Some powers were more innocent than others. Young girls in Salem dappled with fortune telling. One practice involved suspending an egg white in a glass and looking in it for a sign of a girl's future husband's profession. Some witches were first considered "wise women." Others would go to these women (or possibly, but not likely, men) for remedies, charms, and fortune telling. Though the ministers objected, popular belief was these women recieved their powers from God as long as they did only good and got along well with the community. It was still a dangerous position to be in; their eariler benevolent actions became evidence against them if their relationships with others turned sour or suspicion of witchcraft arrose in the community. Similarly, midwives sometimes came under suspision for their mysterious knowledge of health and reproduction.
Powers of a Witch:
- Cause illness or death
- Related to childbirth and pregnancy. A witch can cause:
- Infertility
- Miscarriage
- Infant death
- Still Birth
- Deformities
- She might also attempt to abort a pregnancy of her own
- Animals and home goods
- Spoiled beer or other foods, moldy/maggoty cheese
- Sickness or strange behavior in animals
- Cows stop giving milk; chickens stop laying/lay fewer eggs
- Yarn tangles or won't spin or weave properly
- Take the form of a specter to
- Prevent men from sleeping
- attack victims
- bite
- cut
- stab
- pinch
- See the future or tell fortunes
- Made a compact with the Devil, usually signed in blood
- Had a familiar spirit to do their bidding
- Gift from the Devil
- It needed to be fed at least once a day
- Witches had a "witch's teat," an unexplained mark or third nipple on their body, to fed the familiar
- Used poppets (dolls)
- Used in a manner similiar to the modern popular understanding of a voodoo doll
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