Did you ever consider that those dark days of burning witches still echo in women’s lives today? I didn’t.
I just finished a deep dive into how culture and history might shape how women Take Up Space as health professionals today, and I wanted to share this with you.
I’m going to lay out just a few points here because it is a huge topic. If you want to dive in, I’d encourage you to start by reading Good Witch by Lucianne Tonti*
Printing presses: Witches go viral
Before the time of the witch hunts, the world allowed enchantment and wonder. Nature was seen as the interconnection of humans, animals, plants, and the earth.
We were nature.
Women were allowed to be masters of nature’s secrets and mysteries too.
Until change came. The printing press was developed. Misogynistic books on how to identify witches spread like wildfire across Europe. Powerful Kings, especially King James of England, wrote about demonology and enacted laws to eradicate witches.
What was a witch back then?
Women (80% women).
Women who were experts at growing and planting food and medicinal herbs. When land ownership arrived, the lords claimed common property, fenced it off, and claimed it for agriculture. Capitalism was off to the races. Women who chose to plant and roam would be accused of witchcraft.
The echo:
Do not do things we dont like. You will be judged.
Women who were healers and midwives. Women who were called when a baby didn’t come easily, or when sickness knocked. Frances Bacon, the so-called father of science, and King James’ right-hand man, linked women’s ways of healing to witchcraft. Healing was to be contained within the medical science doctrine. Women healers could be witches.
The echo:
Do not be too smart. You will be judged.
Women who were crafters. They spun and wove fibres into clothes and blankets, keeping their families warm and making money. Industrialised spinning and weaving factories came and brought profit to factory owners. Women who excelled at spinning could be accused of being a witch and punished with death.
The echo:
Do not be too successful. You will be judged.
Women who excelled as communicators. They gossiped, a word that etymologically has it roots in speaking with one’s sisters. Women who knew what was happening in their villages, shared information, collaborated while washing at communal wells or exchanging produce. The witch trials denounced gossip as witches' behaviour and punished it with death.
The echo:
Do not be too loud. You will be judged.
They were forced to stay quiet and hide their skills, lest they be tried as witches.
How is this relevant today?
We are in a time of change now. We all feel it. Information is changing, spreading rapidly with new technology, just as it did with the printing press.
Hate is on the rise. Othering. Fear and anxiety too.
Imagine for a moment what the space for women might have been like before that hatred spread. Healing, growing, gossiping, knowing, connected with nature and their communities of men, women and children.
It takes courage to speak your truth – today.
Speak we must.
We are the daughters of those women.
I’ll be writing more about Taking up Space as a woman and would love your comments (comment in your browser, or just email me).
Rikke and I are repeating our two-part workshop for health professionals. This time around, it'll be for US time zones. Details below.
Oh, if you want to see some cool stuff my colleagues are doing, check out that below too.
Warmly, Louise
Louise Hayes, PhD, Clinical Psychologist and cofounder of DNA-V.
- PS. I do not use AI to write or edit.
Take up Space: US/European timezone
If you are in the USA/European time zones, come join Rikke Kjelgaard and me for a two-part workshop called Take Up Space in April next year.
This workshop isn't about excluding men, but it is about giving women a space to explore how our lives have been shaped by our language, our cultures, our societies.
When we see, we create change.
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Please Plagiarise Paul's Essay
Check out this essay from my friend Dr Paul McQueen, a clinical psychologist who writes about cool stuff like personality, capitalism, corporate DARVO, and its impact on the world.
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Do you want to meditate and learn dharma with other therapists?
My friend, psychologist and dharma sister, Poh Gan, runs Bodhi Circle, where meditators who are also therapists can hang out and get some much-needed practice. A once-a-fortnight time to practice the dharma together.
Check out Poh's Bodhi Circle here
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