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Romania's witches and fortune tellers
could face a spell in prison if their predictions do not come
true. Photograph: Alamy
There's more bad news in the cards for Romania's beleaguered witches.
A month after authorities began taxing them for their trade, the
country's soothsayers are cursing a new bill that threatens fines
or even prison if their predictions do not come true.
The witches say they should not be blamed for the failure of their
tools. "They can't condemn witches, they should condemn the
cards," said Queen witch Bratara Buzea.
Superstition is a serious matter in the land of Dracula, and officials
have turned to witches to help the recession-hit country collect
more money and crack down on tax evasion.
In January officials changed labour laws to officially recognise
the centuries-old practice as a taxable profession, prompting
angry witches to dump poisonous mandrake into the Danube in an
attempt to put a hex on the government.
The new draft bill, passed in the Senate last week, must be approved
by a financial and labour committee and the Chamber of Deputies,
the other house of parliament.
Bratara called the proposed bill overblown. "I will fight
until my last breath for this not to be passed," she said.
She added that members of the public who visit witches for predictions
do not provide their real identities, date of birth or other personal
details, which could skew a seer's results. "What about when
the client gives false details about themselves? Surely we can't
be blamed for that," she said.
The bill would also require witches to have a permit, to provide
their customers with receipts and bar them from practising near
schools and churches.
