All the wild witches, those most noble ladies,” wrote W. B. Yeats, a prescient Irish poet must have unwound a cingulum or two before we thought to do so. And judging from the undraped magnificence of this most charming sorceress, witches are not the hawk-nosed hags that we once were taught to shun.

An assemblage of truly magical proportions (34-22-35), Babetta is a black-haired psychic, in whose Los Angeles lair the mystery of sexual attraction is taught. Her “sensual sorcery” classes draw initiates from the world over, and a two month delay in entry bespeaks the potency of her brew.

"Witchcraft is a way of life for me,” says Babetta, who in her youth could discern events before they became fact. "It's being in control of your destiny, rather than being swept along by the whims of fate. Witchcraft has nothing to do with Satan worship. It is instead a natural religion of the earth which had its beginning at the dawn of mankind. The Craft believes in a god and a goddess, recognizing the universal male/female duality.” Recognizing the female essence of sorcery in this most modern of witches is simplicity itself, since she performs her rituals in the nude, or “sky clad" as she prefers to put it, and an excitement aroused by secrecy and magic awaits those who penetrate her Sabbat.

One With Nature

Babetta's deepest drives and desires come from her close observation of nature. “The senses were meant to be experienced and enjoyed,” she preaches, which means doing what comes naturally. “Witchcraft is a philosophy. Certain rain dances and dances of fertility originated out of one source-men believed that the nature which gave them perfect animals was, in a sense, what they should worship. Man literally learned to copulate from watching animals, and much of what we know sexually was learned through observing animal life. If you will notice, animals engage in oral copulation and love positions which we ourselves have changed around—dog fashion for example. Man switched the position because he wanted to relate to the person he loved. Animals don't have that emotional need. But some of the couplings that people are suddenly aware of have been around for thousands of years!"

While the animal herds have displayed little instinct for open-field group sex, our sensual soothsayer considers such activity well within Mother Nature's bounds, although not a reason for a gathering of sisters. "Whatever energies are happening, if it feels right, that's fine. You're not going to force people to do anything they don't want to do. It's just a question of flowing with the energies that are happening naturally and not putting up artificial barriers. And if people do it, witches will do it, but not in covens because the need just isn't there. I'm sure there are some who are involved in group sex outside of the coven, but the reason for a meeting is never group sex.”

Tradition is Important

Babetta follows a distinguished tradition in her sorcery. History reveals a thrust of hot blooded sensuality beneath the black capes of the once-sinister sisterhood. Marjorie Jour de Main, for instance, was burned at the stake for casting spells at Henry VI. Luckily, Babetta's runes are aimed toward the more pleasantly pragmatic. "I cast love spells, money spells, health spells, spells for success,entertainment, to overcome obstacles.”

She warns, however, that "lots of people have the wrong idea about a spell. They think you cast a spell, sit back, and people are magnetically made to act like a robot." Not so, she muses, it's more a matter of energy. “A lot of times things will happen that you don't expect—a break or opportunity will come your way—simply because of the extra energy concentrated there. You'll be going about your normal activities of life and suddenly these things you're involved in happen, sooner and bigger than you expected. You just can't cast a money spell and expect the postman to drop off a check for a million dollars. It has to be whatever is in your frame of reference."

Art of Seduction

Using Babetta's frame as a point of reference arouses an immediate attraction. We asked her if the art of seduction was in her bag of tricks. "If you do an attraction spell before you go to a party, then you put out a certain type of energy that's all positive, warm, and pleasant, and the chances are you're going to walk into that party and attract somebody. You look good, feel good, and have the psychological crutch of knowing that you are going to attract someone, and you do! You just help the spell along.

“Being Italian, I am strongly emotional, so thoughts of love always help me to charge my body with what Eastern philosophies call prana or life energy. Spells, for me, build slowly as I throw the various switches in my mental and physical circuitry, finally releasing the energy in a gigantic climax like some cosmic explosion. This is what my witchcraft is all about. It is making love to the universe." Since that's the case, we've set our sights up towards her milky way.