Deal with the Devil

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Deal with the Devil
General Information
Location	Worldwide
Participants	The Devil Witches
Description	A Rite of Passage into Witchcraft.

“	Now tell him. Say it. This is what you want.	”
	— Tituba to Mary Sibley

The Deal with the Devil is the Rite of Passage into Witchcraft. The basis of the contract is notably straightforward, as all it requires is for a person to summon the Devil and strike a pact with him in exchange for power.

Description

Whenever a man or woman summons the Devil and offers him something valuable, such as their own soul, that person will be made into a witch. While the invocation of the Devil commonly requires the presence of another witch, as proven by Tituba, this intermediary is not necessary as he can hear their call and will appear to them on their own. This deal varies from person to person, however, most witches have been known to exchange their souls to the Devil in trade for power. While this method is most common is not the only way for one to become a witch as the Devil they worship might not desire their souls, but rather something else of value. Cradle witches who get their powers by birthright are also required to hold their end of the bargain when they come of age and into their powers.

All the powers bestowed upon the witch at the time of the Pact with the Devil can be cruelly revoked by the latter at any given time through a ritual known as Reckoning.

Throughout the Salem Series

Mary chased by the Devil

Brought to despair, deprived of her beloved, and with a child in her womb conceived out of wedlock, Mary Walcott offered herself and her unborn child to the Devil in exchange for prestige and the power to overthrow those who have oppressed her by joining the dark forces. Assisted by her house slave Tituba, Mary went into the forest and at the foot of an old tree she conceived her child while she was dazed by a potion smeared on her face and body. With ramifications of hell-blood and a swarm of insects creeping up her legs and then, up to the groin, Mary has had visions of a satyr-like creatures, a man with bestial traits and covered with blood, who was chasing her in the woods and took every now and then likeness of her beloved John Alden. Afterwards, her pregnant belly was gone and Mary cried in the arms of her slave.

Mercy offered to the Devil

Mercy Lewis moved her first steps into witchcraft after freeing herself from Mary's control and her spectral attacks. Brought to the brink of a nervous breakdown, afraid of being slaughtered by a razor by Mary Sibley, the Reverend's daughter was stripped of her clothes and left in the midst of the cold woods. There, she was chased by a demon with cloven hoofs covered in blood. Following her encounter, Mercy became an Essex witch under the tutelage of Mary Sibley, who promised to put an end to puritanical terror.

A young Tituba met the Devil

After Tituba was arrested on charged of witchcraft, she recounted to Reverend Increase Mather that shortly after her village was invaded by slavers, she called out for God to protect her, but he never intervened. Instead, God "answered with thunder" and allowed Tituba and her people to be sold into slavery. Feeling abandoned and betrayed by God, another god, that Tituba called the "Kanaima", heard her cries and appeared to her in the woods. Tituba told Increase that she was afraid of the Kanaima at first, and initially denied his offer of salvation. However, she claims that though she rejected the Kanaima, he never abandoned her and that she could feel his presence wherever she went. Later, after several years of abuse from her owners, Tituba finally accepted his proposal and offered him her soul in exchange for power and protection. Keeping his promise, the Kanaima blessed Tituba with the power she needed to defeat her enemies and to protect herself from any further abuse. Tituba has since devoted herself to complete the Grand Rite, to free her God from Hell so that he might right the wrongs of the world and average all of those who have suffered at the hands the violent and hypocritical Puritans and other colonisers.

Anne approached by the Devil

Lost in the woods, the young Anne Hale was approached by the Devil in the guise of a naked man covered in blood and dirt, who welcomed by saying, "At last, you found your way home", anticipating what was to come only months later. Once Anne accepted her witch heritage and started honing her powers, she was transported to the woods where the Devil raped her. This scarred Anne to the point where she attempted to take her own life only to be saved by her sorcery. Mary Sibley sensed that she has sealed the contract, and explained to Anne that witchcraft is rough but appearing before the Devil and submit to him is a prerequisite they all must endure. Mary had a similar conversation with Dr. Samuel Wainwright, whom she was teaching rudimentary magic.

Gallery

Memorable Quotes

Tituba: Tell him. Say it. This is what you want. And all the world shall be yours in return.

— The Vow

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Mary Sibley: And what about witches? Do they have souls, too?

Cotton Mather: They do. But they have deeded them to the Devil himself in exchange for powers and all that they desire.

Mary Sibley: A contract? Ironic, as I believe, by law, a woman's not allowed to enter a contract but through the agency of their husband.

Cotton Mather: Not all witches are women.

— The Vow

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Mercy Lewis: But how are we here? We're in the woods. We were in your room. You locked the door.

Mary Sibley: There are many doors to many places for a witch.

Mercy Lewis: I never said you were that. I-I'd never point my finger at you. I swear. I wouldn't. I won't.

Mary Sibley: No. You most certainly won't.

— The Red Rose and the Briar

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John Hale: "Because, dearest, there is no gift that is not also a curse, and I wish you save you from the price of your gifts. But having come this far, the price must be paid. I am so deeply sorry, my child, but it cannot be escaped or evaded. No gift without a curse. And he is the curse."

— Wages of Sin

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Mary Sibley: I am proud. You were always stronger than I cared to see. And now that he has visited you, doubly so.

Anne Hale: How did you know?

Mary Sibley: I sensed it the moment I saw you. He came last night?

Anne Hale: I have been telling myself it was not the devil but only a nightmare.

Mary Sibley: He must appear to each of us. It is the prerequisite for all the power he grants. I know, his is a rough magic, indeed. But he proves that what does not kill us, makes us stronger. Like it or not, you are in this war.And you are now an even more powerful soldier in it.

— Til Death Do Us Part

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Mary Sibley: You have had a small taste of the ecstasy and insight that awaits you down the crooked way. I warn you. It leads far from the comfortable main roads of civilisation.

Dr. Wainwright: Well, then let me begin my journey at once.

Mary Sibley: Patience. Before you can continue your journey, you must go before the Dark Powers and strike your own bargain. At the witching hour, at midnight. Your journey begins then. In the meantime, you must make yourself useful.

Dr. Wainwright: Anything. I am your humble servant.

— Wages of Sin

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Trivia

• During Season One Special "The Real Witchcraft of Salem", co-creator Adam Simon referred to this ritual as "Deal with the Devil".
• Both Increase and Cotton Mather are firm in their belief that witches sell their soul while Mary Sibley offered a less dogmatic explanation that resulted in devotion to the Devil.
• Tituba's words in "The Vow" recalls the Temptation of Jesus Christ in the Wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11).
• Three out of four contracts depicted on screen included a form of sexual assault. The Devil assumed the guise of John Alden to subdue Mary. He chased a naked Mercy Lewis resembling a satyr covered in blood who then raped Anne Hale a year later. This demonic figure was, instead, depicted in the act of kissing Tituba on the forehead when she was a child.