“it Was Not Witches Who Burned. It Was Women.

“It was not witches who burned.

It was women.

Women who were seen as

Too beautiful

Too outspoken

Had too much water in the well (yes, seriously)

Who had a birthmark

Women who were too skilled with herbal medicine

Too loud

Too quiet

Too much red in her hair

Women who had a strong nature connection

Women who danced

Women who sung

or anything else, really.

Sisters testified and turned on each other
when their babies were held under ice.

Children were tortured to confess their experiences
with “witches” by being fake executed in ovens.

Women were held under water
and if they float, they were guilty and executed.

If they sunk and drowned they were innocent.

Women were thrown off cliffs.

Women were put in deep holes in the ground.

The start of this madness was years of famine,
war between religions and lots of fear.

The churches said that witches, demons
and the devil did exist and women were nothing but trouble.

As we see even today, there is often a scapegoat created.

Everything connected to a women became feared,
especially her sexuality.

It became labeled as dark and dangerous
and was the core of the witch trials through out the world.

Why do I write this?

Because I think the usage of words are important,
especially when we are doing the work to pull these murky,
repressed and forgotten about stories to the surface.

Because knowing our history is important
when we are building the new world.

When we are doing the healing work of our lineages and as women.

To give the women who were slaughtered a voice,
to give them redress and a chance of peace.

It was not witches who burned.

It was women.”