Medieval European witchcraft was a complex movement that blended the struggle against established power, the attempt to maintain pre-Christian religious traditions, and the Catholic Church’s desire to assert dominance even in the most remote areas.
According to various authors, witchcraft cults were not, at least initially, opposed to Christianity; rather, they represented the survival of ancient religions that predated the Catholic faith. These religions were based on the worship of nature and its masculine (the horned god) and feminine (the goddess) principles. Later, Christianity, in its attempt to monopolize all religious worship, identified the horned god with the fallen angel and persecuted all his followers.
It is worth clarifying that the current Satanic movement has nothing to do with modern witchcraft (known as Wicca), as the latter is a pre-Christian cult that is in no way opposed to it. Satanism is merely a parody of Christianity.
The medieval witchcraft religion was an ecstatic cult based on the knowledge and use of plants for magical purposes. In this context, one must distinguish between “magical” plants and “hallucinogenic” plants. The former are found in everyday vegetation used to obtain “magical” benefits that were otherwise impossible to achieve. Their efficacy is debatable and depends on the faith of the individual.
In contrast, “hallucinogenic” plants are those used for ecstatic worship because they contain visionary substances. Generally, the plants used by witches for their “flights” belonged to the Solanaceae family (Belladonna, Henbane, Jimsonweed, Mandrake, etc.). These plants were mixed according to various recipes to create ointments or salves that the adepts rubbed onto their skin to access visionary states. This route of administration was chosen because the high toxicity of these plants made internal consumption inadvisable, a fact medieval herbalists understood well.
Witchcraft was a religion of ecstasy
In this context, it is worth remembering that in the Americas, native sorcery used Tobacco—another plant from the Solanaceae family—as a sacred plant. Tobacco, prepared and smoked in the indigenous manner, is a potent plant with great visionary power that bears little relation to the substitute marketed in the West.
The Plants
Datura plants (Datura spp. and Brugmansia spp.) represent a broad group within the Solanaceae family. Currently, it is unknown exactly which Datura species are of European origin and which were brought from the Americas. This point is significant, as much of the European witchcraft phenomenon dates back to times before the discovery of the New World.
Among these plants, the most well-known are Jimsonweed or Devil’s Snare (D. stramonium), Toloache (D. innoxia), and Angel’s Trumpet (B. candida). The first two are small plants with irregular leaves and a nauseating odor, adorned with beautiful white, trumpet-shaped flowers. The flowers emit a sweet aroma that attracts bees (honey made from these plants is poisonous to humans). The main difference between the two is that Jimsonweed produces spiny, erect fruits, while Toloache presents its seeds in capsules covered with small spines.
The Brugmansia known as Angel’s Trumpet is a graceful shrub widely cultivated in gardens in temperate and subtropical zones, such as the Canary Islands. This plant does not produce seeds in our latitudes and can only be propagated via cuttings.
The Mandrake (Mandragora autumnalis) is a perennial herb reaching up to 30 cm (approx. 12 inches) in height. Its root is quite thick, and leaves grow from it in a basal rosette. The shape of the root, which slightly resembles a human being, made this plant one of the most sought-after. It is attributed with all kinds of magical and hallucinogenic properties—so many that it would be impossible to list them all here. To cite a few: it is believed that whoever harvests Mandrake at the foot of a gallows and consumes it will suffer from behavioral disturbances. According to popular belief, the plant can inspire love, cure infertility, multiply money, and even grant invisibility. Mandrake is the magical plant par excellence.
Belladonna (whose name means “beautiful woman,” as it was used by women to dilate their pupils to appear more attractive) is a plant with striking red fruits that are very attractive to children, causing severe poisoning. It can grow up to 1.5 meters (approx. 5 feet) tall, with oval, pointed leaves. The flowers, which appear in spring and summer, are brownish to purple. Its scientific name is Atropa belladonna.
Henbane (Hyoscyamus niger), meanwhile, is a sticky, hair-covered plant with pale yellow, veined, and striking flowers. Like many Solanaceae, it grows in waste ground or along the edges of paths and fields. Other plants that may have been used by witches include Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) and Black Nightshade (S. nigrum). Both contain solanine.
Content
Plants of the Solanaceae family contain tropanes in varying proportions. The most common substances, which can be found in the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, are atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine.
The effects of these drugs are very striking and generally unpleasant. Consuming Solanaceae produces drowsiness and hallucinations in which the subject remains passive. The hallucinations may be related to sensations of flight or to spinning or dancing. The side effects of mild poisoning include intestinal and urinary discomfort.
It should be noted that scopolamine is a central nervous system sedative. Atropine is antispasmodic, antiasthmatic, mydriatic (dilates the pupil), and a local analgesic for external use. It is the basis for some eye drops used by ophthalmologists during eye examinations.
The effects of solanaceous poisoning include: heat, dryness of the mouth and throat, thirst, nausea, tachycardia, difficulty swallowing, facial swelling, and bright eyes with dilated pupils. It affects heart rate and breathing.
Atropine causes certain death if 100 mg are consumed, although effects can be fatal even at lower doses. Death usually occurs due to depression of the respiratory centers. It is easily detected during an autopsy.
Solanine, contained in Bittersweet and Black Nightshade, is a narcotic substance, likely hallucinatory and fatal at high doses.
Some Magical Plants
TO WARD OFF SPIRITS: garlic, wormwood, rue, thyme.
TO ATTRACT LOVE: mugwort, laurel, rue, valerian.
TO INCREASE SEXUAL POTENCY: bedstraw.
TO PRESERVE HEALTH: juniper.
TO CURE A CURSE: basil, male fern, fig tree, laurel, lemon, orange, rue, rosemary, sage, tea.
TO DRIVE WOMEN MAD: fennel, marjoram, verbena.
TO CAST CURSES: holy thistle.
PROTECTIVE: pasqueflower.
TO BREAK LOVE: walnuts.
