(20,444 posts)I don't usually peddle in internet video but there's something about the bewildered look on the cat's face that I like.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)right between the sound machine
uppityperson
(115,674 posts)babylonsister
(170,963 posts)Warpy
(110,913 posts)unless there was a pillow shoved up that big, black skirt.
Even sidesaddle would have gotten old fast.
SomethingFishy
(4,876 posts)out of all the jokes, all the ideas, all the flashes of famous witches, never in a million years would I have guessed the answer was "to shove hallucinogenic drugs into their vaginas".
The shorter version would be... To get high.
babylonsister
(170,963 posts)I read this and my jaw dropped! I'm still laughing!
Lochloosa
(16,019 posts)pipi_k
(21,020 posts)The cord on the vacuum cleaner is too short ?
babylonsister
(170,963 posts)blow that idea away; you need to read it!
rug
(82,333 posts)Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)I mean they.
blue neen
(12,308 posts)That's classic!
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)you'll be rich.
Takket
(21,425 posts)at school as a kid.
AnnieBW
(10,350 posts)babylonsister
(170,963 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)in Kilkenny, Ireland. She still sits by the fire there.
KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)Text and Fly:
lpbk2713
(42,696 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)babylonsister
(170,963 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Dorothy is looking out the window, seeing the people in her life flying by -- then the witch grandly soaring by grandly streaming her dress and cackling away was one of the better moments in cinematic history. Nice use of TV technology.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Honestly, I never did that...
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)More shit changes, more it stays the same.
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)People said all sorts of things under torture. Most were not even practicing any form of Witchcraft.
I found the article pretty offensive, knowing what the source is. The Catholic Church burned people at the stake based on fear, lies and torture...especially women who didn't tow the line. Thousands and thousands of people. The actual numbers will never be known.
Here is the history of the broom:
http://www.paganspath.com/magik/broom.htm
dembotoz
(16,739 posts)did not read your post until after i had added mine
sometimes du is a place of 12 year olds and this is one of those times.
tom
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)It's just that this is one of our high holy days....and it's sort of like using Nazi propaganda to describe Judaism.
I try to have a thick skin about these things, we sort of have to, but I don't want to see this sort of thing spread around as fact.
dembotoz
(16,739 posts)i will try to learn from this
tom
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)Happy Samhain to you
Chemisse
(30,793 posts)This sentence, about the broom being used as a flying tool, could in fact support this:
"These stories include details of magikal flying ointments being applied to these tools in order to give them flight."
Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)They would say whatever crazy shit the witch-hunter wanted them to say or wanted to hear, just to make the pain stop.
dembotoz
(16,739 posts)might have increased readership and made the movies have a somewhat different audience
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)it was because they didn't want to walk.
Matariki
(18,775 posts)panader0
(25,816 posts)It grows all over here, so about 1970, after reading about it a bit, I ingested two unopened flowers. I had already experimented
with other hallucinogenics, so I wasn't worried. But WOW! I didn't do it again.
okasha
(11,573 posts)Ingesting it can kill you. It should not be handled at all by amateurs.
whistler162
(11,155 posts)rudder control.
bikebloke
(5,260 posts)Just stow it in the closet. That's what I do.
Takket
(21,425 posts)Why not just use your hand to apply it?