Elizabethan Superstitions and Witchcraft

Witch Superstitions

Witchcraft

1- Witches were able to fly. (explained how they could very quickly over impossible distances)

2- Witches were often portrayed as old crones or hags

3- Witches are closely associated with living alone (usually a house in the woods)

4-Witches were known for keeping animals such as cats, frogs, pigs, ravens, goats, wolves, geese, bats and mice. Which were believed to be the forms adopted by a witches familiar (an evil spirit, in animal form, who was used by the witch to perform evil deeds and cast spells)

5- Witches brewed magic potions over a couldron

Witches spells could have been so powerful that it led to death

Good Luck Superstitions

Women were most often accused of being witches. There were 270 Elizabethan witch trials and 247 were women and only 23 were men.

People blamed unexplainable events as the work of witches, such as the Bubonic Plague, unexplained deaths or unpleasant illness, bad harvests or crop failures, the death of animals, and unexplained fires. Those accused of witchcraft, or being a witch, were generally old, poor and unprotected single women, widows or "wise women". Many of them kept pets for company, their 'familiars'. Some pets witches had were black cats, wolves, snarling dogs and blackbirds.

• Many good luck charms involved these elements: iron, silver, fire, salt, and running water
• It was believed that if you touched a man about to be executed, if a cow breathed on you, or if you spit into fire you will have good luck
• The right hand of an executed prisoner was lucky, it had the power to heal and it could give the bearer stealth
• If you pin bay leaves to your pillow on the Eve of St. Valentine, one at each corner and one in the middle, you will then dream of your future husband

Superstitions

Daily Life Superstitions

• Saying "God Bless You" following a sneeze- they believed the devil could enter your body when you opened your mouth to sneeze- the blessing warded off the devil
• An eclipse was seen as an omen of evil
• It was unlucky for a black cat to cross your path- the color black is associated with evil and a cat was usually a witches familiar
• The 7th son of a 7th son was believed to possess supernatural powers
• It was unlucky to keep a peacock feather- they considered the eye shape on the peacock feather as the "evil eye"
• To gaurd off bad luck you had to touch wood. This superstition dates back to the dark ages when it was believed that a tree possessed magical powers.
• Don't walk under ladders- ladders were considered bad luck because they were associated with the gallows and executions
• Shoes on a table was very bad luck- some say it invited an imminent death
• Spilling salt or pepper was seen as bad luck because these spices were very expensive during the Elizabethan era

An irrtional belief that an action, object or circumstance which are not logically related to a course of events can influence its outcome. New Elizabethan superstitions arose due to the fear of witchcraft and the persecution of witches. They also had many other superstitions that didn't particularly relate to witchcraft, they related more to daily life activites.

How it started

Many superstitions during the Elizabethan era dated back to traditions and beliefs of earlier times. Many traditional English customs are based on the mythical relationship to superstitions dating back to the Dark Ages. Superstitions were steeped in the belief in old magic and the mystical properties of animals and herbs. Some superstitions related to special chants, omens, names and numbers. The fear of the supernatural and forces of nature or God resulted in the belief of superstitions during the Elizabethan era.

More Superstitions

• A pot stirred counter-clockwise brought bad luck to those who ate the contents
• Leaving a door open behind you brought bad luck
• Sudden loss of hair was unlucky- supposedly it meant there would be health problems and financial turmoil
• Sailors often wore gold hoops. It's said they did this incase their ship/boat were to ever sink and they drowned they would have gold to pay their fare in the underworld
• Elizabeth I had red hair and it was said that people with red hair meant they had a short temper

Elizabethan Superstitions and Witchcraft

The Witchcraft Act

In 1563, to prove how much they believed in superstitions, the Witchcraft Act was passed to persecute witches that were said had invoked evil spirits to commit murder.