06/16/2026
Its a long read, but a good reminder
๐๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐
The older I get and the longer I practice, the less impressed I am by titles, popularity, and social media status. What impresses me is character. And unfortunately, character is exactly what seems to be missing in some corners of the witchcraft community these days.
One of the reasons so many people come to witchcraft in the first place is because they never felt accepted anywhere else. Many of us know what it's like to be judged for being different. We know what it's like to be misunderstood. We know what it's like to have people make assumptions about us without ever taking the time to know us. Some of us came from strict religious backgrounds. Some of us were bullied. Some of us spent years feeling like we didn't belong anywhere.
When I first found the witchcraft community decades ago, there was a sense that many of us understood that experience. There was an understanding that people arrived from different walks of life and that nobody had all the answers. You could have disagreements without turning someone into the enemy. You could have different beliefs without being treated like you were somehow less worthy.
Somewhere along the way, a lot of that changed.
Social media created celebrities within the community, and with that came something that witchcraft has never been immune to: ๐ฒ๐ด๐ผ.
People gained followers. They built audiences. They wrote books. They became teachers. Again, there is nothing wrong with any of that. Some of these people have a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience. The problem is that some people eventually stop seeing themselves as participants in a community and start seeing themselves as authorities over it.
That's when things begin to go sideways.
Instead of sharing what they know, they start deciding what everyone else should know. Instead of offering their perspective, they start presenting their perspective as the only acceptable one. Instead of encouraging people to think for themselves, they begin surrounding themselves with people who agree with them and attacking those who don't.
What I find fascinating is that many of these individuals would immediately recognize this behavior if it came from a church, a corporation, a political movement, or some other organization. They would call it authoritarian. They would call it controlling. They would call it toxic.
Yet somehow when it happens inside witchcraft circles, people suddenly find reasons to justify it.
I've watched complete strangers get publicly humiliated over differences of opinion. I've watched groups of adults pile onto someone because they asked the wrong question or held the wrong belief. I've watched people be mocked, ridiculed, and treated as though they were stupid simply because they didn't share the same worldview as the loudest voices in the room.
At some point, we need to stop acting like this is always about education.
- Sometimes people aren't correcting misinformation.
- Sometimes they aren't protecting traditions.
- Sometimes they aren't defending the community.
- Sometimes they're just enjoying the feeling of being right while someone else gets torn apart.
That's an uncomfortable thing to admit, but I think it's true.
Some people use witchcraft the same way other people use religion. They quote books they've read, invoke traditions they've studied, remind everyone how many years they've practiced, and lean heavily on their titles whenever they're challenged. Meanwhile, they engage in the very behavior they claim to stand against. They condemn judgment while judging others. They preach acceptance while excluding people. They talk about empowerment while trying to control everyone around them.
I don't care if someone is a High Priestess, a bestselling author, a teacher, a coven leader, or an influencer with a massive following. None of those things give someone ownership over witchcraft. None of those things give someone the authority to determine another person's worth. None of those things make someone's opinions universal truth.
The reality is that witchcraft is bigger than any one person. It's bigger than any book. It's bigger than any tradition, teacher, Facebook group, YouTube channel, or social media personality. No matter how influential someone becomes, they are still one voice among many.
What makes me sad is that the people getting hurt by this behavior are often the very people who came here looking for acceptance in the first place. They're the newcomers asking questions. They're the practitioners trying to find their footing. They're the people looking for community and connection. Instead of finding support, they sometimes find the same judgment and exclusion they thought they had finally escaped.
If that's happened to you, I want you to hear this.
- You do not need the approval of people who treat others badly.
- You do not need to stay in communities that make you feel small.
- You do not need to earn acceptance from people who seem determined to withhold it.
Most importantly, don't abandon your path because someone else had an opinion.
An opinion is not a truth. A popular opinion is not a truth. A loud opinion is not a truth. And an opinion delivered through mockery, humiliation, or bullying deserves even less weight.
Your people are out there.
They may not be the loudest people in the community. They may not have the biggest platforms. They may not have thousands of followers hanging on every word they say. But they are out there. They are the people who can disagree without becoming cruel. They are the people who can teach without belittling. They are the people who understand that wisdom and humility belong together.
Don't give up looking for them.
And don't let someone else's need for control convince you that your journey belongs to them.
Larae Maraney | The Spellbound Witchery
