TABOO AND GENETICS i6i 



she had acquired through the ages was now 

 thought to be utihzed in the making of " witch's 

 brew," and the " ceremonies and charms 

 whereby the influence of the gods might be 

 obtained to preserve or injure " (21 : v. i, p. 12) 

 became incantations to the evil one. In addi- 

 tion to her natural erotic attraction for the 

 male, woman was now accused of using charms 

 to lure him to his destruction. The asceticism 

 of the church made it shameful to yield to her 

 allurements, and as a result woman came to be 

 feared and loathed as the arch-temptress who 

 would destroy man's attempt to conform to 

 celibate ideals. This sex antagonism culminated 

 in the witchcraft persecutions which make so 

 horrible a page of the world's history. 



Among the pagans, witches had shared with 

 prophetesses and priestesses a degree of reverence 

 and veneration. Medea had taught Jason to 

 tame the brazen-footed bulls and dragons which 

 guarded the Golden Fleece. Hecate was skilled 

 in spells and incantations. Horace frequently 

 mentions with respect Canidia, who was a 

 powerful enchantress. Gauls, Britons and Ger- 

 mans had obeyed and venerated women who 

 dealt in charms and incantations. The doctrines 

 of Christianity had changed the veneration into 

 hatred and detestation without eradicating the 

 belief in the power of the witch. It was with 

 the hosts of evil that she was now beheved to 



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