Salem Witches

     On Saturday Gabby and I went to Salem. It was really fun going into all the little shops (except when the guy in a Jason mask scared Gabby). I bought a really cool wallet with little math formulas on it. But more importantly we learned about witches. They don't run around with pointy hats flying on broom sticks. Being a "witch" is actually a religion called Wicca. They believe in the power of the elements earth, air, fire, and water. Each direction north, south, east, and west represents one of the element. They believe in a god and goddess of the elements. One line they use in their rituals is "so mode it be." The word mode is old english for must so this line is similar to amen. They believe that anything bad you do will come back to you 3 times 3 times 3 (27) times worse. They use their dominant side to welcome things in so they would carry their wallet on their dominant side to bring wealth. Their non-dominant side is to give things out so you might carry something that makes you happy on your non-dominant side to give off happiness. The idea of voodoo dolls work the same way if you put money on the voodoo doll and carry it on the dominant side you are welcoming in wealth. They uses spices to make "potions" to bring in or get rid of certain things. They believe in that their ancestor influence them and can help them. They bring gifts to their ancestors of things that they enjoyed during their lives.  It is really interesting to learn what they really believe and how our society interprets it to be so negative and evil. They really just believe in the power of nature and their beliefs are not that different from other religions.