The official witch of Salem, Massachusetts has not been without controversy, however. Over the last few decades, many have seen Cabot in black garb and dramatic makeup which appears to some like a Hollywood caricature of a witch. Some Wiccans, as well as religious fundamentalists, have had some dissenting comments about Cabot’s attire. More open minded folks embrace her tenacity and fortitude. To folks in the Gothic underground music movement, her sense of style is unparalleled and often imitated. She stands her ground that wearing black allows for a heightened absorption of energy which helps tune ones psychic center.

Outerwear aside, those who have met this industrious and hardworking lady have attested to her sincerity and kindness. She has practised Witchcraft for over forty years, has been the owner of Crow Haven Corner which opened as the first witch shop more than 25 years ago and founded the Cabot Tradition of the Science of Witchcraft and the Witches’ League for Public Awareness (WLPA), an anti-defamation organisation aimed at correcting the many misconceptions about Witchcraft. Cabot is also the author of Power of the Witch , Love Magic , Celebrate the Earth , and The Witch in Every Woman . Her published work has reached as far as the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, Brazil, and Russia.

Ms. Cabot remains a popular lecturer and teacher who speaks about spiritual well-being and Celtic Witch mythology at Wellesley College, Salem State College, Rutgers College, and Interface, among others. Her frequent television and radio appearances, including Unsolved Mysteries, Oprah, and National Public Radio, have helped educate the public about the goodness of Witchcraft, our planet’s oldest Nature religion. Her latest achievement is a new Witch shop in Salem, The Cat, the Crow, and the Crown, and is located at 63R Wharf Street – Pickering Wharf, Salem, Massachusetts, 01970. They can be reached by telephone at (978) 744-6274.

Each October, during Samhain (pronounced sow-en), the Witches New Year, Wiccans and tourists flock to the town of Salem, initial site of the infamous and deadly witch trials of 1692. Some travel for a sense of historical perspective, while others are curiosity seekers who seem to have believed the bad PR that Wiccans have had for the last 2000 years. Laurie Cabot has worked tirelessly to correct the misinformation that have plagued Witches for generations. With the advent of more media coverage regarding Witchcraft, it is important to have people like Cabot welcome the thrill seekers but still impart wisdom about what Witchcraft really is. Cabot stays focused when imparting information, and does her very best to dispel all the negative connotations that are still pervasive within our modern society. Her written work are classics at best, that will engage and instill the positive message and tenets that are the backbone to Wicca.

Frequently Ms. Cabot is engaged on the television talk show circuit where she is pitted against closed minded zealots who do not listen or hear a word that she says. All these folks want to do rile the audience into a modern day “witch hunt” and bestow more hatred behind something which they have no understanding about. As much as these self proclaimed ministers may feel they are doing “God’s work”, often they are left looking like people hiding hatred behind a Bible, not unlike the mindset that led to the Burning Times in the 1600’s.