Young Witches open up about centering their practice around environmentalism.
Trading in their crooked noses for nose rings, broomsticks, for public transportation, and pointy hats for the latest trends—the witches of today are indecipherable to the average person. Focusing on the healing power that the craft can bring, satanic rituals, and even offering educational experiences through Tiktok’s trending #Witchtok, modern-day witchcraft focuses on bettering the lives of humanity and the environment.
“Green Witchcraft” is a type of witchcraft that focuses on the natural world and its energies. As Green Witch Annabel Margaret sees it, there are “no central tenets or ethical codes for everyone to practice,” she explains over email to Mission. With a deep respect for nature, herbs, and environmental resources, green witchcraft can reshape our understanding of the natural world and can be used to embrace environmentalism.
A practicing Green Witch and herbalist, Margaret’s journey began in childhood “when a neighbor taught [her] about the medicinal and historical uses of plants.” Her continuous push to “delve deeper into the medicinal properties of herbs” has helped her garner “a unique perspective of the world, allowing for a closer connection with nature.” Using Green Witchcraft and herbalism as “a guiding component to [her] life,” these practices have become the “driving force behind [her] daily actions, influencing how [she] interacts with the world,” she explains.
Like Margaret’s, Folk Witch Frankie Castanea upholds the value that “every animal, plant, and the natural place has a spirit that we can learn from.” Practicing as a genderfluid folk witch, Castanea is a central figure in #witchtok and a practicing animist, or a person that places value on “the earth and its inhabitants.”. Driven towards Witchcraft, Frankie “felt pulled to it, especially since [they] always felt most comfortable in places of nature.”
Witchcraft carries a deep affinity with the well-being of nature. However, many practices associated with witchcraft have become associated with the self-improvement and wellness industries. Through the appropriation of Witchcraft practices, capitalists’ efforts have created a “commercial and material level to Witchcraft that we haven’t seen before,” explains Castanea. However, Frankie does believe that the union between witchcraft and commercial wellness is a result of “Witches themselves selling their work to make a living, along with the marketing towards Witches/Witchcraft.”
Although witchcraft is facing commercialization, witches can still use it as a form of activism. For Castanea, “witchcraft helps to lay the groundwork for the steps needed to make a change—this can take the form of simple spells for motivation, protection, or workings aimed at healing or shifting things of great scope. Since witchcraft at its core is a practice-based around intent, it can be a powerful tool for activists no matter their goal.”
