The Self-Care Spellbook

Witches have been portrayed a number of ways throughout history. From the evil, pointy hat donning woman flying on a broomstick, to the trio of sisters in “Charmed,” we have been fascinated with these women and their powers since forever. Unfortunately, fascination can also sometimes mean fear. Fear of witches was definitely the case with the witch hunts popping up over Europe in the mid-15th century during the infamous Salem witch trials. In some places around the world, women are still in danger of being persecuted for practicing witchcraft. When you really dig deep to the bottom of the cauldron, however, the basis of witchcraft is about owning your power and finding ways to reconnect with yourself. It doesn’t hurt that men are a little scared of it, too. Whether we were afraid of them, jealous of them or completely enamored by them, our collective obsession with witches grew as a result of the countless books, movies and television series featuring them. Shows like “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and “Charmed”— not to mention the Disney classics “Twitches” and “Halloweentown” — had every girl born in the 90s patiently waiting to find out they had magical powers of their own. Since we are all still waiting on those powers to come in, it is no surprise that products like tarot cards, healing crystals and little spellbooks appeal to us. It also is no shock that brands have taken that fascination and turned it into a lucrative business move. Clothing stores like Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie have made it trendy to practice witchcraft or engage in healing rituals with crystals or sage. Back in 2018, Sephora planned to sell a “Starter Witch Kit” with perfume brand Pinrose. It was pulled before it could even hit the shelves due to the amount of outrage the brand received on social media from actual practicing witches when they announced its arrival. The kit was going to cost $42 and it consisted of a deck of tarot cards, a rose quartz crystal, white sage and Pinrose fragrances. Where the beauty brands missed the mark — and where Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie have gotten in trouble as well — is that they didn’t consider the cultural significance of the items included and attempted to sell a product solely based on its aesthetic. Bundles of sage, sometimes called “smudge sticks,” have been everywhere recently, from alternative boutiques to your local Urban Outfitters. While sage has been heavily revered for “cleansing your space” or clearing out “bad vibes,” the packaging often forgets to inform the customer where the sage-burning ritual comes from. Indigenous Corporate Training, Inc., a Canadian organization that helps people work effectively with Indigenous Peoples, defines smudging as, “traditionally a ceremony for purifying or cleansing the soul of negative thoughts of a person or place.” There are specific protocols to follow when smudging that are a sign

of respect to Native American culture. “To understand the protocol means you have to learn something about aboriginal people,” Cat Criger, an aboriginal elder-in-residence at the University of Toronto in an article for Awaken.com, says. “In a sense the medicines are working in a kind way, saying ‘learn about me and we can respect each other and we can walk together.’”

It is also important to note that it was illegal for native people to practice their own spiritual and religious beliefs in the United States until the American Indian Religious Freedoms Act of 1978. Many Native American communities are still working to have smudging as a religious and spiritual practice be allowed in hospitals and schools — so the practice is not one to be taken lightly.

The line between appreciation and appropriation can get blurry when it comes to witchcraft and the traditions and rituals associated with it. For this reason, stores that sell witchy products or deliver tarot card readings have also been working to increase education around the topic of witchcraft. You can now find witches on every social media platform that have been working to bring magic to our everyday lives and normalize the fact that every woman has a little bit of witch in them. If crystals and candles get you in the right space to perform rituals that better your life, then that is great. But, all you really need to practice witchcraft is yourself.

Kelly Knight, author and founder of her own store called Modern Mystic Shop in Atlanta, does tarot card readings in addition to selling metaphysical goods. Recently she was featured on the podcast “Girls Gotta Eat” where she talked about the different rituals that can help you achieve what you want most. Knight says the magic comes from feeling in your body what it feels like to achieve your deepest desires.

“Rituals help you create a target for your desires,” Knight says. “It’s not necessarily a shortcut; most of the time you have to sift through the opposite of those feelings. That’s what actually transforms you and transforms your beliefs.”

In reality, witchcraft’s rebranding is considered self-care because there are so many ways of embracing it and using it to improve upon yourself and the energy you are bringing into your life. Whether it is through beauty products, clothing or casting spells, all that matters is that you are fully engaging in self-improvement.

Over the years, the image of the witch has changed from the evil, wartnosed woman to the independent and clever women who graced the movie and television screens in the 1990s. Today, social media has aided in creating the visual of the modern witch: an everyday woman who owns her power in today’s society and channels that into positive and healing energy.