95 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
95 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
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By BARRY SHLACHTER
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Associated Press Writer
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SALEM, Mass. (AP) -- Her eyes are heavy with black makeup. Her
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dresses are flowing caftans of a satiny black material. And her
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explosion of long black hair covers her shoulders and much of her
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back.
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Laurie Cabot is a witch, if there were any doubt, and is more
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than proud to tell you so.
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A visitor to her house may be told of the jeers and threats she
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endured over the years for her unconventional appearance and her
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beliefs in the pagan witch religion, Wicca. Passing motorists would
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shout to her children that she should be burned.
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"When I divorced for the second time, I decided to live my life
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totally as a witch and I didn't care what people thought," she
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said, her fingers flashing 14 gold and silver rings. "And because
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I began wearing traditional witch clothing, I had to make a living
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as a witch."
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Now she is a local celebrity, cashing in on her notoriety and
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serving as a defender of others who share her beliefs.
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Gov. Michael S. Dukakis proclaimed her Salem's "official
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witch" in 1975 for carrying out civic good works. And lately she
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has spent much of her time rallying protesters against the state
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film bureau which secured the filming in Massachusetts of John
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Updike's novel, "The Witches of Eastwick."
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Ms. Cabot denounced the book as "anti-women, anti-Christian and
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anti-witch."
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Despite an appearance that seems to confirm the broom-flying
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stereotype, she asserts in a soft but insistent voice that witches
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are not followers of the devil but rather decent, law-abiding
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people you would want, and already may have, as neighbors.
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Witches believe, she asserts, "Do as you will and harm none."
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Pictures of witches as green-faced crones anger her and she
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tells of marching into shops to rip up Halloween decorations. She
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helped launch the Witches' League for Public Awareness in June to
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protect her community's battered image.
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In Salem, a historic town of 38,000 residents famous for its
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17th century witch trials and where witchcraft now thrives as a
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cottage industry, Laurie Cabot claims there are numerous practicing
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witches. Throughout the United States, her "guesstimate" is
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several millions.
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The twice divorced, 53-year-old witch lives with her two
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daughters, five cats and 22 Teddy bears in an outwardly
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undistinguished New England frame "salt box" on a quiet lane down
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from A Pig in the Eye pub. She holds court around a broad table
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with legs made from the curving roots of a tree.
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"They are very quiet people who don't disturb anyone," said a
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neighbor, Kevin O'Neil, a former embalmer who is now an autopsy
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technician for Boston's medical examiner.
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Her hard times, except for a recent attack by followers of
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political extremist Lyndon LaRouche, appear behind her.
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The Anaheim, Calif.-born former night club dancer is branching
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out beyond her herb and potion shop, tarot card readings and
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lectures on psychic powers. She's negotiating her entry into the
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home video market with hopes to become the Jane Fonda of at-home
<0A>witchcraft instruction, she said.
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Ms. Cabot teaches Witchcraft I, II, and III and other courses in
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Salem and travels to New York City frequently to counsel Wall
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Street investors at $200 for 30 minutes of her advice on what to
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buy and sell, she said. She hopes to profit from a book she is
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completing, "The Salem Witches' Handbook." But she accepts no
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payment for treating people through what she calls her psychic
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powers.
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"I don't charge for healing but I do charge for everything
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else," she smiled. Some patients come on their own, others are
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referred to her by area doctors, she said.
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One whose name she gave, Salem skin specialist Dr. John von
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Weiss, told The Associated Press that he sent Laurie Cabot "six to
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10" people suffering from warts since the growths were known to
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disappear through the power of suggestion.
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"I had gotten a follow-up on a few people and it was good,"
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Dr. von Weiss said of the witch's wart removal record.
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Despite her success, he stopped referring patients to Ms. Cabot
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in the late 1970s.
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Asked why, the Salem dermatologist replied: "The occult is a
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pecular thing, you know." Then, after a pause, he added, "I don't
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really want to give an explanation."
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Her high-profile marketing no doubt has created resentment, if
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not jealousy, within the witch community.
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"She does fit the media stereotype of the witch. But I changed
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my perception over the past few years," said Margot Adler, a
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reporter for National Public Radio who researched a book about
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contemporary witchcraft, "Drawing Down the Moon," and is herself
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a practicing witch.
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"Within the community, I think she has had a difficult road to
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hoe because she has been perceived by some as commercial. She has
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had more commercial flare. And anyone who does that in the pagan
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community gets that kind of reputation. But we have had to rethink
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that."
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Laurie Cabot persuaded her, she went on, by saying: "Look we've
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been in Salem for years, on the front lines. Now it's perfectly
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possible to walk the streets in a robe and pentagram (witchcraft
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symbol) and feel perfectly safe."
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"She has been fighting for the same things we have -- the
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freedom to practice our religion -- Wicca," Ms. Adler added.
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