More than 250 artworks, historical documents and cultural objects trace the complex history of witchcraft, from ancient legends and the persecution of accused witches to contemporary spirituality and feminist activism.
BORDEAUX, FRANCE | GOLDEN PAGE NEWS — Culture & Heritage
For centuries, the witch has occupied an uncertain place in the human imagination: feared as a servant of evil, respected as a healer, condemned as a threat to society and, more recently, celebrated as a symbol of independence and resistance.
An exhibition at the Musée d’Aquitaine in Bordeaux is exploring this complicated legacy, taking visitors on a journey through more than 2,000 years of history. Titled Tremblez, tremblez ! Les sorcières sont parmi nous — translated as Tremble, Tremble! The Witches Are Among Us — the exhibition examines how beliefs about witchcraft have evolved from antiquity to the present day, with particular attention to the beliefs, trials and persecutions that affected southwestern France.
Featuring more than 250 objects, including artworks, manuscripts, archival documents, engravings, botanical collections and contemporary creations, the exhibition invites visitors to reconsider a figure whose meaning has changed repeatedly across different societies and historical periods.
Ancient Myths and the Origins of the Witch
The exhibition begins with figures from ancient mythology whose extraordinary powers could be understood as both dangerous and beneficial.
Among them are Circe, the enchantress who transformed the companions of Odysseus into pigs; Medea, the Greek mythological figure associated with magic and poisons; and other powerful female figures such as Hecate, Medusa and Minerva.
Although these characters were not all witches in the strict historical sense, their stories helped establish a lasting cultural association between women, supernatural power, transformation, danger and protection.
According to exhibition curator Sophie Fontan, this duality is central to the history of witchcraft. The witch has long represented both the capacity to protect and the potential to harm, reflecting society’s changing attitudes towards knowledge, power and the unfamiliar.
The exhibition uses these ancient stories as a starting point for examining how different cultures have understood people believed to possess unusual abilities or secret knowledge.
How the Healer Became an Enemy
One of the exhibition’s central questions is how individuals associated with healing, herbal remedies, rituals and traditional knowledge came to be portrayed as threats to society.
During the Middle Ages and early modern period, European communities faced epidemics, famine, conflict and other sources of uncertainty. In such circumstances, accusations of wrongdoing could become a way of explaining collective suffering.
Religious prejudice and fear also contributed to the persecution of marginalised groups, including Jewish communities and people affected by leprosy. Over time, religious writings and demonological treatises helped develop an image of the witch as someone who had entered into an alliance with the Devil.
From the 15th century through the 17th century, witchcraft accusations contributed to widespread trials and executions across Europe. Tens of thousands of people were executed for alleged witchcraft, with women making up the majority of those accused and persecuted.
The exhibition examines how religious beliefs, social anxieties and judicial institutions reinforced one another, turning suspicions and local conflicts into devastating campaigns against alleged witches.
These events also reveal how vulnerable people could become targets when their behaviour, social position or knowledge challenged prevailing expectations.
The Basque Country and the Witchcraft Persecutions of 1609
Southwestern France occupies a significant place in this history.
In 1609, under the authority of King Henry IV, a commission associated with the Parlement of Bordeaux was sent to the Basque Country to investigate allegations of witchcraft. One of its members was Pierre de Lancre, a Bordeaux magistrate whose investigations became closely associated with the persecution of alleged witches in the Labourd region.
Local customs, language, dances and traditional beliefs attracted his suspicion. Practices that were part of community life could be interpreted as evidence of supposedly dangerous or demonic activity.
The resulting investigations and interrogations contributed to a campaign of repression that has become an important episode in the history of witchcraft in France.
In 1612, de Lancre published Tableau de l’inconstance des mauvais anges et démons, a work describing his views on witchcraft and the supposed activities of witches.
The Musée d’Aquitaine now displays a recently acquired edition of the book. Its illustrations depict familiar elements of the historical imagination surrounding witches’ gatherings, including night-time assemblies, the Devil, ritual dances and supposedly harmful potions.
The exhibition uses this material to show how printed works and official investigations helped circulate particular ideas about witchcraft, strengthening beliefs that could have real consequences for those accused.
From Persecution to Folklore and Popular Culture
The decline of witchcraft trials did not mean that beliefs in witches disappeared.
During the 18th century, influential intellectual works increasingly classified witchcraft as superstition. Nevertheless, traditional healing practices, herbal remedies and popular rituals continued in rural communities.
The exhibition highlights Alphonsine Renolleau (1836–1923), popularly known as the Witch of Gazinet, near Cestas in Gironde. People reportedly sought her advice and plant-based remedies, demonstrating how the figure of the witch could remain associated with healing and local knowledge long after the great European witch hunts.
Oral traditions also form part of the exhibition, with regional stories presented in an atmosphere inspired by traditional evening gatherings.
At the same time, the witch became a familiar character in entertainment and popular culture. Fairy tales, theatre, music and cinema developed recognisable images of the frightening enchantress, the wicked old woman and the magical antagonist.
Examples include the character of Carabosse in Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Sleeping Beauty, premiered in 1890, and the Evil Queen in Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in 1937.
These representations helped preserve the witch as a powerful cultural symbol, even as the historical circumstances of persecution receded from everyday experience.
The Modern Witch: A Symbol of Feminism and Resistance
From the 1960s and 1970s onwards, feminist movements began reclaiming the witch as a symbol of resistance to patriarchal authority and the historical control of women.
Rather than accepting the traditional image of the witch as evil or dangerous, some activists embraced her as a figure representing independence, solidarity and resistance to social expectations.
The symbol has since appeared in a range of contemporary movements, including feminist activism, environmental campaigns, alternative spirituality and interest in traditional healing practices.
For some, reclaiming the witch means challenging the historical stigma attached to women who lived outside accepted social roles or possessed forms of knowledge that authorities distrusted. It can also serve as a way to remember those who suffered during witchcraft persecutions.
However, the modern revival raises questions of its own. Can the witch be reclaimed as a symbol of empowerment while historical persecution is remembered accurately? And how should societies distinguish cultural identity, spiritual belief and traditional practice from claims that require scientific scrutiny?
The exhibition does not reduce the witch to a single interpretation. Instead, it presents the figure as a reflection of changing social values, fears and aspirations.
Why This History Still Matters
The history of witchcraft is not simply a story about supernatural beliefs. It is also a history of exclusion, gender, power, knowledge and the ways societies respond to uncertainty.
The people accused of witchcraft lived in very different circumstances, and not every accusation had the same origins. Yet the broader history demonstrates how fear and prejudice can become institutionalised when rumours, ideological beliefs and judicial authority reinforce one another.
The changing image of the witch also reveals how cultural symbols can be reinterpreted. A figure once associated primarily with danger and punishment can later become a symbol of freedom, identity and resistance.
By bringing together ancient mythology, regional history, historical documents and contemporary art, the Musée d’Aquitaine invites visitors to examine both sides of this legacy: the persecution of people accused of witchcraft and the continuing cultural fascination with the witch.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition: Tremblez, tremblez ! Les sorcières sont parmi nous (Tremble, Tremble! The Witches Are Among Us)
Venue: Musée d’Aquitaine, Bordeaux, France
Closing date: 23 May 2027
Opening hours: Every day except Monday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission: €2–€8, according to the supplied exhibition information.
Official website: Musée d’Aquitaine
Halloween and Family Activities
The exhibition is also accompanied by special activities designed for different age groups.
On 31 October, children aged four to eight can take part in creative workshops, storytelling, a performance, temporary tattoos, a ghost hunt and games from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
A separate evening programme for young people aged 15 to 25 is scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., featuring puzzles, a treasure hunt, a DJ set and a costume competition.
Additional guided visits and workshops to create protective charms, known in French as gris-gris, are listed for 8, 15 and 29 November, and 13 and 20 December, with the workshops open to participants aged seven and above. Visitors should check the museum’s official website for current availability and booking arrangements.
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