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Aesthetic Exploration: The History of Witchcraft & Witchcore

Witches and witchcraft have existed for centuries, going as far back as ancient Greek. They were originally used to describe the act of harming another with magical, mystical powers—power said to come from the dead. Traces of these curses were often found near places of death: graves, wells, and fountains.

And the connection between witches and death didn’t end there. Familiars, creatures associated with a witch’s power, are said to be the dead who remained on earth. It’s said that witches fed them with blood and made deals with them.

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(1) Photo by Joy Marino from Pexels, 2019, https://www.pexels.com/photo/opened-book-3050270/

Since they possessed mystical forces beyond human understanding, witches were always shrouded in mystery and the unknown. As the belief in witches and witchcraft grew throughout history, the dark perceptives of witches gained more shape. Under Christian attempts to defeat heresy, the figures of heretics were portrayed as hags who were as cold as winter and death. 

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(2) Photo by Joy Marino from Pexels, 2019, https://www.pexels.com/photo/burnt-book-near-skull-3058824/
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(3) Photo by freestocks on Unsplash, 2017

However, the appeal of their mystical abilities transformed negative and fearful perceptions to ones of interest and curiosity.

The popularity of witches grew with the emergence of popular media featuring witches and sorcery: Hocus Pocus, Harry Potter, Bewitched, Little Witch Academia, etc. In addition to captivating the interest of many, they expanded upon and created common themes about witches. These themes formed the basis of witchcore aesthetic.

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(4) Photo by Halanna Halila on Unsplash, 2019

The term “witchcore” was coined on Tiktok as it grew in popularity across the platform. Modern day witches, such as Gabriela Herstik, helped promote and boost the popularity of witches. During this period, there was strong interest in alternative fashion and spirituality, leading some to the witchcore aesthetic.

As an aesthetic centered around witches and witchcraft, its key themes included magic, herbs, gems, nature, and occults to name a few. The witchcore is often associated with a dark, dull, eerie color scheme that focuses around black, purple, green, and orange. This is due to the general perception of witches and their history.

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(5) Photo by Ksenia Yakovleva on Unsplash, 2020

Due to the origin of witchcraft, witchcore contains many motifs associated with death, familiars, and nature: skulls, humans, animals, black cats, mushrooms, dried herbs, and forests. Additionally, the strong connection with magic and occults has caused potions, crystal balls, wands, tarot cards, ritual symbols, candles, and space imagery to be connected to the aesthetic.

The witchcore aesthetic can be seen in dark and vintage fashion styles with intricate details. People dressing in this aesthetic also often accessorize themselves with witchcraft motifs, one of which being the iconic pointy witch hat. Moreover, artists of all kinds draw inspiration from the mystery and magic behind the style. The aesthetic has also influenced interior designs since the combination of gothic architecture, a dark color scheme, and vintage furniture can bring a witchy feel to any room.

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(6) Photo by Anete Lusina from Pexels, 2024, https://www.pexels.com/photo/dice-and-a-book-20023282/

Research Citations:

2 Comments. Leave new

  • Lindsey Trussell
    January 26, 2025 11:42 pm

    I like how you mention the witchcore aesthetic in reference to alternative fashion, which feels like a natural intersection. Would you describe witchcore as a subset of the goth aesthetic? I am also interested in how Harry Potter has its own place within/separate from witchcore since it has been so heavily adopted into popular culture.

    • Hi Lindsey! I wouldn’t describe witchcore as a subset of goth. Despite overlap in general feel and fashion, a part of witchcore also heavily focuses on nature and mystical elements. Hence, witchcore is often described as an aesthetic that’s separate to goth.

      As for Harry Potter, witchcore has strong relations to the fantasy aesthetic. Strong enough that I could see people classifying witchcore as a subset of fantasy. Since Harry Potter involves wizards and magical elements, it has had significant influence on how people view the magical side of witchcore and witches.

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