The witch's hat. Origin and symbolism to the present day.
"It's a Witches' hat because you wear it. But you're a Witch because you wear the hat" Terry Pratchett
When we talk about witches, we always imagine the symbol of a woman on a broom, with cartoonish facial features and a big nose, sometimes preparing potions in a large cauldron next to a cat while wearing a pointy hat. This last element has become the most striking, associated with the imagery of witchcraft to this day.
The cone as an expression of power dates back to Semitic tribes, even Celtic ones, awarded to both priests and political leaders. This headdress was reused in the late medieval period for women, where "witch" hats would be a lesser aesthetic accessory because they were rounded and therefore not as stylized as their counterpart in the aesthetic codes of the nobility. Therefore, damaged hats served to mark the lower classes.
It should be noted that at the same time the use of bourrelets, heart-shaped hairstyles resembling horns, as well as hennin, pointed hats, was popular.
Later, we see how in the Baroque the cone was associated with punishment, with the penance of marking with a hood those sentenced by the Inquisition.
At the same time, the piece of cloth that we see in Spanish Holy Week was worn to avoid spreading the plague, since it was understood in an obscurantist way that by atoning for their sins they could be freed from this epidemic.
This was represented in Goya's Black Paintings, where from a critical point of view due to the trial of the Witches of Zugarramurdi, witchcraft was not represented with pointed hats. However, in the Flight of the Witches they are represented with pointed hats with the symbolic terror associated with witches, criticizing the distorted image of the population before these figures.
These practices have their antecedents in Greek theatre, where the Phrygian hat was associated with "barbarian" customs to condemn the different. In addition, the etymology of "magician" comes from the Greek μάγος (μάγοι / magoi in plural), referring to a caste of Persian or Babylonian priests, who studied the stars in their desire to search for God, a possible origin of the Three Wise Men who wore hats as cones of power.
In modern magical practices, the "cone of power" implies the active participation of practitioners in channeling their energy towards a common goal, serving as a visual metaphor to represent the focusing of energy at a specific point.
With all this, the demonization of these feminine expressions in the medieval imagination had its correlation with the Judenhut that the Jews wore to distinguish themselves from the rest, in addition to the link with Solomonic magic, astrology and Jewish Kabbalah.
Following the colonization of North America, religious orders that were formed after the Protestant Reformation in England, such as the Puritans and Quakers, contributed to the accusation of witchcraft without evidence.
In the film The Witch, we see how the fear of the unknown is addressed in 17th century New England:
It was the Puritans who executed 20 people (14 women and 6 men) in the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 for superstitious beliefs and material conflicts, which led to mass hysteria among the population.
Among the first medieval representations of which we have evidence in Central Europe, we see how the semiotics of the witch is identified with the alewives, those women who made and sold beer. One theory is that alewives were more populated by women in inns, and that "evil" was associated with alcohol consumption at the same time that the incipient industrialization process of the modern age sought to eliminate competition from these artisanal products.
Economic tensions and competition may have contributed to the negative perception of alewives, who were seen as a threat to emerging commercial interests. While some depictions of witches wore pointed hats, there is no clear evidence that alewives wore this type of hat specifically in depictions of the time.
The accompaniment of a familiar such as a cat helped keep grain safe and rodents away from raw materials, making it more hygienic for their customers. Its black fur may be due to it being the most common color among domestic cats, and not just because of the magical power associated with black.
Similarly, the figure of Baba Yaga, which comes from Slavic folklore, has contributed to the image of the modern witch, although she is represented with the headscarf typical of the "babushkas", those older ladies who wear it in these regions.
Before coming to Disney, it was the Grimm Brothers (Jacob & Wilhelm) who collected and popularized folk tales.
Germans in the 19th century, where witches can be both evil and benevolent helping the protagonists or as neutral characters.
In American popular culture, we see Disney using a black hood with grotesque facial expressions for the witch in Snow White, a stylized figure with a horned bourrelet for Maleficent and something similar to Baba Yaga for Madame Mim in the film Merlin The Enchanter. Also, the trio of witches in Hocus Pocus wear both the bourrelet and the hair in a hat, although there is nothing identifying in the headdress of the third one.
White magic figures such as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella wear a headscarf, since in the character design the round shapes represent goodness.
For television, the series Bewitched, Sabrina or Charmed represented witches as everyday women. While in Wandavision we see Scarlet Witch with horns on her costume and Agatha with a hat only when she dresses up for Halloween, and not in her original form.
The Japanese representation of Magical Girls ranges from the right to earn it, as in Little Witch Academia or Nicky Apprentice Witch, or the hat as a symbol of power regardless of its magical origin, such as the character I-No from the Guilty Gear video game saga.
However, in the Harry Potter saga we do not see witches with pointy hats except for positions of power such as Minerva McGonagall or the Sorting Hat itself, highlighting the associated power of this accessory. Dumbledore wears a hat to highlight his status, which is absent in the rest of the students.
In line with this, witches' hats are often depicted as pointed and dark, while wizard hats can vary more in shape and color. This stylistic difference tends to reflect gender stereotypes, where elements associated with the feminine are often represented in a pejorative way, disregarding their status as a caricature.
For all the reasons stated above, the pointy hat has become a positive re-signification to break with negative stereotypes and various persecutions in an empowering way.
Nuria Acquaviva – nuriacquavivaps@gmail.com
Bibliography:
- Hundley, J., Grossman, P. Brujería. La biblioteca del esoterismo. Taschen. 2022.
- Nurin T, Fahrendorf T., A Woman's Place Is in the Brewhouse. A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs. Chicago Review Press. 2021
- VVAA. The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic. Oxford University Press. 2017
Related articles:
> Modern Age and Pagan Cults: Witchcraft in Western Europe.
> The Wicca Altar and Ritual Tools.
