Green Magic and Gendered Knowledge: Witches, Healing, and Herbal Resistance

Abstract

This paper explores the connection between medicinal plants and witchcraft in literature and folklore. It begins with the historical link between witches and botanical knowledge, showing how plants served in healing and sparked accusations of sorcery. A literary reading of Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1995[1623]) highlights how herbs symbolize power and subversion. The study draws from European folklore and early modern texts to show plants as both empowering and persecuted symbols. It then bridges folklore with science by examining the pharmacological basis of traditional remedies. Finally, it looks at how modern herbalists and neo-pagan witches reclaim this knowledge for holistic healing. Combining literary, historical, and scientific perspectives, the paper reveals the cultural depth of plant-based witchcraft.