The Science Behind Witchcraft

How early 'witchcraft' is just a basic understanding of herbology

Early modern use of the word ‘witch’ was commonly tied to the vilification and condemnation of unpopular yet innocent women in small communities. Best evidenced in the Salem witch trials of 1692-93, it was often spinsters or widows living alone who were shunned by their neighbours and branded crafty Satanists. Women in healing professions, including midwives and herbalists, were treated alike due to their occupational associations with medicine, disease, and death — themes which concoct the image of an old crone hunched over a vaporous cauldron, stirring in rotten frog toes and whispering foreign incantations. Indeed, the second person to be executed for witchcraft in New England was Margaret Jones, a practising midwife and healer, in 1648. 

Contrary to the accusations of witchcraft, women like Jones were adept apothecaries armed with a wealth of knowledge surrounding the beneficial properties of various plant species. For example, Jones would often treat her patients with liquors of anise seed — a medicinal plant reported to have antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. Indeed, anise essential oils and solutions have been shown to match the anti-inflammatory activity of aspirin in mice and promote inhibition of gastric ulcer formation in rats.

Another medicinal treatment for the treatment of insomnia, utilised by so-called ‘witches’ was a preparation containing foxglove flower, serpentine root, and almond oil — all three of which contain beneficial chemical compounds. Extracts from foxglove flowers contain cardiac glycoside molecules, which can calm rapid heartbeats, while serpentine root provides a chemical called reserpine, which can lower blood pressure and enter the central nervous system to influence neurotransmitter release. Both of these medicinal compounds are still widely used today, with reserpine incorporated in hypertension treatments and digoxin, from foxglove, as a regulator of irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias. Despite lacking the detailed structural and mechanistic information that is widely available regarding such compounds today, these women were very knowledgeable about the basic properties of natural, plant-based remedies.

While medicinal and herbal knowledge may have reduced these women’s susceptibility to disease, their awareness of the harmful effects of consuming diseased crops may have set them apart from other members of the community, marking them for persecution by those less informed. During the Salem witch trials, cuts of rye diseased with a particular fungus may have induced ergot poisoning in the villagers who consumed it. Knowingly, women living alone on the outer fringes of villages avoided these infected crops, and instead gained sustenance from common, innocuous plants. There is contradictory evidence surrounding the extent of ergotism in the Salem witch trials, including debate regarding its contributions to mass hysteria. Rye fungi produce lysergic acid — a compound which precedes the synthesis of the hallucinogenic drug LSD. Some believe that it was the consumption of such delirium-inducing compounds which conjured the widespread paranoia that fuelled witch hunts. However, many of the symptoms observed in sick individuals during this time do not match those expected of ergot poisoning.

Regardless, female healers were conscious of the properties of not only the compounds produced by rye fungus, but also similar chemicals called alkaloids, which are found in a variety of natural herbs including mandrake roots and henbane. The poor water solubility of these compounds was well-recognised, prompting their application as salves or ointments on the skin for transdermal delivery, just as we use nicotine and hormone patches today.

The natural product knowledge of women during the seventeenth-century witch trials undoubtedly set them apart from other locals. Instead of being eulogised for their efficacious treatment strategies, historical accounts highlight the foul, and highly unfair, judgement of these women as occult evildoers. Undoubtedly, the true monsters in Salem were those pointing fingers at innocent women.

Illustration by Isabella Abbott