Sightseeing with Catalan witches: We visit the most magical village in La Noguera

TiuranaWitches certainly existed in Tiurana, a small municipality in the far east of Noguera, bordering the borders with Alt Urgell. This is confirmed by its own toponymy, which has identified the town for decades.Witches' era, a place very close to the hermitage of Sant Ermengol. In this era, experts say, one can find a wide variety of medicinal plants, the same ones that wise women used in ancient times to prepare their medicines.

The term witch, elsewhere called healer, sorceress either turpentine, takes us back to that woman who, persecuted or scorned centuries ago, had extensive knowledge of plants, their medicinal uses and active ingredients, and the ability to use them for all kinds of healing purposes.

For its part, an threshing floor, in the most agricultural sense of the term, was a place historically used for pounding grain, a flat, firm space of land on which grain or legumes were placed to pound them and separate the grain from the chaff.

From these two terms, we can conclude that the Witches' threshing floor was a place where these wise women performed their manual operations on plants, such as selecting them, drying them, or making the most suitable mixtures.

Today, this space in Tiurana is being restored. The witches have returned thanks to Tiuranatura, a tourism project run by the City Council that initially sought to recover the natural heritage (flora and fauna) and promote leisure activities, especially with hiking and mountain biking routes. But when municipal technicians began to draw the routes on the map, they discovered a curious triangle.

"We realized that, very close to the center of Tiurana, in neighboring municipalities, other places with new references to witches were appearing," explains Lluís Isanta, head of tourism promotion for Tiurana. He is referring to the Roque de las Brujas (in the Alto Urgelense municipality of the Barony of Rialb) and the Aserrado de las Brujas (in Bassella). These are two very close places from which, drawing straight lines with the threshing floor, an equilateral triangle emerges, within which the old town of Tiurana (which has been flooded since 1999 by the Rialb reservoir) is located. With all this, this area has now been renamed the Witches' Triangle.

With this discovery, the Tiurana City Council launched initiatives that now allow it to diversify its tourist offering. First, it carried out the Family Route of Rosemary, one of the most abundant wild and medicinal plants in the area, with the installation of ten information panels along a two-kilometer circular route.

Second, it is finishing what will be called the Herbarium of the Age of Witches in a municipal hall, which will feature thirty paintings with dried local plants and a QR code with information about each one.

And, finally, for the first time this summer, Tiuranatura has promoted activities that have allowed the witches themselves, those of today, to return to their former location. At least, in a fun way.

One of the first to arrive was Olga Domingo. She claims to be a true turpentine.Her great-grandmother was one, and she, as a young woman, decided to take over. Originally from Bellver de Cerdanya, she researched and trained to emulate her ancestors. "Of course, I travel by car, not on foot like they always did," she admits.

Olga Domingo flees the term witch and recovers with turpentine the traditional word from Catalan folklore that defines the medicinal women of the Pyrenees who harvested plants to make essential oils for ointments, creams, and even as food. The legacy of turpentine has been disappearing, and that's why Olga Domingo has been interested in recovering it. "I teach a way of experiencing nature so that people can enjoy their surroundings, wherever they are," concludes Domingo. This summer she did so in Tiurana, with a morning walk through its forests and several workshops with plants to make massage oils and even toothpaste. Of course, the vast majority of participants were women. And why? She can't answer.

The one who does dare to reason about it is another witch, Estela Tarridas, which, with the name of the Bruixa Verda, also visited Tiurana in mid-July to organize a full day of workshops. Almost all of the participants were also women. "It's an intuitive phenomenon of our gender; it's deeply rooted in us, connecting us with ancient medicine women, who had no other education than that offered by nature itself," argues the Green Witch.

Tarridas also has witchcraft in her DNA. A medicinal cleanser from Montseny, she studied chemistry at university and even worked for a time in a prestigious laboratory. But little by little, she saw the interest that the little knowledge she had inherited from her grandmothers sparked among people, until she ended up living her lifestyle in Hostalric. Aside from plants, she also masters the power of candles and minerals, and a wide range of rituals.

In fact, in Tiurana, she concluded her presentation with a baptismal ceremony welcoming them into the world of witchcraft. The participants, dressed in witch hats, danced to the rhythm of her music, which celebrated the beginning of a spiritual journey and connection with nature.

Plants with powers

Lavender for mosquito bites and as an ointment to prevent insomnia; rosemary for muscle and joint pain and to strengthen hair; and rue, which, despite its stench, wards off bad influences. All of these plants can be found in the era of the Witches of Tiurana. "This area and the town are among the Catalan top places with the best vibes," says Bruixa Verda. The Rialb reservoir, the ancient flooded remains of the town, and splendid views from the reconstructed villa are some of the magical charms she highlights.

She also agrees with the magic of Tiurana. Macarena Herrera del Sol, a Chilean woman living in a squat in a wooded area of GavàA tarot master and also a great connoisseur of plants, she defends Tiurana as "a town that had to leave its original location due to the reservoir and yet persists in preserving its traditions and protecting nature." "For me, this is super magical," she explains.

Tiuranatura invited her to lead sessions on amulets, blessings, magic, esotericism, cards, and even rubble. She is very familiar with plants and knows that there are some, like sage, very common in Tiurana, that "allows purification and helps with everything related to women."

With a convinced feminist discourse, Witch Herrera defends the rural world as the only habitable space. "The city is good for nothing, and even less for performing magic," she asserts. Pollution, disrespect, and the normalization of violence are some of the elements that have kept her away from the urban world.

"Every year I long to return to Tiurana," says Herrera, who has already visited the town twice. "Tiurana has it all," she assures. It has ancient stones, medicinal plants, water (lots of water), a large forest area, and people who are "respectful" of nature. "All of this is spiritual enough," Herrera concludes.

Maybe someone will say they don't believe in witches. But there are some. At least, in Tiurana.