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Episode 10: Witchcraft & the Toxicity of Social Media
1.2k Plays2 years ago
Welcome back Witches! This week we're discussing Witchcraft & the Toxicity of Social Media! We'll be discussing the toxicity of social media and its effects on witchcraft, as well as us as individuals and how to avoid a lot of these issues! So get in losers, and lets discuss Witchcraft and the Toxicity of Social Media.
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Supercast & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft or email us at weredoingwitchcraft@gmail.com. You can support our show through our
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
- King, Rebekah. Witchtok: the rise of the occult on social media has eerie parallels with the 16th century. (2021) https://theconversation.com/witchtok-the-rise-of-the-occult-on-social-media-has-eerie-parallels-with-the-16th-century-168322
- tangledrootsherbal.com
- TikTok #witchtokdrama videos
ThattaurusWitch
Daddy.lemons
Cdntheplayers
Chaoticwitchaunt
- YouTube:The Nerdy Warlock
Milky Roots
Kasey Withers
Teia Kennedy
Megan Black- Round the Cauldron
Scarlet Ravenswood
The Rocker Witch
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Transcript
Introduction to Witchcraft Journey
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In, Loser. We're doing witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we have learned about the craft.
Social Media's Influence on Witchcraft
00:00:17
Speaker
So get in witches and let's talk about the influence of social media on the craft.
00:00:54
Speaker
Because I'm having coffee at 6.30 at night so I will not be going to bed anytime soon. I mean it's 12.30 and I'm on my second cup so.
00:01:03
Speaker
Well, there you go. This is only my second cup though, because I had one this morning and then I haven't had any other caffeine except for this just now. So. I mean, coffee is life. So it is. And I just, I can't get over a good iced coffee already.
00:01:18
Speaker
I guess let's get into what we're talking about today. We've referenced this topic already on the podcast, but I think it's really important to take a deeper dive into the topic of social media influence on witchcraft because of how prevalent social media is in our everyday lives. Information in today's society is right at our fingertips.
Misrepresentation and Misinformation on TikTok
00:01:36
Speaker
And while there are some great aspects of social media, there are issues that need to be discussed, especially when it comes to witchcraft. With that being said, the one that I wanted to talk about first was TikTok because it is
00:01:48
Speaker
not necessarily more prevalent than the other social media platforms, but it is newer. So it seems like everybody's on TikTok right now. So if you search the hashtag, WitchTok drama, you'll be met with a plethora of videos that are tied to this hashtag that show the drama and toxicity of the WitchTok community. But something you have to remember is that these videos are a minimum of 15 seconds long. So you're not getting the full scope of what's actually going on and what's being discussed. Something that I see as a practitioner is that much of the context
00:02:18
Speaker
on TikTok just in general is misinterpreted because of the videos are so short because there's only so much you can fit in one video. If you're newer to folk magic, paganism, witchcraft, or Wicca, you may not fully understand what it is going on in someone's ritual or spell that they are broadcasting because there isn't time for an in-depth explanation.
00:02:38
Speaker
Something else is that there's a lot of issues with closed practices or people that spread information about closed practices through these little videos. You only have 15 seconds to three minutes to tell anything that you're going to tell. And if you're on a topic that maybe you're not supposed to be practicing,
00:02:58
Speaker
a closed practice and you're trying to share that information, you're still being very limited to what you're sharing. So people consuming your videos aren't going to get the full scope of what that is and what it means to, you know, be in a closed practice, to practice a closed practice, like how you even get allowed to do that because those are closed to specific cultures. So it's just, you know, you're not getting that full scope because it's such a limited amount of time.
00:03:22
Speaker
And I think just in this day and age in general, there's this race to be enlightened and many creative and social spaces online. And especially you see this on TikTok. Cultural appropriation is real and we dedicated an entire episode about it a few weeks ago. So definitely if you haven't checked out episode three, go back and listen to it. But at the same time, there are other things that are not cultural appropriation. And if you don't understand if something is a closed practice, do your own research. There's a lot of nuances
00:03:52
Speaker
that goes into anything related to witchcraft and culture and paganism, whatever the topic is. And if a practitioner only has 15 seconds to three minutes to go over something, if you're not sure if what they're doing is something that you should be doing in your practice, then you need to step aside and actually research the topic before you do
Independent Research and Conflicting Information
00:04:16
Speaker
it.
00:04:16
Speaker
I think too, with the time limit of the videos, I think that when you first start out on TikTok as a content creator, you only get a certain amount of time. You don't get the option to do a full three minute video too. So that's just something to keep in mind. If you're watching shorter videos, these content creators are new.
00:04:33
Speaker
maybe not new to the craft, but they're at least new to sharing the craft with other people through a social media platform. So you shouldn't just be limiting yourself to a single creator or just learning from TikTok. You definitely need to do your own research. And you're going to hear us say that time and time again throughout today's episode. Make sure you are doing your own research. Make sure you're cross-referencing everything. Because two people aren't going to practice exactly the same, and two people's information might
00:05:02
Speaker
conflict with each other. So you need to make sure that you're reading into it, you're looking into it, researching it and making sure that it fits what you want to do, what fits within your morals and that it's appropriate, that it's safe, those kinds of things.
00:05:18
Speaker
So along the same line, something I came across on TikTok, this was like an issue for a while. It was part of like the drama talk of witch talk was tarot. So there were some Romani content creators that said tarot was a closed practice that only people of the Romani culture could do.
00:05:37
Speaker
when tarot was actually created in persia even though like romani practices did evolve tarot further initially tarot is something that's been used like multi-culturally throughout time like it's not something that only the romani culture has practice and this was like a whole thing on tiktok everybody was arguing about it content creators from
00:06:00
Speaker
The Romani culture, we're trying to gatekeep tarot and telling people that it was cultural appropriation. If they practiced it, they weren't part of that culture. So again, this is just something that like.
Controversies Around Closed Practices
00:06:10
Speaker
Do your research. If you're new and you didn't know anything about Tarot and the first thing you see is like, oh, you can't practice Tarot, look it up. Like make sure that it is actually a closed practice before you just go off and tell everybody. Cause that's another issue is like, you know, I heard this on TikTok. I didn't do any research into it, but I'm spreading that information as well. And it's like misguided information. So again, do your research.
00:06:34
Speaker
Along that same vein of drama talk another thing that I saw come up time and again is the debate about astrology and whether or not that is a closed practice and it's not a closed practice just FYI there are many different cultures who use astrology whether that be western astrology or eastern astrology in their everyday lives but that was another huge thing where people were trying to gatekeep astrology and make it
00:07:01
Speaker
seem like it's a closed practice and that if you weren't part of a specific culture, you couldn't believe in or practice anything related to astrology, which is just bananas. Well, and this is something too, not the drama of it, but we talked about how like,
00:07:17
Speaker
back in I want to was it our first episode in the history witchcraft that we talked about the kings and queens would have a witch in their employ as their advisor and these a lot of the practice that these witches used were astrology so they would use astrology to like predict things for the king queen or whoever else they were employed to within the court
00:07:41
Speaker
So it's not something that's closed to just one culture, this is something that's been used across all cultures throughout history. Another one that I feel like this topic in general is just a toxic topic on any social media platform, but the topic of the use of sweet grass, white sage, or using the term smudging, these are all sacred to indigenous peoples and their practice, and they're considered closed practices, but certain creators will just go and be like, oh,
00:08:08
Speaker
You know, just do it anyway is or they'll give like a misinformation, where it is something like this where it is just for this culture, it has been practiced solely within this culture using it is wrong, it is a closed practice. Do your research when other people are telling you to do it if there's not.
00:08:27
Speaker
you're not like working with this culture and there's not a transfer of culture or a transfer of this practice from people within this culture to you, then it's not something that you can practice. Exactly. And on the same note too, I've seen a lot of content creators on social media just in general who they're big on the aesthetics and one of the things that they will buy to try and
00:08:53
Speaker
get that witchy feel is bald eagle feathers. And this is illegal to have in your possession and many places, especially in the United States. And it's only legal for indigenous people to have access to them because of their cultural ties to the sacred animal.
00:09:06
Speaker
And so if you're seeing content creators on Instagram buying bald eagle feathers or letting you know, like, Oh, you could totally get one beer or whatever the case may be. No, you can't stop it. And then another is like voodoo and hoodoo practices. So people that aren't part of this culture, like content creators that aren't part of this culture are creating content for their viewers on how to do certain voodoo or hoodoo practices and sharing it out to, you know, the world of
Gatekeeping in the Witchcraft Community
00:09:36
Speaker
TikTok.
00:09:36
Speaker
when they don't have a right to share them, let alone practice them. Unless you're part of that culture, this is something that is a closed practice. So again, if you're seeing this on TikTok, don't just jump in and do these things, like make sure you're researching it. And then another thing that you see is gatekeeping. So there are so many
00:09:57
Speaker
content creators on witch talk in the witchy community and on social media just in general that attempt to gatekeep the craft from those that are new or they're trying to learn about certain topics. I've seen, you know, someone that's new to the craft will go in and say, hey, I was thinking about doing X, Y, and Z. Is this like appropriate or correct or am I using the right like
00:10:19
Speaker
things and you'll see someone say oh that's not for baby witches that's baby witches can't do that like you need to have x amount of years under your belt before you even attempt to do something like that gatekeeping everything and it's it's so annoying it is and then also just the term itself baby witches irritates the hell out of me yeah because
00:10:40
Speaker
Why would you refer to a new practitioner as a baby? Why are you infantilizing them? They are usually either adults or teenagers, young adults, or just adults in general. Stop referring to them as babies. They're helpless.
00:10:57
Speaker
Because I've seen the opposite spectrum of this, too, where someone will say, I'm a baby witch because that's how they interpret it to them. Like, I'm new to it. And then people will be like, absolutely, don't use that term. You cannot use it, period. And it's
The 'Baby Witch' Debate
00:11:10
Speaker
like, well, if that's what they're comfortable calling themselves, if that's how they identify their witchcraft, leave them alone. Right. If they're not doing anything wrong, leave them alone. Help them out. Guide them in the right direction. Exactly. Yes. You can also talk about things civilly. You don't have to be an asshole.
00:11:28
Speaker
Right. Somebody is like, I feel like I'm a baby witch and you're like, you're a fucking moron. You're the apple. Right. Exactly. And if you are using the term baby witch in a derogatory way, don't do that. That's why would you, who would want to even join this belief system or religion or way of life if they feel like you're putting them down?
00:11:49
Speaker
You're a baby. That's terrible. Terrible. I don't, I'm not a huge fan of that term, but if anyone is comfortable, like, or referring to themselves as a baby, which, and that's what they want to identify as great. Good for you. But if you're using it as a derogatory way, stop.
00:12:05
Speaker
I can't remember if this was on the Discord group I'm in or if it was on Facebook, but it was a whole argument, like hundred comment thread because the girl was like, I'm a baby witch. And that's what she wanted to call herself. That was the term that she wanted to use. And then she had like 20, you know, like seasoned
00:12:25
Speaker
witches and they're like going off on her and she was like this is how I refer to myself because I do feel like a child when I'm trying to learn these things I do feel new like a baby it was just it was the most ridiculous thing it went way out of control they ended up like the one of the admins had to like
00:12:44
Speaker
turn off all the commenting on it because people were just being nasty. These are adults having access to the internet and cannot control themselves.
Online Discourse and Misinformation
00:12:53
Speaker
It's sad because we've lost like within probably the last, you know, 10 years, we've lost human decency when it comes to
00:13:02
Speaker
social media like you know you're not there in person so you don't actually have to deal with the consequences of telling people they're a fucking moron or like oh you're an idiot or you're a piece of shit like people just say whatever the fuck they want and there's no like no repercussions
00:13:18
Speaker
usually, like unless you're like a celebrity or something, like nobody does anything about it, you know? So you can stay and do whatever you want. And you don't, like we've lost the ability just to have civil conversations where you, you know, don't have to have the same views. Like if everybody had the same views, they'd be a really fucking boring world. But like, you know, you should still be able to say, well, that's what you believe, this is what I believe. And at the end of the day, that's cool. What you believe doesn't affect me. You can have a civil conversation.
00:13:50
Speaker
And to kind of go along with that, it's hard too, to read comments like that on like, especially videos on TikTok because if.
00:14:00
Speaker
say like it's a young creator or something, if they're showing off like a budget witch tip or something like that, that's not, you know, they're using like an empty toilet paper roll to make like a charm packet or something. I guarantee there's a more experienced witch in the comments somewhere that is shaming her behind their, or him shaming them, I should say behind their keyboard about how, what they're doing is wrong or why they're not a real witch because of X, Y, and Z.
00:14:30
Speaker
which is ridiculous. This is something that when we did our witchcraft on a budget episode, it's why I made it a point to say it several times, like whatever fits like your practice, don't let people shame you for that because you do see that. Like if somebody was like, oh my gosh, I went to the dollar store and found these spices or these candles, people will turn around and be like, oh, the dollar store is horrible for the environment because they mass produce things. And it's like, maybe that's all that person could afford, you know, like being an asshole.
00:14:59
Speaker
Exactly. And not everybody has the capability to make their own candles or buy from somebody that ethically sources their products. Yeah. Or, you know, they're, maybe they're new to the craft and they, they don't know what they can, you know, harvest when they're out walking or what items are good for whatever that you can get in your own backyard or that you can grow. Maybe they don't have a space to grow like specific herbs, because I've seen that too. Like, Oh, you shouldn't be buying herbs period. And I'm like,
00:15:28
Speaker
Not everybody has the time or space or capacity to sit and fucking garden every fucking herb that they need for their for their craft. And if you do, that's cool. I aspire to be that one day. I garden what I can. I forage what I can. But I don't always have that kind of time.
00:15:45
Speaker
Exactly. Right. Yeah. Or you could be living in a space, like for instance, Scott Air Force Base. Yeah. Literally can't plant anything in the ground because you're going to die. Like, why is it really awesome?
00:16:01
Speaker
No, don't know. But you can live here. You can live here, but don't play anything that you're going to consume because it's not good. So, like, crazy. Stop being assholes, people. Let people live their life and their best practice if they're not doing something that is harmful. And then another thing that I've seen that, I've seen this a lot. I've seen a lot of content creators, especially on like Instagram and TikTok, they're not disclosing what they're doing or using, not wanting to educate others.
00:16:31
Speaker
they're wanting new witches to pay for spells without really any information about what they're paying for outside of this is for prosperity or luck or love or healing or whatever and this isn't to bash like any small businesses that are out there because I know you kind of make your money and I respect that but if you're using your platform to gate keep others from information then that is toxic there's nothing wrong with listing out
00:16:55
Speaker
What is used in your protective charms that you sell or talking about the ritual that you use for prosperity or the steps you take to create cleansing sprays incense or whatever the product is. You don't have to worry about people not wanting to support your small business because you are transparent. People will still support you because they trust the energy and intention that you're putting into the product, not because you're gatekeeping information.
00:17:17
Speaker
I think this is especially important to you because not all herbs are safe for pets or children. Or, you know, if you're, if you're making a spray or whatever, and you're using herbs that, you know, maybe somebody has an allergic reaction to or, you know, any issue like that, like disclosing what's in it is ethical. Like you should be telling people what's in something. The last thing you want to do is sell someone something and their, you know, their child gets into it and gets sick or their pet gets into it and dies or,
00:17:46
Speaker
You know, like literally any of these things can happen. Something that I saw along this line, there is a Instagram content creator that
The TikTok 'Hex War' Recap
00:17:55
Speaker
I follow and she posted a recipe.
00:18:00
Speaker
for flying ointment and this was like, this is something that was created back like in medieval times. It was something that they would use to basically like for divination. So they would like take this flying ointment, put it in their vaginas because it absorbs faster into your bloodstream that way. Why not?
00:18:23
Speaker
So they would do that. And then usually they would like, you know, scrape it out with a stick and put it in there. And so that's part of like the whole like flying on broomsticks kind of lore comes from that. But basically they would take flying ointment and hallucinate. And these hallucinations would be like interpreted through divination and they would use like whatever came out of it for whatever they're working on. Right. And it's, so it's the whole like.
00:18:45
Speaker
people were hallucinating and flying on burnsticks was the lore behind that. But the ingredients that made people hallucinate in this were actually toxic, very toxic. Belladonna is one of them. And she posted the whole recipe that she was encouraging people to make and try and use, saying that she used it. But like using these toxic things, like Belladonna can shut down your organs.
00:19:08
Speaker
If you're not educated in how to use belladonna, how to work with belladonna, I definitely don't suggest it, but she literally was going out and posting it. And when people were questioning that, because belladonna wasn't the only thing in it, I can't remember, but I know there was at least three herbs that were some level of toxic that could make you sick or shut your organs down or cause other issues kind of thing.
00:19:31
Speaker
So, uh, when people would question her on that, she wouldn't respond to those people. But when people were like, Oh my gosh, this is so cool. This is so interesting. She'd be like, Oh my God, let me know how it works out for you. Like encouraging people to do this. And I'm like, maybe you shouldn't post these things. Exactly. Or if you're going to post these things, post it with like a very specific warning and the ingredients that I'm using in this.
00:19:55
Speaker
are very toxic. Yeah, there were no warnings. I don't even know if she knew, you know, like, and this is kind of like what we keep saying, like do your own research. Even if you come across a recipe, make sure the items in this recipe are safe. Make sure they're, you know, if you have pets and children, make sure they're safe for that. We've said this in multiple episodes, like you need to be researching these things.
00:20:16
Speaker
Another issue, this was a hilarious one to me that was on TikTok for a while, a couple of years ago was like the great hex war. So like everyone was hexing everyone and everything, including the moon. And this got so out of control. Like people were like,
00:20:32
Speaker
fighting on TikTok, like making videos, like stitching each other, like going off. And it was a huge drama and it got so out of control that like Rolling Stone has an article on it. Refinery29 has an article on like The Great Hex Wars. Most of the people that were supposedly like quote unquote hexing on WitchHawk
00:20:50
Speaker
don't know what they're doing they don't know like what hexing is or even how to hex or they just like googled how to hex a person and like are just randomly doing things that the internet tells them without like cross-referencing or taking the time to educate themselves on it and they don't know like what the repercussions of hexing someone could be they're just out there doing it because oh i want to be part of witch talk and
00:21:12
Speaker
everybody else on which talk is doing this thing so let me jump in i'm gonna hex the moon i'm gonna hex my boss i'm gonna hex the president like
Paranoia and Hexing Fears
00:21:20
Speaker
that was another thing that was all over tick tock during the hex wars
00:21:24
Speaker
I remember that and that was so frustrating. And I think something that spurred that's been, you know, just spurred on by the great hex war is now all these people thinking that they have been hexed themselves. And I just, I can't emphasize this enough. Could you be hexed? Maybe. I think the chances are very slim. Like as somebody who has like grown up in a pagan household and
00:21:53
Speaker
practices as a witch. I don't, I can't think of a time in my life ever where I've been like, you know what? I think I might be hexed. I just, I don't understand like how people think that they just, it's like, if you have a bad day, Oh my God, everything went wrong in my day. I must be hexed. There's must be something going on. If you're having a bad day, that doesn't mean that you've been hexed.
00:22:14
Speaker
If you're going around putting that negative energy out there, believing that someone has put a hex on you, you are the hex. Yeah. You are manifesting that negative energy into your life. Stop giving it a name. It's crazy. For like the longest time, like during, I mean, I think I still see these videos pop up at my four year page every now and then it'll be somebody crying about their bad day or, you know, it all started when I woke up this morning and I stubbed my toe. I'm definitely hexed. And it's just like, sometimes you just wake up and stub your toe.
00:22:43
Speaker
Sometimes you just have a bad day. That's normal. Like it doesn't mean that you've been next. Exactly. Not everything is like how it is in the movies. Yeah, no.
00:22:56
Speaker
While I love the movies, it's not always the craft or. Your hair is not all going to fall out. Yeah. Um, so I'm just letting you know. Also, along with that same like super dramatic situation with the great hex war, have you seen all this shit about the Moldavite?
Moldavite and Popular Witchy Myths
00:23:13
Speaker
Oh my God.
00:23:14
Speaker
It's all over TikTok. I mean, I think it's kind of calmed down, but the last like few months, it was really bad. Like for a while, it's like all you would see on WitchTok was information on Moldavite. And usually it would be one of like two very different extremes. Either it would be someone crying and having a mental breakdown, warning people that their life is in literal shambles after wearing Moldavite.
00:23:37
Speaker
Or someone bragging about how it completely changed their lives and look at all the things that they manifested and their life has changed and encouraging people to go out and buy Moldavite. And here's the thing about Moldavite. It's glass. It's not even laying a crystal. It's a glass that was formed from the impact of a meteorite crashing into the earth near Germany slash the Czech Republic area. And it is a tech tight and therefore not a crystal.
00:24:02
Speaker
people use Moldify as an amplifier to help clear blockages in your chakras. You can use it in self-healing and cleansing, and you can use it to aid in the transformation of your life because it's releasing things that don't serve you. So while it has a higher vibration and it's a very powerful tool if you're working with things like crystals, it doesn't mean that the effect is going to be that immediate and that life-changing.
00:24:29
Speaker
don't believe everything you see on TikTok. Moldavite isn't going to completely change your life. It's not as dramatic as which talk would have you believe, like I promise. And if you're interested in Moldavite outside of doing your own research to understand
00:24:43
Speaker
If it's something you want to incorporate in your practice, one of the things you need to make sure you're doing is buying from a reputable source because there are a lot of restrictions and mining for Moldavite and it's
Responsibility of Content Creators
00:24:55
Speaker
expensive. And there are a lot of sellers out there that are selling fake Moldavite. And if you're buying fake Moldavite and trying to use that as an amplifier in your life, I imagine all you're going to bring is a whole lot of nothing. So just be careful.
00:25:09
Speaker
And that's not specifically Moldavite but this is part of why this topic was so important to us to cover as a full episode because the whole Moldavite thing stemmed from one popular witchy content creator on TikTok posting about how she bought Moldavite and it just changed her life for the better but put out a whole disclaimer about be careful working with Moldavite because it can fuck your shit up and
00:25:33
Speaker
And then it just spiraled from there because then it was like, you know, she had millions of followers. These followers went and were trying to buy Moldavite from wherever they could find it. And then, you know, instead of like realizing that sometimes you just have a bad day, it would be like, Moldavite made my boyfriend break up with me. Maybe your boyfriend was going to break up with you already.
00:25:54
Speaker
So it's it's important to remember that these content creators are human too. And just because they say something is
00:26:04
Speaker
whatever like if they're you know like the mold invite issue if they say you know mold invites amazing and it's going to do all these things it doesn't make it right like you still need to research it for yourself and make sure that what you're buying is something that you want to work with make sure that the energies that it puts out are the energies that you're trying to take in don't just take something that one person on the internet says as the gold standard and run with it do some research
00:26:27
Speaker
With that too, there's conflicting information across content creators and misinformation just in general.
Verifying Witchcraft Information
00:26:33
Speaker
So this is why we keep saying, do your own research, cross, you know, reference everything that you're, you're finding just because you read it in a book doesn't mean that it's like a hundred percent accurate. You know, anyone can write and publish a book on Amazon. You don't even have to have like a publisher. Just because you read a book that says something, make sure that you're still cross referencing it with other books and other, you know, the internet or, you know, maybe you have like a
00:26:57
Speaker
seasoned, like, piggy and witchy person in your life that you can talk to about these things. Like, just don't take everything as gold just because a person said it. Humans make mistakes and sometimes humans spread misinformation because they're trying to latch onto something that's cool, like being part of the witch talk community right now is, it's the cool thing on TikTok. So TikTok's not the only place that this happens.
00:27:19
Speaker
It makes it hard for new witches to understand what's right, what's wrong, what everything means. So again, just do your own research because you don't know what you don't know. And then just keep in mind that when it comes to closed practices, one person on the internet does not speak for an entire culture. Go back to episode three on cultural appropriation to fully understand cultural appropriation and working within a closed practice.
00:27:43
Speaker
These are practices that are only available to specific cultures unless there has been a transfer of the culture and the practice to someone from outside. You have to be given permission and you have to be working with that person from whatever culture. Just because you watched a TikTok video where someone told you that, no, smudging isn't, you
Cultural Context in Witchcraft Practices
00:28:02
Speaker
can use it. I'm giving you permission. Do you know what their culture is? Do you know what their background is? Do you know this person specifically to know if what they're telling you is
00:28:11
Speaker
is correct. Do your own research and just make sure that you're not doing things that you shouldn't be doing. There's an abundance of witchy creators that also bully their followers. This is something that you see on all platforms. So they'll talk down to those that are new to the craft. They'll make others feel lesser for not having all the tools that a certain creator has or that they use in their practice. And don't let this make you feel less or make you feel like you're not as good or whatever.
00:28:40
Speaker
I don't have a whole lot of tools. I don't use a whole lot of things. Sure, I have some crystals, but most of them are, you know, they were gifts or whatever. I don't have an athame or, you know, like I just, whatever I do is what I do. I don't, I don't worry about what everyone else is doing and what everyone else is buying. There's just this like push to buy and buy and buy. Don't worry about that. Like our ancestors didn't have all of that shit. So it doesn't make you any less. They didn't, they weren't any less, you know? Yep.
00:29:09
Speaker
I don't even know, like, yes. Like, preach, girl. I'm just in here like, yes. Also, personally, I think that some of these popular witchy creators on witch talk or Twitter, Instagram, wherever, have a greater responsibility when posting to these public platforms, because there are so many people that are new to this world that may not understand the repercussions of something like painful magic. There's a greater responsibility for these content creators, and it's frustrating seeing
00:29:39
Speaker
some of the things that we see when we're just on social media because we know better but somebody who is newer doesn't and that's kind of scary. And like for someone that's newer too you're only seeing this one snippet like you're not seeing the full the preparation the actual like working of something or you know the outcome of it so keep that in mind.
00:30:05
Speaker
So some other general things that you see across, you know, social media in general are like, you know, your typical keyboard
Keyboard Warriors and Personal Beliefs
00:30:11
Speaker
warriors. And this isn't only in the witchy community. So these are people that will sit and comment on videos and they'll attack creators and others like in their, in the creator's comments, people that don't know how to open up a conversation or to create a space where things can be discussed civilly. This is something Sam and I were talking about earlier. Like, you know, we've lost that ability. We don't.
00:30:34
Speaker
We don't know how to just sit and have a civil conversation because social media makes it so easy to just get on there, type out what you have to see and not have a repercussion for it. Another thing is deity work. So not everyone works with deities, but people that do sometimes they'll get these, you know, they'll come on and be like, oh, my deity told me this, they gave me this message. But then they use that as a statement that must apply to all witches and practitioners. And they start forcing their personal gnosis on everyone else.
00:31:07
Speaker
which is on which talk say, you know, like I work with X, Y, and Z demons. Maybe someone doesn't believe in demons. Maybe somebody doesn't even like, you know, want to work with a demon just because you do. And that demon or deity or whatever
Diversity in Witchcraft Practices
00:31:22
Speaker
it is that you're working with tells you a message. It doesn't mean that that message has to go for all people. Remember that we all practice differently. We all believe differently. No two witches are going to have exactly the same, like 100% the same across the board practice.
00:31:29
Speaker
when it's like, you know, maybe I've seen like
00:31:37
Speaker
And that goes with anything in life too. Like, don't let people tell you that, you know, well, someone told me this, so now you have to do it. That's not how the world works. And then if you're like me, and you grew up in a Christian household, I grew up in a Pentecostal household, which I feel like Pentecostals, they fall under Christianity, but they're
00:31:54
Speaker
wild. I don't. The beliefs that they follow are crazy, and I cannot believe my mother tried to raise my brothers and I in this because they're insane. But many people grew up in just a Christian-based household, period. And in Christianity, it's like a one-track belief. There is one God, there is sin, and then there's good and evil, and there's no gray area. Everything is black, everything is white.
00:32:17
Speaker
You have no room for changing any of that. So you're taught that there's only one right way to live, only one right way to practice, to believe. And that's, that's not the case. You have to be able to like remove yourself from that mindset. Even though it's been so ingrained in some of us, you have to be able to like take a step back and be like, you know, that's not me anymore. That's not how the world actually works. Just remember that, you know, everybody practices differently. Everybody believes differently. There's.
00:32:43
Speaker
several a whole plethora of what is the word pantheons out there for gods and goddesses and you know minor gods and minor goddesses. There's a whole bunch of stuff that people work with and just because it's not your belief doesn't make your belief right over theirs.
00:33:02
Speaker
Everybody practices differently in paganism, in witchcraft. And just because you have an opinion, it's not the only right opinion. Everybody has, not everybody, but many people feel that their opinions like the only one. And that's, that's just not, again, it's not how the world works. You have to be able to have open discussions with people. And if, you know, you don't believe what they're saying at the end of the day, just agree to disagree and be human about it. Don't, don't be an asshole. The other theme of the episode, don't be an asshole.
00:33:30
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah. Words of
Impact of Information Access on Research
00:33:32
Speaker
gold. And then a big issue that we have now with everything being so like instantaneous, like you can get on the internet and Google something and find the information in five minutes, or you can order something on Amazon and sometimes have it delivered same day. Or, you know, like groceries, everything is just instant, instant, instant. People don't want to take the time to do research.
00:33:53
Speaker
Research, especially in, you know, paganism and witchcraft, this spans across centuries and there's so much to it. It takes time. And while witchcraft is very personal, you have to know like the properties both medically and magically of things that you're working with before you start working with them. Especially when it comes to herbs, like I was saying before, you know, there's plenty of stuff out there that is toxic. It could shut your organs down. It could make you really sick. Make sure that you're doing the research and knowing what you're working with before you start working with it.
00:34:23
Speaker
Also just a little quick snippet about toxic spells on social media. There are so not like toxic, like it's going to kill you. I mean, it could, but toxic as in like, don't do
Ethics of Casting Love Spells
00:34:36
Speaker
these spells. And then you see this all over, especially TikTok.
00:34:40
Speaker
and Instagram, weight loss spells and love spells. Can't scroll through witch talk without seeing spells in these two topics and it's infuriating. Absolutely infuriating. So let's start with love spells. When I say love spells, I don't mean anything to do with like self love.
00:34:57
Speaker
We all need to love and accept ourselves and our vessels. And if a spell or manifestation will help you build your self-confidence, then please do it. I am also not talking about doing a spell to attract just love into your life. There's nothing wrong with that either. What I am referencing when I say love spells are spells intended for a specific person to become obsessed with you. Notice I didn't say love here because that is not love. That's obsession. And there is nothing right about that at all.
00:35:24
Speaker
I don't like love spells and I don't support anyone on any platform that does them. I just don't understand why anyone would want to do anything as a practitioner that takes away someone's free will. It doesn't make sense. No matter how much you care or like or love a person forcing them to love you, that's not real love. So why would you want that? Exactly. That only has room for negative outcomes.
00:35:52
Speaker
It really does. And I've seen people in my own personal eyes who, like a family member that I grew up with who, when she was young and she was stupid, she did a love spell whenever she was really young. She is now, how long is she? She's in her sixties, I think. And she's still dealing with this person. They have since she married the person, they were divorced. She could never escape this person. Oh my God.
00:36:18
Speaker
Her entire life and now she's taking care of this person who now has like Alzheimer's or something. Like it's just, it is not good. No, not good. Don't do them. Love spells are toxic. I believe this spell just brings so much negative energy. Like you were saying, Tiffany, because, because you're interfering with someone's choice and free will.
00:36:38
Speaker
Okay. This is too, like when we were talking about witchcraft and media, like talking about movies and stuff, that movie, The Love Witch, it kept popping up on every greatest witch movie out there list. Literally you could look at 10 different lists and it'll be on there somewhere, maybe not ranked in the same place, but it was on there.
00:36:55
Speaker
And the whole premise of the movie was her doing magic and love spells to make a man fall in love with her, but she wasn't doing them right or she was doing too much of it. And these men were either dying because of it or they would become like so obsessed with her that they couldn't do anything else. I don't know why that was a favorite movie, but that like, it just was a turn off from the beginning because of that. But there's a lot of things wrong with that movie, but that was like the first turn off. I was like, this is gross.
00:37:24
Speaker
Yes. Stealing someone's, someone that she worked with, she found out that like the wife was going on a business trip and the husband was going to be home alone. So she was like, Oh, I'm going to do a love spell on him and make him fall in love with me instead. And I'm just like, this is too much. It's yeah. They're just, you phrase it perfectly. They're gross. Yeah. Really gross. And you know, this is just my.
00:37:47
Speaker
social work hat talking right now. If you feel the need to interfere with someone's choice like that and you want to cast a love spell, please seek out a therapist because you need to talk to somebody and that is very concerning behavior. And I'm not even like being funny. Like please seek out a therapist. There's obviously something deep rooted there that you need to explore. Why do you feel the need to do this?
00:38:11
Speaker
Exactly.
Unethical Practices and Social Media
00:38:12
Speaker
And if one of your favorite content creators out there is posting love spells, unfollow them, don't give them any time because no. Another one. So the other one that I was referencing weight loss spells. So again, here's what I don't mean when I say weight loss spells. I don't mean setting an intention over your morning coffee or tea to bring in healthy habits or manifesting a healthy goal into your life and living into that, whether that be picturing your life.
00:38:38
Speaker
or your life and body at a specific weight, what that looks like and feels like, how you would maintain it, and then making it happen through daily work. What I do mean are the very, very toxic spells that you see on TikTok where influencers are writing down very vague intentions like, I will lose 50 pounds and then
00:38:57
Speaker
burning this intention and then they're trying to appeal to the masses because these practitioners are showing a picture of what they quote-unquote looked before they did this and then what they look like now and how they did this within like two months or you know something ridiculous that would never happen. Please don't do this. Anyone who has been practicing for a while will tell you that
00:39:18
Speaker
You have to be very mindful about your intentions as you set. It's one thing to manifest healthy goals into your life, but it's quite another to just put out vague goals into the universe. Maybe you'll lose 50 pounds, but maybe that will happen through a terrible accident where you've had to have like all of your limbs and be dated, or maybe you got incredibly sick. And because of that, you're weak and you lost a large amount of weight because of a sickness. You don't want to do that. Don't don't do.
00:39:47
Speaker
any of those toxic weight loss spells that you see on TikTok. If you want to manifest a healthy like goal into your life, do that, but don't manifest something as crazy as I'm going to lose 50 pounds in one month and then try to make that a reality because it's not going to happen the way you want it to. No.
00:40:05
Speaker
things like that take time and they take work on your end. You can't just set a spell and be like, okay, it's going to happen because like you said, it's not going to happen in the way you want it to. Exactly. So outside of all the drama between witch talk or witchy content creators on social media, there's also just in general toxicity against the witch community as a whole from those who are outside of it.
Anti-Witchcraft Sentiments Online
00:40:30
Speaker
I found
00:40:30
Speaker
an article that is the information for it is linked in our show notes but the hashtag witch talk clocked well over 18 billion views as of october 2021 so obviously more time has gone by and i'm sure it's it's gotten more views since then this spread out like
00:40:48
Speaker
witch talk hunters in the article the person that wrote it talked about how there's three main types and reading through it, I was like, this is so accurate and so true. So these types of witch talk hunters that you'll see are the first one is the angry Christian. So their anger stems from the belief that magic is evil.
00:41:06
Speaker
They link all magic and witchcraft or even just paganism in general, even if you're not a practicing witch, but you're outside of like the Christian belief system. They link it all to Satan and to the occult. And they believe that you creating content about these things is not only just risking your soul, but it's risking the souls of those that watch your content. That's so gross. It really is.
00:41:30
Speaker
And you'll see these all the time on all social media platforms. It's like they will intentionally go out and target witchy content creators. And then.
00:41:39
Speaker
For instance, I'll be watching like a witchy content creators live on like YouTube or something. And we'll have to go back and like delete hateful comments. Yeah. And you can see it kind of throws them off because if they're doing like, like a chat with some of their followers or, you know, they're, they're looking to interact with their followers and then they have this terrible, just hateful comment come through from a quote unquote Christian telling them that they're going to go to hell or whatever the case may be. I mean. Yeah.
00:42:08
Speaker
You can see it just completely like throws them off and it's really sad.
00:42:13
Speaker
I've seen two for a while. I feel like it's died down or maybe just because I was like not interacting with them. They're not on my for you page anymore, but I saw people like stitching the TikTok videos, praying for them or like trying to throw Bible verses at them or even just in the comments like, Oh God, please save their salt, like typing out a prayer kind of thing. And I'm like, that's rude. That's rude as fuck.
00:42:41
Speaker
Or I sent you that thing where it was like this girl who, I don't know if you remember it, it was a while ago, but it was like a girl, she was like Christian and she went to church and she was talking about how their pastor was like, there's witches in this church. And it was like right around Halloween and they were having a harvest festival and they were like praying over the candy that they were handing out to the kids because the witches were cursing the candy.
00:43:09
Speaker
They thought that one girl was a witch because she was in church and she wasn't married but she kept bringing a guy so it obviously meant that the guy was like a demon and it was like insane the stories that they came up with but they fully believed that these things were real. Christian TikTok is crazy.
00:43:31
Speaker
Yes it is. Obviously not all Christians are crazy and there are Christians that also practice witchcraft, but like that side, like the angry Christian side of TikTok is scary. It really is. That video that I sent you of that preacher that was like yelling at his congregation saying, I know that there are exactly three witches in this congregation and if you don't get in line, I'm going to expose you to everyone. And I was just like, this is terrifying. Right? Yeah.
00:43:59
Speaker
So gross. It really is gross. Yeah. The second one, the author referred to as the smarmy skeptic.
Skepticism and Witchcraft
00:44:06
Speaker
So this is the person that is a non-believer. They have no interest in faith or spirituality. They refuse these things outright and they believe that pagans and witches are faking their practice. So like they'll go on someone's video and comment like, oh, okay, this is fake or like just say dumb shit. They don't believe it. So obviously it can't be real.
00:44:25
Speaker
And then the last one, the third one is the learned magician. So this is someone that has experience in the craft and they are like the aggressive corrector with other witches. Like if somebody says, oh, this is something I do, they'll be like wrong.
00:44:42
Speaker
This is not how you do it. And they try to like counter argue things like cultural appropriation, but they'll also be the first person to gatekeep something. They're just ultimately a witchy troll, like a witchy internet troll. So why are these topics problematic? People have started not doing their own research. Like we keep saying this, make sure you do your own research. They'll latch onto a single creator that they like and that they'll just take their word as gold. And this is, you know, we keep saying this like,
00:45:11
Speaker
Make sure you're doing your own research and just because a content creator posts something doesn't mean that they know all the knowledge on this topic. Make sure that you don't make your scope so small that you're not getting the full jest of information. When you're trying to learn things, like especially areas of topics that have so many variations like witchcraft, you need to be able to do research and read multiple viewpoints on it. So like, even if it is, you're just using content creators for information, don't follow one.
00:45:39
Speaker
follow several, follow 20 of them and kind of use their information against each other. When you follow just one or you read just one book or one article online or one YouTube video, whatever it is, you can be misguided. You're obviously, you know, a lack of information there because you're not getting the full scope of everything. And then you end up practicing without knowing why you're practicing it though.
00:46:00
Speaker
point, you're just doing it because someone else did it or someone else said it or, you know, like a content creator posted it.
Witchy Aesthetics and Personal Practice
00:46:06
Speaker
So you're doing it. Do your research and make sure you know why you're doing what you're doing. Another issue that we've seen and we've talked about before on the podcast is the aesthetic. Everyone wants to be part of the witchy aesthetic. A lot of these people want to wear things that make them look witchy or decorate in a way that looks witchy, but they don't want the repercussions of what comes with being a witch in society.
00:46:28
Speaker
So the aesthetic creates like a sense of competition. So someone will go, you know, see a TikTok video of someone showing off their expensive crystals. And then they're like, oh, well, I don't have these crystals. So now I have to go buy these crystals. And it just becomes this incessant loop of trying to keep up with the Joneses, essentially, without really needing to do these things. If you want the expensive crystals and you can afford the expensive crystals, then sure.
00:46:51
Speaker
on by them but if you don't there's no need for it just because someone else has it that's you know a practitioner and they're popular on witch talk or social media in general that doesn't mean that that's the gold standard in the graph it creates an unrealistic view of witchcraft it makes it seem like you have to spend a bunch of money just to create
00:47:10
Speaker
elaborate witchy look when again that's not the case because that's not how our ancestors practiced our ancestors didn't have all these cool witchy clothes I mean maybe they did but it wasn't like you know today where it's like let me go on Amazon or let me go on Etsy or Instagram and find someone's
00:47:27
Speaker
webpage and order crystals from across the world. You don't need these things to practice and you shouldn't feel lesser because you don't have them. It doesn't have to be a competition to have all of these things. It makes witchcraft feel unattainable to those who can't afford to spend large amounts of money and buy all these things when it's really not necessary. And if this is something that you're struggling with, check out our witchcraft on the budget episode. Anything can be witchy. It's all about your intention and the energy that you put into something. So if something feels witchy to you, then it's witchy.
00:47:57
Speaker
Yeah, it's like it's important to keep saying these things. I feel like a broken record sometimes because we do say this on almost every episode. We're saying do your own research. You don't have to have all these things, but this is something that social media has made people believe that to be a witch, I have to buy these things. I have to have these things. I have to practice this way.
00:48:16
Speaker
But it's not true. Witchcraft is very personal. So while you still need to do your research, do what feels right for you in your practice. Just because someone with, you know, a bajillion followers is doing something, that doesn't mean that they're right. It just means that their content is good. That, you know, maybe it looks nice, but that doesn't mean that what they're doing is correct.
00:48:37
Speaker
It makes us start to unconsciously compare what we're doing with what we see in our social media. Everything in social media is strategically placed in a small space of the creator's practice. This causes our brain to judge us for not having a practice that looks the same. But remember, when you're seeing a picture on Instagram that you really like because it's got a really cool aesthetic, you're literally only seeing that small record.
00:48:59
Speaker
tangle of that creator space. When you're seeing them create a video, you're only seeing what they're letting you see. You're not seeing their whole process. You're not seeing how they had to set it up. You're not seeing the hours they put into making this tiny little space look really nice and aesthetically pleasing, just so that they can get followers.
00:49:18
Speaker
It's important to note that aesthetic is a form of art. The work that they put into a single post or a video under the guise of aesthetic is how they're able to express their art and creativity. It's not a bad thing, but be aware of it. Don't feel inadequate because your practice looks differently. Your altar looks differently. The spell you worked looks differently. Everybody's is going to be different and what you're seeing is only what they're letting you see.
00:49:41
Speaker
You don't see all the prep work. You don't see that messy side of these aesthetically staged photos and videos. This leads us into practice paralysis. So our space doesn't look the same as a creator and scrolling becomes our time practicing. I'm putting in quotes like you guys can see it, but our time quote unquote practicing witchcraft instead of going through all the prep work to do what everyone else does, because you know that it took them time. Like you're in your mind, you know that what they posted took a lot of time. You just start scrolling and looking at everyone else's practice.
00:50:11
Speaker
Seeing other people and thinking that their practice looks better than yours can be bad for your mental health. Just remember to be cognizant of that. Just because theirs looks nice in that photo doesn't mean that yours isn't just as nice. And then everyone tries to jump into spell work because it's quote unquote flashy, but they skip all the preparation and the foundation and the research and all the work that goes into it because they're seeing this one little snippet in a TikTok or in an Instagram post and they just, you know, take that and run with it without knowing why.
00:50:41
Speaker
I think that whenever you do that, you're missing the biggest part of it. There's something so magical and exciting about sitting down and researching outside of the physical act of performing a spell. One of my favorite parts of witchcraft is just exploring different ingredients, understanding more about what is at my fingertips and how I can use it in spellwork.
00:50:59
Speaker
So take your time with this part. Like every time that I will try to create a spell, I have like five or six different books. I'll have my phone. I'll have my computer. Like I'm like researching and like comparing things and trying to build, like not trying to copy from somebody else's spell, like trying to create one that is perfect for me and what I'm trying to do.
00:51:19
Speaker
And that's the important part that people are missing by just taking something from a TikToker or an Instagramer. You're missing that connection with it.
Research and Spiritual Connection
00:51:28
Speaker
You're not connecting with what you're doing. You're just replicating what someone else is doing that maybe they connect with or maybe they don't. Maybe they took it from someone else too. Most of us spend
00:51:37
Speaker
far more time watching and scrolling through witchcraft on social media than we spend actually doing witchcraft. Being a witch means that you have to practice doing witchcraft. You can't just say I'm a witch and then never do anything. There's research that goes into this. There's so much knowledge to gain in paganism and witchcraft in any religion, even if you're not
00:51:59
Speaker
practicing witchcraft, if you're not a pagan, if you're not Wiccan, any religion or practice of anything that you're doing takes learning about it and working at it. So how do you avoid all of this? Again, broken record, but do your own research. We can't stress this enough.
00:52:17
Speaker
cross-reference all of your research, learn all that you can about what you're trying to do, what you're trying to work with, and the history of your craft. Take everything that other people say with a grain of salt. Maybe take that information and put it into your research. Somebody said something about Moldavite. Let me learn everything about Moldavite before I just go out and buy it or go out and find one to work with. You have to understand that these creators are also human.
00:52:43
Speaker
Yeah. And along this same token, understand that while aesthetics can be harmful in witchcraft, as we've mentioned multiple times, if the aesthetics inspire you to lean more into your craft than do it, but don't base your practice off of someone else and don't put any influencer on a pedestal. We are all human and humans are not perfect. We all make mistakes. Yes.
00:53:03
Speaker
Also know that witchcraft, again, it's very, very personal. No two witches will have 100% the same practice. Even in our own practices between me and Samantha, we do very different things. You know, she does a lot of candle magic and what else do you do?
00:53:23
Speaker
Yeah, she does candle magic and that's it. Yeah, I do a lot of, well, I do a lot of like bowl work too, like with the cauldron and stuff. And then me, most of what I practice revolves around herbs, whether it's making teas for specific things or
00:53:40
Speaker
Cooking with specific herbs for their properties, whether it's medicinal or magical or, you know, bath potions.
Personal Nature of Witchcraft
00:53:47
Speaker
We don't practice the same things, but we still like to learn about each other's practices or get on here and talk about them with you guys. No two witches are going to have the same practice.
00:53:57
Speaker
It's very personal and you have to take the time to make it personal to you and connect with what you're doing. I feel like a broken record with this one too, but do not practice closed practices unless you have been given permission by that culture, unless you've participated in a ritual that they, you know, invited you into, that's not something for you to do. The practices are closed for a reason and they are, you know, deeply rooted in certain cultures.
00:54:23
Speaker
Make sure that you align with the people that you're trying to learn from. If you don't, they're not the right person for you to follow or learn from. If what they're doing, you know, makes you feel ick, which, you know, like if they're doing love spells and that's not something that you align with, like we told you how we feel about that. Yeah. Don't follow them. Don't learn from them. Or don't follow those parts of their practice if you like their other content.
00:54:49
Speaker
too. If it seems like some of the other stuff aligns with you, you don't have to do everything that they do. You just need to be mindful in your own practice.
Mindfulness and Goal Setting
00:54:57
Speaker
We have to critically evaluate how we're using our time and if we're meeting our own goals too. So set goals and achievements that you want to meet within your practice.
00:55:07
Speaker
and these are going to be personal to you. They can be things like maybe you want to learn about a specific topic or a specific tradition. Maybe you want to make sure that you're following the wheel of the year and celebrating Sabbaths or following the moon phases. Maybe you set a goal that you want to work at least one spell a month or you want to do like community building goals. Maybe make a witchy friend or participate in a local ritual or something.
00:55:31
Speaker
Just practice mindfulness when using social media in your everyday life, but especially when it comes to your witchcraft practices. Exactly.
00:55:47
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser We're Doing Witchcraft.
Conclusion and Social Media Invitation
00:55:50
Speaker
You can find our source material for this episode linked in the show notes. If you love this episode, we would be forever thankful if you leave us a five-star review on wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you really love the show and want more Get In Loser content, check out our Supercast link provided in the show notes or search the Supercast website for Get In Loser We're Doing Witchcraft.
00:56:11
Speaker
There you can purchase a membership to our podcast and obtain exclusives like getting episodes early, shout outs on the show, access to our Ask Me Anything forum, our monthly newsletter, a promo code for merchandise, and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GiddinWitches or email us at we'redoingwitchcraft at gmail.com. Check us out next week when we will dive into manifestation. Until then, Blessed Be Witches.