Quick witch history
The Fist written account is in the Old Testament’ Book of Samuel, from around 1,000-500BC. The Witch of Endor. Though, witch is a modern word. She was “a woman, possessor of an ’ōḇ at Endor.” An ōḇ could be a ritual pit, a spirit, a talisman. Suffice, female, conjuring dead spirits with rituals. As she was the last remaining witch or necromancer (others had been driven out of Israel) there must have been a long history of people who practised an opposite and certainly unsanctioned view on ritual.

Witches at Stonehenge
Before the Witch of Endor, and nearer home, the cremation cemetery that was the early Stonehenge, must have involved not only, respect for the black ash and white bones of the dead, but some kind of afterlife belief, some kind of communion. In short, some kind of magic. So too, the pine posts from 10,000 years ago. They could have been simple land ownership markers, a serviceable calendar. Perhaps a good utilitarian spot to tie up your as yet undomesticated pet auroch. Of course, there was respectable ritual involved.

White hat vs black hat
And it is only human, that there should be legal, shop bought, official rites. And homemade, backstreet, darker, dangerous spells. A heaven and a hell. Good gods and bad gods. Scriptures and the occult.

That witches, necromancers, satanists would be allowed to perform at Stonehenge, in that hollowed ground, I doubt it. But, for sure, in desperation a king with authority would, could, have sanctioned a dark magic, just like Saul.

Today, too, would English Heritage have, once more, allowed the public access with the stone circle on solstice and equinox days had the white robed, do-gooder druids been replaced with warty, black hatted hags?

In my other life as a witch photographer, telling tall tales and selling magical pictures around the fairs and markets of the Welsh Marches, I’d often meet, mostly women, who described themselves as witches. When asked if they were a good witch or a bad? Always, always described as good, as a folk healer. When asked if they knew of any bad witches, as I had a job for one, would recoil, and absolutely deny any relationships nor knowledge.

You just cannot find a black witch, these days.

Skyclad
But in these set of pictures we have black as night witches, dancing, merrily, naked, around Stonehenge, wearing customary hats. Therefore, they must be good witches, white witches, just caught in silhouette, else English Heritage would not allow them to practice their occult nudity at Stonehenge.

The last naked dancing witch event I attended was the Winter Solstice 2010 under a red moon on The Stiperstones — a dangerous photographic assignment. I don’t get invited to nearly enough ritual nudity parties. Please send invites via the above form.