The witch has long been more than a woman of “ill repute”—she has been a healer, folk doctor, herbalist, and midwife whose knowledge and independence have consistently posed a threat to entrenched power structures. Labeling women as “witches” has historically served to silence and punish those who challenge the status quo.
From the witch trials of Salem to the red-baiting of McCarthyism, so-called “witch-hunts” have functioned as tools of repression, sowing fear, distrust, and division to preserve the social order. Today, in a time of rising misogyny, violence against women, and efforts to erode their rights, the witch re-emerges—both in pop culture and in political consciousness—as a figure of resistance and renewal.
This salon invites us to reflect on the figure of the witch as a lens for understanding power, fear, and freedom.
Together, we’ll explore: What can we learn from witches—and the fear they inspire? What does the witch’s power represent, and where does it come from? How have witches been portrayed across cultures—and misrepresented in Western media? What might a society that celebrated witches look like? Why does the witch endure as a cultural icon—and what might she still teach us?
Pam Grossman is a writer, curator, and teacher of magical practice and history. She is the host of The Witch Wave podcast and the author of Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power and What Is A Witch.
Sylvia Lavin is Professor of History and Theory of Architecture at Princeton University. Her most recent book is Architecture Itself and Other Postmodernization Effects, co-published by Spector Books and the Canadian Centre for Architecture.
Natasha Lennard is the associate director of the Creative Publishing & Critical Journalism graduate program at the New School for Social Research in New York. She is the author of Violence: Humans in Dark Times and Being Numerous: Essays on Non-Fascist Life.
Saya Woolfalk is a New York based artist who uses science fiction and fantasy to re-imagine the world in multiple dimensions.
The presentations will be accompanied by the screening of a series of short videos cut specifically for Salon 55.
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