Coven, Cries Of Freedom

They were evil beings, witches who kidnapped children and took them to caves to offer them to the devil. In their meetings, called coven, they danced around the bonfire, they ate, they drank, they consumed substances that could put you in contact with the devil and they performed impure and lustful acts.

The acts that witches committed were of such a level that they were accused of witchcraft. The Holy Inquisition could not tolerate such heresy and decided to intervene, drawing confessions with torture and sentencing to death those who dared to meet to practice the magical arts.

The neighbors being accomplices and the executioner of the Holy Inquisition, many of the people died because they were considered witches. Women, men and children accused of witchcraft and some of them tortured and burned alive or in effigy.

The secrets of the coven

Although they were accused of sorcery, the only magic that happened in the covens was that of the experimentation of freedom. A group of people who seek their space to feel free to perform acts that at other times they did not have the opportunity to perform.

A mixture of hallucinogenic substances, suggestion, expression of bodily pleasure, dance and fun were the components that really made up the coven. The only devil to be found in those lands was in the eyes and tongues of those who made accusations out of personal interests.

The devil’s residence are the eyes of the judge

The history of the witches of Zugarramurdi is known, a Navarra town that was the scene of the greatest exponent of the witch hunt in Spain. With the Auto de Fe they carry out a public trial where harsh penalties are applied to those who had been falsely accused.

This part of the story begins with neighborhood conflicts and ends with the recognition by the Inquisition of the lack of evidence to prove the existence of witchcraft. The story leaves between its lines: torture, accusations, collective fear and deaths of innocent people.

Without real witches, or objective evidence beyond rumors and false accusations, the collective mistrust that gives way to such a tragic story is forged. Therefore, the devil was not in the caves of the covens, but in those who looked for guilty where there was only fear.

That the coven does not end

History is cyclical and unfortunately it repeats itself on many occasions. Currently there is no longer talk of witches and pacts with the devil, however, we live other witch hunts where collective fears, insecurities, pressure and ignorance culminate in the persecution of innocent people.

Today many people seek refuge in modern caves where they can express themselves away from the eyes of those neighbors who judge and betray. Today’s witches and witches seek a space in which to unleash their imagination, far from the trials of the modern Inquisition, which is none other than public opinion.

Let the coven continue.