Why I Can’t Stand the Current Witch Trend
When I was maybe nine or ten, my parents took my family to a healing and revival church event. We watched as the healer called congregants to the stage, laid his hands on their foreheads, and pushed them back onto the ground, where stage attendants covered them with sheets. They lay there, still or quaking, for several minutes, while the healer prayed and preached. Then, the congregants got out from under the sheets, and we all watched to see if they were healed. One congregant — a boy who looked like he was 13 or 14 and had been walked up to the stage by his grandma, hobbled back to his seat. They were close enough that I could hear him say to her, “Wow, it feels better already!” And yet, I couldn’t help but notice that he was limping just the same as he had been on his way up.
For a few years during the later part of my childhood, my family attended an Assemblies of God church, where the elders all made sure to carry small vials of oil, also intended for healing purposes, should the need arise. When a church member presented with any ailment — a sickness, a headache, or even cancer — the elders would gather around, place their hands on the injury, and chant in a dozen different mysterious tongues, which they believed to be languages of angels and of heaven, syllables that no one could understand, not even the person chanting. When one church member died, others received visions that he would come back from the dead. He did not.
In school, we learned about Martin Luther, the hero of the protestant reformation, who organized against corruption in the Catholic church. One of those areas of corruption was the sale of fake relics with alleged supernatural powers. During the pre-reformation days, it was common for Catholics who could afford to do so to buy different tokens and objects that were intended to bring protection or good fortune, such as fingernails allegedly belonging to ancient apostles, or spikes allegedly used to nail down a martyr. To this day, some denominations still carry around little objects that are intended to have some type of spiritual power — crosses, angel figurines, pebbles with bible verses or poems inscribed on them.
At the end of high school, I met people who were “Certified Prophets.” People who had paid hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars to attend classes and conferences where they awoke to feeling and hearing the Holy Spirit, where they learned how to, in effect, tell the future — whenever God moved them to. Some of my friends went to these schools, and came back, “on fire for God,” and with new status in the church. Me — I was already in the beginning of a decline in my faith — and feeling incredulous. Was prophecy something you could pay to learn? Is that how God worked? Would these thousands of dollars not have been put to better use elsewhere? Our church met in a poor neighborhood riddled by gang violence and drug trafficking. Were these newly minted prophets what the neighborhood needed most?
When I left the Christian community, I was relieved to leave the superstitions behind. While I tried to feel understanding of individual people (who I felt, maybe needed to do something tangible to feel less helpless in a chaotic world,) overall I felt strongly opposed to the idea that physical objects like olive oil from Jerusalem or fingernail clippings from a saint could wield any influence in our lives. I felt equally opposed to the speaking in tongues, to the idea that chanting unknown words would connect with a Greater Spirit somewhere in a way that human words or human action could not. And I felt physically nauseous over the concept that supernatural powers could be effectively bought and sold in classes. In my mind, these scams and superstitions brought a host of problems to the Church — lack of credibility, readiness to relinquish a grip on reality, distraction from actually effective means of self-improvement, status and respect to those who may not have the maturity and wisdom to give helpful guidance, an alarming lack of urgency surrounding medical treatment, and the perfect setting for disappointment and disenchantment with God.
So, to the secular world: In the nonprofit community in which I worked, people weren’t just non-religious, they were by and large anti-religion. Sure, there were some Christians and some Muslims on staff, but the unmistakable current pushed people to distance themselves from faith as much as possible. Those that were religious were quietly expected to apologize and ask excuses for their religions, which were often viewed as these backwards, unscientific, oppressive hurdles towards social wellbeing for all. While I often felt defensive of my family and original community, I can’t say I wasn’t relieved to be among people who seemed to stand so firmly on reason. This is the part I was excited for.
Enter witchcraft. Two of my co-workers started casting spells with a local coven. Others became obsessed with tarot. They printed astrology birth charts and hung them on their walls, they discussed the phases of the moon and tracked whether mercury was in retrograde. I was taken aback, to say the least. I couldn’t tell, much of the time — were they joking? Were they serious? If they were serious, why?!
In the years that have passed, being a witch and practicing witchcraft has grown into a full-blown trend. I mean, Vogue did a piece this summer called, “How to Awaken Your Inner Witch.” For further evidence of the craze, check these:
Quartz: Witchcraft is the Perfect Religion for Liberal Millennials
AV Club: Seasons of the witch: Tracing the resurgent witchcraft trend
Covateur: Why 2016 is the Year of the Witch
The Guardian: Season of the witch: Why Young Women are Flocking to the Ancient Craft
And to see for yourself, check these:
A Harmony Nice Video: Enchanted Endeavors — How to Cast a Circle
Instagram’s Hashtag: Witches of Instagram
Tumblr Study Guide: The Beginner Witch
This stuff actually, really troubled me. It still does. I mean, these people are secular! They went to normal schools! They make fun of Christians! They know better! Don’t they? Do these (for the most part) 20-something middle class college educated white girls actually not know that crystals are just minerals and that infusions of different herbs and plants are just tea? Do they really not know that a deck of cards can’t tell you anything about yourself, and that the position of the stars doesn’t have any holding over who you should date or whether or not you should quit your job or talk to your crush? Do they not know that chanting anything — no matter what you chant or what language — is not going to alter anyone’s fate, anywhere? (Placebo aside.)
It gets weirder for me in that the people I know who identify as witches and/or practice witchcraft are 100% people who are educated on social issues like cultural sensitivity and cultural appropriation. They know about religious oppression and they know their history and they know how western colonization has exploited and held back much of the world. So, while I feel like most people involved with witchcraft should already get this, I’m going to break down four reasons why this witch craze is messed up.
1. It’s messed up to ascribe supernatural powers to objects.
I bet that most people reading this piece were quick to identify the oil, the hand-laying, and the fingernails as prime examples of hocus-pocus religious wackoism. Which it is. But witchcraft isn’t different. Witchcraft is founded, in part, upon the belief that objects found in nature actually contain power and influence in the real world. Around the world, that belief kills people and endangers species. Here’s what I’m talking about:
- Witches in Malawi and Tanzania have been driving a genocide of albino people for decades, based upon the belief that body parts of those with albinism contain magical power.
- In Uganda, children have been routinely sacrified in rituals to bestow good fortune on those that commission the rituals.
- Shomburgk’s Deer was driven extinct due to the common belief that the antler’s contained magical powers.
- Many species of today are being pushed closer and closer to extinction due to traditional medicine beliefs (a category which encompasses witch doctors,) that the powdered bones of these animals have inexplicable healing power.
Now, I know I’m on sticky ground here. For one, I am aware that witches like Harmony Nice are not killing people with albinism or Ugandan children. I’m also aware that many regions where witchcraft is a prevailing, traditional belief may in fact hold these beliefs due to oppression and repression by the western world. But I do want to know where western witches draw the line and upon whose authority? And I do want to know why so many western witches view the craft as if it’s this enticing, positive, and pure source of light and spiritual energy when it’s actually rooted in layers of bloodshed and exploitation. If people can look at the examples of Christian superstition I wrote about in the beginning of this piece and be repulsed, and know that it’s not something to romanticize or play around with, then why don’t people feel the same way about witchcraft? Honestly, I think it’s trivializing to those who have lost limbs — or children, or their own lives — to the witch trade.
2. It’s messed up to think that sigils and chants can be effective political resistance:
In February, witches around the world casted a mass spell on President Trump. You know him — the guy who is responsible for backing out of the Paris Climate Accord, banning refugees, sexually assaulting women, and mass deportations? Yeah, he’s doing very real, concrete, dire harm to people and the planet. And you know what’s not going to help refugees, protect women, or support civil rights? Burning his picture isn’t. Lighting an orange candle isn’t. Whispering intentions isn’t. And here’s the thing — that energy to take a stand and push back is limited. And it burns out quickly. Those who have that energy should harness it and use it where it is actually needed. Write a letter, call a representative, organize or attend an event, spread educational material — here is a great list of ways people with political convictions can get involved productively.
How many witches participated in that ritual and patted themselves on the back for taking action? How many felt they had done their part? How many used time, resources, money, obtaining the required objects for their rituals when they could’ve been making a flier, making a donation, even sharing a useful article on social media? Again, I find the action belittling and insulting. How dare you “cast a spell” in your make believe magical land, while real people on our real planet are dying from this stuff? It’s a waste of time and an embarrassment to political activism.
3. It’s messed up how much being a witch is tied to buying stuff.
While I don’t know much about the spiritual world, I do feel pretty clear about one thing: It’s not meant for money-making. Why is this current trend so material? I mean, there’s so many witch things to buy. You’ve got the crystals, the cards, the fashion? What is this?? This?? This?? I mean, if witchcraft is anything, it’s a brilliant industry. The options are endless, only sampled here:
The emphasis on the material items of witchery makes the whole thing seem disingenuous and like a bit of a game. And that gets weird too, because, spirituality doesn’t seem like a thing to mess with lightheartedly. Its history is far too dangerous.
4. It’s messed up to rely on witchery when real ailments need real treatments:
Too often, witches claim to provide cures for physical and mental illnesses which should be treated by trained professionals, like physicians or therapists. Witch culture is far too comfortable recommending teas and poultices and are far too slow to say when to get more qualified help. For example, The Way of the Witch publishes a web page with confidently claims:
The Universe, being in such perfect order, has surely given us all that we need to be in a balanced state of health at all times. We only need to discover the gifts that lie hidden from us in plain sight!
Through my years of herbal study, I have discovered that much of what our bodies need for optimal health and wellness can be found growing all around us, often in our own back yards. As so many amazing advancements have been made in the practice of western medicine, it has been easy to forget the wisdom of the crones, sages, shamans and wise-women of our past, and the simplicity of bringing our bodies into balance naturally. I believe that there is nothing more empowering than knowing we are capable of maintaining a positive state of health and effectively healing any issues that may arise.
Following these promises, the page suggests treating cancer and Alzheimer's with ashwaganda, treating AIDS with astralagus, and broken bones with comfrey. This is, as my physiology professor would’ve said, “a load of boohockey.” Once again, I find myself stumped by my peers who are so quick to recognize conspiracies and frauds within the Christian church and yet are ready to subscribe to a belief system which harms people in such parallel ways.
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If you’ve followed this far, you may still have questions about why I’m so opposed, so I’ll add some caveats — yes, I know that witches aren’t always buying their way to inner peace, yes, I know that modern witches are supposed to follow the rede of doing no harm, yes, I know that many witches engage in productive activism and that many witches advocate for healthy modes of self-care. It’s western, modern witchcraft as a trend that I am opposed to and disappointed by, and that stems from watching harmful parallels in the Christian church my whole life growing up. While I don’t intend to make enemies of witches, and I do love and respect people in my own life who practice forms of witchcraft, I’m not okay with the movement.
