Child Sacrifice in the New Age: Salem's
Witch Cult and America's Abortion
Industry
By Jay Rogers
MELBOURNE, Florida - Patricia Baird-Windle, founder and executive director of Aware
Woman Center for Choice, has been in the national media spotlight recently. A featured
guest on Good Morning America and the subject of a Rolling Stone magazine article, she
has gained her notoriety through being portrayed as the embattled owner of Brevard
County, Florida's only abortion clinic. Rolling Stone portrayed Windle as a suffering
saint and "one of the most persecuted women in America." Local pro-lifers were painted
as a movement led "almost entirely by white men" who "fit the Son of Sam profile."1
Media coverage hasn't been exactly unbiased.
In resisting the abortion industry in the state of Florida, some local pro-life activists have
repeatedly come across statements from residents in the Melbourne area linking Patricia
Baird-Windle to witchcraft. Area pro-lifers claim that Windle has stated: "You practice
your religion and let me practice mine." When asked what her religion was, Windle is
alleged to have remarked: "My religion is a holy ritual of child sacrifice."
If comments made by Windle were off-the-cuff, then most people would dismiss these
allegations as the "hysteria of the religious right." However, further investigative research
has shown that there is a strong connection between the Aware Woman abortion clinic
and a cult of witches called Wicca. As we view the ties between the Wiccan organization
and the abortion industry, the conclusion will become obvious: The promotion of
abortion is not just a political issue for members of Wicca; it is part of a religious agenda
- the religion of witchcraft and child sacrifice.
Wiccan Religious Cooperative of Florida
The city of Melbourne is just one example of the growing national connection between
the abortion industry and the religion of witchcraft. An employee of Aware Woman,
Veronica Jordan, and a former employee, Rebecca Morris, are two of the six founding
directors of a registered non-profit religious corporation known as the Wiccan Religious
Cooperative of Florida (WRCF). The WRCF lists a post office box in Orlando as its
principal address, and is attempting to network witches' covens throughout central
Florida. One group working closely with WRCF is the Church of the Iron Oak. They
meet weekly for "Wiccan Ways," a teaching seminar at 1220 East Prospect Street,
Melbourne, and for rituals in a backyard of a dead end street at 2027 Mattison Drive NE,
Palm Bay.
Air, Fire, Water & Earth, a New Age book shop at 795 S. Wickham Road, West
Melbourne, functions as another meeting place for local Wiccans. Activities of the
WRCF have taken place at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Melbourne.
Practicing witches in Melbourne are also members of Project Response (a
homosexual/AIDS activist group) and South Brevard National Organization for Women
(NOW). They are politically active, own profitable businesses, and universally support
abortion on demand in America.
A newsletter published eight times a year, Open Circle, informs area "Wiccans and
Pagans" about upcoming events and describes the activities of Church of the Iron Oak.
Veronica Jordan's post office box (P.O. Box 060192, Palm Bay, FL 32906) is the mailing
address for Open Circle. The editors take pseudonyms - "Lord Shelandera," "Dahud," and
"Lady Rowana" - the supposed names of pagan gods and goddesses.
The January 1993 issue of Open Circle described WRCF's founding: "A year ago the
dream of an umbrella group under which many covens would function and be committed
to peace and harmony 'For The Good Of All,' was just that, a dream. But now it is a
reality and a very, very big part of the lives of many people. Five board members with a
sixth as a mediator made a commitment to five years of donating time to a Wiccan
umbrella group ... Teaching, which was started by three people in Orlando in the summer
of 1991 is really the first 'order of business' of WRCF ... The first class in Brevard
County shares teaching responsibility among six Elders and also had nearly 40 students
registered this past October."
This particular issue, published the same month that Operation Rescue's IMPACT team
began its training course in Melbourne, alerted area Wiccans and Pagans to the spiritual
warfare that they would soon be facing. "Dahud" explains that "... steps are being taken to
protect not only Aware Woman, but a woman's right to choose. Work is being done
mundanely, financially, and magically, to help get through the next few months and
beyond."
Readers of Open Circle are exhorted to become "clinic escorts" - pro-abortion activists
who eagerly escort pregnant women entering the abortion clinic. Clinic escorts distract
the women from pro-life sidewalk counselors who try to hand them literature and counsel
them not to have an abortion. Undoubtedly, many of Aware Woman's "clinic escorts" are
practicing witches. Readers of Open Circle are also told how they can help fund the
South Brevard National Organization of Woman's program to help low income women
have abortions.
Wiccans are also encouraged to work their magic on the area surrounding the clinic:
"Finally, many individuals and groups have been helping to magically (sic) protect the
building and property ... This has been done by magical and psychic shielding being put
on and around the property...."
The phone number of Aware Woman is given and the following guidelines are suggested:
"If you want to do magical work to protect the clinic, please, please, do it with perfect
love and trust. Our goal is to protect the clinic, the staff, and the patients from those who
want to force their views on them. Please keep in mind the Harm None Clause and make
your work defensive in nature."
And just what is the "Harm None Clause" to which Wiccans refer? According to Laurie
Cabot, founder of the Witches League for Public Awareness in Salem, Massachusetts, the
Wiccan craft is based on three principles, the first being: "Do what you will and harm
none."2 Christians whose actions uphold the moral law of God found in the Bible (You
shall not murder) are "those who want to force their views" on society. Apparently, the
Wiccan "Harm None" clause does not apply to the life of the unborn child.
Wiccan Ways
In researching Wiccan festivals and worship, we sent two college students to one of the
"Wiccan Ways" weekly meetings in Melbourne. Upon arriving for the first class, they
were greeted with suspicion by their hosts: "How old are you? If you're underage, you
can't attend this class. If you are under 18 years of age, your parents could bring suit
against us." They were charged $3.50 each for the hour-and-a-half long seminar. After
the meeting with the Wiccan teaching group and study of literature obtained at the
seminar, we were able to obtain answers to questions we had about Wicca.
How many Wiccans are there? Conservative reckonings estimate that there are 200,000
Witches in the United States.
How does Wicca gain followers? In order to be initiated into a coven, a year or more of
training is usually required. The movement grows through networking and outreach.
Some Wiccans travel throughout the United States as folk musicians or teachers,
promoting the movement by visiting covens, singing and teaching at festivals.
What happens at Wiccan festivals? Wiccan festivals or Sabbats occur eight times a year:
four times on the solstices and equinoxes; and four earth holidays between these times.
This is a time of dancing and celebration; sometimes a skit is performed to honor the god
or goddess being worshipped.
What happens at Wiccan rituals? Full moon and new moon rituals occur each month and
involve consecration of a ritual space and the invocation of pagan gods. Ceremonial stone
rings are created and fires are lit. The difference between the two was summarized by the
Wiccan Ways' teacher: "Festivals are for fun; rituals are for worship." Members of Wicca
were encouraged to bring family and friends to their Sabbat festivals, but the worship
rituals were off limits to the uninitiated. Wiccans believe that their spells and rituals have
their greatest effect on these holidays.
Do Wiccans worship Satan? From a biblical viewpoint, witches do worship Satan.
Although witches claim not to believe in the Christian concept of Satan, they do worship
"the European Pagan Horned God, who has been depicted as Pan.... Our Horned God is
neither evil nor a source of evil; He is the energy of nature, of plant and animal life,
which energy manifests for people in music and dance, intoxication and ecstasy, and all
joyous activities, including lovemaking."3
What about bloodletting? Although Wiccans deny using animal and human sacrifices in
their rituals they do admit that they "pour out libations ... Some female Witches use their
own menstrual blood in spells; other witches may prick themselves ... and offer a drop or
two of their own blood. But the only blood a Witch has the right to offer is her/his own."
As of the printing of this article, we were not able to ascertain whether or not Witches use
the blood of aborted children in their sacrifices. Since the child is not considered human
according to our liberal abortion laws, it stands to reason that such a sacrifice, protected
by law, could be used by witches.
Wicca's National Network
The association of witchcraft/paganism with the promotion of abortion on demand can be
seen in cities where Wicca has gained it strongest following. Most of these centers are
liberal communities with large colleges or universities such as San Francisco; Cleveland;
Birmingham; Boston; and Salem. Wicca finds its greatest popularity in so-called "New
Age Centers." However, many Wiccans look down on New Agers as "spiritual wannabe's" who have picked up the terminology of Pagans and Wiccans, but "have no expertise
in the craft." Wiccans are those who take their "magic" more seriously.
The Witches' League for Public Awareness and the Wiccan Religious Cooperative of
Florida are two groups which are seeking to bring about Wiccan "unity" by networking
covens into a nationally-organized, highly-funded, tax-exempt cult with a local
headquarters in every New Age Center.
Salem, Massachusetts not only symbolizes witchcraft to tourists with a casual historical
interest, but is the national headquarters of an organized, politically-active and profitable
cult. Laurie Cabot is the foremost leader of the American witch cult. Cabot, called the
"official witch" of Salem, Massachusetts, made her first national convergence in the
April, 1979 issue of National Geographic. The magazine described her as a descendant of
a well-known Massachusetts family: "Ten years ago (1969) she felt drawn to Salem from
her home on the West Coast. Shortly after settling in the town, she announced herself to
the mayor as a witch. Since then Laurie Cabot has made a living lecturing on witchcraft
and selling herbs, astrological charts, and magic mirrors."
The National Geographic report described a ritual led by Cabot in which a coven of her
followers called upon the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis. She was also described as being
involved in group chanting and displays of psychic power in conjuring a "blue aura."
When the National Geographic article was published in 1979, there were 350 witches in
the area. Today Salem, a city of 38,000 people, has approximately 2,400 practicing
witches. Cabot has become well-known across the nation and has been featured on
television talk shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning America.
Cabot's agenda is to organize the 2,400 witches in Salem (one-third of whom are feminist
activists) and the 200,000 witches nationwide. She wants to "set the record straight" on
the definition of Wicca by dispelling the notion that there is anything evil about
witchcraft. Cabot contends that the concept of Satan was introduced by the Christian
Church, but that there is no place for the devil in their beliefs, practices and traditions.
Cabot seeks to portray witchcraft in a respectable new light as a "science and an art."
Says Cabot, "Witchcraft has not been redefined since 1692, and it's time for people to ask
us who we are, not ask our enemies."4
Cabot and her league of witches lobby as a political action group through 15 witches'
councils which cover the United States, Ireland, England and Canada. Cabot's strategy is
to desensitize Americans to the evils of witchcraft and to promote Wicca through a
carefully crafted political agenda. According to Cabot: "Each council head oversees
volunteer activities such as letter writing campaigns, monitoring television programs,
news reports, and newspaper accounts of Witchcraft, and reporting back to our central
office in Salem. In addition to being a watchdog on misinformation about the Craft, we
review books and articles on the Craft and recommend the better ones to libraries and
schools. We also keep tabs on congressional bills that deal with civil rights and religious
liberties."5
Abortion advocates from Salem have militantly demonstrated at Boston area abortion
clinics, common sites of pro-life activism. Pro-life leaders in the Boston area claim that
witches from Salem make up some of the ranks of some of the most vocal pro-abortion
activists. Laurie Cabot concurs with the rise of feminist activism within Wiccan covens
that worship the Goddess Diana: "In Dianic covens great emphasis is placed on the
Goddess and the role of priestesses. Covens and organizations are matrifocal and center
around women's issues. The current women's movement has inspired much of the
political activism that some covens engage in.... radical feminism, including lesbianism,
has found a place in Dianic covens...."6
Witchcraft and Child Sacrifice
Mention the word witchcraft and most Americans think of the Salem witch trials - "an
outbreak of religious hysteria among superstitious people." The term "witch hunt" evokes
the most negative images. There is no doubt that many of those executed for witchcraft
were the innocent victims of gross superstition. But it is hard to cope with the genuine
instances of demonically inspired activity recorded with full documentation. A modern
misconception about those tried and executed for witchcraft is that they were punished
for merely casting spells. The death penalty for witches was prescribed for their
monstrous practice of human sacrifice.
The biblical injunction, "You shall not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18) had nothing
to do with bigotry against those practicing the religion of witchcraft. God had warned
Israel not to intermingle with the Canaanite tribes - worshippers of Baal, Asherah,
Molech and Ashteroth - because they were practitioners of child sacrifice. The ancient
Israelites were first enticed into sexual promiscuity through the worship of Baal and
Asherah, the sun god and fertility goddess. The children of this generation grew up in a
world in which pagan sex rituals were deemed "normal." Soon Israel was lured into
worshipping Molech and Ashteroth, supposedly the same deities; but darker and more
sinister, demanding human sacrifice.
In Power of the Witch, Laurie Cabot extols the paganism the ancient Celtic world in
which fornication, adultery and homosexuality were "normal." The Mother Goddess cult
is presented as "a joyous, playful, sensuous, peace-loving culture."7 Cabot then describes
the permutation of the Mother Goddess into an old crone and the Horned God into a
ravenous animal. Cabot's description closely mirrors the transformation of ancient deities
from sensual sun gods and fertility goddesses into demons of infant ritual sacrifice.
And like the ancient Israelites, 20th century Americans were first enticed by the sexual
revolution of the 1960s; and just a few years later we codified abortion as a "fundamental
right" and killed over one million unborn children a year. Whenever pagan sexual
immorality is accepted, abortion and child sacrifice becomes a necessity in covering up
the fruit of sin.
As we look at revivals of paganism in historical perspective, the connection between
abortion and witchcraft becomes even more apparent. It is impossible to understand
ancient and medieval Europe without having an understanding of the pagan rituals that
accompanied everyday life. Paganism and Witchcraft played an important part in these
periods, affecting the lives of all classes of people.
* The Celtic and Northern German tribes - the ancestors of English and German speaking
peoples - were barbaric, pagan idolaters who sacrificed their own children to the Mother
Goddess. Child sacrifice and abortion were practiced and were accepted as facts of
everyday life - the necessary consummation of rampant sexual immorality.
* In 15th century Italy, Pope Innocent VIII was so concerned about the rise of witchcraft
that he commissioned Kraemer and Sprenger's famous Malleus Maleficarum, a treatise
on Witchcraft. Commissioned in 1484, the treatise repeatedly links witchcraft to abortion
and child sacrifice: "Witches who are midwives in various ways kill the child conceived
in the womb and procure an abortion...."8 In Italy and other European countries of the
Renaissance, witchcraft was repeatedly linked to the practice of child sacrifice and
abortion.9
* During the reign of Louis XIV, witch trials were held in France which exposed a vast
network of abortion services and the trafficking of new-borns used for sacrifices in the
Sabbats of a High Priestess named la Voisin: "The child was held over the altar, a sharp
gash across the neck, a stifled cry, and warm drops fell into the chalice.... The corpse was
handed to la Voisin, who flung it callously into an oven fashioned for that purpose which
glowed white hot in its fierceness. It was proved that regular traffic had been carried on
for years with beggar women and the lowest prostitutes, who sold their children for this
purpose. At her trial la Voisin confessed that no less than 2,500 babies had been disposed
of in this manner...."10
* 20th century Nazi Germany is yet another example of how a revival of neo-Paganism
led to adult human sacrifice. In The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer
points to a sterilization law passed in 1933 as the event which began the persecution of
Christians and Jews throughout Germany.11 Abortion was also made legal during this
time. This was the spiritual impetus which brought a revival of human sacrifices being
offered to ancient pagan deities - complete with Nazi rituals - to the forefront. The
Holocaust was preceded by vast pageants which Hitler used to promote neo-Paganism.
Resolutions were drawn up requiring all pastors to take an oath of allegiance to Hitler and
insisting that all churches institute the Aryan paragraph and exclude converted Jews."12
Pastors who resisted were jailed.
"Not many Germans lost much sleep over the arrests of a few thousand pastors and
priests or over the quarreling of Protestant sects. And even fewer paused to reflect that
under the leadership of Rosenberg, Borman and Himmler, who were backed by Hitler,
the Nazi regime intended to destroy Christianity in Germany, if it could, and substitute
the old paganism of the early tribal Germanic gods and the new paganism of the Nazi
extremists. As Bormann, one of the men closest to Hitler, said in 1941, 'National
Socialism and Christianity are irreconcilable.'"13
History tells us that neo-Paganism has experienced sporadic revivals, but also that the
Church has had great success in openly confronting witchcraft and the practice of child
sacrifice. But whenever the Church has compromised with pagan culture, she herself has
become paganized eventually committing the same practices that she was commissioned
to destroy. Pagan cultures that have worshipped false gods and practiced human sacrifice
- Canaanites; Carthage; the Celtic tribes; and Nazi Germany - faced immanent
destruction. This scenario is being replayed today. We now have laws that make it a
federal felony for Christians to peacefully blockade an abortion clinic and are on the
verge of making "mercy killing" legal. We are facing the immanent paganization of our
culture.
Americans are turning to pre-Christian pagan religions because the Church is culturally
irrelevant and is not having an impact on our society. Christians are losing the battle for
the same reason that the pagans are gaining a foothold. Pagans take pains to appear as
"nice people"; are involved in community causes; give generously to political lobbyist
groups such as NOW; and are aware of the threat that activated Christians pose to their
continued existence.
On the other hand, modern evangelical Christians are ignorant of the historical precedent
for revival even in the face of militant paganism. The average evangelical is content to
meet with other Christians on Sunday to worship God, yet is not politically active and
will not contribute in such a way as to re-Christianize our nation. We do not see a need to
resist idolatry even with pagan immorality being codified at the highest levels of
government.
But it is still possible to turn the tide! Just think of how mighty and godly some of the
more committed Christians in your community are. Imagine how powerful God's people
could be in turning the tide towards righteousness. God has a prophetic company of men
and women who are destined to go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah to confront
wickedness and change our nation!
How you can resist modern paganism
1. Recognize that abortion is a spiritual issue. Abortion is the sacrifice of human preborn
infants on the altar of convenience by those with a pagan worldview. Abortion is not just
a political or social issue; it's a spiritual issue. Witchcraft is the spiritual force behind the
politics of abortion.
2. Engage in spiritual warfare against demonic forces. It is important for the Church in
America to go to the places where the killing is taking place and intercede on behalf of
the unborn. There are many forms that this can take, but spiritual warfare is most
effective when you appear physically at the abortuary nearest to your home. Jesus said:
"The gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church" (Matthew 16:18).
3. Evangelism. Many abortion advocates are not secular humanists, but are deeply
spiritual people. They are drawn to the spiritual power of occult practices. Some of the
most meaningful evangelistic exchanges come before the very gates of hell - the abortion
clinics of America. Don't get caught into the trap of thinking that God loves the
abortionist, but merely hates his sin. God can pour out his grace on those practicing
human sacrifice, but they must repent. Pray that God will touch that deep spiritual
impulse in abortionists to seek reconciliation with their loving Father. Pray also that if
they don't repent that God will purge their sin with His fiery judgment.
4. Become politically and socially involved. Don't be fooled by the modern prevailing
notion that God is not involved in politics. Isaiah described the role of Jesus Christ in
governing the affairs of men: "And the government shall be upon His shoulders" (Isaiah
9:6). This government includes individual, family and church self-government, but this
verse also applies to civil government. Civil government is not "secular" or evil, but
should be ruled by the moral law of God.
5. Give generously to ministries that are committed to reforming our society. There are
many organizations that are committed to fighting the war against abortion. But
reformation must happen at the grass roots level among committed individuals. The best
contribution you can make is to support the local pro-life ministry in your area, or a local
church or ministry that is involved in societal reformation. The most meaningful sacrifice
that you can make is your own time and effort. Unless you get involved, God will hold
you ultimately responsible for the holocaust that is occurring in our nation.
For a list of media resources and information on how you can resist the flood of evil in
our country, write: Media House International, P.O. Box 362173, Melbourne, FL 32936.
1 Paul Solotaroff, "Surviving the Crusades," Rolling Stone, Oct.14,'93, pp.59,60.
2 Laurie Cabot, Power of the Witch (Delacorte Press, New York, 1989) p.51.
3 Witchcraft: Commonly-Asked Questions; Straightforward Answers, Homebrewed
Productions, 2140 Shattuck Ave., #2236, Berkeley, CA 94704.
4 Jan Phillips, "The Craft of the Wise," Ms., January/February 1993, p.79.
5 Cabot, pp.85,86.
6 Ibid, p.83.
7 Ibid, p.33.
8 The Malleus Maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, trans. Rev.
Montague Summers (Dover Publications, New York, 1971) p.66.
9 Montague Summers, Geography of Witchcraft (University Books, New Hyde Park,
New York, 1965).
10 Ibid, p.432,433.
11 William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall the Third Reich (Simon and Schuster, New York,
1960) p.234,235.
12 Ibid, p.237.
13 Ibid, p.240.