Women, Witches and Herbals

WOMEN, WITCHES AND HERBALS

A Zoom Presentation by Susan Bockius

THE PRESENTATION:  From roughly the Sixth to the Twelfth Centuries, the Christian Church and its hierarchy moved to consolidate European lands.  This produced both controversy and conciliation with local religious practice.  Women in indigenous cultures practiced healing based on the use of local plants, yielding generally good effects for their communities.  But Christianity had only a limited place for this kind of female participation and some women healers were re-cast as witches. 

THE PRESENTER:  Susan Bockius is a returning native of Northwest Philadelphia (since the year 2000), and active in a number of local cultural organizations:  e.g., Germantown Science and Art Club, The Germantown Historical Society, The Unitarian Society of Germantown, The Study Class of Germantown, and Northwest Village Network.  It has been a rich environment to settle into for retirement.