Ten of Wands

Giles Corey

Origin: American Historical Figure

By the light of the setting sun, the officials and judges of the Puritan village of Salem supervise the pressing of Giles Corey. As more weight is placed upon his chest, slowly crushing him, they try to force a confession to witchcraft out of him, whilst in the background a woman who refused to plead guilty to the crime of witchcraft that she had not committed goes to the gallows. Giles Corey knows that if he pleads innocent to witchcraft he will be executed and his lands - that rightly belong to his sons - confiscated, and if he pleads guilty to witchcraft he will commit the sin of lying. Yet if he remains mute in court and refuses to plead either way, his lands will not be confiscated yet he will be pressed to death as a punishment. As another stone is placed upon his chest, and the judge asks him to confess, Giles' only words before he dies are, "More weight..."