How folklore inspired the Green Witch
Curious about the origins of the iconic green-skinned witch? Discover the fascinating history behind this spooky symbol.
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Most of us are familiar with the green-skinned witch trope, partly due to the infamous Wicked Witch of the West from the film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
The witch is depicted as a green-skinned crone who rides a broomstick and is – as her name suggests – inherently wicked. This trope continued for decades after the film was released, especially as it became a timeless and classic piece of cinema.
As well as being a fantastical and villainous, magical woman, the green-skinned witch has also become a staple of the spooky season. Ornaments and decorations of the green-skinned witch are common around Halloween.
The green witch became more of a sympathetic figure in the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is more famously known now by the musical adaptation Wicked.
Despite the green-skinned witch being so iconic, it’s difficult to pin down exactly where she came from. However, various folklore elements played a part in her conception.
With this in mind, this article examines how the green-skinned witch is connected to folklore and how this portrayal developed over time.
Green witches in folklore
As a colour, green has connections to magic and witchkind within folklore, which is sure to have contributed to the idea of the green-skinned witch.
Green was often connected to mystery, the supernatural, and nature. It is still significantly linked to nature today, but it was somewhat different in medieval times.
In mythology and folklore of this era, green was more associated with the untamed elements of nature. This wild and unpredictable aspect of nature was linked to the idea of witches and their strong magical prowess, forever connecting them with the colour green.
The colour green didn’t always have negative connotations when it came to witches though. Green witches were a type of witch known to use herbs and plants along with their magic to heal and help others.
However, there was always an element of potential danger to witches, no matter how benevolent they might seem. Magic was usually depicted as unpredictable, much like nature, and so witches by association could not be completely trusted.
The idea of the green witch stems from this connection of magic and nature with the colour green in mythology and folklore.
Wicked witches
With the rise of witch hunts in the early modern era and medieval times, witches became feared and hated. Witch hunts targeted and vilified women thought to be linked to witchcraft. Fear among everyday people and religious persecution caused significant chaos, leading to the deaths of many innocent women.
Although green skin wasn’t a defining trait at that time, people started to believe that witches had deformities and imperfections. This is where the idea of the green-skinned witch started to evolve.
Witches were unnatural, demonic beings, different from those deemed 'normal', leading to all sorts of odd, grotesque visuals that carried over into art and literature of the time.
The Wizard of Oz and the green witch
The portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz cemented the idea of the evil green-skinned witch in popular culture.
Although the original book by L. Frank Baum did not mention green skin, the film portrayed the witch as such, though this was likely to emphasise the new, technicolour technology of the time. However, the popularity of the film led to the growth of the villainous green-skinned witch trope.
Wicked’s green witch
Gregory Maguire’s book on which the musical Wicked is based turned the evil green-skinned witch notion on its head. The book – a revisionist take on The Wizard of Oz novel – offers a more sympathetic take on the Wicked Witch of the West. For starters, she gets a name this time around!
Elphaba is not merely a green-skinned villain in the novel or the musical. Instead, she is a victim of prejudice who is shunned for being different. The Broadway adaptation did even more to humanise Elphaba, making her feel like a real person who suffers simply for the way she looks.
The green witch has undergone some major transformations since its origins in folklore and mythology.
From the green witches of nature to the green-skinned villainous witch to the misunderstood green witch facing the pressures of societal injustice, it’s clear that this is a trope that has been through a great deal of change over the centuries.
With the successful release of the film adaptation of the Wicked musical, the perspective of the Green Witch continues to shift and change to this day.
