How Real Is Witchcraft? The Hidden World of Modern Witchcraft, Hexes, Evil Eye & Spiritual Attack

There was a time when people who practiced witchcraft usually didn’t announce it to the world.

There was no WitchTok.

There were no 60-second tutorials demonstrating candle work, spell jars, cleansing rituals, protection work, bindings or hexes.

There wasn’t an algorithm capable of putting occult knowledge in front of millions of people overnight.

But that doesn’t mean witchcraft wasn’t there.

It was simply much easier for it to remain hidden.

After approximately 32 years of personal experience within psychic, spiritual and occult practice, I have watched this world change dramatically.

Growing up, I knew witchcraft existed. Within my Mexican cultural background, concepts surrounding brujería, spiritual cleansing, protection and mal de ojo were certainly not unheard of.

But what I see today feels different.

Witchcraft has become extraordinarily visible.

And more importantly:

Occult information has become extraordinarily accessible.

That distinction matters.

Witchcraft Didn’t Suddenly Become Real—It Became Visible

One of the greatest misconceptions about the modern witchcraft movement is that the internet created it.

It didn’t.

Beliefs involving magic, sorcery, divination, curses, spirits, the evil eye, ritual protection and supernatural influence appear throughout human history and across cultures.

Mexico has its traditions.

Different areas of Latin America have theirs.

European cultures developed their own magical and folk traditions.

African and African-diasporic traditions developed within entirely different historical and religious contexts.

Asian, Middle Eastern and Indigenous cultures have their own spiritual cosmologies and traditions as well.

There is no single universal system called witchcraft.

And that is important.

Modern social media frequently puts practices from completely different cultures underneath one enormous umbrella.

Historically, it wasn’t that simple.

How Many Witches Practice in Secret?

This is probably impossible to accurately measure.

Someone can participate in candle magic, divination, folk spirituality, ancestral practices, manifestation rituals or another form of occult practice without ever publicly calling themselves a witch.

Some practitioners remain completely private.

Some practice within families.

Some publicly identify with a mainstream religion while privately maintaining folk-spiritual traditions.

Others simply don’t believe their spiritual practice is anyone else’s business.

There is even a modern expression for practitioners who conceal their witchcraft:

being “in the broom closet.”

Research into contemporary practitioners has specifically examined how online communities affect people who may conceal their witchcraft identities offline.

So when someone asks:

“How many people actually practice witchcraft?”

My answer is:

We can count people willing to identify themselves publicly.

We cannot reliably count everyone practicing privately.

The Internet Changed Witchcraft Forever

This is where I believe the greatest transformation occurred.

Decades ago, obtaining serious occult information could require considerable effort.

You might need:

• a knowledgeable family member or practitioner;

• an occult or metaphysical bookstore;

• specialized books;

• a teacher;

• access to a particular spiritual community;

• or years of personal study.

Today?

Pick up your phone.

Type:

“Protection spell.”

“Love spell.”

“Hex.”

“Return to sender.”

“Money spell.”

“Binding spell.”

And information appears instantly.

Academic researchers have even begun studying WitchTok because it has developed into a recognizable digital witchcraft subculture where users share spells, altars, magical materials and instruction.

That represents an enormous cultural change.

The gate surrounding occult information has been opened.

But opening the gate to knowledge doesn’t automatically give everyone walking through it wisdom.

Knowledge Without Wisdom Can Become Destruction

This is one of the most important lessons I have learned during my years of practice:

Knowledge without wisdom becomes destruction. Knowledge guided by wisdom becomes understanding.

Someone can learn the ingredients associated with a particular ritual in minutes.

That doesn’t mean they understand what they’re doing.

They may not understand the tradition.

They may not understand symbolism.

They may not understand ethics.

They may not understand spiritual boundaries.

They may not understand why experienced practitioners sometimes choose not to perform something.

And perhaps most importantly, they may not have developed emotional discipline.

That creates an interesting problem in modern occult culture.

What Happens When Anger Meets Instant Access to Spellwork?

Human beings haven’t suddenly become jealous.

Jealousy is ancient.

Revenge is ancient.

Heartbreak is ancient.

Envy is ancient.

Competition is ancient.

The desire to control other people is ancient.

What’s new is instant access to information.

Someone can experience betrayal at 8:00 PM and be watching videos about revenge spells at 8:05.

Someone jealous of another person’s relationship, business, appearance or success can immediately encounter content claiming to teach magical ways of influencing the situation.

That does not prove that the ritual works.

It also doesn’t mean everyone searching for this information actually performs it.

But it means the barrier between:

“I wonder how someone would do this?”

and

“Here are instructions claiming to show me how”

has become incredibly small.

That is significant.

Hexes and Curses Have Become Part of the Online Witchcraft Conversation

This isn’t merely speculation about what exists on social media.

Modern academic researchers are now studying online discussions involving hexes and curses specifically because these discussions have become visible enough to examine as a cultural phenomenon.

That tells us something important.

It doesn’t prove that supernatural harm occurred.

But it absolutely demonstrates that conversations about using magic offensively are circulating publicly within portions of modern online occult culture.

Thirty years ago, somebody could practice privately and you might never know.

Today people discuss these subjects publicly.

And sometimes they teach them publicly.

My Experience as a Mexican Practitioner

My cultural background also affects the way I understand these conversations.

I’m Mexican.

Ideas surrounding mal de ojo—the evil eye—brujería, spiritual cleansing and protection have existed in Mexican and Latin American communities for generations.

But occult knowledge isn’t exclusive to Mexico.

Not even close.

The more you study spirituality historically, the more obvious this becomes.

Different civilizations separated by enormous distances developed beliefs involving harmful intention, spiritual protection, ritual practice, spirits, divination and supernatural influence.

The terminology changes.

The methods change.

The theology changes.

The cultural meaning changes.

But humanity’s fascination with the invisible world is incredibly old.

Is Witchcraft More Common Today?

This requires an important distinction.

In my personal experience, witchcraft is far more visible today than it was when I began.

I encounter more people discussing it.

I see more people experimenting with it.

I see more content teaching it.

And I see far more conversations about hexes, curses, spiritual warfare, manifestation and ritual magic.

But visibility and prevalence are not necessarily identical.

We don’t currently have reliable evidence proving that the average person today is statistically more likely to be supernaturally hexed than someone 30 years ago.

What we can observe is something different:

Exposure has exploded.

Occult information is easier to obtain.

Practitioners can find one another more easily.

People can learn practices without physically entering an occult community.

And social-media algorithms can repeatedly expose someone to increasingly specialized spiritual content.

That alone represents a massive change.

But Not Every Bad Thing Is Witchcraft

This needs to be said just as strongly as everything else in this article.

Not everything is a spiritual attack.

Your candle going out isn’t automatically witchcraft.

Having a nightmare doesn’t automatically mean somebody entered your dreams.

Losing money doesn’t automatically mean somebody blocked your prosperity.

A relationship ending doesn’t automatically mean somebody performed separation work.

Feeling tired doesn’t automatically mean someone drained your energy.

Discernment means examining the entire situation.

Experienced practitioners shouldn’t become easier to frighten as they gain knowledge.

They should become harder to frighten.

Because experience teaches you how many ordinary situations can initially appear extraordinary.

5 Traditional Signs Associated With a Possible Witchcraft or Spiritual Attack

These are experiences that various spiritual traditions or practitioners may interpret as possible signs of the evil eye, psychic attack, crossing, entity disturbance or harmful magical work.

They are not proof that witchcraft has occurred.

Think of them as reasons to slow down, observe patterns and practice discernment—not reasons to immediately accuse somebody of attacking you.

1. Multiple Areas of Your Life Suddenly Becoming Chaotic

One traditional warning sign practitioners sometimes look for is an unusual cluster of disruptions occurring around the same time.

For example:

Money suddenly becomes unstable.

Relationships become unusually conflict-heavy.

Motivation collapses.

Opportunities repeatedly fall apart.

Your environment suddenly feels chaotic.

One problem isn’t a pattern.

Even several problems can occur naturally.

But practitioners traditionally pay attention when an abrupt change appears across multiple unrelated areas.

The key word is pattern.

2. Unexplained Feelings of Energetic Heaviness or Exhaustion

Some spiritual traditions describe psychic attack or negative energy as producing feelings such as:

• unusual heaviness;

• sudden exhaustion;

• agitation;

• feeling drained after interacting with a particular person;

• difficulty concentrating;

• or feeling emotionally depleted without an obvious reason.

But this is where discernment becomes critical.

Fatigue can have medical, psychological, environmental and lifestyle causes.

Check the physical before declaring the metaphysical.

Spirituality should complement good judgment—not replace it.

3. Recurring Disturbing Dreams or Symbolic Warnings

Dreams hold tremendous importance within many spiritual traditions.

Some practitioners become attentive when the same threatening symbolism repeatedly appears, particularly imagery involving pursuit, intrusion, confinement, threatening figures or symbols that have personal spiritual significance.

But one nightmare isn’t evidence of witchcraft.

Dreams can reflect stress, trauma, fear, memories and subconscious processing.

The important word again is:

pattern.

Journal the dreams.

Observe them.

Don’t immediately build a conclusion around them.

4. A Sudden Uncomfortable Change in Your Home or Sacred Space

Practitioners sometimes describe familiar spaces suddenly feeling unusually oppressive, uncomfortable or emotionally charged.

Again, check practical explanations first.

Strange smell?

Check electrical outlets, plumbing and appliances.

Headaches or dizziness inside the house?

Check carbon monoxide detectors and environmental conditions.

Door opening unexpectedly?

Check the latch.

Lights behaving strangely?

Check electricity.

Discernment doesn’t mean ignoring reality in favor of spirituality.

Real discernment examines both.

5. Problems Appearing Around Intense Conflict, Jealousy or Envy

This is particularly interesting when discussing mal de ojo.

The evil eye has traditionally been associated in various cultures with attention, admiration, jealousy or envy.

A practitioner might therefore become more spiritually observant after experiencing intense conflict or unusually hostile attention.

But once again:

Suspicion is not evidence.

Don’t automatically decide who supposedly attacked you.

Instead ask:

What changed?

When did it change?

What practical explanation exists?

Is there actually a repeated