Advertisement

Official Witch Is Haunting Dukakis--by Accident

Share
Times Staff Writer

Thirteen years ago, she never thought it would come to this. But now the man who proclaimed Laurie Cabot the official witch of Salem, Mass., is a candidate for President of the United States--and a group of evangelical Christians, working through a consultant in Orange, wants him to explain his connection with witchcraft.

“Poor Mike,” said the 55-year-old witch.

In 1975, Cabot said, while Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis was awarding her the Paul Revere Patriot’s Award for her work with dyslexic children, he proclaimed her the official witch of Salem. “It’s an award for people who do civic jobs like Girl Scout and Cub Scout leaders and goes out to hundreds of people in the commonwealth,” Cabot said. “I was already a witch. I’ve been a witch forever.”

To Orange consultant Ed Steele, the question of Dukakis’ position on witchcraft is very serious business--

Advertisement

much more important than whether, for instance, the presidential candidate was ever treated for depression. “Anyone seeking the office of the presidency has to be pure as the driven snow as far as the occult is concerned,” Steele said.

Earlier this year, Steele worked successfully with Northridge-based High Adventure Broadcasting, an international Christian broadcasting organization, to obtain a clarification of Nancy Reagan’s belief in astrology after it was disclosed that she regularly consulted an astrologer.

A petition signed by 25,000 conservative Christians asking the Reagans to ban astrology from the White House resulted in a response from Nancy Reagan to the effect that she believes in God and looks to him, as opposed to anywhere else, for direction and guidance, Steele said.

“It was a bit watered down, but it was better than nothing,” Steele said.

Similarly, Steele said, some of those involved in the “Just Say No to Astrology” campaign felt Dukakis should want to deal with the witchcraft issue. “It’s looming as a big issue, to be real honest with you,” Steele said.

Cabot said Lyndon LaRouche newspapers have been running her photograph on mailers saying that Dukakis advocates witchcraft.

The issue is not so much whether Dukakis is linked with witchcraft, Steele said, but whether his proclamation implies a tacit approval of witchcraft as a religion.

Advertisement

Another question, as put forth in a Salem newspaper editorial, is whether, if there is an official Salem witch, there also ought to be an official priest or an official rabbi.

But so far, Dukakis’ silence is deafening. The question didn’t come up Friday during Dukakis’ Orange County campaign stop. Representatives of his campaign could not be reached by phone.

Steele said his group had contacted the Dukakis campaign numerous times about the issue but had received no official response.

Said Cabot: “This is no issue at all in a presidential race. It’s so ridiculous.”

As a member of the Witches League for Public Awareness, she said, she fights all erroneous and negative stereotypes of witches found in Saturday morning cartoons and such movies as “The Witches of Eastwick.” That includes allegations like those by some evangelists linking witches with satanism.

“We don’t believe in devils and demons,” Cabot said. “We have a law that says do what you will and harm no living thing.” She said she and representatives from Disney have discussed making a movie on witchcraft.

Cabot said she does not twitch her nose, levitates only in an emergency and uses her psychic powers mostly for healing. She said she has lectured in college classes, including one at Harvard University on mind and brain theory.

Advertisement

Cabot said she does not know Dukakis personally and has met him only at civic affairs in Salem, where she was once the official city greeter and where her daughter owns a witch store.

“Poor Mike,” she said. “He never thought by making me the official witch he’d have to go through all this.”

Advertisement