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Belief in ghosts, malevolent spirits, witches and other elements of the supernatural was typical in Elizabethan times (the late 16th century). Witches were considered a physical manifestation of evil and a threat to society's moral and religious fiber. This was the era of witch hunts and witch trials, a period that lasted from 1400 to 1700, culminating in the famous Salem witch trials of the late 1600s. Under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, England passed the 1562 Elizabethan Witchcraft Act forbidding "conjurations, enchantments and witchcrafts."
pDifferent types of people were considered witches. Women who concocted herbal remedies were suspect, as were midwives. Superstition dictated that someone who owned a black cat might be a witch using the pet as her familiar. Typical targets of witchcraft accusations were the old, poor, unprotected, widows and the unmarried. Historians emphasize the fact that witch hunt victims were typically women.oster yourself
Some historians theorize that witches conducted their work in the same manner in the Elizabethan era as they did in earlier times, just more covertly. White witches, or those who worked in healing traditions, would have been considered as useful as doctors. They apprenticed under elders in the healing arts, and used their potions and spells as remedies. They are the predecessors to today's Wicca practitioners, using their skills for the common good.
