Carmen Relihe, medium, seer and practising witch, has been interviewed by some of the biggest guns in the French and European media and has made numerous television guest appearances.  She is considered an authority within her realm and has the reputation of being a powerful witch and gifted medium.

Even the press treat her with respect.  As one journalist put it: “They say she is powerful.  They say one shouldn’t antagonise her because, although Carmen professes to use her powers mostly for good, she is, they say, capable of going the other way.”

Well, it isn’t every day that one meets a real life witch and I am genuinely looking forward to the experience.  When Carmen arrives, she is dressed in “civilian” clothes.  The only clue to her profession is the long, gold chain around her neck from which dangles a large, golden pentacle - “for protection,” she explains.

“I’ve Heard Voices All My Life”

Carmen is French, but was born on the island of La Galite.   “My parents were fishermen,” she begins.  “I inherited the gift of second sight from my father.  My maternal grandmother also had 'le don' (the gift).

“I’ve heard voices all my life.  I was only a young child when I foresaw the deaths of my younger brother and sister.  They were twins, you know.  I saw what was going to happen in a dream and the next day I told my mother and she threw up her arms and cried, ‘Oh, no!’, but my brother died a few days later and my sister, shortly after that.”

She points to a series of photos on the wall.  “Those photos were taken in the African Republic of Benin,” she tells me.  “I predicted in 2006 that Dr. Boni Yayi would become President of Benin, which he did.  I also predicted that Nicolas Sarkozy would win the French Presidential election.

“I could make other predictions about France, but I prefer not to discuss them.  The voices usually tell me when something is going to happen.”

These voices, I ask her, do you hear them all the time?

“All the time,” she confirms, “The spirits are always there, even when I close my eyes at night but, in any case, I don’t seem to need much sleep.  I am often up and about in the early hours of the morning, getting on with my work.”

Black Magic & Voodoo

On her website, Carmen refers to herself as a “High Priestess in the Science of the Occult”, specialising in the domains of love, good luck, business and finances, work problems, protection and exorcism.

How does she go about this?   Is it by using “white” magic?

Carmen makes a dismissive gesture.  “White magic doesn’t work,” she says.  “Only black magic has real power.  And Voodoo, of course.  Voodoo is truly redoutable.”

Carmen is referring to true Voodoo, not the popular - and inexact - Hollywood portrayal.  Voodoo first travelled to the Caribbean from Benin (formerly Dahomey) on the West Coast of Africa, via slave trading.  True Voodoo - which signifies “Spirit Cult” in the Fon language - is based on the belief that spirits share our world and ‘what goes around comes around’, multiplied by 3.  Anyone who uses Voodoo with the intention of deliberately harming another person would thus risk their own evil spell rebounding on themselves...three-fold.  A true adept would have to be sorely provoked before using Voodoo for evil ends.

“A friend introduced me to the adepts of Benin,” Carmen continues.  “Over there, they practice the real Voodoo.  It is raw magic; very powerful. It’s hard for an outsider to approach them, let alone be accepted into their inner circle and permitted access to their ceremonies.”

The fact that both the Voodoo adepts of Benin and the famous witches of Salem in Massachusetts have extended these courtesies to Carmen is a measure of the esteem in which she is internationally-held.

“I do not abuse my powers,” she goes on.  “I use them to help other people.  However, I would not hesitate to defend myself, or those close to me, if I had to.

“When one is dealing with Voodoo and black magic, one really has to know what one is doing as it can be extremely dangerous.  Having said that, magic will only work if the person practising it has le don.”

Is it really possible to use magic to change our lives?  Doesn’t destiny count for anything?

Again that dismissive gesture from Carmen.  “Destiny counts for nothing!” she says.  “Why sit around waiting for opportunities to fall into one’s lap when one can take a more proactive approach?”

The room where she receives her clients is a glorious clutter of vases, silk flowers, candles, incense sticks, statues, a shrine to the Virgin Mary and a small table, covered with a cloth decorated with astrological symbols.  On the table are packs of Tarot cards and a crystal ball. 

“Piqués” and “Poupées”

Pulling aside a curtain, Carmen invites me into a smaller room which appears to be a temple.  It is predominantly red and filled with more candles and statues.  I recognise a statuette of Buddha and an embroidered tapestry of Kali, the Hindu goddess with many arms.

“I respect the gods of all the religions of the world,” Carmen says. 

There are small bowls of water, cake and fruit - for the spirits.

“One must always thank the spirits for their help and remember to feed them,”  Carmen explains.   She admits this does sometimes involve sacrificing a cock but implies that this is necessary and unavoidable.

She shows me some of the “tools” of her trade: bundles of pointed sticks which she calls “piqués” and crudely carved wooden dolls or “poupées”, bound with twine into which has been threaded all manner of things, from feathers and shells to padlocks and small pieces of paper.  Some are gifts offering protection from Carmen’s friends in Benin and Salem.  Others, I gather, are work in progress for Carmen’s clients.  I see Carmen’s  witches’ robes hanging in a wardrobe and her caldron, which is set up out on the lawn in the back garden.

As we make our way back to the house I ask how Carmen will be spending Halloween which is, after all “la Fête des Sorcières”?

“Every year I invite my friends and clients for a celebration and then, later, I perform a private ceremony with my assistant.  I thank the spirits for their help and give them the choice to stay with me if they want to, or to leave if that is what they would prefer.”

We are now in the conservatory of her villa and I remark how pleasant it is.  Carmen smiles and cocks her head, as if listening to voices I cannot hear.  She nods with satisfaction and a trace of pride.

“There are good spirits here,” she says. 

From Var Reporter - Oct/Nov 2007 

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form