Page 170 - harryDEC12_clean.iba

"WITCHES"
Double, double toil and trouble Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Macbeth Act 4, scene 1, 10–11, etc.
Meanwhile two years had passed. My occasional visits in Saint Paul de Vence had become rare. I could not bear Martha’s presence for longer. I did not relax there, but every time went back to Hamburg weakened and with reduced lust for life. Rachel was not yet old enough for school and went to a local kindergarten. Martha visited Hamburg more and more seldom, but when she did, her itinerary always took her via Frankfurt, to visit a female friend, she told me. That seemed strange to me: I had never before heard of her associations in the Taunus. Egged on by curiosity and with some pangs of conscience I rummaged through some boxes in her wardrobe that were standing on the floor. I was looking for something evil, looking for indications of Martha’s behaviour; just what I was looking for I did not know.
Then I found books on witchcraft - an old edition from the 18th century, obviously bought with a lot of money - alchemy, occultism and black magic. In addition there was a large book on the origins of the Creole religion of Haiti, known in western circles as voodoo, the application of black and white magic. There were also letters from a woman with an address in Glashütten in the Taunus. I did not read the letters, but opened the book on voodoo at the place where a bookmark was, a torn-off scrap of paper. It laid out instructions on how to produce harm that could be inflicted on a person. I read the text carefully and later made a photocopy of it in my office.
Take some wax and shape it into a figure that looks as similar as possible to the victim. Meanwhile concentrate on the victim. The curse is all the more infallible if you can get hold of some clothing, hair, fingernails, or a tooth from the victim. Fix that on the corresponding place. The prepared wax figure is called an effigy.
Now the wax figure must be given a name. Spread incense on it and say meanwhile: I name you (name of the victim). Light some black candles. By candlelight smear the wax figure with blood (animal blood or your own), especially on the face and genitalia. Take some needles and push them deep into the figure while you are reciting the magic formula.
Meanwhile concentrate exactly on what is to strike the victim and imagine that vividly. Let the figure be for three days with the needles and occasionally meditate on the figure and the force of the magic.
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