There have been Women’s Marches, the Day Without Immigrants and fiery town hall meetings all aimed at protesting the new president. Now, witches are galvanizing too.
A Facebook page with more than 2,000 followers said that the ritual will be the first of many “to be performed at midnight on every waning crescent moon until Donald Trump is removed from office.”
The group, which used the hashtag #magical resistance, plans to gather a minute before midnight on Friday at Trump Tower in New York, according to its event page.
But Michael M. Hughes, “an eclectic magician” who wrote the binding spell for the event, said he’s heard from people across the country who want to participate, and he’s also received messages from South Africa, Portugal, Denmark and Mexico. He said it’s difficult to estimate turnout but suggested it could reach into the thousands.
Hughes said the ritual is not a curse and is not intended to harm Trump or his administration. Instead, it’s “a way of restraining him from doing further harm,” as well as a way of helping people feel powerful against him.
Hughes said he practices a variety of magical traditions, including Greco-Egyptian, folk, African-allied and contemporary rituals. The binding spell he crafted for this event, which is making the rounds online, involves an awkward Trump photo, a Tower tarot card, orange and white candles, a pin or nail, water, salt, feathers, fire and an ashtray or a dish of sand. The instructions also include an incantation.
Some parts of the spell—like the ones referencing the four elements—are traditional. Others, like the Tower tarot card, Hughes chose for symbolic effect. “The orange stubby candle—I think that goes without saying,” he said.
Hughes said that magic is partially symbolic, and that in that sense, the spell is already working, if the interest in this week’s rituals serves as any indication. He compared Friday’s gatherings to the Yippies’ 1967 effort to levitate the Pentagon. But Hughes said it could also have real-life effects.
“Trump could get stuck in Air Force Once, where the door won’t open or something,” Hughes said, also suggesting maybe the spell would result in a court ruling or an ACLU lawsuit.
Heat Street called Enchantments, known as the oldest witchcraft store in New York City to get their take on Hughes’ binding spell. A sales rep said that although the store wasn’t “doing anything in particular to bind Donald Trump,” they have had several people coming in seeking supplies for the weekend’s ritual.
Catland, “Brooklyn’s premier metaphysical boutique,” is hosting an anti-Trump ritual Thursday night. The shop invites people to “join us in binding this monolith of hatred.” Catland said on its Facebook page that although anyone can attend, including first-timers, “this is not a spectator ritual. Anyone attending that portion of the evening will be expected to participate.” Catland suggests a $5 donation, saying that half of its proceeds will go to Planned Parenthood.
When a feminist coven and performance collective called W.I.T.C.H. gathered in Chicago last weekend, they gathered in a circle, holding hands.
Video shows the feminist coven and performance collective called W.I.T.C.H. Chicago gathered in a circle. They carried signs reading, “We usher in the demise of imperialism” and “we usher in the demise of white supremacy,” according to a Facebook post for the group.
http://heatst.com/politics/witches-gather-in-new-york-to-cast-a-spell-on-trump/