4.11.2008
Three From Salem
The Salem Gazette published three Wicca/Witchcraft related stories yesterday, each one revealing different aspects of the practice of Witchcraft in the "Witch City" of Salem, and the different ways that modern Paganism enters the mainstream. The first article concerns a panel discussion taking place tomorrow featuring author/journalist Margot Adler and Pagan activist Jerrie Hildebrand.
"The city of Salem's No Place for Hate Committee will host a panel discussion on April 12 that will focus on practices within the Wiccan faith and the everyday lifestyles of those practicing paganism. The objective of the event is to inform those in attendance about the religion, lifestyle and culture of those who practice Wicca while also touching on the history and its distinction within the Salem community."
The talk will be opened by Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, a politician who has enjoyed support from the local Pagan community since she first ran for the office. The event is free and open to the public, and will be held Saturday, April 12 at 7 p.m. on the second floor of Old Town Hall, Derby Square.
The second story concerns the opening of a new Witch-themed shop called "Hex". The store, co-run by Leanne Marrama and Salem impresario Christian Day, promises an "old-world folk magic" feel and approach.
Christian Day and Leanne Marrama
"A new witch shop in town aims to bring this form of old-world folk magic to Salem's mostly modern pagan community. Hex: Old World Witchery specializes in voodoo dolls, spellbinding candles and European charms used to ward off evil. Shop owners Christian Day and Leanne Marrama, who both consider themselves clairvoyant, aim not only to supply the community with tools of folk magic, but also to serve as proverbial witch doctors, and practice what they preach..."
The ornately designed store is just the latest project from Christian Day, who has become a commercial force to be reckoned with in Salem. Running a tarot consultancy service, a psychic consultancy service, and a popular Salem festival.
The third and final story is a profile of Lori Bruno, a Strega Witch and folk-magic practitioner, who will be offering her services at Christian Day's new Hex store.
"At 68, Lori Bruno considers herself a kind of real-life version of the storybook witch strega nona. Upon meeting you for the first time she just might call you little cucinella and invite you over for a cup of tea. She smells of warm clothes that just got out of the dryer, has long dyed black hair tied in a loose knot and wears 13 gold rings on her fingers. From her ears dangle gold ankhs and peace signs. Around her neck hangs an Egyptian scarab beetle. And above her kitchen sink, beside the coffee maker, hangs a large stone pentacle. Bruno comes from a long line of streghe, or Italian witches. Growing up in Brooklyn, her mother, a southern-born Italian, would give psychic readings to her Jewish and Irish neighbors, reading tarot cards or using a glass of water like a crystal ball to tell the future."
These three stories help illustrate the ways that modern Paganism is slowly entering the mainstream. Through activism and education, through commercial ventures and public events, and through sympathetic journalistic profiles. Modern Paganism has utilized these three overlapping factors to slowly inch us towards acceptance since our emergence. Salem, with its large Pagan population (and Pagan tourist trade), represents a "perfect storm" of these elements.
In addition, the stories show how Witchcraft in Salem encompasses everything from the salacious to the sedate. You have practitioners in pointy hats and yards of black fabric wielding wands and brooms, and you have the more reserved wardrobes and methods of the Witches engaging in discussion with academics and politicians. Both serve a clearly defined purpose inside and outside our communities, and both are equally a part of the modern Pagan movement.
Labels: Christian Day, Jerrie Hildebrand, journalism, Leanne Marrama, Lori Bruno, Margot Adler, Paganism, Salem, Wicca, Witchcraft
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