The Rise and Persistence of a Myth: Witch Transvection

Summary

Whether humans can perform the feat of flying is a question deeply rooted in humankind's consciousness. Certainly our study of ancient civilizations suggests the affirmative if mythology provides a clue. The Assyro- Babylonians believed in Ningirsu and the goddess Lilitu (flying gods), while the Aztecs mentioned the flying Quetzalcoatl. In this study we shall limit ourselves to western Europe and concentrate upon evidence from the latemedieval and early modern periods, roughly spanning 1350–1750, specifically during the time of the so-called witch-craze (1450–1750). In particular, we intend to examine the hypothesis that recorded “transvections” of witches by air could have been the result of a sorceress's delusional state produced by an ointment (rubbed on her skin) containing alkaloids from solanaceous plants, such as belladonna or datura, both belonging to the nightshade family. Incidentally, modern anthropologists continue to research witchcraft among primitive populations.

Almost all ancient gods were believed to fly, mainly because they were thought to reside in heaven or an elevated place on earth. Some iconographic representations gave these deities wings, or in the case of Mercury winged sandals; other sources depicted the divine beings as riding some creature (for example Odin on his eight-legged winged horse Sleipnir), or portrayed them metamorphosing themselves into birds, as Zeus transformed into an eagle when abducting Ganymede. Not only deities, but also magicians, were said to achieve flight, as, for instance, shown in Apuleus's Golden Ass (Book 3, ch. 21), where Pamphile, after rubbing herself with an ointment, changes into an owl and flies away.