Witch Riding Backwards on a Goat

The central figure is a middle-aged woman with wild, streaming hair, depicted nude and seated backward on a large, shaggy goat in mid-flight. She grasps the goat's horn with one hand and a tall staff in the other, which emits a trail of sparks or embers toward the upper left corner. Below them, four winged putti inhabit a grassy clearing; two stand upright, one holding a pot containing a small shrub, the other holding a sphere, while two others on the ground engage in playful struggle. The engraving utilizes dense cross-hatching to define the goat's fur, the witch's musculature, and the atmospheric movement of the air.

This image reflects the heightened anxiety regarding witchcraft in Northern Europe at the turn of the 16th century, drawing on contemporary iconography of the 'Witches' Sabbath.' It aligns with the emerging demonological literature of the period, which sought to categorize and visualize the perceived threat of occult forces.