Nicole Explains It All

Happy Halloween Week!

There’s no doubt about it: the witch is back.

From the dark re-imagining of Sabrina to the 90s nostalgia of The Craft, from Charmed to WandaVision, the witch archetype is having a major cultural moment. She is the embodiment of female power, a symbol of rebellion, and the ultimate “other” finally claiming her space.

And I love to see it.

This “girl power” aesthetic—the stylish clothes, the defiant attitude, the focus on sisterhood and empowerment—is a powerful and necessary narrative. It rightfully frames magic as an allegory for personal agency, especially for young women learning to navigate a world that often tries to silence them.

But as a practitioner and a student of the deeper philosophies, I often find myself wanting… more. The pop culture witch is a fantastic archetype, but she is often a shallow reflection of a much deeper practice. Hollywood focuses on the effects of magic but almost completely ignores the profound philosophy that underpins it.

Today, I want to explain it all: what Hollywood gets right, what it gets wrong, and the complex principles of Hermeticism and ceremonial magic that are so often missing from the picture.

Part 1: What Hollywood Gets Right (The “Girl Power” Aesthetic)

Let’s look at the 1996 film The Craft, which is arguably the blueprint for the modern pop culture witch. When the four outcasts chant “Now is the time, this is the hour, ours is the magic, ours is the power,” it’s a genuinely thrilling moment.

• What it gets right: The Craft perfectly captures magic as a tool for the marginalized. These are “the weirdos,” and through witchcraft, they find not only power but also community and sovereignty. The magic is a direct, externalized expression of their internal will and desire. It’s a way to reclaim the power that has been denied to them by bullies, abusive parents, and a racist, patriarchal society.

This is a valid and important aspect of the witch. Magic is about empowerment. But in pop culture, this is usually where the inquiry stops. The “why” and “how” are replaced by a rhyming couplet and a cool special effect.

Part 2: The Missing Philosophy: “As Above, So Below”

The pop culture witch performs magic that is almost entirely transactional.

• “I want the popular boy to like me.” (Love spell)
• “I want to stop my bully.” (Binding spell)
• “I want to be beautiful.” (Glamour spell)

The magic is used to bend the material world to the witch’s will.

This is a far cry from the foundational philosophies of Western magic, particularly Hermeticism. This tradition, based on the writings attributed to the syncretic figure Hermes Trismegistus, is built on several key principles. The most famous is “As Above, So Below.”

This maxim states that the macrocosm (the Universe, the Divine, the “As Above”) is a reflection of the microcosm (the Human, the Self, the “So Below”). They are not two separate things, but interconnected parts of a single, unified whole.

Here’s the key difference:

• The Pop Culture Witch wants to change the world (the “Below”) to match her will.
• The Hermetic Magician seeks to change herself (the “Below”) to come into perfect alignment with the divine will (the “Above”).

The pop culture witch says, “I want the world to give me what I want.” The ceremonial magician says, “I want to transform my consciousness into a perfect mirror of the divine.”

See the difference? One is about acquisition; the other is about transformation.

Part 3: Ceremonial Magic vs. “We Are the Weirdos”

This brings us to ceremonial magic (or High Magick). This is the practice that stems from the Hermetic philosophy.

In films, magic is easy. You find a dusty book, you say the words, and poof—the pencil levitates. It’s an “on-demand” superpower.

Real ceremonial magic is… well, it’s work. It’s a rigorous, lifelong discipline that is equal parts psychology, philosophy, and spiritual practice.

• It is not about “spells” but about “The Great Work.” The ultimate goal is not to gain material goods but to achieve Gnosis (divine knowledge) and, for many, union with the divine source.
• It is transformational, not transactional. The point of a complex ritual—with its specific colors, incenses, symbols, and astrological timings—is not just to “ask” for something. The purpose of the ritual is to systematically alter your own consciousness. You are re-tuning your mind (the microcosm) to vibrate at the same frequency as the cosmic principle you wish to understand (the macrocosm).
• It is deeply psychological. The “demons” a ceremonial magician seeks to “banish” are often just as internal as they are external—they are the parts of theself (fear, trauma, ego, base desires) that obscure the true, divine soul.

When a pop culture witch “invokes a spirit,” it’s usually for a favor. When a ceremonial magician “invokes” an intelligence (like an archangel or a planetary force), it is to embody that force’s virtues—to become more courageous like Mars or more wise like Mercury. The goal is spiritual evolution.

Part 4: What We Can Learn

The pop culture witch is a gateway. She invites us to question, to seek power, and to find magic in our lives. That is a beautiful and important thing.

But we should never mistake the aesthetic for the practice. The witchy look—the crystals, the tarot cards, the dark clothes—is just the surface. The real magic, the deep work, is not about changing what’s around you. It’s about the slow, difficult, and glorious work of changing yourself.

It’s the difference between asking the universe to make you happy and aligning your soul with the universe itself. And that, in my opinion, is the most profound magic of all.