Immigrate to Spain and experience life in Spain: In fairytales, witches are always shown wearing silly black hats, draped in black cloaks, and flying around on broomsticks. A witch is a female practitioner of magic who uses spells and a wand. Every witch has a pet and a broom, and she can fly around wearing her black hat. Witches are said to be heavier than people of similar stature, have webbed feet, do not sleep at night, and are particularly fond of eating rabbit heads......
Black cats are assistants sent by the devil to help the witch complete some evil mission, such as poisoning livestock with tainted milk, causing people to contract chronic illnesses, or bringing about the death of enemies. Cats are considered mysterious animals; when a cat becomes boisterous and mischievous, it is a sign that it is going to rain. Others say it only rains when a cat washes its ears with its paws. If it extends its paws toward the flames in a fireplace, it means a stranger is approaching the house. If a cat sneezes near a bride on her wedding day, it portends a happy marriage. However, if the cat sneezes three times, it means someone in the house is about to catch a cold.
The Western magical world has cultivated the witch as a symbol, and Spain is also a hotbed for witches. In reality, witches in everyday life wear ordinary clothes, live in typical houses, and hold mundane jobs just like any other woman.
The Crazy Sant Joan Festival
June 23rd, the Summer Solstice. As a Catholic country, every day in Spain is named after the saint of that day. The patron saint of the Summer Solstice is Saint John (SAN JUAN), so this festival is called the "Sant Joan Festival."
According to Barcelona writer Maite Carranza, the Sant Joan festival is one of the craziest and most lively in Catalonia, maintaining its unique vitality and widespread participation throughout Barcelona and other parts of Catalonia. On the midsummer night of June 23rd, firecrackers and fireworks go off continuously in many streets and squares, which is why it is also known as the "Night of Fireworks" or "Night of Fire." To celebrate the "Night of Fire," people burn all their old furniture. This is also the night of lovers, and more importantly, the night of witches; legend has it that all wishes made tonight will come true. Infected by the romantic fireworks, everyone becomes unrestrained. People drink Cava sparkling wine in large gulps and eat a traditional delicacy called "Cocas de Sant Joan," made with candied fruit and pine nuts. Bonfires made of wood and old furniture can be seen everywhere in the streets and squares, and the festivities continue until dawn. Finally, people gather at the beach to watch the sunrise, especially since the following day is a public holiday.
A Witch World Both Surreal and Real
Maite has just finished writing her trilogy, "The Witch's War." When she was little, she heard a myth: the story took place on a Mediterranean island called Chios, where a mythical beast called the Minotaur lived in a labyrinth. It was a combination of man and bull and demanded that Athens, the capital of Greece, send seven boys and seven girls every seven years. Later, a hero appeared and killed the monster with the help of Ariadne, the local king's daughter. Ariadne gave him a ball of string, and thanks to this string, he was able to escape from the labyrinth. Stories like this have existed for a very long time. Back then, Maite was still a child, and later she wanted to write a story about witches, which led her to recall all the stories about witches she had heard as a child.
Witches belong to another world and live in a magical realm, but at the same time, witches exist in our real life. Spanish children are told stories about witches by adults from a young age—that a witch lives in the house next door, or that a witch is behind a certain door. Those witches were not good people; they often poisoned others and caused many tragic misfortunes. After the children grew up and learned the history of witches—how, during the 17th and 18th centuries, they were burned alive simply for being practitioners of witchcraft—Maite wanted to study what kind of people they were, what abilities and characteristics they had, and examine the history of witches from the perspective of both a writer and a scholar.
In rural areas, many witches were actually local doctors who had a clear understanding of human bodily functions and the causes of illness. In particular, a group of them used medicinal herbs. There were also midwives who were called witches at the time. Their main job was to help people deliver babies. These witches understood the structure of the human body and knew how to treat diseases, but these advantages also helped them do bad things, such as administering poison; thus, their reputation was never very good.
Witches in the Terror Era
Some scholars believe that witches existed back in the Roman and Greek periods, when they were priests in religion. Anthropologist Moreau has conducted specific research on witches and believes that they were first born in very primitive societies. At that time, people believed in "panpsychism," meaning they believed in the existence of many gods. Those witches lived in the forests, dancing, singing, and performing religious rituals. The Romans considered them priestesses of the goddess Diana, a group of people who were very romantic and full of mystery. Some scholars specialize in researching the period of the Inquisition, a terrifying era where people were convicted based on their religious beliefs. A man named Mordi from the Navarre Inquisition once executed 60 women at one time because they were witches. This event was documented in records, and this bloody history can still be seen today. The charges brought against them were that they brought storms and hail, poisoned livestock, and harmed children. These accusations existed 400 years ago and were written in specific documents.
There are also folklorists who travel to villages to find oral stories. An engineer once wrote a book on the legends of witches in a certain part of Spain, which stated that witches had a magical power residing in their eyes. If they had bad thoughts and stared at a place, it would surely lead to unfortunate events, especially the ability to harm children. Therefore, if children encountered such strange women, they had to protect themselves. These witches would turn into animals at night, especially birds, and fly into people's windows; they could also turn into cats or wolves. In Europe, there is also a traditional class of stories about vampires; not only do vampires live by sucking human blood, but witches also need to drink the blood of infants to survive.
Creatures in Eastern and Western Culture
The wolf is a very beautiful animal, but in Spain, it has always been an enemy of humanity. Maite heard many stories about witches and wolves when she was a child. The wolf always represents danger. If a child left home at night to play in the forest, their family would threaten them that they would be eaten by a wolf. Yet there are many stories about kind wolves, such as wolves that find children in the wild, bring them back to their dens, and raise them. For example, the founders of Rome, the capital of Italy, were nourished by wolf milk. The wolf is a very contradictory animal; it is both frightening and attractive to people. Witches share this same characteristic. Although the wolf is savage and lethal, it is also very loyal and sometimes even very cute. It is precisely through these mythical creatures that we humans can find reflections of ourselves, as well as our fears and contradictions.
The same animal can also have different meanings in different cultures. For example, the dragon is a magical animal in China, but in Spain, it is a monster that everyone fears. Dragons appear in many Spanish legends; in the Western world, they represent evil, being cruel and capricious. Their role is to guard treasure, as seen in "The Lord of the Rings." Take snakes, for instance; for most people, they are terrifying animals, but in the Aztec culture of Mexico, the snake is their god.
If we look closely at the world of mythology, we will find many magical creatures. These are not just products of imagination, but also something created when we examine ourselves. When writers create works with magical themes, they need to depict a magical world, and this world is often established according to their own culture.