Magick in Everyday Life - Santeria Curse

This is a new segment: Magick in Everyday Life. While it is not a lifestlye post, due to the fact that it is not my own everyday life, these posts are. Well. You're about to see.

I found this news article on the Huffington Post. It seems someone wanted to use a little magick to get what they wanted... and it backfired... big time.

Here is the article itself: it is only being copypasted here in case the link above becomes broken or the article is taken down, and is in no way my own writing.

Two North Miami Beach Police Department employees have been fired

for plotting to put a Santeria curse on the city manager.

Officer Elizabeth Torres, a 24-year veteran of the police department, 

and Yvonne Rodriguez, an office manager for police chief Larry Gomer, 

were caught plotting to use birdseed to cast a spell to make Lyndon 

Bonner "go away" in August before a round of planned departmental layoffs.

Torres told Rodriguez she had previous success with the curse, having

 made her son and daughter move out by sprinkling it on the front porch

 of their home, according to the police report.

Investigators say the pair were upset with the "negative climate" in the

 department, and hatched a plan to similarly curse Bonner by gaining 

access to his office. Torres admitted to police that she brought the 

birdseed to Rodriguez, then approached janitor Esther Villanueva, 

asking her to sprinkle the birdseed in Bonner's office as she cleaned.

The two were busted when Villanueva reported the incident to a supervisor. 

Though Torres confessed to the plan, she told investigators it was just a 

superstitious idea and the pair meant no harm.

"It was kind of a joke, kind of a superstition," she said, according to 

interview transcripts. "It did have bases in religious knowledge I had from

before...As misguided as it may seem, this idea popped into my head, 

and I thought, 'Well, it can't hurt anybody.'"

"Ultimately, the city manager really doesn't have anything to worry 

about. In Santeria, you can't just spread bird seed and make the 

supernatural do what you want it to do," Michelle Moldonaldo, a Professor

 in Religious Studies, told WSVN.

The pair, who were fired last week, can appeal their terminations.

I say this in the best way: this is what makes being a witch worth it. Hearing about hilarious things like that.

I decided to post this article because it brought up something very interesting: the power of belief. The Professor was correct: you cannot make the supernatural do what you wish it to. Magick, spell work, etc, is merely a powerful, energy-enforced prayer to the God and Goddess to have the odds work in your favor. just like belief, these people were not tried because many did not have belief in the curse that the individuals were attempting to place--there found no real threat to it. But did you notice how their boss did?

Back in the day, as most witches know, being accused of witchcraft was a devastating crime, which would easily lead to being tortured and even eventually killed. However, it seems even things as horrible as curses can appeal to even those whom are not full-on believers of magick. It would seem like a great thing, wouldn't it? The ability to cast magick and do whatever you want...

I wonder if these two knew about the Wiccan Rede, huh? Hahaha~