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The Importance Of Witchcraft In The 1400s

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Witchcraft in the 1400s going on to the 1700s gained massive popularity due to several factors. Some of these factors included hallucinogens contained in the “oyl” women used to anoint themselves, manipulating the hysteria and using it as a form of social control to make people conform to the norms of the society and lastly, using it to explain misfortunes that afflicted the people of the community and the neighboring ones. First, a witch had confessed that before going off on their meetings, they (the witches) anoint themselves with a special “oyl” that was brought to them by a spirit and that it assisted them on their journey with the devil to Sabbat, a place filled with merriment where their desires were being fulfilled. This ointment was said to help in the transportation of their soul or body to the said destination. The “oyl” was rubbed on their staffs, broomstick or under their armpits and other hairy parts of their body. What was unknown to them was that the ointment contained hallucinogenic active agents from plants like mandrake, henbane, and belladonna (also referred to as deadly nightshade). From these plants, the active hallucinogenic agent, atropine can be found in them and according to Marvin Harris, “atropine is…absorbable through the intact skin.” Under the influence of this hallucinogen, the users of the ointment claimed to see several people with them making merry in the Sabbat and fulfilling their utmost desires of sexual lust and other erotic behaviors.

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