From flying ointments to healing herbs: the forgotten chemistry behind historical witchcraft practices
By 
Victoria Atkinson2025-09-08T08:48:00
The unusual concoctions of village witches have historically been dismissed as nonsense hocus pocus – but is this the whole story? Victoria Atkinson investigates the chemistry behind the myth and whether there was more to witchcraft than ritual and superstition
Could the cauldron-stirring witches of folklore have been early chemists in disguise? Victoria Atkinson explores how the herbal remedies and rituals of so-called witches may have been grounded in real pharmacological knowledge, long before chemistry emerged as a formal science. Drawing on insights from historians and phytochemists, the article reveals how plant-based compounds used in spells and potions often had genuine physiological effects – ranging from hallucinations to healing – while also unpacking the social and gender dynamics that led to persecution. What if the magic was just misunderstood science all along?