Witches fight for liberation
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Tucson Daily Citizen
February 19, 1974
February 19, 1974
By PHILLIP NOBILE Universal Press
I don’t think I’m quite ready for Witches’ Liberation. But I guess I’m going to have to live with it and so are you. Leo Martello, a former minister
turned witch high priest, started the movement a few years ago when he was denied a permit to celebrate Halloween in Central Park. Enter the
Civil Liberties Union and witches got their permit without even casting a spell.
Modern witches are very sensitive about their image. They insist history has given them a bum rap. Real witches were supposedly simple
country folk who worshipped the old gods. Heaven forbid that they should ever consort with the devil or stick pins in wax dolls.
“Today witches are treated like refugees from a psychotic ward,” Martello complained to me in his red and black ritual chamber. “Most media
people consider us cute and refuse to take us seriously.”
I am afraid Martello is right. Witches’ Liberation may be the last straw in the Age of Aquarius. If witches don’t shut up, the inquisition could make
a swift comeback.
Here is how our interview went:
Q-I realize you’re probably sincere, but I can’t imagine how anyone could be seduced by witchcraft in the 20th century.
A-How can anyone today take any religion seriously?
Q-You mean witchcraft is a religion?
A-Of course. It’s the old religion that predates Christianity. We have a horned god and another goddess. In fact, we are the only religion that
retains worship of the female principle. All others have become male chauvinist.
Q-Primitive people used to believe in a lot of crazy gods – a sun god, a rain god, etc. – that no longer command belief. So why
return to witchcraft?
A-Most witches are highly rational sorts. We worship the forces of nature and no man can abandon them. We still plan by the sun and the
moon. We sow and reap at certain times. Man must abide by nature’s laws if he’s going to thrive on this planet.
Q-What if I don’t pray to the sun and the moon and the sky, am I in trouble? Will nature take revenge on me?
A-Witchcraft does not teach a system of rewards and punishments. We believe in reincarnation, not heaven of hell.
The covens consist of 13 or less members. Each witch in the coven is a practicing high priest or priestess. We have no passive observers. So
we have to keep things small. Otherwise we’d be like most churches where the laity only sits and watches.
Q-Your brand of witchcraft seems pretty harmless. How come history has given witches such a rotten name?
A-During the Middle Ages, the Church satanized witchcraft in an attempt to wipe out all competition. Witches were called heretics. Yet witches
were never anti-Christian. They were and are simply non-Christian. In the Middle Ages, the city dwellers tended to convert to Christianity. But
those in the outlying districts kept the old religion and rituals.
Q-Witches once claimed magical powers. Is magic still an article of your faith?
A-Very definitely. But magic to us is the ability to focus our minds on a particular project – like healing a sick friend or getting a witch a job. When
the coven gets together and dances in a circle, we send out magical thoughts for this person. In 90 per cent of the cases, successful results are
reported. But you can’t buy our magic, it’s free for those who request it.
Q-We haven’t stoned a witch since the time of Salem. Certainly nobody bothers you today.
A-You want to bet? Just last year a penal psychologist publicly declared he was an initiated witch. The opposition was so great that he then was
forced to go to court to save his job. This kind of harassment occurs constantly.
Q-You can’t purge history of its anti-witch bias. Witches are part of our folklore. There will always be a Halloween.
A-Halloween is a major religious holiday for witches and it has been stolen from us by Judeo-Christian society for commercial purposes. Non-
witches make more money on witchcraft than we do.
We may not be able to change people’s minds, But there are laws of the land that we intend to use to gain our rights.
The FCC regulation for equal time on radio and television. Broadcast sermons rotate among the three major denominations – the Catholics,
Protestants and Jews. But there are Buddhists, Moslems, witches and other religions in this country. Since the government says that the
airwaves belong to the people, we’re going to court to press for equal time.
I don’t think I’m quite ready for Witches’ Liberation. But I guess I’m going to have to live with it and so are you. Leo Martello, a former minister
turned witch high priest, started the movement a few years ago when he was denied a permit to celebrate Halloween in Central Park. Enter the
Civil Liberties Union and witches got their permit without even casting a spell.
Modern witches are very sensitive about their image. They insist history has given them a bum rap. Real witches were supposedly simple
country folk who worshipped the old gods. Heaven forbid that they should ever consort with the devil or stick pins in wax dolls.
“Today witches are treated like refugees from a psychotic ward,” Martello complained to me in his red and black ritual chamber. “Most media
people consider us cute and refuse to take us seriously.”
I am afraid Martello is right. Witches’ Liberation may be the last straw in the Age of Aquarius. If witches don’t shut up, the inquisition could make
a swift comeback.
Here is how our interview went:
Q-I realize you’re probably sincere, but I can’t imagine how anyone could be seduced by witchcraft in the 20th century.
A-How can anyone today take any religion seriously?
Q-You mean witchcraft is a religion?
A-Of course. It’s the old religion that predates Christianity. We have a horned god and another goddess. In fact, we are the only religion that
retains worship of the female principle. All others have become male chauvinist.
Q-Primitive people used to believe in a lot of crazy gods – a sun god, a rain god, etc. – that no longer command belief. So why
return to witchcraft?
A-Most witches are highly rational sorts. We worship the forces of nature and no man can abandon them. We still plan by the sun and the
moon. We sow and reap at certain times. Man must abide by nature’s laws if he’s going to thrive on this planet.
Q-What if I don’t pray to the sun and the moon and the sky, am I in trouble? Will nature take revenge on me?
A-Witchcraft does not teach a system of rewards and punishments. We believe in reincarnation, not heaven of hell.
The covens consist of 13 or less members. Each witch in the coven is a practicing high priest or priestess. We have no passive observers. So
we have to keep things small. Otherwise we’d be like most churches where the laity only sits and watches.
Q-Your brand of witchcraft seems pretty harmless. How come history has given witches such a rotten name?
A-During the Middle Ages, the Church satanized witchcraft in an attempt to wipe out all competition. Witches were called heretics. Yet witches
were never anti-Christian. They were and are simply non-Christian. In the Middle Ages, the city dwellers tended to convert to Christianity. But
those in the outlying districts kept the old religion and rituals.
Q-Witches once claimed magical powers. Is magic still an article of your faith?
A-Very definitely. But magic to us is the ability to focus our minds on a particular project – like healing a sick friend or getting a witch a job. When
the coven gets together and dances in a circle, we send out magical thoughts for this person. In 90 per cent of the cases, successful results are
reported. But you can’t buy our magic, it’s free for those who request it.
Q-We haven’t stoned a witch since the time of Salem. Certainly nobody bothers you today.
A-You want to bet? Just last year a penal psychologist publicly declared he was an initiated witch. The opposition was so great that he then was
forced to go to court to save his job. This kind of harassment occurs constantly.
Q-You can’t purge history of its anti-witch bias. Witches are part of our folklore. There will always be a Halloween.
A-Halloween is a major religious holiday for witches and it has been stolen from us by Judeo-Christian society for commercial purposes. Non-
witches make more money on witchcraft than we do.
We may not be able to change people’s minds, But there are laws of the land that we intend to use to gain our rights.
The FCC regulation for equal time on radio and television. Broadcast sermons rotate among the three major denominations – the Catholics,
Protestants and Jews. But there are Buddhists, Moslems, witches and other religions in this country. Since the government says that the
airwaves belong to the people, we’re going to court to press for equal time.
