The witches' fate ("fado das bruxas") was that, by night, they left their homes and followed the Devil through the streets. By going through the streets, the witches caused damages to the inhabitants belongings, lifting boat oars, opening farmer's casks, and causing other kinds of torments. The magical and protected use of the Sanselimão sigla, a pentagram, is associated with the witches. The use of the sigla poveira had several purposes, such as protection by saving a witch from her fate. To save her, a steel Sanselimão should be held in hand, another sanselimão should be drawn in the ground in the street where one would, during the night, wait for the Devil to go through the street with the witches behind him. The witch, one's wife, stretched her hand to be pulled by her husband to the area inside the sanselimão drawn in the ground. The other witches would torment the man, swearing and whistling.