By “Gael”
Reclaiming October 31st a Day for the Fierce Women of Scotland
Last night when I was out walking our firework frightened dog, I watched women (mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts) and some men, trailing after children knocking doors for candy- doors sometimes decorated with those cheap hangings that are becoming the symbols of what was a great tradition but lost to capitalism. And on those hangings, the depictions of evil, cartoonish two dimensional women. The ghoulish, misrepresentation of strong women who were deemed dangerous because they were clever, must stop.
The night of October 31st, 2026, must be marked on Scotland’s calendar not with ghoulish frivolity, but with a profound, resonant act of national reclamation and historical justice.
For too long, this night has been subtly tainted, its ancient roots in Samhain—a time of communion with the ancestors and the ushering in of the dark half of the year—overshadowed by a facile, commercialised version of fear. And what is at the heart of that fear? The image of the ‘evil hag’, the crone, the witch. This is no accident; it is the grotesque, enduring shadow of the Scottish witch trials, a state-sanctioned murder spree that saw an estimated 2,500 to 4,000 people—over 75% of them women—tortured, denounced, and executed.
These women were not figures of evil; they were, overwhelmingly, the poor, the elderly, the marginalised, and the inconvenient. They were the healers, the wise women, and the defiant voices in a society governed by the toxic blend of patriarchal religious fervour and male power. Their state-sanctioned murders were rooted in sexism and class prejudice, a brutal lesson in who held the power and who was deemed disposable. To this day, the legacy of that misogyny lingers, twisting the image of female defiance into the cackling, malevolent ‘witch’ figure.
We must speak the names of the state’s victims, a tangible act of restoring their humanity. Women like Agnes Sampson and Geillis Duncan from the infamous North Berwick trials, whose confessions were extracted through brutal torture; Lilias Adie, who died in prison in 1704 before she could be burned, and whose grave was later desecrated to steal her remains; and the countless, lesser-known women like those from the Fife coastal towns, executed for their poverty and their gender. We remember the names that the state tried to obliterate.
Reclaiming the Crone: The Shield-Maidens and Earth-Shapers of Our Soul
We must tear down this poisonous caricature and replace it with the true, powerful spirit of our ancestors. On October 31st, 2026, let us shift the narrative from the victimised ‘hag’ to the magnificent, strong women of Celtic myth who commanded respect and challenged the norm.
We must honour the raw, elemental power embodied by The Cailleach, the divine hag and Queen of Winter who rules the land from Samhain to Beltane. Often depicted with one eye or blue skin, she is not merely a terrifying figure, but a primal force of nature, credited with shaping the Scottish landscape by accidentally dropping rocks from her creel or striking the ground with her staff. She is the epitome of the wild, untameable ancient female power—the personification of wisdom, endurance, and the cyclical forces of death and rebirth. She is the Crone not to be feared, but to be revered.
Let us also celebrate the warrior sovereignty of the Morrígan, the fierce, shapeshifting ‘Phantom Queen’; Queen Medb (Maeve), the uncompromising ruler who sought to equal her male counterparts; and Scáthach, the legendary Scottish warrior-woman of Skye, who trained heroes. These figures, complex and powerful, represent the unyielding sovereignty and intellectual and martial strength of women, a heritage systematically erased and demonised by the structures of patriarchy and state power.
State Sexism and the Weight of Austerity
Celebrating these figures is not just an academic exercise; it is a direct act of resistance against the state sexism that women in Scotland, under the rule of the UK state, continue to suffer.
The economic reality is stark. Women still shoulder the unbearable weight of austerity policies, which disproportionately strip funding from social care, health, and local services. We see the brutal intersection of this in the gig economy, where women are increasingly trapped in multiple zero-hours contracts—cleaning, caring, or stacking shelves—working exhausting, insecure hours simply to pay the rent and raise their children. This is modern-day state abuse: forcing mothers and carers into a relentless cycle of precarious labour, with no guarantee of stable income or a dignified retirement.
Consider the pension disparity. Women, who historically take time out for caring, or are relegated to lower-paid, part-time work, are currently denied the full economic security of their male counterparts. The sheer injustice served to the WASPI women (Women Against State Pension Inequality) by Westminster’s abrupt changes to the State Pension age is a perfect, callous example of the UK state’s willingness to sacrifice women’s financial security. Official Scottish data confirms that women over State Pension age are more likely to live in poverty than men.
A Day of Honour, Reflection, and Power
Therefore, October 31st, 2026, should be designated as a Day of Women’s Resilience and Historical Justice.
We could have Commemoration and Truth-Telling: The Scottish Government must officially mark the day with a formal act of remembrance for the victims of the witch trials. We must speak their names, acknowledge the state’s historical brutality, and fund public art and education that tells the true story of these state-murdered women.
Education and Empowerment: Schools and community centres should host workshops celebrating the clever, strong women of our past—from mythical figures like the Cailleach to historical innovators, doctors, and campaigners. We reclaim the image of the crone and the wise woman as a source of strength, not fear.
A Fierce Procession: We should replace the fearful costume of the ‘evil witch’ with a procession of strength—a public demonstration celebrating the Morrígan, Scáthach, and the raw, untamed force of the Cailleach. This is a visible, defiant statement that Scotland is a place where women’s strength is celebrated, where the memory of those abused by poverty and patriarchy is honoured, and where the fight for genuine economic and social equality for women is paramount.
This new tradition would be a powerful, symbolic anchor for an independent, fairer Scottish Republic, demonstrating that our commitment to social justice starts by rectifying the deep, gendered injustices of the past and present.
