From Techno-Pagans to #WitchTok: The Women Who Bless (And Curse) on the Internet

I first came across the term “techno-pagans” in a 1996 article by Michael Bauwens:

There are some movements that are taking a very active role in cyberspace such as the techno-pagans… Among active techno-pagans, there are experiments with cyber-rituals and collective meditation with the Internet as a focal point. This has led to a lively debate on certain mailing lists about the transmission of spiritual energy in cyberspace. Some clearly believe that cyberspace can be used for spiritual practices. (Bauwens 1996)

It should be noted that Bauwens does not specify which “certain mailing lists” or who the “some [who] clearly believe” are, and one of the sources he cites is dead link. But his article left me intrigued about how spiritual folks worked with the internet, especially in its early days. 

Who were the techno-pagans? How did they interact with cyberspace? Do they still exist today? This reflection seeks to explore where spirituality and the internet collide in unique ways.  

In his brief mention of techno-pagans, Bauwens (1996) makes reference to a group of Buddhist monks who blessed cyberspace in February of that year. Those monks, at the Namgyal Monastery in Ithaca, New York, concluded that “cyberspace, like ordinary space, can be defined as something that cannot in and of itself be seen or measured, yet which can be conceptualized and used… The person using the Internet has the choice. Whether the Internet becomes material for happiness or for suffering depends on your mind” (Blessings of Cyberspace n.d.). 

While I disagree with Bauwens’ classification of Buddhist monks as “pagan,” I begin this anecdote because the sentiment underlies much of techno-pagan thought. The internet is an extension of reality, and the way we use digital tools matters. Making the internet a positive space, rather than a negative one, is one of the many goals of techno-paganism.

Miriam Wallraven (2011) provides an overview of many neopagan interactions with and beliefs about the computer: “New Agers and Neopagans integrate the computer and the internet into a holistic worldview.” Wallraven argues that science, technology, and magic have always been linked, a point she backs up by drawing on Margot Adler’s Drawing Down the Moon. Based off interviews with modern practitioners of paganism, Adler (1997) writes that “the majority of Neo-Pagans are optimistic about the uses of science and modern technology.” However, she notes that “Some of those I questioned told me that the misuses of technology could be prevented if the right consciousness were present” (Adler 1997). Once again, there’s a palpable sentiment that technology can be what pagans make of it—its use depends on its practitioners. 

Building off this knowledge of using technology with intent, Barbara Ardinger writes an evocative description of how cyberspace can be incorporated into pagan practice:

[Pagans before] knew that energy has no physical boundaries, that time is always now and space is always here. I’m certain they would recognize cyberenergy… Reader, we are raising cyberenergy and using it with intention. We’re standing in a worldwide circle and holding electronic hands. (Ardinger 2006)

Similar to the Buddhist monks, Ardinger approaches cyberspace as an extension of reality. Cyberenergy is just as real as the energy she’s used to. Rituals that encompass, and embrace, the cyber are valid and material, and the connections people make online are too. 

Taking a more hands-on approach, Zsuzsanna Budapest—a feminist witch—describes a spell that a fellow witch uses for “When the Computer is Down or Won’t Behave” in her book The Goddess in the Office. “[She] draws these three symbols [ᚨ, ᛋ, ᛉ] on her dark computer screen with saliva, her essence. Visualizing the symbols and the images they represent, she links them to the machine and actually endows it with a spirit she can talk to” (Budapest 1993). Effectively, the computing witch takes a traditional act of writing runes and uses it for technological purposes. 

This reflection has focused mainly the techno-pagans whose rituals encompassed and embraced cyberspace. However, I cannot neglect to mention that countless more techno-pagans use the internet to connect with one another. “I’ve built a cybercommunity of people from all over the world… With [the internet], we are able to announce our public rituals and classes and new books” (Ardinger 2006). Cyberspace is a tool that everyone—modern pagans included—use to connect and share information. 

Techno-paganism continues today, though it goes by other names. As women have reclaimed the image of the witch, they have taken to social media as a platform for and about witchcraft. For the modern witch, internet platforms like Instagram and TikTok serve as central parts of pagan practice:

… witches discussed how ‘everyday feminized objects’—brooms, kitchen utensils, and objects from nature like stones, feathers, and herbs—have been used to facilitate witchcraft throughout history… Instagram… is used by some witches in much the same way as some of the feminized objects previously mentioned. (Mulvey & Keller 2023)

I’ll consider two movements—exemplified by their hashtags—in modern techno-paganism, one of them explicitly feminist. 

The first, #WitchtheVote, is a “cross-media initiative, including a website and podcast, that identifies and promotes ‘witch-worthy’ political candidates: those who are progressive and social justice–oriented” (Mulvey & Keller 2023). Spurred by Donald Trump’s win in the 2016 U.S. election, #WitchtheVote began by seeking to turn the tide back toward the left in the 2018 midterms. Based in Salem, Massachusetts, #WitchtheVote is feminist in its aims, relying on the reclaimed image of the witch as a powerful feminine figure (Mulvey & Keller 2023). The hashtag #WitchtheVote is featured on Instagram posts promoting voting, spells, and using social media for change.

While #WitchtheVote has been less active since the 2018 election cycle, the initiative is still alive on Instagram, with posts spiking every election cycle. The @witchthevote Instagram bio currently reads, “We go to city council meetings and upset the status quo. Witches are the future ⚡️” (WitchtheVote n.d.). As of this reflection, @witchthevote’s latest post calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, showing the dynamic nature of how today’s witches respond to social justice movements.

The second—ongoing—movement is #WitchTok, or witch TikTok. “Through short micro-videos, users share snapshots of their lives, providing a window into their religious identities and practices” (Miller 2022). TikTok has given young witches a platform to discuss and share ideas about modern witchcraft. It also provides a glimpse into the everyday life of the modern witch; witch influencers on TikTok craft spell jars, brew potions, and show off their altars.

#WitchTok gained public attention in 2020 when a group of “baby witches” went viral for trying to “hex the moon” (Lampen 2020). While it remains unclear what the witches’ goal was in hexing the moon, it provides an example of techno-pagans using the internet to orchestrate a curse instead of a blessing. 

It is key to understand that witchcraft on the internet didn’t begin with #WitchtheVote and #WitchTok. Blessing and cursing on the internet date back to at least the early 1990s, if not further. Whether you begin this timeline with a tantric ritual to bless cyberspace or with a spell to revive a dead computer, spirituality is intertwined with the way people interface with the internet.