Are witches fearful of viewing dead bodies? I ask this as a Roman Catholic pro-life activist. Women react almost violently to our graphic images of aborted babies, and I recall being told once that witches are fearful of seeing dead bodies.
Although I recently wrote an article on witchcraft for This Rock (“Witchcraft 101,” July-August 2008), I do not recall reading anywhere that self-identified witches were afraid of dead bodies.
I am curious though why you would speculate that women who react violently to graphic images of abortion might be witches. There could be any number of reasons why the women you’ve encountered have reacted in the way you report. Here are a few I can think of off the top of my head, none of which have to do with witchcraft:
Many people are repulsed by graphic images of suffering and death, particularly when they are not prepared to see such images. Although pro-life activists who favor graphic images of abortion defend them by comparing them to photographs of the Holocaust, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum warns visitors of the graphic nature of the pictures they will see, discourages the viewing of them by children 10 and under, and places the most disturbing films in locations where only those who deliberately choose to view them can do so.
Women in particular, who have a vocation to nurturing and to motherhood, may feel particularly repulsed by the suffering and death of children. This is especially so if they have children of their own who have been exposed to such images without their consent and are seeking to protect their children.
Then, of course, there are the women who have experienced abortion. Whether or not they understand the nature of the act they chose, they will understandably feel particularly repulsed seeing the suffering and death of babies. Seeing such images without preparation or consent may well be the spiritual equivalent of ripping off the covering from a poorly-bandaged, unhealed wound. The reactions you witness may well be the spiritual equivalent of the lashing out of a wounded animal.
I recognize that there is a place in pro-life activism for graphic images of abortion; but, in my personal opinion, they should not be shown to those who have not given their express consent to view them and they should not be shown to children without parental consent.
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