The nation of Romania has decided to recognize the work of witches and astrologists, but not because they believe in these dark arts – they’re just plain strapped for cash.
The Associated Press is reporting that effective January 1, the Romanian government will officially recognize the work of witches and astrologers which means they must now pay income taxes.
The new guidelines, which also apply to embalmers, valets and driving instructors, is part of a nationwide effort to crack down on widespread tax evasion.
As expected, the measure is not going over very well with the nation’s witches. One of them, a witch named Bratara, told a top Romanian TV station website that she plans to cast a spell using black pepper and yeast to cause discord in the government.
Believe it or not, such threats carry weight in this county (remember, this is the home of Dracula) where even the nation’s top politicians are involved in the occult.
A perfect example is last year’s presidential election when the loser, Mircea Geoana, claimed his opponent, Traian Basescu, employed the services of a clairvoyant who attacked him with “negative energy” prior to a crucial debate in which he became confused and was unable to focus.
According to the Boston Globe, Romanians at first mocked Geoana, calling him a sore loser, until photos surfaced that showed a well-known parapsychologist named Aliodor Manolea standing close to Basescu during the debate. Manolea’s specialities are said to include deep mind control, clairvoyance, and hypnotic trance.
Surprisingly, Basescu never denied the accusations, saying only that the clairvoyant was not included in campaign staff meetings.
In this part of the Balkans, people believe in the evil eye, witch doctors, and other occult forces which they claim can be used to launch mystical energy attacks on opponents and sap victims of their strength – or in Geoana’s case, their mental acuity.
Another example occurred in neighboring Serbia where a former army spokesman was discharged after divulging that the military had employed a parapsychology unit in the 1990s that launched psychic attacks on the United States and other enemies.
“Group 69,’’ which the spokesman said included publicly known fortune tellers and witches, claimed to have inflicted “heavy losses’’ against the enemy.
Neither the Serbian government nor the military has ever issued a denial of these claims.
The Globe reports that another Serbian leader, Radovan Karadzic, who is currently on trial in the Hague for his alleged participation in the Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian war that left almost 40,000 dead, was also a believer in witchcraft who actively participated in paranormal activities. Interestingly, Karadzic was arrested in 2008 in Belgrade – disguised as a New Age guru.
