The Witch Garter

A garter is worn by a Witch Queen, or Queen of the Sabbat, as a symbol of rank. Her other accompanying symbol is a silver crown, normally a band of silver with a silver crescent moon in front. By tradition, the garter is prepared with green leather with a lining made of blue silk. There is one large, silver buckle on the garter, representing the Queen's own coven, with additional, smaller, silver buckles for each of the other covens under her authority. It is worn on the left leg, just above the knee.

Garters have always had a special significance. Cave art in eastern Spain that dates to the Paleolithic period shows a sorcerer performing in a ritual while wearing nothing but a pair of garters just below his knees. The traditional dress of Morris dancers consists of garters, usually red.

Red garters were traditionally worn by a witchcraft coven Messenger. At the time of the persecutions, he would be sent out by the Priestess to advise members on meeting days and times. The red garters signified to others that he was genuine.

Pennethorne Hughes states that when a tortured witch was likely to reveal others, he or she may be murdered in jail by the other witches to avoid further arrests and tortures. To prove that the murder had been done under those circumstances, a garter would be left tied loosely around the victim's throat. Such a potential informant would be known as a "warlock," meaning traitor. The case of John Stewart of Irving in 1618 is one such example. John Reid, of Renfrewshire in 1696, is another. Many legends and folk tales have a garter as the leitmotif.