Firstly, this reminds me of the book Pop Goes the Witch that was penned by Fiona Horne.

Recently, I’ve noticed that the idea of being a “witch” is kind of floating back into pop culture. Mostly in a The-Craft-Wannabe kind of way. Dressing in black, having more rocks on your nightstand than could be found in a cave, tons and tons more herbs than would be considered diligent for a spice rack. Wearing Baphomet or some version of the pentacle. Or the sigil of Solomon. Or a bunch of Theban scribe that looks “witchy” enough on a shirt pattern. You know, stuff that actually doesn’t make you a witch. A fluffy bunny dabbler with a penchant for fashion, sure, but not an actual bonafide witch. It’s very edgy looking but really not accurate.

It wouldn’t be such a bother if it didn’t somehow float my way or create more static when trying to dispel myths such as “all witches are evil, spell casting people dressed in black” or “all witches are creepy women out to do creepy things”. My inbox looks like a tragedy sometimes because of this. At the average Pagan event I go to, just about no one who actually practices looks like this. Or talks about trying to hex openly and widely because they’re miffed about something fairly mundane – as if seeking magickal revenge is all a witch does. Again, not accurate.

It’s not the clothes that makes the witch but the practice. Otherwise, it is more of an act than an actual action. That and witchcraft is not something to dabble with, especially when armed with internet-only knowledge that the reader does not know is actually accurate or not. Seriously, my inbox is proof of that.

Actual practice in witchcraft is not so glamorous. At all. It’s a bunch of reading super dense texts, then doing more reading, then there’s some more researching…and then there’s some more reading of stuff that is not light mental fare. Stuff that doesn’t get countless reblogs and reposts online. Yes, it sounds more like taking a college class than waving a wand and saying a poorly crafted limerick, you would be on the money about that. Because there is history, there is a reason for one thing and why it doesn’t apply for the other. You can’t slap together cinnamon and parsley on a candle and expect to ace all your finals without a drip of studying. It will make you feel like you’re doing something but, you’re just making a scented candle in a very unusual way.

Granted, some are flocking to this because it appear cool, a tad bit hedonistic (the thought of “I am this all-powerful witch”) and definitely to women and girls who took one class on Feminism, didn’t really listen and opted to learn via a Beyoncé performance instead. And, most importantly, it gives the self-illusion of agency in these more trying and turbulent times. It feels like you’re powerful. It feels like there’s something you can do to make things change. Feeling this way is great but it’s just that, a feeling.

It’s great that some people see witchcraft as a form of feminism and resistance to the hegemonic world we engage with, absolutely spiffy. Thing is, this is not the reason why witchcraft exists. Witchcraft is not inherently feminist (why, the Western notion of feminism is far younger than the existence of any practice of magick). Witchcraft is not inherently resistive in socio-political ways. It just is a lifestyle, just something part of living. No different than being a surfer or engineer. Can it be construed in such manners? Sure, but so can just about anything else in this regard.

Does this mean put away the dark clothing? Not really. But have some substance to it. There’s a lot more to magick than wearing black or waving around a stick of sage and making noises. That’s just being ridiculous for the sake of feeling like there’s some control.