Feminists have a new way to fight back against President Donald Trump. Mainly, they’re all becoming witches. At least, that’s what one Breitbart writer believes, according to a new feature story published by Breitbart Tech.
In reporter Charlie Nash’s piece “#MagicResistance: The Rise of Feminist Witchcraft,” he argues being a feminist and being a witch has become “intertwined,” with “an increase in political mass hexes” against President Trump. Why? That’s partly because Lana Del Rey joined a coven to hex the president.
“Following President Trump’s inauguration, witches, covens, and even A-list celebrities started to hex the president with frequent ‘spells,’” Nash wrote in the feature story. “Maybe witchcraft is just an excuse for feminists to pretend to be Hogwarts students from their beloved Harry Potter series.”
Nash later went on Breitbart Radio to argue the point, chatting with Breitbart editor-in-chief Alex Marlow. Opening the segment, Marlow went on to say the story was “completely backed up and verified,” after which Nash said he does believe magical feminists are growing in recent years.
“If you look at some of the photos, some of them have these really elaborate altars and tables with candles and pentagrams and all sorts of other weird imagery,” Nash explained to Marlow. “Also, there’s a picture of the president or Don, Jr., whoever they want to hex.”
Nash also stressed that, based on his discussions with a follower for the Church of Satan from Anton LaVey, that the occult is on the rise once again through feminists.
“I think it’s definitely a reality that occultism is becoming an increasing thing under Trump,” he said, adding, “It’s triggered and triggering. They like to trigger other people with their witchcraft laughing.”
The Daily Dot reached out to both Nash and Breitbart Tech’s Allum Bokhari for comment and is awaiting a response. Meanwhile, Nash’s beliefs have gone viral, with feminists sounding the alarm after Breitbart finally learned the truth about third-wave feminism.
Hocus Pocus, Shimmity Sham, Make America Great Again👿👿👿
— CLASSIC (@1Classic4u) December 19, 2017
At this point we might as well try everything.
— From the river to the sea (@Noetrope) December 19, 2017
https://twitter.com/CaliBohoChic/status/942959350976360448
https://twitter.com/lovemrpibb2/status/942803952999043072
Some are hearing Nash’s name for the first time. And Breitbart Tech’s, too.
Couldn’t really get past “Breitbart tech reporter.”
— Gayer Than Thou 🏳️🌈 (@Gayer_Than_Thou) December 18, 2017
And honestly, who doesn’t want to be a witch?
https://twitter.com/3illSweet/status/942968828337840128
Are feminists really becoming witches, though? Well, Nash’s story actually draws on a piece for the Baffler from Laurie Penny, who argues witchcraft is “back in vogue” and that witchery has a “proud legacy” for “radical ends.” Rather, magic and the occult become ways to comprehend power.
“We live in a world where the nature and practice of power—cultural, political, and economic—is deliberately obscure and occluded, where truth is a moveable quantity that can be shaped according to the whims of the mighty, aided by types of technology that we are told are too advanced for our peasant brains to comprehend,” Penny writes. “Resistance movements seek to change the story of power, and what else is a witch but a break point in that story?”
While some feminists certainly believe in witchcraft and the occult, and many feminists do practice magic in a religious sense, others are simply embracing witchery for the aesthetic. Since feminism is a gigantic movement with various decentralized niches and groups, it’s pretty difficult to claim that every single feminist is becoming a witch.
So no, feminists aren’t literally becoming witches. They’re just making witchcraft cool again. And hexing the president while they’re at it.
H/T Raw Story