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Copyright © 2024 by Sophie Saint Thomas

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Cover illustration by Tanvi Baghele

Print book cover and interior design by Amanda Richmond

Library of Congress Control Number: 2024942015

ISBNs: 978-0-7624-8529-1 (paperback), 978-0-7624-8530-7 (ebook)

E3-20240822-JV-NF-ORI

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

A Note on Language

Chapter 1: ABORTION, ALLIGATOR DUNG, AND THE BEAUTIFULLY ADORNED ANCIENTS

Chapter 2: DOUBLE, DOUBLE, BOILS, AND TROUBLE IN EUROPE: WITCHES BURN AND INQUISITORS BABBLE

Chapter 3: WITCH HUNTS IN COLONIAL AMERICA (THE REAL AND THE HYSTERICAL)

Chapter 4: EUGENICS, ORGIES, GLAMOROUS ABORTIONISTS, AND THE CARNIVAL WORKER WHO STARTED IT ALL

Chapter 5: SATANIC PANIC, REAGAN ASTROLOGY, AND BOMBS OVER CHRISTMAS

Chapter 6: BLOOD-DRINKING PIZZA PARTIES AND GOING GAY FOR ABORTION RIGHTS

Conclusion

Sources

Acknowledgments

Discover More

Resources and Places to Donate

Praise for "Reproductive Rites"

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Table of Contents

This book is dedicated to
Major Tom Cat, my familiar who,
along with the lights of New York City,
kept me company during the many sleepless
yet productive nights over the year
this book was written.

And to my parents.
I’m glad that you’re okay with an
orange tabby named after
David Bowie as your grandchild.

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INTRODUCTION

If you’re searching for a nice book on reproductive rights, this one isn’t for you. Put it down before Ron DeSantis sees, seriously. From the use of crocodile-dung suppositories to obtain an abortion in antiquity to Donald Trump’s golden toilet, the imagery and themes present in the cultural history of pregnancy and political witch hunts reek of hypocrisy (and sometimes just reek), and this book isn’t afraid to go there.

Reproductive Rites will seek to astonish you by presenting the unvarnished truth behind the thousands of years of history that led us to our current climate when it comes to abortion, birth control, and reproductive justice, as well as revealing the witches and witch hunts along the way. Whether you’re uncovering reproductive trailblazers like Madame Restell, the “murderess” of Fifth Avenue in nineteenth-century New York, or contemporary activism through hexing anti-choice politicians, brace yourself for startling revelations.

We’ll begin by exploring the landscape of reproductive justice and health care before the time of Jesus Christ. This era for the ancients was marked by a yearly calendar aligned with the three cycles of the Nile. (Fitting, given a modern reader might have other trimesters on their mind.) As you delve into the abortion practices and intimate lives of the elite from antiquity, it’s easy to forget the era you’re reading about. The echoing of these dynamics is all too familiar, whether it involves a politician (be it a president or a pharaoh) wanting to bang their own daughter, a government promoting reproduction during times of war, or, as seen quite literally in the case of alleged hysterectomies in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, a regime stripping away the health-care rights of those deemed inconvenient. If it feels as though little has evolved over the span of four thousand years, it’s because, in many aspects, it truly hasn’t.

Reproductive Rites is ripe with juicy legends, from the role of rape in the formation of Rome; to the historical burying (and ultimate #witchesofIG reclamation) of Lilith, Adam’s alleged first wife, cast out for wanting to get on top during sex; to the infamous QAnon-propelled rumor that Hillary Clinton was partying with Lady Gaga by drinking babies’ blood and eating pizza in a Washington, DC, party wilder than any I’ve ever been invited to.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the #witchesofIG hashtag might have included images of QAnon-believing, antivax wellness influencers, death enveloped the nation. Conservatives, commendably organized, capitalized on the prevalent fear, medical apprehension, and societal turmoil to push anti-abortion stances and other right-wing measures, including the criminalization of teaching children about trans-inclusive reproductive health care and outlawing drag queens in public. Looking on history, transitioning from ancient times to the Middle Ages, this 2020s scenario recalls events such as the animosity toward Asian people when merchant ships from Asia arrived in Sicily in October 1347 bearing deceased sailors and survivors riddled with pus-filled boils. Pandemics create ideal conditions for using collective crises as a pretense to reinforce social hierarchies, so it’s no surprise that the Black Death stands as a grim milestone in the narratives of both reproductive rights and witch hunts, which peaked in what historians commonly term the “Great Hunt” between 1550 and 1650.

Together, we’ll delve into some of these sensationalized witch hunts, like what happened in Salem in 1692, juxtaposing them against the authentic ones that had much greater human costs but are missing from the zeitgeist. Often, these genuine witch hunts are overlooked by the same contemporary witches who deny the influence of oppressive cultures on their own practices, the cultures that subjected Native peoples to brutality, enslaved Black people, and launched attacks on trans women far more lethal than the Salem trials. While the modern witchcraft movement may pride itself on inclusivity, those same white supremacist and colonialist influences continue to propel white women to the forefront while stifling the marginalized cultures the practice draws from.

Of all historical witch hunts, the Inquisition (the medieval Inquisition’s bloodiest dates spanned from the 1250s through the mid-fifteenth century) remains noteworthy for its genuine belief in witches, amplified by real violence and persecution. This period was not just marked by bloodshed but also distinguished by the way accusations and their consequences emerged as a source of entertainment, with periodicals of the era brimming with more gossip than present-day celebrity Instagram accounts like @deuxmoi. Here we’ll uncover the tale of Béatrice de Planisoles, a figure in the Fournier Register, an epic set of historical records kept by a cruel man named Jacques Fournier documenting the life of medieval peasants. Although Fournier originated as a peasant himself, his relentless witch-hunting propelled him to prominence, eventually earning him the title of Pope Benedict XII of Avignon in 1334. Incarcerated on charges of witchcraft, Béatrice’s actual transgression was her audacity to relish sex postmenopause (though the menstrual blood in her possession might have fascinated a New Orleans Voodoo enthusiast).

Amid the havoc wrought by the Black Death and the Inquisition, the Middle Ages saw witches being increasingly associated with the devil. If the devil proposed a financial incentive in exchange for one’s soul, especially when one was being evicted from their home due to escalating private land enclosures, who wouldn’t be tempted to negotiate? Once upon a time, science and the divine weren’t considered warring enemies. This era unfortunately severed the bond between magic and medicine, increasingly linking midwives to diabolical entities. It’s true; some families, in desperation and absence of reliable birth control or abortion, abandoned infants in forests, perhaps convincing themselves they had struck a pact with the devil and he would take the child, or maybe hallucinating due to the psychedelic of yesteryear: ergot fungi consumption. (And if you thought QAnon pioneered the idea that the elite engage in Satanic rituals using babies’ blood to achieve a radiance superior to Botox, think again.)

In the late sixteenth century, many Puritans—as depicted in the 2015 film The Witch (or VVitch), starring Anya Taylor-Joy and (spoiler alert) featuring a witch procuring baby’s blood in the New England woods—relocated to the New World seeking freedom from the Church of England, which was far too liberal for their tastes. Even as they made the journey in large numbers, others, like Sir Matthew Hale, remained. Hale is infamous for burning witches, disbelieving in rape within marriage, and enjoying a posthumous comeback four hundred years later when Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito cited his work in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case that overturned the constitutional right to abortion in the United States.

As we reach the nineteenth century, I’ll introduce you to Madame Restell. Her story is a captivating rags-to-riches tale of a Manhattan immigrant, originally from an English town, enamored with the pagan god Pan, the same deity admired by the English occultist Aleister Crowley. As a midwife, she performed abortions and earned the notorious reputation of being hell’s representative on earth. Her shocking death is not the most surprising detail about her.

In the early twentieth century, Crowley, the “most wicked man in the world,” took us back to Egypt after persuading a guard to let him spend a night in the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid with his new wife (the latest incarnation of the Scarlet Woman, his version of the Whore of Babylon). His infamous rituals involved “sacrificing” himself—code for bottoming—in the name of Pan, an ancient Greek god of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Ozzy Osbourne howls about Crowley in metal songs, and many self-identified witches today have his books, such as The Book of the Law, on their shelves. The guy’s often credited with inventing sex magic. Crowley founded the religion Thelema, whose members included L. Ron Hubbard, the infamous founder of Scientology. Oh, did you think being obsessed with sex would make him supportive of reproductive rights? Nope. Crowley wrote against abortion. But he allegedly approved of spiritual eugenics, the belief that through selective (read: racist) breeding, one could create a superhuman, a man-god, a pharaoh, if you will. Yes, just like in Dune.

But, of course, eugenics wasn’t limited to those who invoked the left-handed path, which means a life dedicated to Satan. Until Hitler’s Final Solution, well, finally gave eugenics a bad rap, the most respected scientists in America believed that some (nondisabled attractive white) people should have as many babies as possible, while Black people were involuntarily given hysterectomies. Or castrated—they didn’t limit this evil to women. And even Margaret Sanger, the founder of the organization that would become Planned Parenthood, got in on the eugenics trend in the period after World War I (mainly because it offered an avenue to promote birth control after any early attempts at sex positivity failed).

Moving closer to the present day, we’ll have probably too much fun during the 1980s. We’ll delve into the Reagans’ decision to consult an astrologer to advise them on significant political choices, while at the same time they propagated an occult-inspired Satanic Panic, aiming to bolster anti-choice conservatism. Interestingly, these Hollywood elites—according to their daughter—didn’t even entirely subscribe to anti-choice beliefs themselves. In a twist of irony, the era’s actual Satanists (including the notorious Anton LaVey, the Church of Satan founder who upheld the theatrical Satanic tradition), like Crowley, actually wrote against abortion. Then there’s the McMartin preschool trial. Recognized as the costliest criminal trial in American history, it’s akin to a modern-day Salem Witch Trial in which children were manipulated into claiming that Satan (one actually said it was Chuck Norris), invoked by their *gasp* unmarried teacher and his older grandmother, raped them. This was instigated by adults desperately seeking to reinforce a potent political narrative. We’ll also delve into the Reagan administration’s handling—using the term loosely—of the AIDS crisis and the complex interplay between queer and reproductive rights.

Finally, you’ll encounter contemporary occultists like Dakota Bracciale, who organized the “Ritual to Hex Brett Kavanaugh,” and Jex Blackmore, a prominent figure on the left-handed path and abortion activist known for taking the abortion pill live on FOX. Also in the present day, it may surprise you to discover a burgeoning pro-life movement that isn’t solely composed of conservative Christians. This movement boasts its own #ACAB icons and represents an emerging anticapitalist, socially conscious, punk music–inspired stance against abortion.

Armed with this history, we must recognize that the original Roe decision establishing the constitutional right to abortion might not have been comprehensive enough. We should consider starting anew, drawing inspiration from the fervor of those conservatives who painstakingly reversed it. We need to build a foundation for abortion rights more solid than a single reversible court ruling. And as we seek to reestablish our rights, our approach should be underpinned by a genuine respect for human life, devoid of the pro-life movement’s violence, like the organized attacks on abortion clinics. Something good that Christianity, and all major religions, do is teach that one can find value even in rough times, and the grace of the end of Roe is that we have an opportunity to build something better.

If I’ve done my job well, this book, like the reproductive justice movement itself, will cater to all: those who have or plan to have children, are unsure, or are resolutely opposed; the agnostic, the devoted Satanist, the witch, or the Christian in search of a compelling history lesson; and people of all genders and sexes—because while cisgender men have caused harm, so have their wives, and we can’t make real progress if we exclude men from the discussions, or if witches continue egregiously branding coven meetings as moon circles and continue to ostracize trans women.

The overturning of Roe is a reality. The tide seems to be turning against the pro-choice movement, even if a majority of Americans still support abortion rights. And the far-flung oppressors you’ll meet in these pages didn’t just kill witches; they erased them from history and credited men with their achievements. It’s time to reverse that decision.

So can you handle the truth, witch?