I recently went to Salem for the first time. My friends told me that Salem was an awesome place to be during Halloween due to the huge Witch burning history that the town had. They all went during Halloween, which meant that it was going to be extremely crowded. So I skipped going with them and decided to go on my own time. A few weeks ago, I did and I brought PC with me.

Salem is a very quiet and relaxing town. PC and I first went to the famous Salem Witch Museum that told a short but truthful history about Witch burnings and the history of Wicca. They compared the past history of Witches to the modern Wicca practices. They also explained about how people label the Witch as a green skinned ogre who eats children ( which is not true at all ). Witchcraft is a practice of magic and spiritual energy. There is a saying: " What you do to others comes back to you three times bigger." Basically, if you are a witch who likes to put curses on others, you will suffer three times more bad luck. If you do good magic, good karma will come back to you three times more. It can also happen even if you don't use magic, but just common actions. Be nice to people and good things will come to you. Do bad things...well...get ready for a spanking...It is a good lesson and rule to follow by.

After the Witch museums, PC and I just went walking along the old roads of Salem, looking at the old homes that still stood their ground since the mid 18 hundreds. They were used for tourist groups now. Then we went to the harbor and just walked around. Smelling the ocean from Salem is different than in Boston.

Almost on every corner, there was a Wicca and Spell shop that sold items and souvenirs based off magic and fairies. I couldn't help but go into each one and look around. Each store was different and sold different items. Knowing some knowledge about magic, I kind of knew which stores sold the real deal and others that sold phony stuff. There were a few stores that are owned by real Witches in Salem and sold a lot of herbs, spices, tarot cards, potions, pendants and even wands. You can get a good sense of "magic" in those places just by the atmosphere of the interior. However, some other places did not hold that feeling for me. There were some places that were only dedicated to those who want to wear Witch stuff just to look "cool and goth" There were nude fairies statues, sex toys, devil worshiping tables and items and vampire toys. Many magic shops even had signs that told customers that they had a tarot card reader in the shop who gives paid readings to anyone. There were a few places where the reader's tarot cards were out in the open. Anyone who reads tarot cards or uses them knows that it is best NOT to keep your cards in the open, uncovered and uncased or they will pick up negative energy from strangers around it. I never got my tarot card reading from anyone because I didn't want to dish out half a hundred dollars on a reading with a tainted deck.

PC really loves that kind of junk. She bought a lot of phony trinkets while I bought something for my alter. I asked her why she was spending so much money on "goth" toys. She didn't say anything to me. All she did was held up a packet of panties that she bought from one of the "red light" witch section. On the panties, it said "Insert Wand Here." She stuck out her tongue and continued to shop. That was her answer and I didn't ask it again. She never really practices Witchcraft with me. She believes in it, but doesn't follow it.

One of the well-known Witch's in Salem is Laurie Cabot. She owns a store in Salem and gives classes. Salem is only a 45-minute drive from Boston and I bet a shorter time on the commuter rail. I might go back some day when New England stops bringing in rain clouds. I will post on my journal the next date I plan to go. Anyone who wants to come with me or lives near Salem, lets hang out.

WannabeWhatWicth © 2009 Alex Cockburn