The terror of invisible, impossible-to-predict, and defeat plagues must have fueled the imagination of many. As it turns out, although today's medical knowledge gives us a chance to combat, or at least explain most infectious diseases, we quickly revert to old habits if taken by surprise. The experience of the pandemic has shown that psychological mechanisms such as the search for a culprit, previously enacted by scapegoats, ghouls, the dead, and witches found within the community, is still alive in us, as proven by countless conspiracy theories that have arisen in recent years. For example, this phenomenon is perfectly illustrated by statistics on anti-Semitic crimes in Germany, of which 2275, the highest number in 20 years, were committed in 20201.
Also, ancient beliefs, seemingly outdated for hundreds of years, now powered by overwhelming anguish, spontaneously revived, giving room to magical practices. In the first months of the pandemic, astrology and occultism online popularity increased significantly. In March and April, the number of ghost mentions increased by 83% compared to January and February 20202. Years ago, one of the many mystical-magical methods intertwined with the Christian tradition of protecting oneself from the morose air was to mark a boundary around the village by plowing the land with a sled pulled by a pair of twin oxen and steered by twins3. Today, again, facing an unexpected threat of unprecedented scope, the goal, often taking surprising forms, has become to regain a sense of control. Those who failed to snatch at least a bit of causality from reality have another option: denial.
'In provocative and resistant battle with these impure forces, Western European peoples use water, fire, uproar, circumventing (staggering or plowing), or just turning their backs in silence,' — wrote Henryk Biegeleisen in 'Lecznictwo Ludu Polskiego (1929)4. Having to deal with anxiety, frustration, and lack of knowledge, we will embrace anything as long as it brings relief. In fact, a surprisingly modern Petrycy of Pilsen* highlighted the importance of a psychological aspect as early as the 17th century: 'For the venom of the morose air there is nothing worse than to be afraid of the plague; for thinking of what we fear draws us closer to the plague, as we say commonly, and so it is; Imaginatio facit casum'.
