| Title: | Psychic Phenomena |
| Notice: | Please read note 1.0-1.* before writing |
| Moderator: | JARETH::PAINTER |
| Created: | Wed Jan 22 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Tue May 27 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 2143 |
| Total number of notes: | 41773 |
Today's Herald has a story about Harassment of Salem Witches.
Seems like some religious zealots (from out of state) have
been harrassing Witches in Salem, Mass. The Attorney
General's Office, FBI, and the Essex County District Attorney
are looking into possible civil rights violations.
"Laurie Cabot, Salems's most outspoken Witch, said she believes
it's out of state religious fanatics. This is the 300th
anniversary of the witch trials and I think they thought by
coming here (and harassing local witches) they would make a lot
of news."
"I think they want to raise a lot of money. We're not bothering
anybody and we're not devil worshipers." (quote from Laurie)
"One of the incidents occurred in Crowhaven Corner, a shop run by
one of her daughters. A group of people entered the store carrying
a TV camera, and "they terrified the customers and the girl be-
hind the counter."
"They were shouting and calling us satanists, and they began to
take movies with the camera," Cabot said. "When the Police
showed up, they began to film them too, saying they supported the
satanists in Salem."
"Cabot says she believes the videotape or film will be used on
one of the national religious shows."
It goes on to say that a woman who is said to be a Witch was
grabbed and her hands held together in prayer. The third in-
cident, was when some people from Kentucky tried to steal the
can out of the window of Goringo Specialty Store on Pickering
Wharf owned by someone who claims to be a Witch. The cat
scratched them and that was the end of that.
The Police feel this is an organized effort and there are at least
two groups involved. No arrests, but two suspects.
* * * * * * * * * *
300 years later and this modern society still will not allow
people to believe as they wish.
Joanne Peachwall
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1694.1 | It's rediculous | COMET::HOOVERM | Thu Jul 09 1992 21:25 | 4 | |
There's too much stereotyping in this so called "society". Seems
like those out of state religious groups are just looking for
publicity!
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| 1694.2 | Response to the Associated Press story | HELIX::KALLIS | Pumpkins ... Nature's greatest gift. | Fri Jul 10 1992 10:00 | 48 |
Cross-posted from the RELIGION conference with permission of the author. ;-)
<<< GRIM::DKA300:[NOTES$LIBRARY]RELIGION.NOTE;1 >>>
-< Religion Conference >-
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Note 409.55 Religious Right Right Back At It. 55 of 55
HELIX::KALLIS "Pumpkins ... Nature's greatest gift." 39 lines 9-JUL-1992 15:16
-< Hmmph! >-
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Re .54:
> Cabot said she believed the people harassing witches in Salem are
>from out of state and are fundamentalist Christians who see witchcraft
>as a form of Satanism.
> There are some 2,400 self-described witches in Salem. Cabot says
>witchcraft has nothing to do with devil-worship and is instead a
>religion based on nature.
Ms. Cabot is both correct and in correct in the above -- as are any who
reputedly are persecuting her. The form of witchcraft practiced by Ms.
Cabot and her associates is nonSatanic; usually, it's referred to as
Wicca, or more properly, Seax Wicca, and is apart from JudeoChristian
concerns.
However, there are Satanists who identify themselves as witches, and
who are so identified by others.
It would have been more precise for Ms. Cabot to say, "Our form of
witchcraft has nothing to do with devil-worship ...."
> The group also took pictures of police officers who wear a patch on
>their shoulders depicting the city's symbol, a witch on a broom,
>claiming they also were promoting Satanism.
The witch-on-a-broom symbol has the bristles trailing, and so has
nothing to do with any _real_ witch activities; the Medieval witches
who used brooms had bristles forward, and with a lit candle upright in
their bristles. Contemporary aircraft pilots can explain the "see and
avoid" principle of night flying to nonpilots; obv iously, this was an
early attempt at the same thing.
> In 1692, 16 women and three men were hanged as witches on Gallows
>Hill. Another man was pressed to death by heavy stones piled on his
>chest, and four other accused witches died in jail.
And all the action took place in Danvers, not Salem.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
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