Seeking out witches, psychics, mediums, or other purveyors of magic or mysticism during times of change or uncertainty has been happening for centuries. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Yelp noted a 74 percent increase in Americans searching for psychics and a 63 percent uptick in searches for astrologers. Following Trump’s first election in 2016, US witches did a mass spell to try to bind him. Witches on TikTok and Instagram similarly hexed Trump and his supporters in the wake of the January 6, 2021 insurrection. After Brexit, some turned to astrology for indications of what might come next.
Wenckus’ audio indicates that, once again, people are turning to magic for help. EtsyWitch222, who does, in fact, sell services on Etsy, has been fielding new requests. She is one of thousands of people in what venture capitalists call the “mystical services market,” which includes other popular topics like astrology. That market, in 2019, was estimated to be worth more than $2 billion.
In her video, EtsyWitch222 implied she was the one who performed the spell for Wenckus. She wasn’t—Wenckus told WIRED the practitioner she worked with asked to remain anonymous—but her claim caught people’s attention, and inspired some to follow Wenckus’ lead. “I just thought it was hilarious and then it blew up,” EtsyWitch222 says. “I never thought anyone was going to see it, I thought my friends would see it.”
More than 170,000 people watched the video and 26 went to EtsyWitch222’s store and paid $7.99 for a package to curse Musk. She says she received so much interest in the topic that last weekend she hosted a TikTok Live attended by more than 240 people, posting a video ahead of time so that attendees could gather the necessary ingredients (they include a white candle, cayenne pepper, lavender, salt, and bay leaves).
EtsyWitch222 says she doesn’t necessarily believe in hexing or cursing, but instead encourages participants to focus on manifesting what they want to see in the world. She says she used the money to buy some ingredients for the TikTok Live but will be donating the rest to the American Civil Liberties Union.
During the TikTok Live, EtsyWitch222 says, people expanded the focus beyond Musk himself to other members of the Trump circle, including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whom Trump has tapped to be the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led a suit to end the Biden administration’s asylum policies for migrants from Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, and Nicaragua. (A US District Court judge dismissed the suit in March.)
EtsyWitch222 says she’s now thinking of hosting these sessions on a more regular basis.
As for Wenckus, she says her hex was specifically geared toward making sure Musk endured some kind of mental torture. “I want him to never know peace,” she says. Though she admits she may never know whether the hex worked, she’s OK with that. “I am a person grounded in reality who believes in science,” says Wenckus. “But I still think there’s something to be said for having millions upon millions of people wishing for your downfall.”
