Modern witchcraft is experiencing a notable revival in Ireland, with women turning to ancient magical traditions as a means of personal empowerment, spiritual exploration, and community building. This resurgence, significantly amplified by platforms like TikTok and Instagram, sees practitioners integrating rituals, spellcasting, and pagan festivals into their daily lives, often sharing their experiences online with growing audiences.
Reclaiming Power and Self-Belief
For many, including Stacy Walsh, 39, from Cork, modern witchcraft represents a reclaiming of personal authority and self-belief. Raised in a Catholic environment where agency was perceived to be in God's hands, Walsh found that witchcraft offered a different perspective—one where individuals have a role in shaping their own lives. She describes her practice as 'co-creation' with natural cycles, rather than worship. Walsh's community grew organically as she navigated personal grief, including miscarriages and infertility, finding solidarity and support from other women. She emphasizes that spellwork is practical, encouraging individuals to create their own rituals and spells, thereby fostering self-reliance. Her approach often leads to conversations about self-worth and boundaries, positioning her more as a guide than a guru. She also cautions against the commercialization of witchcraft, warning that some exploit the trend for profit.
Lynne Berry, who operates Raven’s Flight Manor in Offaly and has amassed a following of 80,000, teaches Celtic paganism and seasonal rituals without charge. Berry's own connection to paganism stems from her childhood experiences and her mother's stories of being sent to a Magdalene laundry. This led her to question the actions of the Catholic Church towards women. Celtic paganism, for her, offers a way to honor ancestry through structured seasonal celebrations and communal rituals, emphasizing a cyclical, non-hierarchical approach to spirituality that values the wisdom of older women. Berry acknowledges the subjective nature of magic, stating that the power lies in the ritual itself—creating focus, gratitude, and connection, whether one interprets it as spirituality, psychology, or simply paying attention to the world.
Healing and Intuition
Dani McCabe, known as The Feral Priestess, turned to witchcraft as a path to healing after struggling with depression for 20 years. McCabe, who experiences 'clairsentience'—reading clients' unspoken emotions through physical sensation—frames her abilities as trained intuition, sometimes incorporating scientific concepts like Schumann resonance. She is critical of certain trends within online witchcraft, particularly the 'law of attraction' culture, which she believes can promote emotional avoidance and spiritual bypassing. McCabe also warns against the 'twin-flame' phenomenon, where individuals may cede their autonomy to a concept or person. Her practice focuses on helping clients develop their own intuition rather than fostering dependence on her guidance, emphasizing self-trust as the ultimate goal.
Courtney Carey discovered witchcraft through tarot and the television show 'Charmed.' Her practice, which has become her full-time career, centers on 'glamour magic,' focusing on self-image and confidence. She works with Celtic deities Cernunnos and Clíodhna, integrating her daily beauty routine into a ritual of affirmation. Carey views her practice through both a spiritual and a secular lens, acknowledging its potential connection to neuroscience and brain remapping. She attributes the rise of modern witchcraft to the reclaiming of the word 'witch' and the creation of online communities like 'WitchTok.'
Community and Transformation
Penny, also known as Isabella Ferrari, offers sell-out retreats in Ireland, Scotland, and Italy that combine witchcraft with somatic healing. Originally from Italy, where witchcraft may carry more stigma, Ferrari finds Irish women more receptive to the practice, influenced by the country's folklore. Her retreats, often attended by women in their 40s and 50s seeking personal fulfillment, are described as luxury experiences. Ferrari is not focused on convincing skeptics, preferring participants to experience it themselves.
Across these varied practices, a common thread emerges: the reclaiming of personal aspects such as confidence, community, and intuition. Whether it's women lighting candles in solidarity, sharing ancestral traditions, finding their inner strength, or transforming daily routines into rituals, the impulse is to bring private beliefs into the open and foster connection. This modern movement reflects not a disappearance of ancient traditions, but their adaptation and revival for a new generation.
