European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Halloween by Sid Schapiro halloween is the time for spooks tricks treats and debunking misconceptions about halloween. Somewhere along the line witches Black cats and scary demons have gotten bad raps a ones that they probably Don t deserve l Ake witches for example. It was once believed that halloween was when witches were Likely to wander abroad. So to Ward off the curses of the witches and to ensure a year of Good Fortune residents of Many countries particularly England Ireland and Scotland carried out numerous rites and traditions on that Day. These customs eventually became incorporated into halloween a and helped create the Witch s bad image. First of All witches supporters say erase the idea of that old hag that Springs immediately to mind. Quot i he notion that the Witch is hideous and old with a jutting Chin huge moles and a nose shaped like a scythe is inaccurate says writer Erica Jong in her Book wih hos. She says she wanted to set the record straight As Quot a sort of Public service a fearing that a male writer Quot would either do silly cartoons or repeat All the old Malarkey equating witches with  Jong declares Quot accused witches were As often Young and sexually attractive As they were old and ugly. In fact it was sometimes their sexual attractiveness that led them to be denounced. Quot the original image of the Witch woman was positive a creative Fertile in tune with nature a direct descendent of the ancient matriarchal cult of the Mother goddess. She derives from Isis from Diana the Huntress and other powerful female deities who were worshipped in Pagan  Loday s image of the Witch Long contends is a Quot sadly reduced remnant of the great Mother goddess. I m not denying that there May have been evil witches who did Black magic and i m not claiming they were All Good but i m saying the image we were taught is All wrong. The c christians had a vested interest in seeing god As male. Male historians most of whom were clerics took a propaganda View and painted these women As heretics and  Jong also Points out that when mule pm Vii  came along in the kith and i 7th i Eul urics they were eager to get rid of witches who were frequently herbalists Anil midwives. During those centuries win lies were witches and other halloween terrors May be the victims of twisted interpretations of history. A amps file persecuted perhaps because they represented an ant establishment View perhaps because they were women who were assertive Strong and sexual. What about those poor Black cats so frequently associated with witches one new York animal adoption Agency worker said people Don t want to adopt Black cats because they think the animals Are unlucky. Quot but that s not True a she declares. Quot Black cats do bring Good  and she ticked off her research Quot in Egypt Black cats Are sacred. Quot English sailors took Black cats to sea because they thought they kept them from  and she Dies an old saying Quot cat of your House is Black of lovers you will have no  from ancient egyptian times the sleek Long legged Coal Black cat was an Emblem of the Sovereign Moon goddess. The cat was nocturnal like the Moon and also anti Domestic and Independent. Easily employable therefore As the alter ego of the Witch. Finally there Are those demons and goblins. Rather than being evil troublemakers they May have been the gods of an earlier religion. According to George Douglas in the american Book of Days the Mystic rites and ceremonies with which halloween was originally observed had their origin. Among the druids centuries before the Dawn of the Christian Era. Christianity did not supplant the earlier religion of Europe and the near East overnight. There were still Actie Witch covens of the old religion in 1 7th-Century Scotland. Instead christianity incorporated some of the old Heifets to help it win converts. Among the beliefs Weie those about demons who were demigods or saints of the old religion and who Quot Hung about in the air after banishment like the smile of the Cheshire cat Quot As one halloween historian noted. Demons Are out in Force on halloween because the next Day is All saints Day. Quot the saints Are certified models to Lead christians on the thorny path to Paradise a the historian penned. Quot what better time then for the ousted forces to seduce unwary christians Down into the pit a this was a fear in earlier centuries but the old demons gradually lost Power As christianity became More solidly entrenched. Before Long they flashed Only dim vestiges of their once lethal threat. Now they survive a just barely in the demands of masked children who seek Quot treats Quot and threaten Quot tricks Quot if rejected. One final halloween tradition that has evolved into something different deserves n mentioning. The Jack of lantern s association with halloween goes Back to 12th-Century England and Scandinavia where the grotesque masks were often carved out of Large turnips. Early american colonists found the pumpkin an Ideal substitute. The Jack of lantern is also associated with Quot fool s fire Quot or Quot will of the Wisp a any Light that leads a person astray As the evil spirits of halloween were said to do. There Are two kinds of pumpkins on the Market familiarly called face pumpkins and a selection of cheese or pie pumpkins an old fashioned variety raised for eating. Face pumpkins Are the Bright Orange ones that Are now bred More for carving than for eating. They have a Large hollow space inside that is perfect for a Candle. Sid Schapro is a stars and stripes Retiree who writes on american Holiday traditions. 8 stripes Magazine october 31, 1991