In 2022, more people will be openly witch than ever. It seems that this lifestyle has continued to grow in recent years. You hear more about witchcraft, especially among the younger generations. Many are open to new ways to be spiritual, including living as a witch. But is there really a growing population among the witches? And why is it increasingly in the news?
Past
Witches have been around for hundreds of years. They were healers and still are. With the rise of Christianity, this form of living with nature was suppressed. Because of this, many witches had to practice their arts in secret. This caused many to abandon this lifestyle. For a long time, it was only the most popular witches to hear about. At the moment it is different and in many countries it is a lot safer to openly come out as a witch. Witches now come in all shapes and sizes. From a green witch who does everything with nature, to witches who use magic to support their religion. All witches are different, yet they all belong under one term.
Social media
Social media makes it easy to connect with anyone around the world. With one click you can find anything you want. This also applies to information about witches. The internet is a resource full of learning material for witches. Because it is so easy to post, there are more and more blogs and videos about spirituality and witchcraft. Just like this one. On platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, it's easy to find others with similar interests. You'll soon find popular witches like 'Choatic Witch Aunt' or videos where people talk to real witches like 'Anthony Padilla'. With social media it is a lot clearer that there really are people who practice witchcraft. So it is no longer just a myth that you hear at school or in church.
Witchtok
Witchcraft has already grown on the social media platform TikTok. Witches can talk about their experiences and provide educational information here under the hashtag 'witchtok'. It gets the attention of many interested parties, but also of many people who are afraid or do not believe in it. The second group brought a lot of attention to all witches by typing hateful messages. The witches who saw TikTok as a safe place are still attacked every day. Often these hate messages are supported by the religion they follow or they say it's because they only believe in science. Despite becoming an increasingly insecure place to share information, TikTok is pushing the videos more and more because it gets a lot of comments. The TikTok witches are not always happy with the attention and certainly not with the newcomers who seek their information on TikTok. The more popular something becomes, the more misinformation arises. This is also the case here. Many new witches spread information that can be dangerous to others. Witchcraft isn't always a safe lifestyle, especially when you're misinformed. These 'fake' videos ensure that the real information is suppressed.
Cultural appropriation
De term ‘cultural appropriation’ is vaak gehoord de laatste tijd. Tussen de heksen is dit een groot probleem. Met steeds meer nieuwe heksen is er ook steeds meer last van cultural appropriation. Veel beginners weten nog niet waar ze aan beginnen en zoeken hun informatie op bij de verkeerde plekken. Ze lezen boeken waar het misbruiken van iemand anders cultuur of religie wordt omarmd. Vaak blijven ze bij die paar boeken en lijkt het dus alsof dat wel kan. Ook zijn er veel ‘closed practices’ waar veel beginners zich in proberen te duiken zoals Hoodoo. Maar door de golf van informatie die hun kant op gaat, is het lastig te zien wat precies wel en niet mag. Ze zijn nog enthousiast en willen het liefst alles in één keer uitproberen. Het is alleen belangrijk om eerst zoveel mogelijk informatie op te doen van verschillende bronnen. Dan weet je wat wel en niet veilig is om aan deel te nemen.
Devil Witches
Popularity has not always been positive. There are still large groups of people who see witches as devils. All witches work with Satan and are dangerous. Often these stereotypes stem from the Christian image that has been created. Not only is the church often taught that all magic is bad, the media helps with it too. Many horror films are based on the Christian view of the world. Because of this, people subconsciously get the idea that witches, spirituality, ghosts and magic are bad. This is far from true. Most witches are just like any other person, some are bad some are good. You never know if someone is doing good or bad things in their spare time. Not all witches work with the devil, but some work with demons. But why would you judge this?
