Before you start laughing at that headline, tartan is more than just a fancy plaid to soak up your haggis juice in Scotland. Individual designs can carry symbolic meaning, with every last clan laying claim to their own pattern in an official government database – and I'm not just making a big deal out of this because my family has one too. (Although it is very cool and you should be jealous.) The newest entry in the official Tartan Registry isn't for a family or an occasion, though, but a living memorial for those falsely persecuted under Scotland's Witchcraft Act beginning in the 16th century.
According to the Wild Hunt, a repository for pagan news:
The tartan was developed by Witches of Scotland [an advocacy group for the victims of historical witch hunts] founders Claire Mitchell KC and Zoe Venditozzi, inspired by the V&A Dundee's Tartan exhibition. "It was an amazing event—everyone expressing their own history and identity through their tartans," Mitchell told The Herald. "I thought, 'Wouldn't this be a great way to create a living memorial?'"
Designed by Clare Campbell, founder of the Prickly Thistle tartan mill, the appropriately gothic pattern carries symbolic meaning. Its black and grey tones reflect the darkness of the era and the ashes of those burned. Red signifies bloodshed, while pink represents the legal tapes binding trial documents then and now. The thread count encodes the years 1563 and 1736 (1+5+6+3 = 15 and 1+7+3+6 = 17), with these numbers woven into black and grey bands surrounding a white check of three threads—symbolizing the campaign's three objectives: securing a pardon, an apology, and memorials. The 173 black threads in the tartan's squares represent the 173 years the Witchcraft Act was in force.
Since its founding in 2020, Witches of Scotland has campaigned for justice, seeking a legal pardon, a formal apology, and a national monument for those convicted and executed. In 2022, on International Women's Day, then-First Minister Nicola Sturgeon acknowledged the historic injustice, issuing a formal apology.
The group's next step is seeking an official pardon for the approximately 2,500 people convicted and killed under the Witchcraft Act, often for no reason but suspicion. With a common symbol to rally behind, their mission should – hopefully – be that much easier.
