3 Ways to Know a Witch or Wizard. (Remember Macbeth from High School?)

~ Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live (Exodus 22:18)

Where are the witches? No woman walks around looking much this way nowadays

Do you remember Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Macbeth from High School? Do you know a witch when you spot one? I don't think that anybody has the tattoo of a witch anywhere on their body. All you see are insignia of love and affection, power, fame or even notoriety but I'm yet to see one announcing witchcraft. Why? None of those images depict the works of a bold woman who goes around causing trouble for all and sundry. All we do is ascribe tribal sentiments to people's places of origin. We like to think that all the witches and wizards in Nigeria are in Edo, Delta, Cross River and Akwa Ibom States. Just four states causing all the trouble in this country? Witchcraft is as old as man. In fact, it was hated in old Israel and banished in most European societies which burned them to stakes. The Holy Bible probably would hate it so much that it had this to say about the witch, who was:

'Such that had familiar spirits, and conversed with them, and by means thereof got knowledge of many things relating to persons, at least pretending they did; and who did or seemed to do many strange and surprising feats, as even to raise the spirits of departed persons, to converse with them and gain knowledge by them, though in reality they did not, and could not do such things, but used some juggling tricks to deceive the people, and in which they might be assisted by evil spirits; as appears from the case of the witch of Endor, who was surprised at the appearance of Samuel, it being out of the ordinary course of her art and practice really to bring up the spirit of a man deceased, whatever pretensions might be made to it; however, such being deceivers of the people, and leading them into unwarrantable practices, and off of a dependence on God and his providence, and from seeking to him, and asking counsel of him, they are by this law condemned to death, such an one was not to be suffered to live; not that it was lawful for anybody to kill her, or that any private person might or must do it that knew her, or took her to be a witch; but she was to be had before a court of judicature and tried there, and, if found guilty, to be put to death by the civil magistrate.'

Who's a Witch?

She's a woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones, popularly depicted as wearing a black cloak and pointed hat and flying on a broomstick. This is from the dictionary. In today's world, witchcraft is practised by people who profess all religions. Witches are your neigbours. Wizards are your bosses. Many of them are pagan practicing Haitian voodoo, African vodun or white Wicca. It's so bad that one would run into the bush for how evil the world has become lately. Many people wear amulets and charms in order to protect themselves from themselves (or from others?) in the United States of America. I had an encounter with a weird woman on a Greyhound (bus) ride from Dallas to Houston, Texas one evening in 2011. I shall recount the experience subsequently. Witches are consulted for various reasons as stated in the excerpt above from the Bible. Today, politicians consult them. Do your remember Macbeth who wanted to become King of Scotland and had to consult three witches? Unfortunately, in Nigeria, education would have been best served to dogs than human beings. 

Macbeth wanted to become President or Governor (as we would have it here today) because three witches encountered and told him to run for office (actually, they prophesied that he would be king, like Ndi Ekpere do nowadays). After many attempts he decided to do all within his power to achieve his ambition. In the character depicted by William Shakespeare, Macbeth murdered the incumbent King Duncan and became king. Anyway, it didn't end there, he continued his killing spree and it all became a tragedy. So much like what we have playing out in Nigeria today. Is there a correlation? Wicked ambition. What's my point? What was the role of the trio witches in setting Macbeth up? So, since it's hardly easy to spot a witch or a wizard (warlock) or a necromancer, how do you find out whether your mother, sister, sister-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, teacher, friend, enemy or whatever woman in your life is a witch or their male counterpart is a wizard? Not all witches wear black hats and fly on broomsticks. 

In a nutshell, let me state the three ways that witches and wizards can be known (it's hard to spot people from afar). You need to know people enough to call them any names or assign any character to them. If you know the way to spot a coven user from a distance, do let me know. 

Meanwhile, the three ways to know a witch or wizard is to discover if they:

1. Cause Harm
2. Do distortions, and/or
3. Cause disruptions

More elucidation coming soon.

To be continued....