The Wurburg witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of individuals accused of practicing witchcraft in the town of Wurburg, Germany in the late 17th century. The trials took place between 1691 and 1693 and resulted in the execution or imprisonment of an estimated 157 people. The trials were part of the larger European witch-hunt hysteria that occurred during the Early Modern period. At the time, belief in witchcraft and the supernatural was widespread, and accusations of witchcraft were taken very seriously by both the religious authorities and the secular legal system. The accusations in the Wurburg witch trials stemmed from a combination of rumors, personal grievances, and religious fervor. Many of the accused were women, who were often targeted due to their perceived vulnerability and association with feminine powers.
As it was the end of the harvest season food was abundant, with many wild crops such as mushrooms, berries and nuts supplementing more traditional ones. Harvests like apples and grapes would be split between food and wine or cider production. A previous year’s vintage would be on standby to be enjoyed alongside the first ale from Lammas’ harvests during the evening’s feast.
In Cornwall, Elder leaves were incorporated for protection, with Rowan wreaths placed over the doorways to cattle pens to keep them safe through winter. If this is how springtime can make us feel today, imagine what it must have been like thousands of years ago before the invention of central heating or supermarkets.
Many of the accused were women, who were often targeted due to their perceived vulnerability and association with feminine powers. The alleged witches were accused of various acts of maleficium, including causing illness, crops to fail, and livestock to die. The trials were marked by widespread hysteria and a lack of due process.
5 pagan traditions for celebrating the autumn equinox
Mabon, or the autumnal equinox, nestles neatly between the sun-ripened cavorting of Lammas and the darker death-tinged feasts of Samhain. While the specific date of the Equinox shifts slightly each year it occurs around 20th-22nd September and marks the second point in the year when both day and night are of equal length.
It’s both the second Equinox and second harvest festival in the Pagan party calendar, so from Hedgewitch to High Priest there’s really no excuse for a faux pas. Without further ado, prepare to celebrate this autumn equinox like an expert!
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Ancient rituals that mark the start of autumn
1. Dusters at dawn
Being a celestial event means two things, firstly it’s going global. As with the solstices, there is evidence documenting equinox celebrations from all over the world for thousands of years. Secondly, the party at sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury start at sunrise. Is it even a Pagan sabbat if someone isn’t up at the crack of dawn?
Similar to Lammas, this Equinox is primarily a celebration of thanksgiving; but one key difference is that, traditionally, people would also take stock of what no longer serves them, physically and spiritually. In the same way that spring cleaning is associated with the spring equinox, people would declutter at Mabon making way for the necessary resources and resilience to take them through the approaching winter.
Read more about: British History
Mabon: The pagan festival that marks the autumn equinox
2. The guest list
There are many players in the Pagan pantheon, and even when only considering those from the UK, it can be hard to know who to give a sacrificial shout-out. American author Aidan Kelly named this sabbat ‘Mabon’ in 1970 and many Pagans globally refer to it as such. Mabon is the Welsh God of Youth, also hailed as the divine child. Perhaps more relevantly the son of Modron - the name many British Pagans use for this celebration, as she is the Goddess of motherhood often depicted with bread, fruit, and babies. Ireland’s Earth Mother is Banba (Banbha), who ruled with her sisters Fodla and Ériu.
The triumvirate of Goddesses reigning through the year is a repeating theme across British Paganism with Maiden, Mother, and Crone aspects welcomed and worshipped in turn. At the autumn equinox when harvests draw to a close, the bountiful Mother aspect prepares to give way to the harsh wisdom of the Crone.
Many British Pagan Gods are linked with growth and sunlight and so play a smaller role in autumnal sabbats. But there are those such as Arwen, Welsh God of stags, dogs, and hunting or Cernunnos, the horned Celtic God of hunting, fertility and wild things, wwhoseimportance increased at this time, particularly before people had livestock to sustain them through winter.
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When is the autumn equinox in 2023?
by Jamie Dwelly
3. Nail the decor
The theme for this sabbatical shebang is one of balance between light and dark both physically, with the equality of day and night, and spiritually. The double spiral has been used since neolithic times to represent this and is often partnered with the cornucopia or overflowing horn of plenty on the altar.
Trees would be left outside for the time being but were still decorated with hanging bells, chimes and ‘clooties’. Beautiful wreaths of grape vines, ivy, and autumn leaves would be attached to doors. In Cornwall, Elder leaves were incorporated for protection, with Rowan wreaths placed over the doorways to cattle pens to keep them safe through winter.
Read more about: Ancient History
The Wheel of the Year: the calendar of pagan festivals explained
by James Brigden
4. Don’t forget the nibbles
As it was the end of the harvest season food was abundant, with many wild crops such as mushrooms, berries and nuts supplementing more traditional ones. Harvests like apples and grapes would be split between food and wine or cider production. A previous year’s vintage would be on standby to be enjoyed alongside the first ale from Lammas’ harvests during the evening’s feast.
With this abundance comes the need for some precautions to be taken. This food still needed to last through the winter and so it was a time when fruits and vegetables would be preserved. Herbal tinctures and remedies such as rosehip syrup, which is still used today for coughs, would also be prepared in large batches.
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Samhain and the pagan roots of Halloween
5. Slaughterhouse rules
This was seen as an auspicious time for animals to be slaughtered not only to provide meat and blood sacrifices for the equinox celebrations but to be preserved for winter rations. It also helped ensure that there would be enough food for the remaining livestock.
The ritual of cakes and ale was also repeated across many Pagan cultures. It was a ritual for health, prosperity, and fertility with the cakes and ale first being blessed. The cake represented earth and the material world while the ale embodied the spirits of fire, water, and air.
Every pro-party planner knows to get the next event in quickly and our Pagan predecessors were no different. For all the celebrating at equinox, it also marked the approach of something much bigger. Preparations would begin for the late October/early November full moon when the Crone held sway and the sacred feast of Samhain kept all manner of nasties away.
Similar to Lammas, this Equinox is primarily a celebration of thanksgiving; but one key difference is that, traditionally, people would also take stock of what no longer serves them, physically and spiritually. In the same way that spring cleaning is associated with the spring equinox, people would declutter at Mabon making way for the necessary resources and resilience to take them through the approaching winter.
Torture was commonly used to extract confessions from the accused, who were often subjected to methods such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and the use of painful instruments. The confessions obtained under torture were then used as evidence against the accused. The trials finally came to an end in 1693, when the local authorities realized the extent of the injustice and the lack of evidence for many of the accusations. The trials were officially declared null and void, and those who had been executed or imprisoned were posthumously pardoned. However, the damage had already been done, and the Wurburg witch trials left a lasting impact on the community. The Wurburg witch trials are now seen as a dark chapter in European history, exemplifying the dangers of mass hysteria, paranoia, and the abuse of power. The trials serve as a reminder of the importance of due process, the presumption of innocence, and the need for evidence-based justice. They also highlight the enduring legacy of the witch-hunt phenomenon and its devastating consequences for countless innocent lives..
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