In the realm of witchcraft, there exists an intriguing and enigmatic topic known as odd witchcraft. This peculiar branch of magic has captivated the imaginations of believers and skeptics alike. With its unconventional practices and unconventional results, odd witchcraft stands apart from traditional spells and rituals. What exactly classifies as odd witchcraft? The term itself is inherently subjective, as what may seem odd to one person may be completely normal to another. In essence, odd witchcraft can be characterized by its deviation from mainstream beliefs and practices within the witchcraft community. One example of odd witchcraft is the use of unconventional ingredients and tools.

Salem Witch Village

A mystical audio-guided journey separating myths and reality of witchcraft for the answers and truths behind the legends, make this your first stop while in Salem! Gift shop with pagan and Wiccan supplies and gifts. Look into our Hysteria Pass discount with Salem Wax Museum. AAA, military, group discounts.

One example of odd witchcraft is the use of unconventional ingredients and tools. While traditional spells often rely on herbs, crystals, and candles, odd witchcraft embraces the use of peculiar and unexpected objects. It is not uncommon to find practitioners incorporating items such as bones, feathers, or even unlikely household items like rubber ducks into their rituals.

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Witches village

WITCHCRAFT IN SALEM VILLAGE

The first European settlement in present-day Danvers, Massachusetts, was called Salem Village. This village was established in the late 1630s when a group of farmers moved 5 miles from Salem Town to the area now known as "Danvers Highlands." The inhabitants remained legally part of Salem, though from the 1660s they began petitioning for independence. By 1672 Salem Village became a separate parish at which time they built a meeting house and hired their own minister. In 1689 the village established a covenant church with Rev. Samuel Parris as their new minister.

In early 1692, Rev. Parris's 9-year-old daughter Elizabeth, 12-year-old niece Abigail Williams, as well as other neighborhood girls began to fall into horrid fits. Their parents tried to discover what was causing their distress, and village doctor William Griggs gave his opinion that the girls were the victims of witchcraft. Put upon to tell who was causing their afflictions, the girls finally accused three village women, and warrants were sworn out for the arrest of Sarah Osburn, Sarah Good and Parris's slave, Tituba.

On March 1, 1692, magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin conducted an examination at the Meeting House. Sarah Good and Sarah Osburn were separately examined and as they answered the questions put to them, the "afflicted" girls went into horrific fits. To all present, the girls were obviously victims of these women's witchcraft. Though the two protested their own innocence, Tituba unraveled a confession of meeting with the devil and stating there were still other witches in the neighborhood. This evidence was sufficient for the magistrates, and the three women were jailed. The girls' afflictions did not abate, however, and still more villagers became "afflicted."

Soon more accusations were made, and by the end of March Church members Martha Cory and Rebecca Nurse were also arrested, examined and jailed. No longer were just the lowly being accused, but people formerly in good standing in the community. By May, scores of "witches," both men and women, had been examined in Salem Village, and jails were being filled with up to 150 accused persons from many towns including Salem, Topsfield and Andover. Dozens of people under excruciating religious, civil and family pressures found themselves confessing to being witches.

In May, Governor William Phips called a special court to try the cases of those accused witches who had not confessed. Convening in Salem in June 1692, the court quickly condemned Bridget Bishop to death. During July, August, and September, 18 people, including Nurse, Good and Cory were hanged. In addition, one man, Giles Cory of Salem Farms, died under torture. At least 5 others including Sarah Osburn died in jail. By the new year the colony was becoming exhausted with the witchcraft frenzy, and learned persons were speaking against the validity of "spectral evidence" being used in court. When the trials resumed, this former evidence was disallowed and proof was insufficient to condemn any other accused. The witch horror was over. Of the 19 people who were executed during this tragic yet heroic period, 12 came from the Salem Village area, dying rather than confessing to what they had not done.

In 1752 Danvers was officially established as a township separate from Salem. The 1692 Salem Village witchcraft hysteria was a chilling era of our history. Yet its lessons have meaning for us today in that each generation must confront its share of intolerance and "witch hunts" with integrity, clear vision and bravery.

WITCHCRAFT RELATED SITES TO SEE 1. Parsonage Archaeological Site. Rear 67 Centre St. Accessible by a cart path, this was the location of the 1681 Village Parsonage. Here lived the Rev. Parris family, and here began the Salem Village witchcraft. The site includes original foundation walls and interpretive signs, and is owned by the Town of Danvers.

2. Ingersoll House, 199 Hobart St. Private House. Though "modernized" in 1753, part of this house was the home and ordinary of Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll. Here were examined many of the accused witches during 1692.

3. Site of the Salem Village Meeting House. Near corner of Hobart & Forest Sts. Here villagers gathered for religious and civil meetings. It was here that numerous persons including Rebecca Nurse, Bridget Bishop, & John Alden were examined during the witchcraft. Across the street, at 176 Hobart St., is the Witchcraft Victims' Memorial, which is owned by the Town of Danvers.

5. Nurse Homestead, 149 Pine St. Operated as a house museum by the Danvers Alarm List Company. Open: June 15 to Labor Day, Tues.- Sun., 1-4:30; September to October, Sat. & Sun., 1-4:30; or by appointment.

6. Danvers Archival Center, Peabody Institute Library, 15 Sylvan St. Open: Mon. 1-7:30, Wed.& Thurs. 9-12 and 1-5. and at other times. Houses the Ellerton J. Brehaut witchcraft collection, being the largest collection of imprints relating to the Salem witchcraft.

7. Sarah Osburn House, 273 Maple St. Private House. The relocated home of Osburn, the first accused witchcraft victim to die.

• Boyer, Paul & Stephen Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft.
• Hansen, Chadwick, Witchcraft at Salem.
• Starkey, Marion L., The Devil In Massachusetts.
• Tapley, Charles S., Rebecca Nurse.
• Trask, Richard B., Salem Village and the Witch Hysteria.
• Upham, Charles W., Salem Witchcraft.

• Jackson, Shirley, Witchcraft of Salem Village.
• Krensky, Stephen, Witch Hunt: It Happened In Salem Village.

• Three Sovereigns for Sarah Night Owl Productions, 1986.

Triora: The Village of Witches

In the Ligurian hinterland, in the province of Imperia, at 765 meters above the valley of the Argentina stream, there is the small village of Triora, a historically very important place from a strategic, military and religious point of view. Located on the border of Piedmont, it had five fortresses, accessible through seven gates and its military force actively participated in the campaigns of the Republic of Genoa. The name, of Latin origin, means three mouths and refers to the three food resources produced locally: wheat, wine and chestnuts.

Triora

The village takes on the appearance it still preserves from the twelfth century, although the first settlements date back to the ninth and tenth centuries. From 1261, it became politically powerful and also a granary of the Republic of Genoa, due to the production of a particular type of grain, which is why the village is known as the City of Bread.
Triora has a beautiful historic center built with local stone and slate, once even exported to the United States.

It has a large number of churches, starting with the Collegiate Church, which houses real artistic masterpieces such as the panel depicting the Baptism of Christ of 1397, by Taddeo di Bartolo, and the two fifteenth century panels depicting the Pietà and the Ecce Homo, which are located on the sides of the main altar. The oratory houses the works that come from deconsecrated churches, but there is also a beautiful wooden altar made by Buscaglia, a local artist, and the paintings by Lorenzo Gastaldi, made at the end of the seventeenth century.

The church of San Bernardino is dedicated to the saint who arrived in the village in 1425 to preach. In the church, there is a cycle of frescoes representing the Passion and Death of Christ and the Last Judgment attributed to Giovanni Canavesio, painted between the second half of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth century.

There are also two museums, the ethnographic one founded in 1983, which tells the customs and traditions of the Ligurian peasant civilization, and the one dedicated to witches, which preserves the instruments of torture and ancient documents concerning a long trial for witchcraft that took place in Triora.

The Witches of Triora

The village is above all known for the witchcraft trial that took place between 1587 and 1589 which involved many people, and even ended with the death of some of the accused women.
The summer of 1587 had been extraordinarily hot and had caused a famine that impoverished the inhabitants of the city. Most likely it was more of speculations on the price of flour that starved the poorest population, because hardly a year of poor harvests could have put the city in trouble. The council of elders met and attributed the responsibility for the famine to a group of women who lived in seclusion in the poorest quarter of the country, La Cabotina, and who knew the properties of medicinal herbs and popular medicine.

To shed light on the case, a priest was sent by the Holy Inquisition who, during a mass, described with fervor the atrocities committed by witches, such as having relations with the devil or cannibalism. The spirits of the population flared up to the point that, in a short time, the people accused of witchcraft became two hundred, in what was a real all-local witch hunt. In reality, it was an excuse for the families of Triora, poisoned by old grudges and personal hatreds, to wage war with each other. The Inquisition then sent a special commissioner and initially thirteen women were imprisoned, then six more plus a man, all accused of witchcraft and subsequently sent to the prisons of Genoa.
One of these women died under torture and another killed herself by throwing herself into the void, so the Republic of Genoa involved the Holy Office in Rome, which took two years to condemn the witches to abjuration. Meanwhile, five other women had died in prison in Genoa and seven in Triora. Although there was no burning of the bodies, like usual death sentences performed, the deaths were numerous and the trials ended with prison sentences.

The Naturalistic and Tourist Activities and Food and Wine Attractions

The first activity is certainly that of tourism. Triora is located in the Ligurian Alps Park, near the highest mountain in the region, Monte Saccarello, and in any case not far from the sea, given the long and narrow shape of Liguria. This allows, in a short time, to reach both the mountains and the coast. Cycle tourism is highly developed, and it is also possible to go horseback riding in the Nature Park. There are many animals that can be seen: wolves, chamois and many species of birds of prey and birds.

The community has now been reduced to a few hundred people, compared to the thousands of the past, but has been able to identify with its ancient traditions, including religious ones.
There are many events proposed during the year linked to the archaic culture of the place. In July, there is a festival linked to the wheat cycle, and on the second Sunday of October the Chestnut Festival is held, a fruit that fed the population of Triora for many centuries, especially during the Second World War when the economic conditions were difficult. Then there is the festival dedicated to witches, the Strigora, which is held in August and is celebrated with a traveling theater along the streets of the village.

The food and wine tradition is closely linked to local products. The pastas are simply made with water and flour (sometimes even chestnuts). The suggelli is the typical pasta of Triora and Realdo, a very beautiful village in the surrounding area, even more perched on the mountains. It has a shape that is a cross between a dumpling and an orecchietta and the name derives from the seal imprinted with the finger to give the shape. It is seasoned with a local ricotta fermented several times, the Bruzzo, which can be from sheep, goat but also cow and then with garlic and milk.

Among the soups is the Grano Pestao, that is, crushed wheat peeled from the bran and cooked with spring onion, leeks and lard, and the Triora bean soup, white-looking legumes with a thin skin. Bread is of great importance in the gastronomic culture of the countryside, Triora having been the granary of the Republic of Genoa. It is one of the best breads in Italy, made with soft wheat flour, water, yeast and salt. Its peculiarity derives from the water and local ingredients, but above all, from the leavening on wooden boards covered with bran which gives a greater fragrance to the bread during the cooking process. Then there is the seasonal processing, such as that of dried mushrooms, or Ciccotto, a little known but very good local mushroom that is preserved in oil. Given the proximity to the mountain pastures, there are numerous cheeses, such as the exquisite brigasca sheep toma, a slow food presidium with a sweet and intense flavor. It is cooked in the oven with spring onions, mountain potatoes and tomatoes. Then there is a unique rustic pizza, called torta, prepared with potatoes, beets and zucchini, cooked on a tripod placed on the grill. In Triora, saffron is also grown. The desserts are almost all linked to the production of mountain honey, such as the Cubaita, a typical Christmas cake, made of hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds and mountain honey, pressed into two wafers made of flour and water. Two excellent local wines are also produced in Triora, the red Ormeasco and the white E Bunde.

These unique ingredients serve to infuse the magic with their own symbolism and energy. Another aspect that sets odd witchcraft apart is its unconventional methods and rituals. While traditional spells may involve chanting, dancing, or specific gestures, odd witchcraft takes a more spontaneous and improvisational approach. Practitioners may engage in unusual movements, nonsensical chants, or even create their own rituals on the spot. This unpredictability allows for a greater connection with the energy of the moment and can lead to unexpected and powerful results. Odd witchcraft also challenges societal norms and expectations. It embraces embracing the strange and the unusual, often going against the grain of conventional perceptions of magic and witchcraft. By stepping outside of the established boundaries, odd witchcraft encourages practitioners to explore new possibilities, question their own beliefs, and challenge the status quo. While odd witchcraft may seem strange or even controversial to some, it is important to remember that the main idea behind it is to embrace individuality and unlock the full potential of magic. By rejecting rigid conventions and preconceived notions, practitioners of odd witchcraft open themselves up to a world of endless possibilities and creativity. In conclusion, odd witchcraft is a fascinating and unconventional realm within the wider domain of witchcraft. With its unique ingredients, spontaneous rituals, and rejection of societal norms, odd witchcraft prompts practitioners to step outside their comfort zones, explore the unknown, and harness their own individual power. This branch of magic encourages personal growth, open-mindedness, and a willingness to embrace the weird and wonderful..

Reviews for "Odd Witchcraft and the Unseen: Exploring the Boundaries of Reality"

1. Jane - 1 star:

I was really disappointed with "Odd witchcraft promptly". The storyline was confusing and disjointed, making it hard to follow along. The characters lacked depth and were difficult to connect with, making it hard to become invested in their journey. The writing style was also quite dull and uninspiring, with long and convoluted sentences that made reading feel like a chore. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for an engaging and well-crafted story.

2. Mark - 2 stars:

I had high hopes for "Odd witchcraft promptly" but unfortunately, it fell short for me. The pacing was incredibly slow, and it took forever for the plot to develop. The world-building was also lacking, leaving me with more questions than answers. The characters were forgettable and lacked motivation, which made it hard for me to care about their outcomes. Additionally, the writing style was rather dry and didn't captivate my attention. I was left feeling underwhelmed by this book and wouldn't recommend it to others.

3. Sarah - 2 stars:

I struggled to get through "Odd witchcraft promptly". The narrative felt disjointed and the plot lacked coherence. The characters seemed one-dimensional and their actions were often illogical. The writing style was also quite choppy, making it hard to stay engaged. I was hoping for a captivating and immersive story, but unfortunately, this book didn't deliver. I would advise potential readers to look elsewhere for a more compelling read.

Odd Witchcraft and Healing: Alternative Approaches to Wellness