Witches

I've had a lifelong fascination with witches and this may have been one of the things that encouraged my love of folklore. In this post I have compiled a selection of links and artwork relating to witches in folklore, mythology, history, art and popular culture.

The Magic Potion - Evelyn de Morgan, 1903.

Folklore and Mythology

8 Famous Witches From Mythology and Folklore
Witchy Folklore - Nifty Buckles
Witches Folklore - Occult World
10 Scariest Witches Of World Mythology
Witch Ball Folklore
10 Witch Gods And Goddesses From Around The World
The Broomstick In Folklore: The Witch’s Ideal Transport
The Witch Files: Going to Sea in an Eggshell
Witches in Myth, Legends and Fairy Tales
Witchcraft in Japan: The Roots of Magical Girls
The Cunning Female Demons and Ghosts of Ancient Japan
Hecate: Holding Court Over Ancient Greek Witchcraft, the Moon, and Ghosts
12 Most Dangerous Witches In World Mythology And Folklore
Finnish Folklore: Louhi, Witch of the North 
Circe - Madeline Miller (Fiction)
Hekate
Circe

The Magic Circle - John William Waterhouse, 1886.

History and Culture

The Witch, The Weird, and The Wonderful: From Antiquity To The Present (Willow Winsham's Blog)
What is a Witch? Defining Witchcraft in the 'Malleus Maleficarum'
The Witch Files - The Midwife Myth: Curses, Infanticide, and Devilish Spells?
The Witch: the facts behind the folktales
History of Witches
Ireland’s Witchy History: 6 Unforgettable Irish Sorcerers
The Devil in the Room: Researching the History of Witchcraft in Ireland 
Witch Windows
Witches in Greek and Welsh myth: Circe and Medea, Ceridwen and Morgana
Potions and Poisons: Classical Ancestors of the Wicked Witch, Part 1
A Witchy Interview with #FolkloreThursday's Willow Winsham 
The Yuta, The Noro, And The “Okinawan Witch Trials” 
The Pendle Witches
Meet the Kawaii Witches of the East
The Surprising Truth about English Witch Trials
What Is The Witching Hour And Does It Exist?
Untwisting the Knotted History of Sea Witches
The Witch Files - The Midwife Myth: Curses, Infanticide, and Devilish Spells?
The Witch Doesn't Burn in This One - Amanda Lovelace (Poetry)
Witch Light - Susan Fletcher (Fiction)

Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses - John William Waterhouse, 1891.

Folk and Fairy Tales

 The Cat Witch of Okabe: A Tale from Japan
Witchcraft Legends
Cornish Folklore: The Witch of Treva
The Old Witch: An English Tale
On fairy tales and witches

Year of the Witch - In 2019 Australian Fairy Tale blogger Faith Mudge explored witchy fairy tales, with a new tale discussed each week. Scroll down on this page to find links. 

Demon in the Form of an Old Woman Fleeing with an Arm - Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1889.

Witch's Familiars 

Witch Familiars, Spirit Guardians and Demons
Witches’ Familiars: The Good, the Bad, and the Weird
Cats In Folklore: Not Just A Witch’s Familiar
Witchcraft Terms and Tools - Familiar
The Fox as Familiar: Japanese Witchcraft
Bad Company? Witch Familiars, Spirit Guardians, and Demons

The Cat Witch of Okabe - Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1835.

Witches in Art

Why Artists Have Been Enchanted by Witchcraft for Centuries
Witches have always cast a wicked spell over art 
Double Double Toil and Trouble: Witches in Art and Modern Media
Dangerous Beauty: Pre-Raphaelite Women and their Legacy
Witches in Art
Witches in Art

Witch on a Broom - Albert Joseph Penot

Witches in Popular Media

From Baba Yaga to Hermione Granger: why we're spellbound by 'witcherature'
 Witches In Contemporary Cinema and Television: A Radical Feminist Aesthetic
The Resurgence of Witches in Pop Culture, Like Sabrina, and in "AHS Coven" and "Charmed," Reflects Women in the Real World
What Pop Culture Gets Right and Wrong About Witches, According to a Real Coven
The Best Fictional Witches
The 'good witch' who wrote Japanese classic Kiki's Delivery Service
Howl's Moving Castle - Studio Ghibli

Morgan le Fay - Frederick Sandys, 1864.

Modern Witchcraft 

Modern Witchcraft Traditions
What Does It Mean To Be A Witch?
Modern witches are stepping out of the shadow of Germany’s folklore
How to make easy witch bottles to protect your home!
For modern witches, the occult provides something the church can't
10 Things I Wish Everyone Knew About Modern Witchcraft

Witches Going to Their Sabbath - Luis Ricardo Falero, 1878.

More Witchy Art

 

The Love Spell - unidentified Flemish master, 15th Century.

Miranda The Tempest - John William Waterhouse

Ida Rentoul Outhwaite

The Beguiling of Merlin - Edward Burne-Jones, 1877

Mountain Witch of the Ashigara Mountains - Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1845.

Jason and Medea - John William Waterhouse, 1907.

Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre - Utagawa Kiniyoshi, 1844.

The Crystal Ball - John William Waterhouse, 1902.

Mountain Witch Holding a Hatchet - Totoya Hokkai, Edo Period.

"Witches were a bit like cats. They didn't much like one another's company but they did like to know where all the other witches were, just in case they needed them. And why you might need them for was to tell you, as a friend, that you were beginning to cackle."
~ Terry Pratchet, A Hat Full of Sky' ~