witches' Sabbath

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Representation of Sabbath gatherings from the chronicles of Johann Jakob Wick.

The Sabbath or Sabbat is a supposed meeting of those who practice witchcraft, Satanism, or other rites.

European records tell of innumerable cases of persons being accused or tried for taking part in Sabbath gatherings, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century or later. However, there are no reliable reports on what actually happened during a Sabbath; and much of what was written about them may be the product of popular imagination or deliberate misinformation.

The Sabbath in history

Although allusions to Sabbaths were made by the Catholic Canon (law) since about 905, the first book that mentions the Sabbath is, theoretically, Canon Episcopi, included in Burchard of Worms's collection in the 11th century. The Canon Episcopi alleged that "Diana's rides," (by the name of the Roman goddess of the hunt) were false, and that these spirit travels did not occur in reality. Errores Gazariorum later evoked Sabbath, in 1452.

In the 13th century the accusation of participation in a Sabbath was considered very serious. Some allusions to meetings of witches with demons are made in the Malleus Maleficarum (1486). Nevertheless, it was during the Renaissance when Sabbath folklore was most popular, more books on them were published, and more people lost their lives when accused of participating. Commentarius de Maleficius (1622), by Peter Binsfeld, cites accusation of participation in Sabbaths as a proof of guiltiness in an accusation for the practice of witchcraft.

What has been said about the Sabbath

Ritual elements

The Compendium Maleficarum (1608), by Francesco Maria Guazzo, aka Guaccio, Guaccius is a book published by an Italian priest with some illustrations of what he imagined could be a Sabbath, and gives a description of it; a brief summary can be cited as an example: "the attendants go riding flying goats, trample the cross, are made to be re-baptised in the name of the Devil, give their clothes to him, kiss the Devil's behind, and dance back to back forming a round".

According to Hans Baldung Grien (ca 1484-1545) and Pierre de Rostegny, aka De Lancre (1553-1631) human flesh was eaten during Sabbaths, preferably children, and also human bones stewed in a special way. It was also said by some authors^{[attribution needed]} that salt, bread and oil were prohibited because the Devil hated them; while other testimonies told about delicious dishes. Other descriptions^{[attribution needed]} add that human fat, especially of non-baptised children, was used to make an unguent that enabled the witches to fly; it was also believed^{[attribution needed]} that witches could fly by themselves, ride a broom, or be carried by demons to the place of the meeting.

The most common belief on which authors^{[attribution needed]} agreed is that Satan was present at the Sabbath, often as a goat or satyr, and many agreed that more demons were present. Another belief said that sometimes a person could offer his/her own body to be possessed by some demon serving as a medium (see demon possession). It was believed^{[attribution needed]} that the Sabbath commenced at midnight and ended at dawn, beginning with a procession, continuing with a banquet, then a Black Mass, and culminating with an orgy in which non-marital or sexual intercourse with demons in male or female form was practised. Consumption of hallucinogens and sometimes alcohol was often reported.

Location

According to folklore, the Sabbath was most often celebrated in isolated places, preferably forests or mountains. Some famous places where these events were said to have been celebrated are Briany, Carignan, Puy-de-Dôme (France), Blocksberg, Melibäus, the Black Forest, (Germany), the Bald Mount (Poland), Vaspaku, Zäbern, Kopastatö (Hungary), and more, but it was also said that Stonehenge (England) was a place for Sabbaths. In the Basque country the Sabbath (there called Akelarre, or 'field of the goat') was said to be celebrated in isolated fields.

Dates

There is no agreement among authors concerning the dates on which the Sabbaths were to be celebrated. Some hypothosized they would take place during the night of the Sunday before the time the Christian mass was celebrated, some authors disagreed telling that Satan was less powerful on holy days.

Some commonly mentioned dates were February 1 (to some February 2), May 1 (Great Sabbath, Walpurgis Night), August 1 (lammas), November 1 (Halloween, commencing on October 30's eve), Easter, and Christmas. Other less frequently mentioned dates were Good Friday, January 1 (day of Jesus' circumcision), June 23 (St. John's Day), December 21 (St. Thomas), and Corpus Christi. and others.

What is "actually known" about the Sabbath

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As some inquisitor wrote, "the acts of the witches/warlocks are only known by us for the confessions they make when tortured". All the descriptions about the Sabbaths were made and published by priests, jurists and judges who (theoretically) never took part in these gatherings, or written in the acts of the tribunals that carried out the processes. All of them were based on the confessions under torture made by people accused of practising witchcraft and heresy. Moreover, the accusees were often insane, and their "confessions" often amounted to saying "yes" to descriptions provided by the inquisitors.

To sum it up, we have practically no reliable information about what really happened in a Sabbath. The historical reports may reflect only popular imagination of the times, influenced by ignorance, fear, and religious intolerance.

We cannot even tell whether any Sabbaths were actually held before the 20th century. Many of the characterizations of the Sabbath were made about other suppressed Christian sects and Jews; see blood libel. It is thus possible that the Sabbath gatherings were largely a myth — a convenient excuse to condemn heretics or anyone who, for one reason or another, fell in the disfavor of the ruling authorities. The "Sabbath" gatherings described in the processes may not have occurred at all, or may have had no religious purposes.

Origins and connections

Old heathen rituals

The claimed dates of the main Sabbaths seem to correspond to those of the most important pre-Christian heathen festivals; and Scandinavians, Anglo-Saxons and Druids practised their rites in forests and mountains. These coincidences suggest that the Sabbath may have been remnants or revivals of those old pagan religions, which naturally were seen with alarm by the dominant Christian. (This view, incidentally, has been adopted by many Neo-Pagan movements.)

Shamanism and African rituals

There are similarities between the alleged Sabbath rites and the ceremonies of shamanistic rites of Asian and spiritualist African religions, such as the Orisha cult of the Yorùbá, and of their New World derivatives (Voodoo, Santería, Candomblé, etc.). During these ceremonies — which are held late at night in isolated places — priests are said to be possessed by spirit-gods (Orisha), amid convulsions and grimaces; and then perform ritual dances in their honor. These priests are often women, especially at the highest ranks of priesthood. These ceremonies end with a ritual banquet with specific foods. Each Orisha who is to be incorporated must be summoned in advance by the sacrifice of an animal and a bird; the blood is poured on the Orisha's icon, certain parts (head, feet, some organs) are offered to the spirit, and the rest is cooked for the banquet. At night, the priests must attract the Orisha to the ceremonial court by placing there things that he likes: his favorite food, objects of his favorite color, his symbolic instruments, and his favorite live animal. Goats are said to be the favorite of many Orishas; and some of the symbolic instruments are broom-like sticks or spears decorated with straw bundles. It is equally important to exclude any food or thing that the Orisha hated.

In view of those resemblances, it seems at least possible that the Sabbaths of Europe were African cult ceremonies. (The attitude of the dominant Christian religions about the African cults in the Americas was not much different in principle than its attitude about the Sabbath in Europe; and some fundamentalist sects have used the above resemblances to condemn the Sabbath) In this theory, the African rituals could have been brought to Europe, e.g., by African slaves of the Romans, and later by the Moors in Spain; or by Europeans returning from the American and African colonies.^{[citations needed]}

Sources

• Harner, Michael (1973). Hallucinogens and Shamanism.  - See the chapter "The Role of Hallucinogenic Plants in European Witchcraft"

See also

• Witchcraft
• Akelarre
• Sorginak
• Witch-hunt

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