Have you noticed it?
It started as a trickle, and now it’s a full-on flood. Turn on any streaming service, and you’ll find it. We’ve got the chaos magic of Agatha All Along, the dark rituals of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, the academic-meets-supernatural world of A Discovery of Witches, and that’s not even counting the high-fantasy magic of shows like The Witcher and Shadow and Bone.
Magic is back, and in a big way.
As someone who spends half my time decoding AI prompts and the other half decoding grimoires, this is fascinating to me. This isn’t the first time we’ve had a magical wave in pop culture—I’m a ’90s kid, I remember The Craft and Charmed. But this time feels… different. It feels less like fantasy escapism and more like a collective cultural search for something.
So, as the title of this blog promises, I’m going to try and “explain it all.” Why this, and why now?
I think it boils down to two key things: Meaning and Power.
1. A Search for Meaning in Chaotic Times
Let’s be honest: the world feels chaotic right now. We’re living through massive technological disruption (hello, my entire AI category!), political polarization, and a constant 24/7 news cycle that can make anyone feel small and out of control.
When the systems we’re supposed to trust feel shaky, it’s a totally human impulse to look for other systems.
Magic and esotericism, at their core, are systems of meaning. They operate on the idea that the universe isn’t just random, senseless chaos. They suggest there are hidden rules, correspondences, and energies at play. Whether it’s astrology, tarot, or ceremonial magic, these are all frameworks for making sense of the world and our place in it.
Watching a show where a character learns to harness these hidden rules is incredibly appealing. It’s a fantasy, yes, but it’s a fantasy that speaks to a very real spiritual hunger. We’re all looking for a sign that there’s a pattern in the static, a meaning hidden in the noise.
2. A Reclaiming of Personal Power
This one is my favorite. Let’s think about the archetype of the witch.
Historically, who was the “witch”? It was a figure—usually a woman—who was persecuted for having knowledge, for being independent, for living outside the patriarchal norm, and for holding a power that wasn’t sanctioned by the ruling establishment.
Sound familiar?
The modern resurgence of the witch is, in my opinion, a massive symbol of empowerment. It’s about reclaiming personal autonomy.
Look at the shows: Sabrina literally fights the ultimate patriarch (the Dark Lord) to own her own power and body. Diana Bishop in A Discovery of Witches is a brilliant historian who has to embrace the magical power she’s been taught to suppress. Even Agatha is about a witch who was punished by her coven for using “dark magic” and is now unapologetically taking back her power (and the theme song).
These stories are a direct echo of modern social movements. They are about finding your voice, trusting your intuition, and owning your power—especially when the world tells you to be quiet.
So, Why Now?
This isn’t just a repeat of the ’90s. The ’90s “witch” was often about finding a new, alternative “girl power.”
The 2020s “witch” is something deeper. It’s a symbol for an entire generation that is navigating a high-tech, high-anxiety world while searching for authentic meaning and personal power.
We are all, in our own way, looking for the magic. We’re looking for the hidden language, the system, the spell that will help us make sense of it all and take back control of our own story. And right now, pop culture is just handing us the grimoire.
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