An ancient festival held around February 15 that became popular among the ancient Roman and even earlier Greeks. Originally for the purpose of averting evil spirits and purifying cities, it became associated with fertility leading to some licentious rituals, often including flogging. Named after the Roman god Lupercus, who is associated with Faunus, the equivalent of the Greek Pan.
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Alice Markham-Cantor, author of the new Once & Future Witch Hunt.
My 9x-great-grandmother, Martha Carrier, was hanged in the Salem witch trials. She wasn't a witch. She wasn't an herbalist or a...