Halloween, or Samhain (pronounced “sow-win”), originated as a pagan religious festival from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition. In Ireland around 2,000 years ago, Samhain began to welcome in the harvest and usher in “the dark half of the year.” This is when the division between the light half (summer) and the dark half (winter) is most apparent. At Samhain the division between this world and the Otherworld was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through. Some people believe that the barriers between the physical world and the spirit world break down during Samhain, allowing more interaction between humans and spirits of the Otherworld.
When you think of the Halloween witch, you’d be forgiven for picturing an older woman with a pointed hat, hooked nose, green skin, and a broomstick. Grumpy, child-hating, and bent on chaos. This image has been fed to us since childhood, and popularised from children’s books, to Macbeth and The Wizard of Oz. Historically, witches were seen as individuals, mainly women, who made pacts with the Devil for supernatural powers. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, over 90,000 people were accused of witchcraft, with half executed. In Western Europe, the vast majority were women – 90% in England, over 95% in Switzerland, and 76% in France. Women, especially “outsiders” such as unmarried women, those unable to reproduce, those who operated as healers and unofficial midwifes within their communities, or vulnerable women, were often targeted.
In later centuries, women sought to reclaim the title of “witch,” transforming a term of shame into one of empowerment. Among the first was Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, an abstract painter and mystic. As part of “The Five,” a group attempting to contact “The High Masters” through séances, she created abstract works inspired by these spiritual encounters. In 1904, she was directed by the spirit world to begin The Paintings of the Temple, a project that would consume her for nine years and was ultimately installed in a spiritualist temple.
“The pictures were painted directly through me, without any preliminary drawings, and with great force” – Hilma af Klint
Olivia Mansfield’s work delves inward, exploring dreams, transformation, love, loss, and longing. She captures the raw vulnerability we all hold, within an ever-changing and uncertain world. Her work explores the female form with an intense, unyielding focus and a deep exploration of self and the human condition. As Olivia states in her own words, she seeks for her paintings to ‘carry you across the thresholds of other worlds.’
British-Mexican painter Leonora Carrington is a celebrated figure in surrealism, known for exploring the subconscious, dreams, and mystical realms. Carrington famously said, “you may not believe in magic, yet something very strange is happening at this very moment.” She filled her paintings with magical, celestial themes, often inspired by women in her life, including her friendship with fellow surrealist artist Remedios Varo.
Remedios Varo, was a Spanish-born painter who spent from 1941 until her death mostly living in Mexico City “surrounded by cats, stones, crystals and talismans”. Varo – along with her best friend, Carrington – studied and practised ancient forms of witchcraft. Determined to “take back the mysteries which were ours and which were violated”. Both painters delighted in creating cosmic images of formidable women shapeshifting through wonderfully imaginative worlds.
Marina Abramović’s piece Spirit Cooking (1997) used breast milk, urine, menstrual blood, and sperm to create a ‘painting’ which drew recent protests from right-wing Catholics in Poland, who viewed it as Satanic, despite Abramović’s denial of any such connection. Known for pushing boundaries, Abramović explores spiritualism, ritual, and sacrifice. Her works often reference religious and cultural rituals from her Serbian Orthodox upbringing and diverse influences.
An idea from one of Abramović’s recent projects revealed that she wanted to electrify herself with one million volts in order to put out a candle just by pointing at it – as if like magic. In 2023, Marina was the first woman in history to host a major solo exhibition in the main galleries of the Royal Academy.
Juliana Huxtable has a background in human rights and gender studies. She creates art that delves into identity, queerness, and sexuality. Her work spans print, performance, music, and social media, addressing socio-political issues through vivid prose and imagery. Her poetry will transport you into her ‘mythical land’ where ‘black unicorns run freely’ and there is ‘free breakfast for the children’. This imagined utopia references icons like Left Eye and Octavia Butler, merging pop-culture with mythical imagery to portray ideas around black culture and history.
Judy Chicago’s work has often been called boundary-shifting, controversial, and provocative. Through her installations, the feminist artist aims to liberate herself from minimalism and the patriarchy: “My particular belief system sees the miracle of life as God, thus revealing the beauty of the ‘atmosphere’ is a way of manifesting the sacred.”
In her Atmospheres series (1972), a figure are surrounded by coloured fog and fire, creating an eerie scene that hints at ideas of sacrifice and ritual. many of her other works place female figures among nature, portraying them as goddesses through their powerful stances within the rocky landscapes.
Growing up between Beijing, Tokyo, and Singapore, Salomé Wu was deeply influenced by her devoutly Christian grandmother. Though not religious herself, she explored various spiritual practices and philosophies, infusing her art with themes of spirituality and displacement. She aims to capture “the moment when things feel on the edge of bursting,” a nod to the Romantic idea of the sublime and the fragility of life. Her use of repetitive motifs brings a mystical, otherworldly quality to her paintings.
So, this Halloween, why not share these ravishing artworks, works which feel worlds away from the witch tales that helped to demonise women. They celebrate an ancient wisdom, honouring their female subjects rather than exploiting them. They emanate strength, knowledge and power. Most importantly, let’s keep celebrating the women who continue to create them.
