The Return of the Witch

Witches and their magic are everywhere, especially now, at the spooky time of year, around Halloween, or to give it its old name, Samhain.

We’re in the season of the witch. But witches are popular all year round. WitchTok, that corner of TikTok that’s devoted to witches, attracts a huge number of hits from people looking for witchy vibes. There is a mushrooming of novels, podcasts, TV series, and guides to spell-casting, all exploring the theme of the witch in her modern incarnation – not as a dark figure of menace who casts spells and curses to harm others. Nowadays people who declare themselves to be witches – and there are a lot of them – are much more likely to have a wholesome vibe, to be interested in spells for well- being, healing and mindfulness. Love spells are still very popular too, and are often found in the repertoire of the modern witch – love magic is part of a historical tradition that goes back at least as far as ancient Egypt.

So what is the lure that witches have for so many of us? As a historian I find myself wondering what connection there could be between witches now, and witches in the distant past. For many hundreds of years, throughout the early modern period, people believed implicitly in the reality of magic and witchcraft. Magic and the supernatural were part of everyday life. The chief practitioners of magic were sometimes known as witches, but more often they were called the cunning folk, or wise women, and they had other names too. Whatever their name, very village had one. The person you would go to for magical help and healing, who would dispense herbs and other remedies, and make charms and amulets that might protect you against bad luck, or evil magic, and – of course – they could provide love potions. The cunning folk were people to be respected, and looked to for help in the community. Some of the cunning folk also believed themselves – and were believed by their neighbours – to have the power to cause harm by means of magic. It was considered unwise to annoy them. They might curse your cow, your crops, even you, though that was always seen as harmful magic, maleficia. It was a dangerous world, where people felt powerless, without much understanding of disease, little reliable medicine, poor nutrition, with low life expectancy. Most lived gruelling lives of hard work labouring on the land. Magic was a way to combat the darkness, to give back power to the powerless.

Painting of Morgan le Fay, from 1864. Sourced from Wikipedia.

On the face of it, we live very different lives now, with all the benefits of medical advances, easily available food, technology, energy to power our homes and fend off the darkness. Few of us, at least in the British Isles, expect to spend our lives eking out a meagre living by working on the cultivation of the land. So why do we still need magic and witchcraft? And why do we need it now, it seems, more than ever?

One answer, I believe, lies in the sense of power that comes with creating magic. Many people are feeling fearful and overwhelmed at the moment in the face of technological changes, mass consumption, political turmoil, the ruthless exploitation of the natural world by big businesses and governments, and the escalating climate and environmental crisis that’s the inevitable consequence. Magic and witchcraft now are typically about creating your own spells, crafting your own artefacts that are special and meaningful to you, and getting back in touch with the natural world. It’s about creativity, community rituals, and the autonomy of individuals. In that sense, the modern witch may be using different methods to witches in the past, but she’s still giving back a sense of power to the powerless.

Find out more about Marisa’s first novel, The Binding Spell, here.