Friday, March 25, 2022

So many changes

 I'm painting rocks now, well, two so far. Anyway, it is fun, I can see why people like to do it. The only thing that held me back from doing it, were the rocks themselves. Where I use to live, only ugly rocks lived there. lol You know what I mean. Then I moved to my new house and come to find out, the land my house sits on use to be a rock quarry. I now have a plethora of beautiful, smooth rocks to choose from, mostly round-ish, which is why I seem to be attracted to shaped rocks. I mean, I'm not happy unless I make it difficult on myself it seems. <insert sigh> So, I keep a look out for heart shaped rocks of any size, as long as it has a good natural heart shape to it.

This is the first one I painted, as a gift for one of my neighbors. 

Consider me hooked.


I had so much fun painting that one that I decided to continue and make myself one...

This is one I painted for myself to consecrate the buying of the house. On the front of the rock is my design along with the closing date of the house. 


On the sides I wrote a house blessing:
Cleanse this space,
remove the past,
I found my happy home at last.


Oh yes, I can see how this can be a fun hobby!


Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Stencil symbology

Hello everyone...long time, no see!
I haven't blogged in AGES, so bear with me dear readers, I'm a bit rusty! 
Lately, I've been working on my Moon Journal and I love using my  StencilGirl stencils and Rubbermoon/Art Foamies stamps. Today I am over on the  StencilGirl blog kinda explaining how I use symbology to illustrate the moon phases and my astrology charting. They call it Moonology and I love it...but that's another story, today is about the art.

StencilGirl Artistic Muse Card #1

Music Geek

ArtFoamies Triple Moon stamp

Rubbermoon Maybe It's the Moon


Surround Me With Art and Music process slide show which
is a no music, no talking step out video showing the creative process



Remember....it's just a phase.

Sandee  from

 Sandee's Artful Words


Sunday, January 19, 2020

Wanderlust week 3 - Vision board portrait

So many things I liked about this art journal lesson:
1. It's more or less a vision board for 2020, first one I've ever done, maybe because I was more ready than ever before since I actually have specific plans thanks to the moon manifestations I've been working on.
2. I like to include self portraits ( the greats did it, why can't I? lol) but I've never even thought about doing a profile, so this is my first.
3. I like firsts, don't you?


Links to supplies I used in case you like them:
Some of the art elements came from a Cheap Joes catalog  


It may be a little time consuming and a little fussy for some but the effort of cutting out my pages just looks SO much better and yes, it's a little bit of pain that brings me joy in the long run, kinda like diet and exercise, lol

And a little peek into my "beautiful" mind, ( behavior or personality is outside social norms (very similar to the cliché of the socially awkward nerd )because I'm recording as much as possible to see if and what happens. As it stands right now, color me impressed with following the moon phases, doing the work as evidenced on the paper on my desk. It's a huge sheet that I can record everything on it and really map out what's relating to each other.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Wanderlust week 2 - My "Spiritual heritage"

First thought: I wish I could type like I am thinking in my head.

Now onto Wanderlust week 2 where we are exploring our heritage. I've never considered myself anything more than an American mutt, a compilation of whatever. BUT, while pondering my heritage or lack thereof made me think of the Pilgrims, and given my spirituality, brought me along the Salem Witch Trials in colonial Massachusetts between 1692-93.
For surely if I had been born back then I would have been executed as a witch. Not that I am a witch, nor were they, but they were "tossed under the bus" so to speak because of paranoia and fear of the unknown. The ulterior reasons for their persecution sometimes surfaced at the trial. Often it was little more than a bad reputation or malicious gossip, repackaged and embroidered over decades. A human frailty or eccentricity might be trotted out as evidence. Sometimes it was the fruit of a protracted family feud, an insult uttered in haste, or a personal indiscretion.

 So, here, I figured, are my "spiritual ancestors".

For my lesson:
I chose a female in Pilgrim attire 


For symbols:
1. Of course the large moon itself
2. and then sketched in a shadowy image of the Mayflower in the background to represent where they came from (1492)
3.  and the wolf baying at the moon to symbolize the January Wolf Moon.
4.  I added the Moon Goddess symbol floating over her head to represent her spirituality which would soon lead her future children down a bent road (1692-93)
5. and used the spiritual symbol under the ship
6. and pentagrams for stars in the skies.

 I also carved into the wet paint of her dark dress with a skewer the word witch, over and over again. Kind of representing the future doom she doesn't even know about.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a little history for you and go ahead and check to see if your name is there, you know you want to 😉

ARRESTED FOR WITCHCRAFT:
Arthur Abbott
Nehemiah Abbott Jr
John Alden Jr
Abigail Barker
Mary Barker
William Barker, Sr
William Barker, Jr
Sarah Bassett
Sarah Bibber
Bridget Bishop
Sarah Bishop
Mary Black
Mary Bradbury
Mary Bridges, Sr
Mary Bridges, Jr
Sarah Bridges
Hannah Bromage
Sarah Buckley
George Burroughs
Candy
Martha Carrier
Richard Carrier
Sarah Carrier
Thomas Carrier Jr
Bethia Carter, Sr
Elizabeth Cary
Sarah Churchill
Mary Clarke
Rachel Clinton
Sarah Cloyce
Sarah Cole (of Lynn)
Sarah Cole (of Salem)
Elizabeth Colson
Giles Corey
Martha Corey
Deliverance Dane
Mary De Rich
Elizabeth Dicer
Ann Dolliver
Lydia Dustin
Sarah Dustin
Daniell Eames
Rebecca Eames
Mary Easty
Esther Elwell
Martha Emerson
Joseph Emons
Phillip English
Thomas Farrer
Edward Farrington
Abigail Faulkner, Sr
Dorothy Faulkner
Elizabeth Fosdick
Ann Foster
Nicholas Frost
Eunice Fry
Dorcas Good
Sarah Good
Mary Green
Elizabeth Hart
Margaret Hawkes
Sarah Hawkes
Dorcas Hoar
Abigail Hobbs
Deliverance Hobbs
William Hobbs
Elizabeth Howe
Elizabeth Hubbard
Frances Hutchins
Mary Ireson
John Jackson, Sr
John Jackson, Jr
George Jacobs, Sr
George Jacobs, Jr
Margaret Jacobs
Rebecca Jacobs
Elizabeth Johnson, Sr
Elizabeth Johnson, Jr
Rebecca Johnson
Stephen Johnson
Mary Lacey, Sr
Mary Lacey, Jr
John Lee
Mercy Lewis
Jane Lilly
Mary Marston
Susannah Martin
Sarah Morey
Rebecca Nurse
Sarah Osborne
Mary Osgood
Alice Parker
Mary Parker
Sarah Pease
Joan Penney
Hannah Post
Mary Post
Susannah Post
Margaret Prince
Benjamin Proctor
Elizabeth Proctor
John Proctor
Sarah Proctor
William Proctor
Ann Pudeator
Wilmot Redd
Sarah Rice
Susannah Roots
Henry Salter
John Sawdy
Margaret Scott
Ann Sears
Susanna Sheldon
Abigail Somes
Martha Sparks
Mary Taylor
Tituba
Job Tookey
Mary Toothaker
Roger Toothaker
Johanna Tyler
Martha Tyler
Mercy Wardwell
Samuel Wardwell
Sarah Wardwell
Mary Warren
Sarah Wilds
John Willard
Sarah Wilson, Sr.
Mary Witheridge
the 
FOUND GUILTY & EXECUTED:
Bridget Bishop (Age: 50s)
Bridget Bishop was a widow who lived in Salem town. Bishop had a bad reputation around town because she had been accused of witchcraft years before and had frequent run-ins with the law.
Report this ad
"Execution of Bridget Bishop at Salem, 1692," illustration by Joseph Boggs Beale. circa 1885
“Execution of Bridget Bishop at Salem, 1692,” illustration by Joseph Boggs Beale. circa 1885
Bishop wasn’t the first person accused during the Salem Witch Trials but she was the first person tried because it was believed the case against her would be easy to win. She was brought to trial on June 2, found guilty and became the first person executed during the witch trials when she was hanged on June 10, 1692.
Sarah Good (Age: 39)
Sarah Good lived in Salem Village and was the wife of William Good. At the time of the witch trials she was poor and pregnant and would often go door to door in Salem Village begging for handouts while her husband worked as a day laborer.
Good was one of the first people accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials, along with Sarah Osbourn and Tituba. When the afflicted girls first began showing symptoms that they were bewitched, the girls accused the three women of the bewitching them. Sarah Good was brought to trial June 29 and executed on July 19, 1692.

Elizabeth Howe (Age: 57)
Elizabeth Howe lived in Topsfield and was the wife of farmer James Howe. Much like Bridget Bishop, Howe had also been accused of witchcraft before. In her previous case she was accused of bewitching a local girl.
No charges were ever brought up against Howe but she was later refused admittance to an Ipswich church due to the incident. In May of 1692, she was accused of witchcraft by the afflicted girls in Salem Village. She was arrested, brought to trial on June 29 and executed on July 19, 1692.
Susannah Martin (Age: 71)
Susannah Martin was a poor widow who lived in Amesbury at the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Much like Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin had also been accused of witchcraft before. In her previous cases she was accused of infanticide and tormenting people with her specter. The charges were eventually dropped or dismissed.
Martin was accused of witchcraft by the afflicted girls in the spring of 1692. Susannah Martin was taken to Salem Village, brought to trial on June 29 and executed on July 19, 1692.
Rebecca Nurse (Age: 71)
Rebecca Nurse was an elderly grandmother from Salem Village and the wife of farmer Francis Nurse. She was a pious and popular woman who had a longstanding feud with the Putnam family over border boundaries between their adjoining land. She also disapproved of the controversial appointment of Samuel Parris, whom was a close friend of the Putnams, as the new Salem Village minister.
The Putnams were Rebecca Nurse’s main accusers during the witch trials and many of them testified against her. Rebecca Nurse was originally found not guilty at the end of her trial in late June but when the verdict was read out loud in the court the afflicted girls protested and the jury was asked to reconsider its decision. The jury reconsidered and came back with a guilty verdict. Rebecca Nurse was executed on July 19, 1692.
Sarah Wildes (Age: 65)
Sarah Wildes lived in Topsfield and was the wife of a local judge John Wildes. Sarah Wildes had somewhat of a bad reputation due to previous brushes with law. In 1649, she was accused of fornicating out of wedlock with Thomas Wardwell and in 1663 she was accused of wearing a silk scarf.
After she married widower John Wildes in 1663, John Gould and Mary Gould Reddington, the brother and sister of John Wildes’ late wife, developed a hatred of Sarah Wildes and, in 1670, began spreading rumors that she was a witch.
Even after Mary Gould Reddington passed away from natural causes years later, Mary’s friends continued to harass and torment Sarah Wildes. The Gould family were close friends with the Putnam family of Salem Village.
Shortly after the Salem witch hunt began in March of 1692, the Putnam family accused Sarah Wildes of witchcraft in April of 1692 and she was arrested. John Wildes’ daughter (from a previous marriage) and son-in-law, Sarah and Edward Bishop, were also arrested as was John’s other daughter Phoebe Wildes. Sarah Wildes was brought to trial on June 29 and executed on July 19, 1692.
Reverend George Burroughs (Age: 40s)
George Burroughs was the only Puritan minister to be accused and executed during the Salem Witch Trials. Burroughs was a minister in Casco, Maine during the 1670s but left the settlement after it was attacked by Native Americans.
He later settled in Salisbury, Mass for a while before being asked to serve as the new minister in Salem Village in 1680. The residents of Salem disagreed over his appointment as minister and he was not always paid his salary. He often borrowed money from the Putnam family to support his family.
When he stopped being paid all together, he left Salem and returned to Maine. At some point the Putnam family sued Burroughs for failure to repay his debt and shortly after accused him of witchcraft. Burroughs was arrested, brought to trial on August 5 and executed on August 19, 1692.
Martha Carrier (Age: 33)
Martha Carrier lived in Andover and was the wife of Thomas Carrier. Carrier was also the niece of outspoken opponent of the Salem Witch Trials, Reverend Francis Dane of Andover, and the sister of accused witch Mary Toothaker of Billerica.
Carrier was the first person in Andover accused during the Salem Witch Trials. She was accused by her neighbor Benjamin Abbot after the two had a dispute over land and Abbot immediately fell ill. Her children were also accused and were coerced into testifying against her. Carrier was brought to trial on August 5 and executed on August 19, 1692.
Report this ad
John Willard (Age: about 30)
John Willard was a deputy constable in Salem at the time of the Salem Witch Trials. He was one of the first people in Salem to speak out against the witch trials. Willard was responsible for helping to arrest the accused witches but soon began to doubt so many people could be guilty of witchcraft and quit his job in protest.
Shortly after, Willard himself was accused of witchcraft by Ann Putnam, Jr., who also accused him of beating her baby sister to death. Willard was not immediately arrested but his in-laws, the Wilkins family, began to grow suspicious of him.
Willard was accused a second time by his wife’s grandfather, Bray Wilkins, after Wilkins fell ill upon receiving a cross look from Willard in May of 1692. Just a few days later, Bray’s grandson, Daniel Wilkins, was found dead, his body bloody and beaten, and according to court records: “to the best of our judgments we cannot but apprehend but that he dyed an unnatural death by sume cruell hands of witchcraft or diabolicall act…”
An arrest warrant was issued for John Willard but he had already fled Salem Village. A second arrest warrant was issued and Willard was hunted down and arrested in Nashua, NH. During his examination at Beadle’s Tavern in Salem town, the incident with Bray Wilkins and Daniel Wilkins was brought up and the Wilkins family also accused Willard of beating his wife.
Several confessed witches testified against Willard as well as afflicted girl Ann Putnam, Jr., who testified that she saw many ghosts of people Willard allegedly killed. John Willard was brought to trial on August 5 and executed on August 19, 1692.
George Jacobs Sr (Age: 72)
George Jacobs Sr was accused of witchcraft by several people during the Salem Witch Trials, including his granddaughter, Margaret Jacobs. He was a reluctant church go-er and was an outspoken critic of the Salem Witch Trials.
He was first accused by his servant, Sarah Churchill, who also accused his granddaughter Margaret Jacobs. His son, George Jacobs, Jr, was accused as well but he evaded arrest.
Many people testified against George Jacobs, Sr, including almost all the members of the Putnam family. He was found guilty on August 5 and executed on August 19, 1692. Jacobs’ family reportedly retrieved his body from the execution site and buried him on the family property.
John Proctor (Age: 61)
John Proctor was a wealthy farmer who lived on the outskirts of Salem Village. He was an outspoken critic of the Salem Witch Trials and often threatened to beat or whip the afflicted girls for their role in the witch trials.
After his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, was arrested on charges of witchcraft in April of 1692, the afflicted girls turned on John Proctor during Elizabeth’s examination and accused him as well. John Proctor’s entire family was eventually arrested on charges of witchcraft.
Proctor knew Salem was in the midst of a mass hysteria and wrote a letter to the Boston clergy in July asking that they intervene or move the trials to Boston.
The clergy responded but it was too late to save Proctor, who was brought to trial on August 5 and executed on August 19, 1692. His remaining family members were either never charged or found guilty and pardoned. Proctor’s body was reportedly retrieved from the execution site and secretly buried on his farm.
Alice Parker (Age: unknown)
Alice Parker was the wife of fisherman John Parker. The couple lived in Salem town where Alice was known as a pious, honest woman. Parker also had a reputation for clairvoyance and on one occasion successfully predicted that a friend’s husband had died at sea.
In May of 1692, afflicted girl Mary Warren suddenly accused Alice Parker of witchcraft. During Parker’s trial, Warren made several surprising accusations against her, claiming Parker bewitched her mother to death, made her sister ill and drowned several men and boys in the sea, including a man named Thomas Wastgate and his entire crew who drowned after their ship sank. Alice Parker was brought to trial on September 9 and executed on September 22, 1692.
Mary Parker (Age: about 40)
Mary Parker was a widow from Andover.  Parker was first named a witch by William Barker Jr and was accused of afflicting Martha Sprague. It is not known why Parker was accused but she stated during her examination that there was another woman in Andover named Mary Parker and suggested it was a case of mistaken identity.
Martha Sprague then stated that the woman in front of her was the woman who afflicted her. Mary Parker was brought to trial on September 17 and executed on September 22, 1692.
Ann Pudeator (Age: 70s)
Ann Pudeator was a widow who lived in Salem town where she also worked as a nurse and midwife. She had a reputation for being sharp-tongued and often quarreled with locals.
Pudeator was accused of witchcraft in May of 1692 by Sarah Churchill and several other afflicted girls of Salem Village. Some of her medical supplies, such as foot ointments, were confiscated and introduced to the court as objects of the occult.
During her trial, Pudeator accused many of her accusers of lying. Pudeator was brought to trial on September 9 and executed on September 22, 1692.
Wilmot Redd (Age: unknown)
Wilmot Redd lived in Marblehead and was the wife of fisherman Samuel Redd. Like Bridget Bishop and many other witch trial victims, Wilmot Redd had also been accused of witchcraft before in 1687. She was an unpopular person around town because she often quarreled with others and had an abrasive personality. Redd’s daughter was the wife of fellow accused witch Reverend George Burroughs.
Redd was accused of witchcraft in May of 1692 by the Salem Village afflicted girls and brought to Ingersoll Tavern in Salem Village for her examination. She had never met the afflicted girls before and when asked why they were afflicted she stated they were in a “sad condition.” She was indicted and several Marblehead residents testified against her. Redd was brought to trial in September and executed on September 22, 1692.
Margaret Scott (Age: 77)
Margaret Scott was a widow from Rowley. Scott had seven children but only three survived childhood. After her husband died in 1671, Scott was left destitute and forced to beg from her neighbors. This made her unpopular with her neighbors.
Scott was accused by two of Rowley’s most notable families: the Wicoms and the Nelsons. A member of the Nelson family also sat on the grand jury that convicted her. Scott was brought to trial on September 17 and executed on September 22, 1692.
Samuel Wardwell (Age: 49)
Samuel Wardwell was a carpenter from Andover. He was also a well known fortune-teller and practitioner of English folk magic. It is believed that his work in the occult led to his witchcraft accusation.
Wardwell was accused in September of 1692 and arrested and jailed in Salem. Shortly after, his wife and daughters were also arrested. During his examination, he admitted to fortune-telling and dabbling in magic and said that the devil may have taken advantage of him for these reasons. He then confessed to making a pact with the devil but later recanted his confession. Wardwell was brought to trial in mid-September and executed on September 22, 1692.
Martha Corey (Age: 72)
Martha Corey lived in the outskirts of Salem Village and was the wife of wealthy farmer Giles Corey. Corey had a reputation for being a pious member of the community despite the well-known fact that she had a child out of wedlock in the 1670s. Martha Corey was also an outspoken critic of the Salem Witch Trials and stated many times that the afflicted girls were liars.
During her own examination, she told the judge “we must not believe all that these distracted children say.” In March, Giles Corey testified against his wife in court, stating that she may have bewitched his farm animals and himself.
When Giles Corey himself was accused of witchcraft and arrested in April, he refused to provide any more information on Martha or himself. Martha Corey was brought to trial on September 9 and executed on September 22, 1692, just three days after Giles Corey had been tortured to death for refusing to enter a plea.
Mary Easty (Age: 58)
Mary Easty was the sister of accused witches Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Cloyce. She lived in Topsfield and was considered a pious, well-respected member of the community.
In April of 1692, Mary Easty was accused of witchcraft, arrested but was then released in May. She was accused again, a few days after her release, and arrested. She was examined and indicted on two charges of witchcraft. Easty was brought to trial on September 9 and executed on September 22, 1692.
REFUSED TO ENTER A PLEA & TORTURED TO DEATH:
Giles Corey (Age: 71)
Giles Corey was a wealthy farmer who lived on the outskirts of Salem Village. He had a reputation for being an angry, violent man and was once charged with murdering his farmhand in 1676. He was found guilty but only suffered a fine for his actions. Many locals, including Thomas Putnam, suspected Corey had paid a bribe for his freedom.
In April of 1692, Giles Corey was accused of witchcraft after his wife, Martha Corey, had also been accused and arrested on the same charge. Giles Corey refused to enter a plea in an attempt to prevent his case from going to trial. He reportedly knew he was going to die, either in jail or on the gallows, and wanted to avoid being convicted before he did.
As a result, Giles Corey was tortured for three days in a field on Howard Street in Salem town in an attempt to force a plea out of him. He died on the third day of his torture on September 19, 1692.
FOUND GUILTY & PARDONED:
Elizabeth Proctor
Brought to trial on August 5 and found guilty. She was sentenced to death but the execution was delayed due to her pregnancy. She gave birth in January was released from prison in May, 1693.
Abigail Faulkner, Sr
Brought to trial on September 17 and found guilty. She was sentenced to death but the execution was delayed due to her pregnancy. She was released from prison in March, 1693.
Mary Post
Brought to trial in January, 1693 and found guilty. She was sentenced to death but pardoned by Governor Phips. She was released from prison in March, 1693.
Sarah Wardwell
Brought to trial on January 10, 1693 and found guilty. She was sentenced to death but pardoned by Governor Phips.
Elizabeth Johnson Jr
Brought to trial in January, 1693 and found guilty. She was sentenced to death but pardoned by Governor Phips.
Dorcas Hoar
Brought to trial on September 9, 1692 and found guilty. She was sentenced to death but never executed. She was released from prison in March, 1693.
Report this ad
PLED GUILTY & PARDONED:
Rebecca Eames
Confessed in August, 1692.
Abigail Hobbs
Confessed in April, 1692.
Mary Lacy, Sr
Confessed in July, 1692.
Mary Osgood
Confessed in September, 1692.
DIED IN PRISON:
Sarah Osbourn
Died in jail in Boston on May 10, 1692.
Roger Toothaker
Died in jail in Boston on June 16, 1692.
Ann Foster
Died in jail on December 3, 1692.
Lydia Dustin
Died in jail on March 10, 1693.
ESCAPED FROM PRISON:
John Alden Jr.
Edward Bishop Jr.
Sarah Bishop
Mary Bradbury
William Barker Sr.
Andrew Carrier
Katherine Cary
Phillip English
Mary English
Edward Farrington
Report this ad
NEVER INDICTED:
Sarah Bassett
Mary Black
Bethiah Carter, Jr
Bethiah Carter, Sr
Sarah Cloyce
Elizabeth Hart
William Hobbs
Thomas Farrer, Sr
William Proctor
Sarah Proctor
Susannah Roots
Ann Sears
Tituba
EVADED ARREST:
George Jacobs Jr
Daniel Andrews
Other victims include two dogs who were shot or killed after being suspected of witchcraft.
Most of the Salem Witch Trials victims were women but men were accused and executed too. Although some of the early victims were poor social outcasts from Salem Village, the accusations slowly spread to all types of people from all types of backgrounds, according to the book Death in Salem: The Private Lives Behind the 1692 Witch Hunt:
“Most of the victims were women. Everyone knew that witchcraft was largely a female perversity, but the reasoning stopped there. The over one hundred and fifty people singled out for social and legal ostracism over the course of 1692 included every age, social echelon, and background: rich and poor, young and old, feeble and sharp-witted. In Andover, seventeen alleged witches were identified in a single afternoon sting known as the ‘touch test.’ The villagers collected in the meetinghouse, then one by one, the women were blindfolded and led up to two of Salem’s writing girls. If the woman’s touch abated the girl’s convulsions, it proved that she was guilty. The logic seems to have been that physical contact with an actual witch would draw the evil spirits back out of the victim. So like sheep herded over a cliff, Andover’s women were seized, bound, served warrants, and loaded into the back of oxcarts for the four- or five-hour trip to Salem jail, their frantic relatives browbeating them the entire way. The ulterior reasons for their persecution sometimes surfaced at the trial. Often it was little more than a bad reputation or malicious gossip, repackaged and embroidered over decades. A human frailty or eccentricity might be trotted out as evidence. Sometimes it was the fruit of a protracted family feud, an insult uttered in haste, or a personal indiscretion – like Martha Corey’s – that the community refused to forget.”
Report this ad

Where Were the Accused Imprisoned?

Due to the large number of accused witches, the prisoners were kept in multiple jails in Salem, Ipswich and Boston.
According to the book, A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials, the accused witches were considered dangerous prisoners and were kept in dungeons underneath the jails away from the regular prisoners:
“As the most dangerous inmates, the witches were kept in the dungeons. These were perpetually dark, bitterly cold, and so damp that water ran down the walls. They reeked of unwashed human bodies and excrement. They enclosed as much agony as anywhere human beings could have lived. The stone dungeons of Salem Town prison were discovered in the 1950s in St. Peter Street when the site was excavated to build a New England Telephone Company building. In 1692 they stood under a wooden structure, twenty feet square, known as the ‘witch jail.’ Since they were so close to the banks of a tidal river, they were probably infested with water rats. Certainly they were a breeding ground for disease…But accused witches were worse off than the other unfortunates [other prisoners.] Their limbs were weighed down and their movements were restricted by manacles chained to the walls, so that their specters could less easily escape to wreak havoc.”
The dungeons forever changed people and the ones who were lucky enough to survive the prison or escape the gallows often suffered for the rest of their lives.
Interior of the old dungeon, old witch jail, Salem, Mass, circa 1935
Interior of the old dungeon, old witch jail, Salem, Mass, circa 1935
Report this ad
Such is the case with Dorcas Good, the four-year-old daughter of Sarah Good who was accused of witchcraft in March of 1692 and spent seven to eight months in jail before being released, according to the book The Salem Witch Trials Reader:
“Eighteen years later her father, William Good, was to write that ‘she was in prison seven or eight months and being chained in the dungeon was so hardly used and terrified that she hath ever since been very chargeable, having little or no reason to govern herself.’ By ‘very chargeable;’ he meant a financial burden: When she came out and for the rest of her days, he had to pay a keeper to take care of her.”
While in prison, the accused were repeatedly humiliated by being forced to undergo physical examinations of their bodies. The examiners were looking for physical evidence that the accused was a witch, such as a “mark of the Devil” or a teat from which the witch’s familiar was believed to have nursed from.
During the examinations the prisoners, who were mostly elderly, were stripped naked in front of a group of people and their bodies were poked and prodded and any suspicious marks or moles found were pricked with needles.
The female prisoner’s breasts were often examined multiple times a day for signs of lactation or breastfeeding and the appearance of their breasts were recorded and discussed in the courtroom.
Report this ad
In his book Salem Witchcraft: With an Account of Salem Village and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Spirits, historian and former Salem mayor Charles W. Upham describes his disgust over this treatment of the prisoners:
“The mind loathes the thought of handling in this way refined and sensitive females of matronly character, or persons of either sex, with infirmities of body rendered sacred by years. The results of the examinations were reduced to written reports, going into details, and, among other evidences in the trials, spread before the court and jury.”

Where Were the Accused Questioned & Tried?

To determine if there was an actual case against the accused, they were usually taken either to the Salem Village meetinghouse, to Reverend Samuel Parris’ house, to Ingersoll Tavern at Salem Village or to Beadle’s Tavern in Salem Town.
There they were questioned by a judge in front of a jury, which decided whether or not to indict the accused on charges of witchcraft.
Site of Salem Village Church Danvers published in the New England Magazine Volume 5 1892
Site of Salem Village Church, Danvers, Mass, illustration published in the New England Magazine, Volume 5, 1892
The trials were then held in the Salem courthouse which was located in the center of Washington Street about 100 feet south of Lynde Street, opposite of where the Masonic Temple now stands.
This courthouse was torn down in 1760 but a plaque dedicated to the courthouse can still be seen today on the wall of the Masonic Temple on Washington Street.
Report this ad

How Were They Executed?

The executions took place on a small hill, called Proctor’s Ledge, at the base of Gallows Hill in Salem town. The victims were hanged by the neck by a rope tied to a tree. Contrary to popular belief, none of the victims were burned at the stake.
The reason is because English law only allowed death by burning to be used against men who committed high treason and only after they had been hanged until almost dead, quartered and drawn. The English considered it an unacceptable death for women since it involved nudity.
Burning at the stake was more popular in countries with a strong Catholic church because it did not involve the shedding of blood, which was not allowed in the Roman Catholic doctrine, and it ensured that the victim would not have a body to take with them to the after life.

Where Were They Buried?

After each execution took place, the victim’s body was cut down and placed in a nearby rock crevice or buried in a shallow grave somewhere on the execution site, according to a paper written by William P. Upham for the Peabody Historical Society in 1903:
“It is well known that the victims executed as witches on Gallows Hill in Salem, in 1692, were thrown into mere shallow graves or crevices in the ledge under the gallows, where the nature of the ground did not allow complete burial, so that it was stated at the time that portions of the bodies were hardly covered at all.”
As convicted witches, they were not allowed a Christian burial in consecrated ground. Relatives of several victims: Rebecca Nurse, John Proctor and George Jacobs, reportedly retrieved the bodies of their loved one and gave them a Christian burial on the family property.
It is not known what happened to the unclaimed bodies, or if there were any unclaimed bodies, but if there are they are most likely still buried in shallow graves at the execution site.

Were They Ever Exonerated?

Almost immediately after the Salem Witch Trials came to an end, the residents of Salem began to feel ashamed of what happened during the witch hunt.
Report this ad
They still believed in witches and the Devil, but they had doubts that so many people could have been guilty of the crime and they feared that many innocent people had been put to death.
The colony also been to suffer from frequent droughts, crop failures, smallpox outbreaks, Native-American attacks and other disasters and the colonists worried that the mistakes made during the Salem Witch Trials had angered God.
On December 17, 1697, Governor Stoughton issued a proclamation in hopes of making amends with God. The proclamation suggested that there should be:
“observed a Day of Prayer with Fasting throughout the Province…So that all God’s people may put away that which hath stirred God’s Holy jealousy against his land; that he would…help us wherein we have done amiss to do so no more; and especially that whatever mistakes on either hand have fallen into…referring to the late tragedy, raised among us by Satan and his instruments, through the awful judgement of God, he would humble us therefore and pardon all the errors and people that desire to love his name…”
The colony held the day of prayer on January 15, 1697, which was known as the Day of Official Humiliation.
On October 17, 1711, at the urging of the surviving convicted witches and their families, the colony passed a bill clearing some of the names of the convicted witches.
Not every victim was named in the bill though because some families of the victims did not want their family member listed. The bill states:
“Province of Massachusetts Bay Anno Regni, Anna Reginae Decimo. An act to remove the attainders of George Burroughs and others for Witchcraft. For as much in the year of Our Lord, one thousand six hundred and ninety-two several towns within the Province were infested with a horrible witchcraft or possessions of devils. And at a special court of Oyer and Termina holden at Salem in the county of Essex in the same year 1692, George Burroughs of Wells, John Proctor, George Jacobs, John Willard, Giles Corey and Martha his wife, Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Good, all of Salem aforesaid; Elizabeth Howe of Ipswich; Mary Easty; Sarah Wildes and Abigail Hobbs all of Topsfield; Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Martha Carrier, Abigail Faulkner, Ann Foster; Rebecca Eames, Mary Post and Mary Lacey, all of Andover; Mary Bradbury of Salisbury, Dorcas Hoar of Beverly, were severally indicted, convicted and attainted of witchcraft, and some of them put to death, others lying still under the like sentence of the said court and liable to have the same executed upon them.
The influence and energy of the evil spirit so great at that time acting in and upon those who were the principal accusers and witnesses proceeding so far as to cause a prosecution to be had of persons of known and good reputation which caused a great dissatisfaction and a stop to be put thereunto until their majesties pleasure should be known therein; and upon a representation thereof accordingly made, her late Majesty, Queen Mary, the Second of Blessed Memory, by her Royal letter given at her court at Whitehall the fifteenth of April, 1693, was graciously pleased to approve the care and circumspection therein; and to will and require that in all proceedings against persons accused for witchcraft, or being possessed by the Devil, the greatest moderation and all due circumspection be used so far as the same may be without impediment to the ordinary course of justice.
And some of the principal accusers and witnesses in those dark and severe prosecutions have since discovered themselves to be persons of profligate and vicious conversations. Upon the humble petition and suit of several of said persons and of the children of others of them whose parents were executed.
Be it declared and enacted by His Excellency, the Governor, Council and Representatives authority of the same, That the several convictions, in General Court assembled, and by the judgments and attainders against the said George Burroughs, John Proctor, George Jacobs, John Willard, Giles Corey, Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Mary Easty, Sarah Wildes, Abigail Hobbs,Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Martha Carrier, Abigail Faulkner, Anne Foster, Rebecca Eames, Mary Post, Mary Lacey, Mary Bradbury, Dorcas Hoar, and any of them be and are hereby reversed made and declared to be null and void to all intents, constitutionalism and purposes whatsoever as if no such convictions, judgments and attainders had ever been had or given, and that no penalties or forfeitures of goods or chattels be by the said judgments and attainders or either of them had or incurred. Any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. And that no sheriff, constable, goaler or other officer shall be liable to any prosecution in the law for anything they then legally did in the execution of their respective offices.
Made and passed by the Great and General Court or Assembly of her Majestys Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, held at Boston the 17th day of Oct, 1711.”
The victims and their families named in the bill were also paid restitution totaling £600, which was divided up among them. Officials distributed the money in Salem in January and February of 1712.
In 1867, former Salem mayor Charles Wentworth Upham wrote a book about the Salem Witch Trials, titled Salem Witchcraft: With an Account of Salem Village and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Spirits, during which he applauded the victims for their bravery and courage:
Report this ad




    1.  


Saturday, January 4, 2020

2020...the begining Wanderlust week 1

So many things are going on with my life right now at a nice little clip,  and I am beginning to realize the power of manifesting and intention setting, which isn't witchy at all...in case you think it does.
 Manifesting = Goals.
 Intention setting = planning steps to achieve said goal.

And I am dedicating this journal to actually "journaling" as much as "arting" and committing myself to recording a years worth of moon manifestations along with the Wanderlust program and in a years time, I'll have solid proof for myself to continue researching and learning more about this. (I love researching stuff, lol)

The front page of my journals are what I use to set my theme or intention for my journal and this year I am dedicating 2020 to "self-discovery" which also would have made for a great Word Of The Year, but I chose "RECOVERY" because I am trying to recover the person whom I thought I would have become when I was "old"...(lol, yes I am turning 61 this year and when I was 10, this was definitely OLD.) I figured that my inner me needs a re-boot of sorts and I am on a year long conquest to do just that...I've lost her but she is still there I just need to intentionally go about finding her again. I put a lot of thought into this so I wanted to use the all seeing eye from my Artistic Muse Card #2 stencil to show:
a symbol of divine providence, powerfully representing spiritual truth and awakening.
So that explains the first page 😊

supplies:
acrylic paints by DecoArt
watercolor paints by LuminArte ascending  

My book will be called the Artfull Moon but I won't make the cover until the end (because yes, I am very messy) and you are welcome to ask me any questions if you want, create something similar of your own, or just come back here and check on my progress.

The Week 1 journal prompt:
Because I am working in my Moon journal I am tweaking the journal prompt to fit my needs:
Which of my three signs to I relate to the most?

I chose a planetoid shape along with their astrological symbols to represent the 3 astrological relationships. 

supplies:
acrylic paints by DecoArt
watercolor paints by LuminArte
stamp by Rubbermoon
stencil by StencilGirl®

Did you know?
Are you aware of a specific number that just seems to keep popping up,
sometimes for no understandable reason? ...

Power number 3 — A person with the power number 3 tends to attract a rich and full life from midlife on, permeated with creative self-expression and social activities. The person is likely to be tolerant, optimistic, and inspiring.

Personally, I'm all about the number 2 and 2020 is going to be my century! Especially on my birthday in 2022 being that I was born on 2-22 and born at 2am under a full moon. I've been looking forward to this time of my life since I was about 10 and I am sure to be journaling about that too! ❤

What's your favorite number?

Friday, April 26, 2019

Cosmic Penguin does the Spectacular StencilGirl® Squared Off Swap Hop


Hello and welcome! You have arrived at the StencilGirl® Creative Team’s Spectacular Squared-Off Swap Hop.

"Don't wait for the stars to align.
 Reach up and rearrange them the way you want"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The most terrifying part of this was once I began cutting there was no turning back. I knew I wouldn't have any extra pieces to fall back on if something should go horribly wrong. I must have looked at the pieces of paper for several days, letting them "speak to me" before proceeding.

Then I began cutting...
telling myself to breathe....have faith...
The stenciled squares that were given to me came from 

And lo and behold the Cosmic Penguin was born. Once he appeared I had one of my moments where I knew the universe was leading me somewhere and I know that you must sit back and just enjoy the ride. Now, you may ask: why did I think something was going on? It's because I don't normally draw penguins, as cute as they are they are not one of my spirit animals that I am drawn to
...but the riddle will soon be solved.


Here's where I thought I was in BIG trouble.
This part happened so fast that no pictures were taken but I can try and walk you through my mental state of being. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. This could get bumpy.

The conundrance began when it came to the background. I was drawn to the stark whiteness of it, it made the whole piece feel very modern and very pop art to me but I was too worried it would be considered plain and unfinished ( seriously worried about this for several days! 😕 ) then, I thought maybe a textured white background would make it work.That will solve everything!!  I grabbed modeling paste, glitter paint and gesso and went to town, it was a frenzy of texturizing going on, splattering and mixing my art ingredients somewhat like a mad scientist in a 50's movie!! Now I decided that the all white textured background was the worst possible thing I could have done so now what? Oh did I mention I've already glued ALL MY FREAKING PIECES down? 
I calmly and carefully painted black around the penguin and the planets.
"sigh"
And now I hated it. It sat on my art desk...staring at me...

Now, I'm all about the universe talking to me all the time and if I would just sometimes get out of my own way and just listen then solutions usually present themselves so I turned off the studio spare bedroom light and walked away went to bed...but that's usually where my best thinking happens. For some people it's the shower, for me it's that moment right before I fall asleep that the problem resolves itself and out of the bed I pop...this time grabbing my Spirit Animal guide book from my night stand and I looked up penguins which I thought was ludicrous, a penguin as a spirit guide? 
(I'm such a spirit guide snob, lol ) 
But whatever universe, I'm listening...and....reading.

" You have everything you need inside you and in front of you to have a good life, so always keep that in mind."

Now if you do any kind of interpretive work you know you that you aren't suppose to translate anything in a literal sense but have an ebb and flow for what's written according to what's going on in real life. So this one sentence really stuck out, I mean I wasn't looking to find anything earth shattering revelation but it seemed to fit. So I went back to my canvas and took another look at my bumpy black background and decided, if everything is here then don't add to it, but take away from it so that's what I did. 


With a small piece of sandpaper I began sanding around each planet and the results just don't show up here but the glitter that had been mixed in with the gesso just pops and gives a stellar background!
( pun intended )

and now I love it!


The more blogs you comment on the more chances you have a chance to win one of four $25 gift certificates for stencils from StencilGirl® Products. Comment by May 3, 2019. Winner notified by email May 6th.
Sandee Setliff  👈 You are here!