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The origins of the pointy black hat
The stereotypical image of a Witch always includes a pointy black hat, along with the black cat and black cast iron cauldron. The pointy black hat undoubtedly belongs to the Witch and everyone knows a Witches hat when they see one. Most modern Witches gave up wearing the hat and about the only places one is to be seen these days are in fancy dress and at Halloween.
The Witches hat may derive from the wearing of horns as a sign of power. Moon Goddesses often wore horns as symbols of the crescent horns of the Moon in its waxing and waning phases. Witchcraft author, Doreen Valiente mentions Stone Age cave paintings in which figures are depicted wearing pointy headdresses.
According to the magazine Biblical Archaeology review, a 22 inch tall, gold, conical object, whose place, date and circumstances of its discovery remain shrouded in mystery, is now thought to be a headdress worn during religious ceremonies. Fragments of leather or felt found inside the cone support the designation of a hat. A soft lining would have transformed the uncomfortable cone into a wearable headdress. The cone even has a brim, just like a typical Witches hat.
The Shamans of Siberia wear a special hat, called a 'Dayligda', which itself possesses power. Its design is often specified by the Shaman's particular helping spirits and is specific to different types of healings. These hats are made of leather, fish skin, cotton fabric or sacred streamers and usually have small, carved spirits sewn onto them.
In ancient Rome, pagan priests of Jupiter, called Flamen, wore a conical headdress. Heretics, often associated with Witches as enemies of the Church, wore the conical hat and it is thought that it was this Heretic hat that was the predecessor of the Dunce Cap, a humiliating, conical cap enforced upon naughty school children.
A less unpleasant instance of the conical hat in history is in the costume many associate with a typical princess, the 'Hennin'. The hennin is the pointy hat with a veil attached which was a ladies fashion item in the 1440's. Another historical hat was the 'Copataine' which was worn as a riding hat. The Copataine was made of very stiff material with a veil or tie underneath the chin to keep the hat secured. The tallness of the hat may have been exaggerated by artists until it became the typical Witches hat.
John Mumford, author of Sexual Occultism, sees the Witches hat as another symbol of what is known in Hinduism as the Lingam - Yoni. This is a sacred object which consists of a basin in the shape of a vagina ( Yoni ) and a sort of pillar set within the basin which represents the penis ( Lingam ). The Lingam and Yoni represent the God Shiva and the Goddess Parvati in eternal union, thus in a state of constant creation. Devout Hindus libate the Lingam - Yoni with substances such as melted butter or ghee, milk and marigold petals. Mumford sees in the Witches hat the Yoni represented by the brim, and the Lingam represented by the point.
Another theory is that the Crown Chakra forms a conical shape when tuned into Earth Energies. This has led Hamish Miller, well - known Dowser and Healer to state that "...there is little doubt that the original concept of its ( the Witches hat ) shape came from people who could see the energy field. "
The Witches hat is also representative of the 'Cone of Power', an energy form created within the Magick Circle by circumambulation, chanting, or concentration and used as the propellant of the Coven's will toward its goal. The Coven is symbolised by the brim of the hat, and the Cone of Power by the point. In Witchcraft systems which have three degrees of advancement, the symbol of the third degree ( where the Witch becomes a High Priestess or Priest ) is usually an upright Pentagram crowned with a point - upwards triangle. As master/mistress of the Cone of Power, the High Priest/ess, symbolically and literally, wears the Witches hat.
You don't need to be a member of a Coven or a High Priest/ess to adopt the Witches hat. If you are a Witch, the hat belongs to you. A hat can be made from leather, stiff velvet, fur or vinyl, or even purchased from a craft stall.
If you don't want to wear the hat, you don't have to - but keep in mind that it is the Witches hat, no one elses hat, and as a Witch it is your hat. Try it on.
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