The moon is not OK, if you hadn’t noticed.
Claims that ‘baby’ witches have hexed the celestial body have spread like wildfire online, with WitchTokers scrambling to find out what happened.
High profile witches on TikTok, as part of a vibrant witch community known as WitchTok, started to circulate their fears over the weekend, saying they received lots of concerned messages from other witches and warning their audiences of the possible ramifications. From there, it spread to Reddit and Twitter, meaning millions have seen the claims that baby witches hexed the moon.
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The rumours surrounding the claims have become equally wild, including the idea that the baby witches behind it have already died, to that the Greek god Apollo, god of medicine as well as the moon, is set to enact revenge on us (amid the pandemic!).
Who is behind the original story?
WitchTok is an online community built on TikTok, which has combined traditional witchcraft from elder witches, with younger witches who have an approach closer to alternative wellness movement. It’s become very popular, with more than 2 billion views, particularly due to the strong sense of support members of the community felt for each other. After rumours of the hex emerged, many witches shared their fears and concerns with videos that have amassed tens of thousands of views on TikTok.
At the moment, it’s unclear who is behind the hex that’s torn the community apart. WitchTokers believe that the individual or individuals behind it also hexed the fae – a celtic-specific name for non-human creatures that fairies are based on – and are planning on hexing the sun next.
The rumours became more uncontrollable when users began to theorise that one of the individuals thought to be behind the hex had died without offering any evidence. As the rumour broke out of witch circles, some took it seriously, and many others mocked it, with trolling and memes becoming rife.
“they hexed the moon” has the same energy as “they did surgery on a grape”
— ???????????????????????????????????????????????????? (@Iainey) July 19, 2020
In the wake of the backlash, some apparent witches have claimed to have been behind the hex. Other people have ironically claimed to have been behind it, meaning the witches attempting to determine what’s actually happening within their community are struggling to figure it out, and finding it hard to determine whether any of the many claimants are actually serious or having a laugh at the craft’s expense.
For example, one user on TikTok recently changed their handle to ‘moon hexer’. ‘Moon hexer‘ has since made a video claiming that they were behind it, which has amassed 52,000 views.
The confused situation has led to many of the bigger accounts who initially shared videos about their fears it are backtracking.
@chaoticwitchaunt i am Exhaust!!!! Do i put too much responsibility on myself and feel like this is my fault? yes and that’s on shadow work
@chaoticwitchaunt has 385,000 followers, and is one of the people now putting out videos saying they didn’t have adequate evidence about witches hexing the moon, before they decided to share the news with their followers.
“My video didn’t help to dispel hysteria it added to it,” they said. “I thought someone would have a source or a name of anything, but no one has anything.”
“I apologise.”
How did it get out of hand?
@little.wormwood #witchcraft #witch #babywitch #witchtok #witchesoftiktok #xyzcba #fyp
Twitter user @heyadorra brought the story a wider audience, creating a viral thread on Twitter explaining what had happened. While not an influencer or TikTok witch themselves, they laid out why everyone was concerned and referencing the moon all of a sudden online. However, the thread sparked even more conversation.
They explained that the individual or individuals behind it are thought to have hexed the moon i.e. directed a collection of negative energy, designed to trigger negative effects and cause harm. In doing so, this is said to have subsequent effects.
BASICALLY —
in the past few days, a group of FRESH baby witches* decided to band together, and hex the fae. and then the moon. and they did!
(theyre now planning to hex the sun. too)
*inexperienced witches who should only be researching and doing protection work
— jupiter ✿ (@heyyadoraa) July 19, 2020
“Upsetting deities is the last thing any rational practitioner would want to do,” said Jules Marie, Twitter user @heartij.
An agnostic witchcraft practitioner, they explained to i that while the outcome won’t impact anyone else negatively, but the people behind the hex “are more than likely being handled accordingly”.
According to some of the first WitchTokers who shared the story, it started from a small group in a witchcraft discord server. However, their motivations are unclear. Marie speculated that they were potentially trolls, or witches trying to assert themselves as a higher power.
Multiple witches have since reported that the gods that rule the moon are furious, saying that they communicated their anger during meditation with them. Artemis, goddess of the moon, is angry and, as a result, her twin, Apollo, is said to be hellbent on taking revenge. Twitter user @AetherNova said Artemis was heartbroken, and that they felt this pain in return.
The moon is a very important tool for witches trying to practice their spells, and they feel aggrieved that their craft has been interrupted in this way. It “is vital to all of our spellwork” said Marie.
“With this big shift in the energy, from gods many of us work with, as they’re angry, practitioners and worshippers and honestly anyone spiritually in tune may feel mood swings, unable to do spellwork, and just overall everyone’s energy has been thrown off and a lot of us are very anxious now.”
Marie explained that people have since been cut off their deities. “Honestly, it’s just very overwhelming for witches who are affected by shifts in energy and are vulnerable.”
‘Not possible’
On the other side, some elder witches say it is simply not possible to hex the moon because it’s such a powerful entity.
In a TikTok video on the subject, @ravenmunin0 said: “You can’t do that, it’s not a thing. You did piss them off; you disrespected the craft, you disrespected nature, and you disrespected the divine balance.”
@ravenmunin0 also said that elder witches would not help them out with whatever happened next.
@thatonebluntwitch confirmed this to be case on the app, but said the gods are angry nonetheless. @thatonebluntwitch explained that Apollo and Artemis were mostly irate at the “audacity” of the young witches for even trying.
“I don’t think really anyone can hex the moon, no matter your level of witchcraft and I say that for numerous reasons,” said trainee priestess Ally Cooke.
Cooke told i that witches believe that the moon is a celestial being which controls us. According to witches, we’re currently in a new moon that takes place in the sign of Cancer, which explains why so many practicing witches report disconnects with the moon or personal odd feelings, but they’re confusing them with evidence for malpractice, they explained.
“This new moon is centred around releasing, and Cancer is a water sign, so emotions are running high at this time.”
Cooke has no idea who started the idea, but first learned of it from @chaoticwitchaunt.
“It was completely baffling to me, and information spreads so quickly on TikTok, but the thing people don’t realise is that this whole hexing thing doesn’t affect anyone but the actual ‘witches’ trying to perform this hex.
“It’s completely blown out of proportion.”