workingclasshistory:

Today is Halloween. On All Hallows’ in 1590, Scottish authorities claimed that around 200 witches held a gathering to prevent King James from reaching his queen-to-be in Denmark. They allegedly had cauldrons, rode about in the sea in sieves, tied human body parts to live cats and threw them in the sea to create a storm and delay James’s journey. Dozens were arrested and confessed after severe torture — just some of the many thousands of people, almost entirely poor women, who were murdered in Europe’s misogynist witchhunts.
Check out this recent book by Silvia Federici to learn more about witches and capitalism, as well as items celebrating the connection between black cats, witches and the workers’ movement: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/witches https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2123071754544630/?type=3