How witchcraft became the latest controversial wellness fad
From ‘spiritual mentors’ charging £1,500 for a tarot reading to gurus who claim to dabble in the occult, witches have gone mainstream in the Goop-sphere. But real witches are claiming it makes a mockery of their beliefs,
2024, it’s officially cool to be a witch. It only took several centuries. If that’s a sentiment that causes you to raise your eyebrows – or question my sanity – you clearly haven’t been spending enough time online. Today, witchcraft is everywhere on social media, but particularly Instagram and TikTok.
From the spiritual gurus promising to change your life by way of crystals and spells, to the actual self-identifying witches who genuinely purport to practise in the occult – and can teach you how to do so as well – there is a litany of spellbinding stuff around right now. But engaging in some of it could set you back several months of your salary.
Well, that’s if you seek out the witch du jour, Kate Tomas, a 43-year-old “professional witch” and “spiritual mentor” whose clients include Lena Dunham and the Will & Grace star Megan Mullally. She also happens to be going out with Andrew Garfield, which might also be why her name rings a bell. Tomas works with people in myriad ways but mostly conducts readings involving tarot cards. These sessions last 45 minutes and cost – wait for it – £1,500. The price also includes two days of conversations on WhatsApp to further discuss the reading, and is usually followed by a six-month minimum “spiritual mentorship” contract for £4,000 per month. “Magic takes time,” Tomas told The Sunday Times in a recent interview. “It can’t happen overnight.”
No, it can’t. But does it really have to cost about as much as a secondhand car? The suggestion that it does has provoked criticism, and a suggestion that witchcraft is just the latest component of spirituality to have been co-opted by the wellness industry.
Tomas is far from the only practitioner capitalising on her gift, either. There are endless spiritual healers scattered across the country promising to change your life with some sort of witchy practice, whether it be via tarot readings and moon rituals or spell ceremonies and shamans. There is psychic-to-the-stars Fleur Leussink, who is based in Lisbon and charges $700 (£586) for a 45-minute reading – she also has a five-year waitlist. Then there’s Princess Diana’s go-to medium Sally
