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science, skepticism, terra sig illata, why do witches ride broomsticks, witches and broomsticks origin
We see it every year at Halloween, the common image of a witch riding a broomstick across the night sky. But why? Where could this odd superstition have come from?

It's harder than you think to find a picture of this without a woman showing a little too much skin.
The answer is fascinating, and also a little racy.
The Pharmacology of Witches
The following discussion comes with help from the pharmacology blog Terra Sig Illata.
First of all, you have to understand that many beliefs in the supernatural throughout history were fueled by the use of drugs. What better way to make you think you can fly than tripping on some hallucinogenic? Drug use among so-called witches as part of their rituals was indeed very common:
Hallucinogenic compounds called tropane alkaloids are made by a number of plants including Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade), Hyoscyamus niger (henbane), Mandragora officinarum (mandrake), and Datura stramonium (jimsonweed).
During the Middle Ages, parts of these plants were used to make “brews,” “oyntments,” or “witches’ salves” for witchcraft, sorcery, and other nefarious activities.
One of the obvious progressions in drug use is the discovery of how to get high faster. People who abuse pharmaceutical pills eventually figured out that you could snort them, cocaine users eventually found out that you could bypass the nose or mouth and inject the drug directly. “Witches” found a similar way to quicken the hallucinogenic high that supported their occult beliefs:
Somewhere along the line, the observation was made that the hallucinogenic compounds, hyoscine in particular, could be absorbed through sweat glands (especially in the armpit) or mucus membranes of the rectum or vagina. These routes of administration also bypassed rapid metabolism by the liver (and severe intestinal discomfort) had these extracts been taken orally.
One benefit of absorbing a hallucinogenic witch’s brew in a way that bypasses the liver is that the drug is not broken down by the liver into a less potent form of the drug. By applying the drugs in the unorthodox ways mentioned above, not only would you get high faster, but you would get higher.
The way a witch’s hallucinogenic drugs were administered to bypass the liver, more specifically via the vagina, provides a clue to why witches supposedly “ride” broomsticks. [Yep, this is going exactly where you think it is going]
Why Witches Ride Broomsticks
The earliest clue for how witches applied the hallucinogenics in these fast-absorbing areas comes from a 1324 investigation of Lady Alice Kyteler:
In rifleing the closet of the ladie, they found a pipe of oyntment, wherewith she greased a staffe, upon which she ambled and galloped through thick and thin.
And from the fifteenth-century records of Jordanes de Bergamo:
But the vulgar believe, and the witches confess, that on certain days or nights they anoint a staff and ride on it to the appointed place or anoint themselves under the arms and in other hairy places.
It was observed in reports like these that witches were applying drugs and hallucinogenic ointments to their private areas with a broomstick (or something similar). In the process of application, the practice could be visualized as a “riding” of a broomstick or staff.
So, in the age of “witches,” these hags found out that they could absorb their favorite hallucinogens much faster and without some side effects by applying them in ointment form to their armpits and their vaginas. And in a case of stoner ingenuity, these witches also figured out that a broomstick (or other staff) could be greased up with the hallucinogenic ointments and applied easily to their private parts. This process of applying drugs to places between their legs via broom stick or other staff is the genesis of why we imagine witches “riding” broomsticks.
This also explains why so many of the pictures of the time depict partially clothed (or naked) witches astride their broomsticks (picture here–slightly NSFW).
But why flying?
But why are witches depicted as flying on their broomsticks? It’s simple: a common function of one of the witches’ hallucinogenic of choice was to produce a sensation of flying. Witches believed that they were flying, as the drugs produced intense sensations of flying, and rumors probably spread and got contorted into the idea that witches indeed fly.
Again from Terra Sig Illata:
The tropane alkaloid hallucinogens tended to cause sleep, but with dreams that involved flying, ‘wild rides,’ and ‘frenzied dancing.’ A 1966 description of tropane alkaloid intoxication was offered by the Gustav Schenk:
My teeth were clenched, and a dizzied rage took possession of me…but I also know that I was permeated by a peculiar sense of well-being connected with the crazy sensation that my feet were growing lighter, expanding and breaking loose from my own body. Each part of my body seemed to be going off on its own, and I was seized with the fear that I was falling apart. At the same time I experienced an intoxicating sensation of flying…I soared where my hallucinations – the clouds, the lowering sky, herds of beasts, falling leaves…billowing streamers of steam and rivers of molten metal – were swirling along.
Isn’t the intersection of science, superstition, and history fascinating?
Totally fascinating!!!
Thanks for sharing!!!
:)
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This article is repulsive and and at least partially incorrect. The talk of witches’ ointments and things like that all came from the persecution of “witches” during the Dark Ages. The only real possibility of hallucination came from a mold that came from rye grain called Ergot. This was plentiful because most bread in old times was made with rye, and quality control wasn’t what it is now. So some people got hold of the Ergot and hallucinated that witches flew on brooms. However, the origin of witches riding brooms was a pagan harvest fertility rite. Pagans would “ride” brooms through the fields, and jump as high as they could, signifying how high they wanted the crops to grow. It was only made to look evil and vulgar when Christianity came into the times and convinced everyone that the rites were evil. Then we went into the burning times, and any little misstep could have someone accused of being a witch. The “evidence” of witch ointments and things like that was all contrived by the church to allow for more leverage against midwives, which threatened the male dominated medical society of the time. Any woman found with a random ointment or potion in her cottage was immediately a witch. It’s articles like this that provide fuel for the Christian movement, and prevents Paganism from being accepted as a legitimate religion in the eyes of today’s society. Yes, please, prance out this little tidbit that says witches are evil and masturbating with hallucinogenic petroleum jelly so we can prove that these people are insane. Sheesh.
I haven’t heard that alternate explanation, could you provide references?
I found your article very interesting, like all things, I will continue to look for other sources and other versions; however, Hags on Hallucinogens makes more sense the Broads on Broomsticks jumping as high as the corn should grow, the latter seems to leave out the details
Thank you. I appreciate that someone took the time to set the record straight.
Thank you Jeff for clearing up such filthy ludacris propaganda.
Again, I don’t think Jeff has cleared up very much. If someone could provide a reference to Jeff’s point, at odds with the number of references I provided in the comments, I would be glad to make corrections.
Why do you believe that the article says hallucinogens and masturbation are evil? I got no such inference from the article and in fact it is clear and very matter of fact with no judgement whatsoever. Accurate or not, we’ll never know the truth and this is an interesting counterpoint to the general “accepted facts”.
While we certainly don’t want to misinterpret facts especially ones that have been distorted in a way that led to persecuting the wise women of many generations, it IS true that these wise woman had knowledge of herbs with many levels of healing properties, ranging from common ailments and childbirth, to psychotropic and vision inducing. There is nothing perverse about applying a salve to your privates and having hallucinogenic consciousness expanding experiences. In fact I wouldn’t mind trying it sometime!
First, I wonder why Jeff ses the artice as being repulsive. In fact, it is very well written and researched. The use of hallucinogenic in ritual is well documented in many shamantic ceremonies. As for the method of application, it is also documented, even in ‘modern’ science. The only component not mentioned is that herbs were usualy stored in small bundles, or “whisks”. The capillary effect of “cooking” a whisk in a oil solution would eventually satuarate the ‘handle’ with the plants essential oils. If the whisk were make of a bundle of .. ohh bella donna wrapped around mandrake root, a potent hallucinogenic would rise to the surface. Just because the modern pictures have a “house broom” does mean it’s not a symbol for a much smaller broom… a whisk.
Indeed that’s what I just commented to. I believe he is projected insecurity.
Jeff thinks the article is repulsive because the idea of women inserting objects into their vaginas for the sole purpose of their own pleasure is repulsive to him. Because female sexuality repulses him, unless a male is in control of it. But in this story, these women were completely in charge of their own pleasure and sexuality. And that threatens Jeff. Why else were witches considered evil? Because they were powerful women, and during a time of blatant sexism, women were not supposed to be powerful. I also wouldn’t argue that this article is inaccurate, there are specific quotes and sources used to support the argument…
As a long time practitioner of various aspects of Wicca I can personally attest to the accuracy of the article. Experimentation with the formula is NOT recommended, a slight error in dosage is lethal, and even trained researchers have wound up dead. I repeat: a number of the alkaloids involved are lethal, a slight error in compounding or in administration can be lethal. Signed, Tru L. Flo.
You must admit, however, that at least one of the herbs listed in the article, jimson weed, was not available to medieval europeans, its origin being in the new world.
Spot on Jeff. This article is largely inaccurate. Historically witches (and those accused of witchcraft despite being no more than early herbalists) did come into contact with these plants for their workings but ‘riding’ the broomstick came from the jumping ritual and superstitions surrounding their means of travel – not anointing their private areas to get ‘high’ quicker! With all due respect Joe, this article is well written but misinformed and I think that even given the topic – your ‘whisk’ theory is stretching it a bit.
According to what I could find, the article is confirmed by multiple sources (here, here, and here). Do you have any citations for your refutations? I’d be glad to update the piece.
True or not, I didn’t find the article repulsive at all.
I do not find this article particularilty repulsive but rather perpetuating centuries old fear mongering created by misogynistic religulous fanatics.
The source repeated in these articles that you have cited seem to be from witchcraft investigations. Let us just ponder for a moment how fair and impartial the men conducting these investigations were? True or not?
Sorry for going way off topic yet some more.
The Forbes article lables witches brews and behaviours as nefarious! More negativity, really?
I am not a witch but know people who practice modern day wicca and from what I have discovered, there is nothing evil about it! Making salves and brews from nature way back when is not so different from what our modern day drug companies produce. Are they evil for doing so?
Geesh. The author never implied anything was evil. He may be correct or incorrect, as may be his sources (unfortunately, much that we “know” about witches comes from deeply prejudiced sources and confessions obtained under duress). But both etymologies – the broom dance for the crops and the hallucinogenic theory – are viable and interesting.
I don’t believe modern wiccans can speak with any authority as to what European pagan, medicine women and witches may or may not have done, as Wicca current practice is not an exponent thereof.
love all the witchcraft and witches
With only a cursory knowledge in the history of the english language I can debunk both of your quotes. The english language simply didn’t look like that in 1324. Read chaucer’s canterbury tales in the original text for an example of what middle english looks like. Early modern english is said to have begun around 1550 (shakespeare is an excellent, though flowery, example). While they may have been published in the article from forbes magazine first, the onus is on you to verify the authenticity of any source materials before cutting and pasting your article together.
So because the source I quoted didn’t have a non-translated copy, the entire premise is bunk? I wouldn’t go that far.
all i said was that your quotes are worthless. the spellings of “oyntment” and “staffe” are clearly meant to add authenticity to the age of the quote (and clearly pass for the less informed) and indicate this is not meant to be taken as a translation but as a direct quote. now, since your argument must rely on your source material, yes, your entire premise is bunk. but you shouldn’t take it personally, since it’s not your premise to begin with. you should, however, take the accusation of plagiary personal. it’s quite serious for anyone in higher education.
From what I could find (see comment here) the explanation appears legitimate. Am I wrong?
Reblogged this on That's Geektastic! and commented:
Some food for thought
a neurologiist told me that Tyne flying broom deal came from folks rubbing a type of teterogenic broom straw on their foreheads thus iinducing the flying sensation fussing bron. no rreferences given but it mmade sense to me as a possible le explanation. diane
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While I don’t find this article repulsive, I do take issue when anyone claims a hypothesis as fact without testing it. To test your hypothesis you need to provide complete references to multiple primary sources. Also, your sources need to explicitly demonstrate your point. I feel that the language used in your quotes is anything but conclusive (anointing and galloping upon do not necessarily refer to vaginal penetration). Thus, you have no right to call upon others to support their hypotheses without doing the same. For fun, here is a link to even more hypotheses on this interesting subject matter: http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/witchs-broom.php
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There’s no such thing as too much skin.