It’s no longer just fictional witches who are on the warpath against President Donald Trump.
While actors Meryl Streep, who played The Witch in “Into The Woods,” Emma Watson, who played Hermione in the “Harry Potter” series, and Idina Menzel, who played Elphaba in “Wicked,” have all spoken out against Trump, those who actually practice witchcraft have much more mystical plans for resisting the Republican.
According to social media posts and an article on ExtraNewsfeed.com, witches around the world are planning on casting a binding spell on Trump focused on preventing him “from doing harm.”
The author of the ExtraNewsfeed story, Michael M. Hughes, describes himself as a “magical thinker” and listed instructions for the spell, which he claims has been “making the rounds in a number of magical groups both secretive and public.”
“It was allegedly created by a member of a private magical order who wishes to remain anonymous,” Hughes wrote.
On Facebook, an event page for the ritual has roughly 300 people saying they will be at Trump Tower in New York City at 11:59 p.m. on Friday to “join the largest mass binding spell in history,” per the event’s description. Another 375 expressed interest in attending.
The spell is aimed not at harming Trump, but rather at stopping him “and all those who abet him,” from performing any action that would harm others. Among the instructions, participants are supposed to light an “unflattering photo” of Trump on fire and visualize him “blowing apart into dust or ash.” Participants also need candles, a feather and a tarot card, among other items.
The ceremony is to be repeated at midnight on every waning crescent moon until Trump is no longer in office. Friday marks the second-to-last day of the current waning crescent phase.
While Hughes noted in his article that he cannot make any claims to the spell’s efficacy, others have called it a “mass art/consciousness-raising project.” Still, the spell has attracted the ire of the Christian Nationalist Alliance, a conservative activist group, who has pledged to counter with a day of prayer.
On social media, those participating in the spell have started using the hashtag #MagicResistance.