Witches Need A Better Union

Exodus 22:18 (King James Version)

¹⁸Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Folks used to take that seriously.  A practitioner of sorcery or witchcraft could look forward to stoning, hanging or burning at-the-stake, followed immediately by an eternity in Hell. 

 

In the  Salem Witch Trials, back 1692, over 150 people were arrested and accused.  The first to go on trial and be hanged was Bridget Bishop. Another thirteen women, four men, and one dog (convicted of being a “transformed” witch)  would follow her to the gallows over the days of that summer. One other  man, Giles Corey, was "pressed," crushed to death with large heavy stones, as he steadfastly refused to plead guilty to the witchcraft charge against him.

It is now 2011, and attitudes towards witches have changed considerably.  Since Glinda (why wasn’t that spelled with an E?) in the Wizard of Oz, we have been bombarded with good witches – the White Witch in Narnia, Elizabeth Montgomery and Catherine Bell on TV,

and a ton of cutesy kid witches in dozens of childrens’ books.

Now,  the government of Romania is taking a more enlightened approach to witches,  according to a story from the Associated Press:

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romania has changed its labor laws to officially recognize witchcraft as a profession, prompting one self-described witch to threaten retaliation.

The move, which went into effect Saturday, is part of the government's drive to crack down on widespread tax evasion in a country that is in recession.

In addition to witches, astrologists, embalmers, valets and driving instructors are now considered by labor law to be working real jobs, making it harder for them to avoid income tax.

For months the measure had been debated, protested by witches and mocked by the media.

On Saturday, a witch called Bratara told  the website of a top TV station, that she plans to cast a spell using black pepper and yeast to create discord in the Romanian government.

Granted, nobody loves taxes, but this Bratara sounds like the kind of gal who would –in the words of my grandfather - “Bitch if she got hung with a new rope.”