Osculum infame
Encyclopedia
Osculum infame is the name of a witch’s supposed ritual greeting upon meeting with the Devil
. The name means The Shameful Kiss, or The Kiss of Shame since it involved kissing the devil's anus, his other mouth. According to folklore, it was this kiss that allowed the Devil to seduce women.
, many believed that witches worshipped the Devil and paid him homage by kissing his posterior. The osculum infame is mentioned in nearly every single recorded account of a witches' sabbat and in confessions – most of which were extracted under torture. It was called the kiss of shame because it was generally regarded as an act of degradation.
According to the allegations, witches would give the kiss of shame at the beginning of the sabbat, after the Devil had read the names of his followers. They would approach him by crawling or walking backwards, turn, bow and kiss his posterior. It was believed that this kiss was required for a new witch to be initiated
, and the kiss was followed by feasting.
Sometimes, it was said, witches kissed not only the Devil's fundament, but lower-ranking demon
s' as well.
Generally considered to be an act of homage, or respect, the North Berwick Witch Trials
of Scotland in the 16th century held that the kiss was an act of penance issued from the Devil. Reported in Newes from Scotland, declaring the damnable Life of Doctor Fian (1592) by W. Wright:
Belief held that the Devil demanded the kiss of shame in forms other than human, including rams, black cats, and toads. Errores Haereticorum, a medieval tract, claims that the Cathar
s took their name "from the term cat, whose posterior they kiss, in whose form Satan
appears to them."
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
. The name means The Shameful Kiss, or The Kiss of Shame since it involved kissing the devil's anus, his other mouth. According to folklore, it was this kiss that allowed the Devil to seduce women.
The Kiss of Shame
During the years of the witch huntsWitch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
, many believed that witches worshipped the Devil and paid him homage by kissing his posterior. The osculum infame is mentioned in nearly every single recorded account of a witches' sabbat and in confessions – most of which were extracted under torture. It was called the kiss of shame because it was generally regarded as an act of degradation.
According to the allegations, witches would give the kiss of shame at the beginning of the sabbat, after the Devil had read the names of his followers. They would approach him by crawling or walking backwards, turn, bow and kiss his posterior. It was believed that this kiss was required for a new witch to be initiated
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...
, and the kiss was followed by feasting.
Sometimes, it was said, witches kissed not only the Devil's fundament, but lower-ranking demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s' as well.
Generally considered to be an act of homage, or respect, the North Berwick Witch Trials
North Berwick witch trials
The North Berwick witch trials were the trials in 1590 of a number of people from East Lothian, Scotland, accused of witchcraft in the St Andrew's Auld Kirk in North Berwick. They ran for two years and implicated seventy people. The accused included Francis Stewart, 5th Earl of Bothwell on charges...
of Scotland in the 16th century held that the kiss was an act of penance issued from the Devil. Reported in Newes from Scotland, declaring the damnable Life of Doctor Fian (1592) by W. Wright:
- ...and seeing that they tarried over long, hee at their coming enjoyed them all to a pennance, which was, that they should kisse his buttockes, in sign of duety to him, which being put over the pulpit bare, every one did as he had enjoyned them.
Belief held that the Devil demanded the kiss of shame in forms other than human, including rams, black cats, and toads. Errores Haereticorum, a medieval tract, claims that the Cathar
Cathar
Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries...
s took their name "from the term cat, whose posterior they kiss, in whose form Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
appears to them."