“Not on the Thorn, Not on the Bush: Night Flight, Witchcraft, & Nocturnal Attack in the Balkan Folk Tradition”

“Not on the thorn, not on the bush, not on the stone, not on the tree, but in the field under the walnut tree!” – there are countless oral charms recorded under this general formula as being chanted by Balkan witches with the dual purpose of loosening the bonds between their souls and bodies, as well as those of their victims. Mirroring initiations into witchcraft, in which the witch’s soul is torn apart, its humanity shred and transformed, bonded with new souls from allied plants, animals, spirits, and patrons—oral charms, rituals, and sorcerous techniques for spirit or night flight frequently refer to the trees, plants, and spirits thought to rule the ability to disjoin spirit from flesh. Trees like the walnut, willow, elder, and pear—all feared for their links to fairies, night hags, and demons—emerge within these rites as the protectors of witches and the snares of those they vampirize…