A Chat with Laurie Cabot

Known as the Official Witch of Salem, Laurie Cabot is a pioneering figure in modern Witchcraft. With decades of devoted service to the Craft, she has authored numerous books and founded the Cabot Tradition of the Science of Witchcraft. Laurie has dedicated her life to teaching and passionately advocating for the acceptance of Witchcraft as a legitimate spiritual path. Join us as we delve into her fascinating journey, her views on Witchcraft today, and the wisdom she lovingly imparts to both seasoned practitioners and curious newcomers alike.

What inspired you to become a Witch?

Many of my childhood friends were Catholic. At times, I would accompany them to their afternoon catechism, as well as attend religious services. Their instruction included the notion of God and the forces of evil in the devil that oppose him. It was not a concept that I could embrace. Even at such that early age, I was sure that there wasn’t a devil. I asked some of their ministers and what I took away was that God was good and the devil was evil. They didn’t just believe this; they were convinced of it and that the only resolution to this problem was to wash away evil. This notion and its wrongness stuck with me through my childhood.

As a youngster, I experienced many magical happenings. I remember an evening that I was sitting on the back porch of our home. I was there by myself, looking at the Full Moon. As I sat there gazing into the night sky, I had a vision of two little boys on bicycles near train tracks near a trestle. I saw one of the boys fall down the side of the trestle, his body getting covered by dirt that landslided onto to him. In that instant, I knew exactly where it was. It wasn’t near our home in Anaheim at all.

I ran into the house and related the entire vision to my mother, emphasizing that the boy was suffering and needed help. Because of my agitation, my mother phoned the sheriff’s office and convinced them to check out the story. They indeed did find and save the boy. My mother did not question my abilities—it was not an uncommon occurrence.

After a time of going to catechism classes with my friend, I began to question what I sometimes heard. For instance, it had been said in one such class that “you cannot suffer a Witch to live.” This bothered me so much that when I arrived home, finding my mother home in the kitchen, I asked “why do we have to kill Witches?” My mother’s immediate response was that we were not going to kill Witches. She furthered the conversation by relating that there were good Witches and bad Witches, just like there were good Catholics and bad Catholics. She added that we did not believe that Witches embodied the evil embodied in the devil. She reminded me that we did not believe in the devil.

Can you share a bit about Felicity, your initiation and the Kent witches?

In time, we made our way to Boston and began looking for books about psychic happenings. We really could not find much—it wasn’t a popular subject at the time. In fact, there was not much about Witchcraft, per se. So I started to talk to the librarian behind the counter. She introduced herself, Felicity, and asked if we were truly looking for books on Witchcraft? I told her that I was, she told me that she was a Witch. I thought my mother would faint on the spot. She turned her face away, the blood draining from her face leaving her a pale white.

She said that they had some books on Witchcraft, as well as some on the Golden Dawn and others that I can’t remember. She indicated that she could not remember what was there, as they were all old and many were stolen from the collection. Oh, she mentioned Madam Blavatsky and Theosophy. In fact, there were many about Theosophy. But all in all, there were not enough books.
It was after this bit that Felicity mentioned that she had a Coven and that she would help me if my mother would allow it. We all ended up at her house. I think it was on Beacon Street. It was so long ago, I am unsure, but I do believe that it was on Beacon Street. It was one of those homes built with stone. When we arrived her husband was in their library. I think she showed us into the dining room. There were two other women there. She indicated that they were members of her Coven and that they were there to study with her.

Of course you have to remember, I was only a child. What she taught me was not fancy or overly wrought. It was folksy kind of stuff. For instance she taught me how to raise the wind. For that we went out onto her balcony. She put a bunch of feathers in my hand. She said to call the wind and to then blow the feathers into the air. She also taught how to cast a Circle, which she did by using the sword.
So that is how I met Felicity. I went there only a few times, maybe two or three times. My mother did not want me to become a Witch. I don’t remember why I stopped going there, I was learning a lot from her.

When did you open your first shop?

I opened my first shop in 1971. It was called the Witch Shoppe. It was a very simple little bit of a shop, first of all.

It’s a long story. I won’t go through all the “stuff,” but I was living in the North End for a short short time before I moved to Salem. I didn’t want to move to there, but I met a person in the North End. She had two children. She moved from Rhode Island, and she said, “why don’t we move together? We can split the rent and move to the suburbs. So our children don’t have to be in the city.”

I didn’t want to move to Salem. My friend knew that I was a Witch. I told her that I didn’t want to move there not knowing the vibe of there and I certainly didn’t want to embarrass my friend. Well, she went looking for apartments, and she showed up with a rolled up piece of paper. She hesitated about sharing. It was a place in Salem that just was right. That’s how I ended up in Salem.

Before this even occurred, when I was in the North End, I made a vow to the God and Goddess that I would wear my robes forever so that people could find a Witch. I thought to myself, now all the nuns have given up their habits and they wear dungarees and sweatshirts. If you wanted to find one of them, you couldn’t. I thought nobody in our community was wearing traditional black robes and using black coloring marks on the body. My thought was, it takes all the colors to create black. In using black you absorb al the colors of the planets and the universe into your body. If you wear white, it reflects and reflects light. But black draws in and helps you to become more psychic and more sensitive.

So I decided to make a vow and I did and have kept the vow. In addition to wearing my robes, I decided to wear a pentacle. At that time, pentacles were not openly worn. I had a friend who was learning to work with gold, he made a pentacle for me. I went about with my pentacle and my robes.

We were moved to Salem on Chestnut St. which to me is architecturally the most perfect street in America. It was a really nice three-story house, 18 Chestnut St.

My first encounter was outside of a post office as a young man was coming out. He looked at me, stopped dead in his tracks, looked at my pentacle and stared at me for a minute and then ran away. I guess he understood that I was a Witch. That was the first time someone recognized me as a Witch and responded in a strong way. It was funny, I got quite a laugh.

Did owning a store influence your approach to presenting Witchcraft to the community?

Yes, I tried to make quick progress in the beginning. Of course everyone was against it at first. Because, it was just supposed to be commercial because of the history of Salem. It wasn’t supposed to be real. But Salem was a good place to make the public aware. But there was resistance in the community, many did not want a public face. The first parade we had, there were only about six of us, and we had an escort on either side. It was actually comprised of my first students.

So we’re marching in the parade and they put a broom on the shoulders of the escorts rather than a gun. They were marching with a broom. And as we were walking along the path., the reception we received was good, in fact many who saw us said they were happy that we were there. It made a difference in my internal focus. We also caught the attention of the Salem news along with other not local reporters. The New York Times sent reporters here to cover me, one of whom was a sportswriter. He wanted to know if I had predictions for him, as if I knew.

What advice would you offer to someone curious about exploring Witchcraft to help them get started?

Read books on Witchcraft. In this day there are plenty to read, and they’re well written. A good start is The Power of the Witch, my first book and is good for the basics. Christopher Penczak has many as well.

How do the principles of Witchcraft shape your everyday life?

Well first, you have to apply the principles on a daily basis. It has to be rote. It can’t be wake and say “I should do this, I shouldn’t do that.” It has to be a way of life. It can’t be separated from life. You have to wake up and decide what you want or what you are going to do. You have to be well read. Don’t just read about Witchcraft. Read about magic and science. Read about culture. In other words, you need to know about the world a little more.

Things are connected in the world, from culture to culture, there’s a lot of connection when it comes to magic. It comes through from many centuries. You need to know your past as much as is possible. Read about ancient times How can you judge if you don’t know it? It just leaves you impaired, without knowledge. There is wisdom in continuous learning. Our little brains can’t hold everything, keep the information flowing. As you get older, the information will disappear from your brain if you are not constantly feeding it. You need to do this not just for yourself, but also for your family and your country.

How do you envision Witchcraft contributing to discussions on spirituality in today’s world?

Well, it depends on who you reach and reaching the audience to hear what we have to say is the issue. Like I said, the statistics show that there are many Witches but you never hear of them. It’s not newsworthy.