WitchTok and the Death of Your Opinion
“We have so much in common, those “I thought it was just me” moments are now “it’s all of us.”
Have you ever had a hobby, interest, or ideas that were once taboo to even mention that you were passionate about, loved, or even hated? Something you kept secret or only posted about anonymously on blog sites like Tumblr or Reddit? Well, the secret is out. We humans are not so different than we thought. We have so much in common, those "I thought it was just me" moments are now "it’s all of us." The pandemic has made more people open to vulnerability and extreme transparency on their social media accounts due to the fact that it’s very challenging to go out and meet new people that are usually in the spaces that you’d usually find community in pre-pandemic.
TikTok is a social media platform that has these subcultures for people based on a common interest, whether positive or negative. There is a community out there for you under hashtags like #WitchTok, #BookTok, #FoodTok, #FashionTok, and so on, even under these sub-communities, which are simply an umbrella for the various sub-groups that exist within these communities. WitchTok has become a huge phenomenon on social media, especially on TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram. However, it’s still a very taboo topic on social media, especially because it is considered irreverent to many conventional religious practices such as Christianity, Catholicism, and Islam. At its core, WitchTok was created to explore but also keep alive ancestral practices and teachings that were lost or kept hidden due to the dangers of colonialism, misogyny, and collective disdain. We all remember the Salem Witch Trials of 1692–1693, which happened at the end of a global hysteria of witchery and devil work.
“There is a community out there for you under hashtags like #WitchTok, #BookTok, #FoodTok, #FashionTok, and so on”
According to Smithsonian Magazine “Several centuries ago, many practicing Christians, and those of other religions, had a strong belief that the Devil could give certain people known as witches the power to harm others in return for their loyalty. A "witchcraft craze" rippled through Europe from the 1300s to the end of the 1600s. Tens of thousands of supposed witches—mostly women—were executed.”
Deemed WitchCraft in Europe the rest of the world considered this a part of their culture, when women and men can heal, are seers of the future, can sense death and new life, etc.
WitchTok is not something to generalize, it’s not for everyone's consumption. It’s very diverse, and only people of specific bloodlines can participate in the various sub-groups that are specified for their ethnicity and culture. For example, hoodoo and voodoo have the same foundations because they were created and used by enslaved Africans during the trans-Atlantic slave trade to keep alive the cultures they were robbed of and merge with the new culture they had to adapt to, which in their case was religion in North America, Christianity, South America, and the outlining islands, Catholicism. However, hoodoo and voodoo are not synonymous. As a non-black person, practicing and using the magic of any sacred spiritual practices of Africans and African Americans can be extremely dangerous or fatal.
“As a non-black person, practicing and using the magic of any sacred spiritual practices of Africans and African Americans can be extremely dangerous or fatal.”
Something as powerful as embracing the legacy of your ancestors that were robbed due to colonialism, which not only took place in Africa but also in Asia, the Americas, Australia and surrounding islands, can also be dangerous. And that doesn’t go just for WitchTok, it goes for all the subcultures that exist. Sharing your teachings, your views, and opinions always has to be done with caution, with the understanding that your audiences are not selective on public platforms. There are millions of impressionable people out there that are looking to belong or make sense of their lives.
“Also, sub-groups can’t be generalized either. You have to do the work, you have to research, and ask questions.”
There are consequences for sharing positive or negative opinions about books, clothes, food, herbs, and lifestyle choices that you love, hate, or recommend. Finding a community will always be an important factor. Being able to stay true to yourself, loving everything you find interesting out loud, without feeling shame, where people are curious and open instead of being critical and judgemental. However, what brands need to realize is that, no matter what they believe, the world is not a melting pot. Living in the west, where you’re living amongst different groups of people, is not a reflection of the world.
Culture and tradition are very important globally. You can experience it, but it’s not yours to profit from. Also, sub-groups can’t be generalized either. You have to do the work, you have to research, and ask questions. Scrolling through a hashtag that operates off of an algorithm is not how you collect data. Talk to the creators, ask the right questions, do not disrespect the cultures of the sub-groups.
The Takeaway
TikTok subcultures, like WitchCraft, which may once have been confined to a remote corner of the internet are now able to be front and center for their communities. Gen Z are finding their niche in subculture communities on TikTok – and they don’t care what you think about it. These communities offer an untapped lens into Gen Z culture and brands should take note of subcultural rules if they want to partner with these communities.
