Maria Owens

Maria Owens portrayed by Caprice Benedetti in Practical Magic

**Maria Owens** is the ancestral matriarch of the Owens family. She had an affair with the witch-hunter John Hathorne which resulted in the birth of her daughter Faith. After being betrayed by her love, Maria enacted a curse upon herself and her bloodline so that whomever falls in love with an Owens woman will die.

## Appearance

Maria has pitch-black hair and silvery grey eyes.

## Biography

### ***Magic Lessons***

#### **Early Life (1664-1673)**

Maria Owens was born in Essex County in 1664. Her mother, Rebecca, abandoned her in a juniper field, but she was found by Hannah Owens, who took her in and raised her as her own. Her first familiar was a crow named Cadin.

She grew up watching the transactions between Hannah and the local women for spells, and learned all the remedies and spells from them. Hannah gifted her her own grimoire for her tenth birthday made from toad leather, which she began to write down several spells, including some of Maria's.

#### **1674**

That summer, Rebecca arrived at their home, covered in bruises and bloodstains. She asked Hannah to remove the powerful love spell that she casted ten years ago on her future husband, who became possessive and abusive towards her. Hannah complied, and Maria watched as they broke the spell by the lake. Maria was enchanted by Rebecca despite the birds and her own intuition warning her against the woman. It isn't until later that night does Hannah reveal that Rebecca is Maria's mother, but notes that Rebecca will leave without saying goodbye, only here to check on her daughter.

Soon after Rebecca left, her husband, Thomas Lockland, arrived with ten men and hounds in order to find her. Hannah helped Maria escape with a satchel of food and supplies and both of their Grimoires. She told her ward to run to the sea and escape their country, saying goodbye for the last time. Maria watched from afar as Lockland and his men nailed Hannah to her front door, burned the house, and shot her with an arrow before suffering fatal poison from the herbs inside the house. Once the men were gone, Maria returned to the house to burn Hannah's Grimoire and took the door's bell so she could continue helping others.

Despite reaching the seashore, Maria followed Cadin to Rebecca's home, as she enjoyed by herself after it was deserted by Lockland to recover far away. Maria confronted her mother about her husband and Rebecca expressed her apologizes about what happened, not knowing her husband could follow her. She offered to take in Maria, to which she accepted.

#### **1675**

Daughter and mother lived together for some time, with Rebecca teaching Maria more love and revenge spells to add to her Grimoire. However, Maria caught her mother sneaking out at night, figuring out that she had been out reuniting with her lover and Maria's father. Rebecca tried to brush off the accusation, but a message came saying the Locklands were taking back the houses, meaning the two had to leave soon. With that, Rebecca and Maria left and reunited with Maria's father, Robbie, an actor and thief. She watched as her parents took flaming arrows and torched the Lockland's manor to the ground.

The three traveled close to London, where Maria told them that she wanted her own life away from them. They agreed to send her away, both so that Lockland's family wouldn't find her and take their revenge, and so they could live together without having to take care of their child. Upon reaching Southampton, Rebecca gave her several items that would help her on travel to Curaçao while Robbie got her passage on a Dutch ship. They said their goodbyes to her, executed together not long after for horse theft.

Maria arrived in Curaçao and was sold into servitude for the wealthy Jansen family. There, she became friends with the biracial daughter of Mr. Jansen, Juni, and spent the next four years working as a dutiful servent. Finding out that Juni's great aunt, Aldie, was a brua, a type of witch native to the island, she insisted Juni to take her there and met Aldie, who was wary of the young witch. However, she taught Maria several of her own spells, adding to her Grimoire.

#### **1679**

In June, Maria saw John Hathorne from afar and instantly fell in love with despite many signs from Cadin and herself that she shouldn't. He noticed her as well and instantly became attracted to her. They walked along the port, spotting a turtle nearby. They met again later that night at the Jansen dinner, where he learned she was a maid, but affirmed his attachment to her. They spent five nights together, consummating their strong love for each other. However, on the sixth day, Maria found John had gone missing. Upon looking into her black glass mirror, she learned he sailed back home to Massachusetts, oblivious to the fact that she was now pregnant with his unborn daughter.

#### **1680**

Maria's servitude was complete upon her birthday, and moved in with Juni and Aldie. She finally gave birth to her daughter, Faith, on March 20th at 11:52 pm.

In August, Maria and Faith left Curaçao on a Spanish-Jewish pirate ship heading to Rhode Island. Maria was able to convince the captain, Abraham Dias, to let them on so she could save his dying son Samuel. While on the journey, Samuel and Maria began to feel an attraction for each other, but she refused to give herself into her new feelings, determined to be reunited with Hathorne. Rather, Maria pushed Dias emotionally away, saying she was only there to heal him and often referred to him as Goat.

The ship arrived in Boston later that same month, where Maria and Faith parted ways from Samuel, who was too heartbroken to say goodbye, much to Faith's cries and Maria's sadness. Not knowing where Hathorne was exactly, mother and daughter stayed at a boarding house in Boston. Maria worked at the boarding's teahouse as a cook, making the teahouse popular for both hungry clients and women wanting spells. She became friends with the proprietor, Mrs. Henry, who warned her about finding what she wanted, not what she must have.

#### **1681**

Sometime in spring after Faith's birthday, Maria met a resident of Essex County who heard Hathorne lived in Salem as a magistrate, saying it was a strict Puritan town. Despite that, a dark dream of Hannah warning her, and a sign of bad omen with cake and ants, Maria packed up Faith and took her to Salem. She immediately went to town and found Hathorne's house, waiting there with a fussy Faith and doing spells to bring him home faster.

Hathrone eventually arrived, surprised that she and Faith had followed him home. He took the two of them to live in an abandoned cabin outside of town, and spent the next two years visiting Maria to have sex. While Maria made herself and Faith at home, trading herbs for provisions, she realized that she still missed Samuel, and that the relationship between herself and Hathorne wasn't love.

#### **1682**

Maria, wanting Hathorne to recognize her and their daughter, traveled into Salem and towards his house. There, she saw his wife, Ruth Gardner Hawthorne, and their son, John. Despite being devastated to the point of leaves burning throughout the town, Maria had John take a letter written in blood for her to be delivered to his father. John agreed and took it, and she returned to the cottage with Faith, where she cried tears that burned her daughter's fingers.

## Powers and abilities

* **Spell-casting:** the act of changing or controlling events or people through the use of magical means.
* **Potion-making:** the act of concocting mysterious brews that act as a magical type of liquified medicine or drug.