On Wednesday the Salem News reported<\/a> that Laurie Cabot<\/a>, Salem,\u00a0Massachusetts\u2019 official Witch, would be closing the doors of\u00a0The Official Witch Shoppe<\/a> at the end of January, bringing to an end Cabot\u2019s 42-year run of owning and operating Witch-related stores in Salem. The Salem News piece quotes a message sent out by Cabot on January 6th<\/a>, detailing the reasons why Cabot is stepping back from personally running a retail establishment.<\/p>\n \u201cHere I sit now, reflecting on my life as a Witch, my goals, challenges and successes both in the past and what will be in the future. My goals have changed, my focus must now change to meet those goals and it is to that end that I have decided to gear my focus to our temple, the first ever temple of Witchcraft in Salem, the Cabot Kent Hermetic Temple, what an event! In 1692 people in Salem township were killed in the name of Witchcraft, murdered when there is no evidence to support they were even Witches or knew what Witches were, and now today we have founded our temple in its place! We are working to replace fear and hate with hope, love and majick. My goal is to is to see this temple flourish, I want to see us have a building, a real place where anyone can come and learn about Witchcraft, the science, the art and the religion. A place where you can learn about your Celtic ancestors, our Gods and Goddesses, where we can use majick and cast spells to heal the world.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Over the years Cabot has run and operated four\u00a0separate stores:\u00a0\u00a0The Witch Shoppe, opened in 1971,\u00a0Crow Haven Corner (now under different ownership), The Cat, The Crow and The Crown, and finally, \u00a0The Official Witch Shoppe. Cabot and her growing family of initiates and students oversaw Salem\u2019s transformation from sleepy New England city with an infamous history of killing accused witches<\/a>, to a massive Halloween tourist draw that now boasts a number of occult, Pagan, and Witchcraft-related businesses<\/a>. During that time, Cabot emerged as a prominent voice for an emerging Pagan movement in the United States, was\u00a0profiled in National Geographic<\/a>, appeared in documentaries<\/a>,\u00a0on\u00a0talk-shows (including Oprah!), and wrote a number of popular books on Witchcraft and occult practices<\/a>.<\/p>\n At news of this shift in focus for Cabot, hundreds of Pagans and Wiccans have expressed their thanks for her work<\/a>, and wished her well on the planned temple project. Noted author and Temple of Witchcraft<\/a> co-founder\u00a0Christopher Penczak<\/a>, who was a former student of Cabot\u2019s, says that \u201cthere was always a special magick to learning magick in her shop.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll treasure the time I spent in this shop in the reading room chatting with her and teaching there after hours. I\u2019m sad to see it go, but know it\u2019s part of her evolving work to manifest a physical temple in Salem for the Cabot-Kent Hermetic Temple. With about forty years involved in a shop in Salem, it\u2019s time for a change and I\u201dm glad to see her making that change.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Green Witch Amy Blackthorn<\/a>, a frequent visitor to Salem, added \u201cyou can always tell what the \u2018temperature\u2019 in the Pagan community nationwide\u201d<\/em> by entering her shop.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been following Ms Cabot\u2019s work for 19 years. My husband and I vacation in Salem every quarter, and though I don\u2019t go to Laurie for readings, she is always a dear to talk to. You can always tell what the \u2018temperature\u2019 in the Pagan community nationwide by going into \u2018The Cat The Crow and the Crown\u2019 because it\u2019ll feature in the shop. No matter what Laurie sets her mind to do, especially with her new Temple, I\u2019m sure she\u2019ll do it in her signature way. Pickering Wharf will be a bit darker for her absence. I\u2019ll raise a Wharf Rat in her name on our next visit.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n While Cabot has been a polarizing figure for some in the Pagan community due to her flamboyance and willingness to embrace publicity, it was also these characteristics that helped slowly mainstream religious Witchcraft, Wicca, and modern Paganism. \u00a0For all the black capes, conical hats, and impressive eye makeup, we shouldn\u2019t forget that Laurie Cabot was named Salem\u2019s \u201cOfficial Witch\u201d by then-Governor\u00a0Michael Dukakis\u00a0for her work with special needs children<\/a>. At Cabot\u2019s root is a willingness to be healer and a teacher, to endure years of scorn and ridicule so that today\u2019s Witches in Salem can largely party with impunity. \u00a0As for the future, the 78-year-old has no plans to slow down.<\/p>\n \u201cI will continue to teach; my classes on Witchcraft and Tarot are still very much available as are my physic readings and workshops. The shops phone number will remain the same and continue to operate for more information on classes, workshops and readings as well as online at the shops website which will continue to operate, more information will be provided should the fate of that site change.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n You can follow the progress of the Cabot-Kent Hermetic Temple, here<\/a>. You can also keep track of Cabot\u2019s work at her official web site<\/a>. We here at The Wild Hunt<\/em> wish Ms. Cabot all the best in her future endeavors, and thank her for her ongoing service to our community.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Wednesday the Salem News reported that Laurie Cabot, Salem,\u00a0Massachusetts\u2019 official Witch, would be closing the doors of\u00a0The Official Witch Shoppe at the end of January, bringing to an end Cabot\u2019s 42-year run of owning and operating Witch-related stores in Salem. The Salem News piece quotes a message sent out by Cabot on January 6th, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[3136,3137,2847,1306,1442,2065,3135,2633,2662],"class_list":["post-8966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paganism","category-religion","tag-amy-blackthorn","tag-cabot-kent-hermetic-temple","tag-christopher-penczak","tag-laurie-cabot","tag-massachusetts","tag-salem","tag-the-official-witch-shoppe","tag-wicca","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\n