Witch

In the old Slavonic religion, in Serbs as well, a witch is a woman of demonic attributes. She is not a mythical being, but a woman possessing supernatural powers. Her effect on people around her, particularly on those close to her, was harmful, sometimes even fatal. Only the elderly married ones or those who used to be married could be witches. It was believed that they sucked blood and ate hearts, thus killing those she attacked. They usually prayed on small children, and were especially cruel to their own families and members of their own households. They also prayed on good specimens of livestock: calves, lambs, foals, etc. One could become a witch in two ways: by birth or on one’s own free will. It was also believed that witches could turn into certain animals: a hen, a turkey or any other bird, but particularly into a type of a moth called ‘a witch’. It was said that one could tell if a woman was a witch by certain signs: a wall-eyed woman or one with connected eyebrows would be declared a witch. An evil eye was a special feature of a witch. Women turned into witches by rubbing a “witch ointment” on their skin, they also gathered in covens at crossroads, in firewood sheds or under a walnut tree, always on Saturday nights and on the eve of a holiday or a festivity, on Christmas Eves, Carnivals, St George’s Days or before Easter. Also, it was believed that the Midsummer Eve or St John’s Eve was full of evil mythical beings. Then one could see witches flying through the air in forms of sparkles or other luminescent objects.