Laurie Cabot, Salem's Official Witch
Friday November 2, 2007 8:29 AM
Pay a visit to Salem, Massachusetts and you're likely to see the most famous person in town. You'll recognize her by her long dark hair, long black robe, pentacle jewelry and spiral tattooed on one cheek. She's Laurie Cabot, the Official Witch of Salem.
Ever since she "came out" as a Witch about 40 years ago, Cabot has been bold about making a public statement in favor of the Craft, as modern traditions of Witchcraft are known. She has campaigned against stereotypes of witches as evil-doers and has fought for the civil rights of those who choose Witchcraft (also known as Wicca) as a spiritual and religious path.
It's a path with a high price. Cabot has encountered a lot of criticism and even abuse, but she has never wavered or backed down. She has served as a inspirational figurehead to many who have joined the Craft.
Cabot was drawn to magic, mythology and spiritual traditions at an early age. Art, dance and motherhood occupied her early adulthood. After a divorce, at about age 30, she realized she needed to strike an independent identity as a witch, something she had always felt within her, but had never owned in a bold and public way.
"I knew exactly what I had to do," she says. "I performed a ritual to dedicate myself to the Goddess and the God, to live my life totally through the path of Witchcraft. I vowed to wear my robes publicly, and to teach Witchcraft as a science to the world."
Cabot came to Salem in the 1970s. At the time, the town made famous by its Puritan-fueled witch trials and executions in 1692-93 was a somber place. No one wanted anything to do with witches, especially a public one who dressed all in black. Cabot stuck out wherever she went, and people didn't hesitate to hurl insults at her. "It was a triumph for me to walk down the streets with my head held high," she says. "But it didn't occur to me that people could be so cruel."
At the time, Witchcraft was forming as a new religion, a blend of folk magic and pagan traditions centered around worship of both goddess and god aspects on deity, and the use of magic for benefit and healing. Witches wanted to separate themselves from stereotypes of the past: the curse-hurling hags persecuted by the Inquisition. There was no shortage of media attention for witches, and a place like Salem was an ideal backdrop. Cabot persevered with her public stance, and soon was teaching classes in schools and universities. Her approach was that Witchcraft is a practical magical science, which can be applied for spiritual growth and enhancement of life.
In 1973 Cabot founded what has become one of Salem's most famous events — the Witches' Ball, held every year on Samhain, the old Celtic name for Halloween. People attend from all over the world.
She was given the title "Official Witch of Salem" in 1977 by Governor Michael Dukakis. She founded the Witches League of Public Awareness, a civil rights watchdog group, in 1986.
In the years since Cabot planted her wand in Salem, the town has filled with Wiccan, witch and pagan followers, and people are more accommodating in accepting the diversity. Still, Cabot and others run into opposition from time to time, and take it all in stride.
If you don't catch a glimpse of Cabot on the streets of Salem, you can often catch her at her shop The Cat, The Crow and The Crown, located in the historic wharf area. It's her third shop; the Witch Shop and Crow Haven Corner — a famous tourist landmark — no longer exist. Cabot does readings and teaches classes on practical magic and the spiritual tenets of Witchcraft.
"I want to bring my magic into the light and live it," Cabot says. Many would agree that she has served as an inspiration in following one's heart, whatever path that may be.
