Different Theories of Witches Flying
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During the whole phase of the witch trials, people made multiple assumptions about how witches flew. “The first is that they imagined or dreamed that they flew. Some skeptical demonologists took this position, including those who claimed that the experience of flight was caused by the application of ointments, concocted from botanical substances, to their bodies. The second theory was that the spirits but not the bodies of witches flew, in the manner of the benandanti in the Friuli, who claimed that during the Ember days their spirits left their bodies to battle the witches at night while their bodies remained in their beds in a state of catalepsy. It is one thing to believe that noncorporeal spirits such as angels and demons fly, but quite another to argue that the souls or spirits of humans do so before death frees their souls from their bodies. The third theory of flight, which was adopted by a cluster of French, German, and Italian demonologists and worked its way into a relatively small number of witch trials, was that the ‘‘natural,’’ material bodies of witches, consisting of flesh and bone, actually flew through the air, either to attend the witches’ sabbath or to cause changes in the weather. Such physical flight, in the view of demonologists, depended upon the assistance of demons who either carried their human cargo on the backs of animals whose shape they had assumed, provided them with a wooden stick to facilitate their magical flight, or carried them through the atmosphere, sometimes in a gust of wind, without the assistance of any animal or material object. The belief that witches or any other human beings could fly by their own unassisted power did not enter this early modern discourse (Levack).”
Some people think witches were real, and some think it was all just a myth. I think all of the theories listed above could have been true and were believable. The first one states they could have just dreamt flying and thought it was real. That could definitely have happened, because some dreams are really realistic that you think they happened. The second one states it was the spirits of the witches that flew. That could also be true, because in theory, angels fly, and when you die, “your soul rises up and flies to heaven.” Lastly, the third theory states it was the “natural” body that flew. They said they used gusts of wind and a wooden pole to guide them through the air. This one is the most unlikely, because no one ever saw witches flying, this was a myth that stuck around. Yes, there was probably witch meetings, but I’m not sure if they “flew” to get there.
Endnotes: There are many different opinions out in the world if witches can fly or if it was all a myth. I found a great article online that listed 3 different realistic theories. I think everyone could agree with at least one of them. It’s cool to see different views on it. “Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft, vol. 11, no. 1”
Some people think witches were real, and some think it was all just a myth. I think all of the theories listed above could have been true and were believable. The first one states they could have just dreamt flying and thought it was real. That could definitely have happened, because some dreams are really realistic that you think they happened. The second one states it was the spirits of the witches that flew. That could also be true, because in theory, angels fly, and when you die, “your soul rises up and flies to heaven.” Lastly, the third theory states it was the “natural” body that flew. They said they used gusts of wind and a wooden pole to guide them through the air. This one is the most unlikely, because no one ever saw witches flying, this was a myth that stuck around. Yes, there was probably witch meetings, but I’m not sure if they “flew” to get there.
Endnotes: There are many different opinions out in the world if witches can fly or if it was all a myth. I found a great article online that listed 3 different realistic theories. I think everyone could agree with at least one of them. It’s cool to see different views on it. “Magic, Ritual & Witchcraft, vol. 11, no. 1”