The flying ointment was the most feared and revered of magical concoctions in the folklore of medieval witchcraft. Made from a litany of transgressive ingredients—poisons, psychedelics, animal parts and human remains—this substance was believed to grant humans the power of supernatural flight, with which they could speak to spirits, wander unseen, and travel forth by night to meet the Devil. The history of flying ointment and its use in the magical arte walks the line between fact and fiction, existing as both a historical reality and a corpus of folk-belief.
 
In this lecture, we will explore the historical, botanical, and magical aspects of flying ointments, and how their perception has changed over time. We will cover a brief history of magical poisons, the appearance of flying ointments during the European Witch Trials, and historical evidence for their recipes and employment. We will also encounter myths and folklore about the effects of these ointments, and the variety of spirits, devils, and demons which accompany their use.
 
Recorded February 2025