Witch Tax Rebellion in Romania: “We Do Harm to Those Who Harm Us”

(p. 16A) MOGOSOIA, Romania–Everyone curses the tax man, but Romanian witches angry about having to pay up for the first time are planning to use cat excrement and dead dogs to cast spells on the president and government.

Also among Romania’s newest taxpayers are fortune tellers–but they probably should have seen it coming.
. . .
Romanian witches from the east and west will head to the southern plains and the Danube River on Thursday to threaten the government with spells and spirits because of the tax law, which came into effect Jan. 1.
A dozen witches will hurl the poisonous mandrake plant into the Danube to put a hex on government officials “so evil will befall them,” said a witch named Alisia. She identified herself with one name–customary among Romania’s witches.
. . .
. . . spiritualism has long been tolerated by the Orthodox Church in Romania, and the late Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, had their own personal witch.
Queen witch Bratara Buzea, 63, who was imprisoned in 1977 for witchcraft under Ceausescu’s repressive regime, is furious about the new law.
Sitting cross-legged in her villa in the lake resort of Mogosoaia, just north of Bucharest, she said Wednesday she planned to cast a spell using a particularly effective concoction of cat excrement and a dead dog, along with a chorus of witches.
“We do harm to those who harm us,” she said. “They want to take the country out of this crisis using us? They should get us out of the crisis because they brought us into it.”

For the full story, see:
ALISON MUTLER. “Witches Curses Over Paying Tax.” The Denver Post (Thurs., January 6, 2011): 16A.
(Note: ellipses added.)
(Note: the online version of the article has the title “Curses! Romania’s witches forced to pay income tax.”)

If you prefer a briefer version of the witch story, you may consult:
The Associated Press. “A Tax on Witches? A Pox on the President.” The New York Times (Fri., January 7, 2011): A9.
(Note: the online version of the NYT article is dated January 6, 2011.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *