Sicilian folk magic refers to the various practices and beliefs of traditional folklore in the Italian region of Sicily. It encompasses a wide range of magical traditions, spells, and rituals, often combining elements of superstition, Catholicism, and local folklore. One of the key aspects of Sicilian folk magic is the belief in the power of the evil eye. It is believed that some individuals have the ability to cast a malevolent gaze upon others, causing harm or misfortune. To protect against the evil eye, Sicilian folk magic includes the use of various amulets, charms, and rituals. These can range from simple gestures, such as making the sign of the horns with the hand, to more elaborate ritualistic practices involving prayer, candles, and incense.
These can range from simple gestures, such as making the sign of the horns with the hand, to more elaborate ritualistic practices involving prayer, candles, and incense. Another aspect of Sicilian folk magic revolves around the belief in witches and their ability to cast spells. It is said that witches possess supernatural powers and can use them to either help or harm others.
Witch’s Brew- A Living Strega Who Mixes her Own Brand of Folk Magic
I first met Lori Bruno fifteen years ago while working as a reporter in Salem, Massachusetts’s, covering the so-called Witch City’s mix of art, maritime history along with its vibrant pagan community. At the time Bruno, 68, was introduced to me as a true Italian strega, one who practiced Sicilian witchcraft. Bruno, had just opened a new shop in town and I was asked to cover it for a story. Having grown up in a religious home where even the Smurfs were forbidden for their mystical influence, I had some negative preconceived ideas about witchcraft. But, during a sit-down visit to her home, Bruno quickly won me over. With her broad smile and Boston accent, she felt instantly familiar, like a long-lost Italian relative I’d never met. She called me, “Bella”, made me tea and we chatted for hours in her kitchen about our common southern Italian roots and strange Italian superstitions.
When my editor at Italian America recently assigned me a story on La Befana I joked that I knew the real-life Befana and offered to call her up. An online search yielded Bruno’s phone number, and soon we were chatting like no time had passed. These days- after a covid-induced hiatus- the eighty one year old witch is back to giving psychic readings and running her Salem shop Magika that sells books, candles, and other new age merchandise.
It’s no surprise the long-time witch is thriving. Bruno’s combination of grandmotherly warmth, Italian folk magic and psychic ability has garnered her much attention through the past five decades including a spread in The Wall Street Journal ten years ago during the housing crisis, when she was hired by new home-owners to perform cleansing rituals on foreclosed homes believed to hold bad vibes.
A second-generation Italian whose parents hailed from Sicily and Naples, Bruno grew up in Brooklyn in the 1950’s in a neighborhood rich in cultural diversity. Immigrant neighbors, many of them Italian, would regularly come to her house to visit her mother who was known for her healing powers. “She would take away headaches and say prayers for the Evil Eye,” Bruno recalls. “She would do readings and tell people about the dead.”
Bruno’s own first supernatural experience came at age 12 when she looked over at a classmate in school and suddenly experienced a vision accompanied by a cold chill.
“Her lower back looked gray,” Bruno recalls. “I went home and told my mom and she said that little girl had cancer of the kidneys.”
Over the years, Bruno has built up her psychic albitites, using them to help the community. After working for NASA for nearly ten years in the 1960’s creating technical drawings, she gave up her career and devoted herself fulltime to psychic service. Since then, she has worked with police to find missing people, counseled married couples and cast fertility spells for barren women.
Several years ago, a woman came to her unable to conceive and asked for help having a baby boy. Bruno accompanied her to a fertility treatment. “The doctor came in and I was giving her unsalted cashews,” Bruno remembers, adding, “have you noticed cashews look like a fetus?” While the doctor performed treatment, Bruno casts a spell she believes helped the woman conceive.
“She had a boy,” She concludes. “I am the child’s godmother. [The couple] is Christian but they have a Strega Nona.”
Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?
Bruno’s healing practices are a witch’s brew of cultural beliefs; Roman, Egyptian and Catholic statues all fill her Salem home. A typical work day may include prayers to Michael the Archangel, the Egyptian goddess Isis, or the Black Madonna, a dark-skinned version of the virgin Mary that many believe holds unique healing powers. Bruno keeps a lit candle in front of the Black Madonna at all times and prays regularly to “the great mother”, before performing healing rituals.
Bruno attributes her healing powers to her Sicilian roots. The island’s cultural diversity through the centuries, she says, has made it fertile ground for magic. “At one time Sicily was a mix of Jews and Italians,” she reflects. “The Jews know all about bad magic, good magic. On the kabbalistic tree of light witchcraft exists in the first three triads. Low magic works with earth currents and herbs. When you want to learn more, you climb the ladder. My family learned more.”
According to Bruno, two kinds of magic were practiced in Italy with the earliest recorded references to witchcraft dating to the sixteenth century when many -mostly peasants-were put to death for their beliefs. Benandanti, Bruno says, is magicfocused on healing and blessing people; historically, those who practiced it blessed crops, marriages, babies being born. Melandante, on the other hand, focuses on inflicting harm on others. One of the most well-known Italian superstitions, malocchio, or the Evil Eye is believed to be brought on by an insincere compliment when someone secretly envies another’s qualities or possessions. It reveals itself in the form of a headache and can only be cured by someone gifted with healing abilities, usually a woman who whispers a secret prayer.
As a healer, Bruno has often helped relieve people of malocchio. The process she says involves pouring three drops of olive oil into a bowl along with a sprinkle of salt. She then punctures the drops of oil with a lit match and waits for the oil to form a line or a circle, which indicates the gender of the person who brought on the bad luck. The person is then blessed with a secret prayer. In Italy, Bruno says, the most superstitious have learned to ward off the evil eye before it happens, wearing talismans or making the symbol of horns with their hand.
I’m not sure how I feel about the Evil Eye, but I know I carry superstitions of my own. The last time I saw Lori Bruno for our kitchen interview, I remember being surprised when at the end, she took down a painted Italian pitcher from a shelf and handed it to me as a parting gift. Convinced the vessel may hold some secret spell, I left it on the “free” table in the newspaper’s employee break room.
These days, I like to think I’m a little more open-minded. Having never experienced a psychic reading, I decided recently to give it a try and asked Bruno for a phone consult.
The results were amazingly right-on. After giving a creepily good read of my love life, she honed in on other things, saying “You will always be creative. I see things growing all around you.” Then, at the end, in typical Strega Nona style, she added, “I love you, Honey. God Bless.”
La Befana, Italy’s Witch of Winter
Who needs Santa Claus, the stodgy old man on the sleigh when there’s an Italian witch on a broomstick to brings presents to the bambini? La Befana, according to age-old Italian legend and tradition, makes her appearance on January 6, the day the Wise Men are believed to have arrived at baby Jesus’ manger. This day, known as The Feast of the Epiphany, is a national holiday and marks the end of twelve days of Christmas and New Years’ festivities.
The Night of La Befana was mentioned as early as 1549 in a poem by Agnolo Firenzuola where she was portrayed as an ugly old woman flying over houses on a broomstick, entering through the chimneys and leaving sweets for good children, or garlic and coal for bad ones.
La Befana’s roots are a mix of pagan and Christian beliefs. Some scholars believe her story originated with the Roman festival of Saturnalia, a pagan celebration starting just before the winter solstice. At the end of Saturnalia, Romans went to the Temple of Juno on the Capitoline Hill to have their fortunes read by an old crone.
Others point to her Christian roots. “Her name derives from the word for epiphany, Epifania,” says Art History professor Rocky Ruggiero. “Legend has it that she showed the three magi hospitality on their way to Bethlehem.”
According to folklore, La Befana was invited to join the Wise Men on their journey to find the Christ child, but declined their invitation, choosing to stay home and attend to her housework. Later, when she realized the child’s importance, she regretted her decision. Legend has it that ever since she’s roamed the earth searching for the Wise Men, rewarding good children and gently admonishing the bad.
Unlike Santa Claus (Or Babbo Natale as he’s called in Italy) La Befana has been a holiday tradition in Italy since the 13 th century. Though some Italians embrace the American tradition of Santa Claus, Christmas in Italy is far less commercialized, and La Befana remains a more popular figure. Her arrival on January 6 th is celebrated with traditional Italian foods such as panettone and special cakes and cookies called befani. In honor of the Three Wise Men, Italians go to church and enjoy spending the day with family. Children who have been good receive candy, and those who’ve misbehaved get lumps of coal – or these days, more likely, black rock candy.
La Befana is most associated with Rome and central Italy but the custom spread to the rest of the country during the 20th century. Today there are festivals throughout Italy, including a four day festival from January 2-6 in in Urbania in Le Marche region, and a large Befana Christmas market in Rome’s Piazza Navona.
Salem strega Lori Bruno feels a special kinship to La Befana, reaching out to her when she encounters a mother or child in need. “Now that I’m a grandmother I talk to her; I say Befana we need you to help the children.”
Bruno attributes her healing powers to her Sicilian roots. The island’s cultural diversity through the centuries, she says, has made it fertile ground for magic. “At one time Sicily was a mix of Jews and Italians,” she reflects. “The Jews know all about bad magic, good magic. On the kabbalistic tree of light witchcraft exists in the first three triads. Low magic works with earth currents and herbs. When you want to learn more, you climb the ladder. My family learned more.”
In Sicilian folklore, there are various ways to identify a witch, such as by observing their physical characteristics, strange behaviors, or possession of magical objects. Sicilian folk magic also includes the practice of divination, which is the art of seeking knowledge about the future or hidden truths through supernatural means. This can range from reading tea leaves, interpreting dreams, or consulting with cards or other objects, such as bones or stones. Divination is often used to gain insight into personal matters, relationships, or to predict future events. In addition to these practices, there are various other elements of Sicilian folk magic, such as the use of herbal remedies, traditional healing practices, and the belief in spirits and ghosts. Many of these beliefs and practices have been passed down through generations and are deeply rooted in Sicilian culture. Sicilian folk magic continues to be practiced today, although its popularity has diminished in modern times. Despite the influence of modernization and globalization, there are still Sicilians who hold on to their traditional beliefs and practices, keeping the traditions of folk magic alive. It serves as a reminder of the rich cultural heritage of the region and the importance of folklore in shaping the identity of its people..
Reviews for "The Role of Divination in Sicilian Folk Magic"
1. John - 2 stars - I was really looking forward to experiencing the charm of Sicilian folk magic, but I left the show feeling disappointed. The performances lacked the energy and excitement that I was hoping for. The dancers seemed to go through the motions without any real passion, and the music was repetitive and forgettable. Overall, I found the entire production to be quite underwhelming.
2. Sarah - 1 star - Sicilian folk magic was a complete letdown. The show appeared to be disorganized, and the performers seemed unsure of their own choreography. It almost felt like watching a group of amateurs trying to put on a performance. The costumes and set designs were also quite uninspiring. I would not recommend wasting your time and money on this show.
3. David - 2 stars - As someone who appreciates cultural performances, I was really excited to see "Sicilian folk magic," but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The show lacked coherence and a clear narrative. The transitions between acts felt forced, and there was no overall flow to the performance. The highlight of the show was the live music, but even that couldn't save the lackluster choreography and execution. I left the theater feeling unsatisfied and wishing I had chosen a different show to attend.
4. Emily - 2 stars - "Sicilian folk magic" seemed like a promising opportunity to experience something unique and vibrant. However, the performance failed to captivate me. The choreography felt disjointed and inconsistent, and the performers didn't seem to have a strong connection with the material. Additionally, the lighting and sound design were subpar, making it difficult to fully immerse myself in the performance. Overall, I was left feeling unimpressed and rather bored throughout the show.
5. Mark - 1 star - I was genuinely excited to see "Sicilian Folk Magic," but sadly, I was thoroughly disappointed. The performers appeared to lack enthusiasm and commitment, resulting in a lackluster display of talent. The show lacked a cohesive storyline or structure, making it difficult to stay engaged. The production felt amateurish and poorly executed, leaving me with a feeling of regret for investing both my time and money in this show. I would advise others to avoid this disappointment.