DIGITAL FOLKLORE AND CYBER WITCHCRAFT

Magic and the internet are deeply meditative and, at times, dissociative spaces, where the loss of self in social media can be compared to trance-like states induced by magical rituals. As Piatek observes, these internet fictions about the self can also be interpreted as ways to escape the turbulence of our time, as well as a form of resistance against neo capitalist values. Although it initially seems to reflect the paranoia of our age and the constant search for God in godless places, it becomes clear that digital folklore and witchcraft are simply ways of reshaping the divine.

Isabella Greenwood explores contemporary witchcraft in cyberspace, digital divination, and the similarities between God and the internet. Since 2700 BCE, magical rites and rituals have been foundational to society, community, culture, and tradition. Despite the influence of modernization and the belittlement of folk traditions, the fascination with and practice of the craft persists, and its impact is still evident in contemporary imagination. Although often considered incompatible with the digital age, magical practice intriguingly mirrors both the structure of online platforms and the experience of existing online. Just as the witch operates in liminal spaces, the network user navigates virtual environments, their actions influencing the physical world and transcending boundaries between the private and public domains.

The search histories of typical online users and their cultivated online personas reflect the witch’s fascination with fantasy, secrecy, and performance. Both magic and the internet are deeply meditative and, at times, dissociative spaces, where the loss of self in social media can be compared to trance-like states induced by magical rituals. Similar to the astral realm—a celestial sphere believed to be inhabited by omniscient, immaterial beings with divine knowledge—the vast and accessible landscape of the internet provides a space where users can gather, communicate, and endlessly “download” insights and wisdom.

The emergence of internet folklore is a natural byproduct of the convergence between magic and the systemic homogeneity of the internet, creating a suite of cyber-witches, wizards, and other hybrids born from the enchantment of the digital ether. Although magic and folklore are traditionally considered opposed to technology, these two domains seem deeply interconnected due to their parallelism. Alan Dundes, a pioneering folklorist of the 1970s, was among the first to recognize the influence of computers on folklore: “Technology does not eradicate folklore; it becomes a vital factor in its transmission, providing inspiration for the creation of new folklore.” The internet has become a space where magic practitioners can share knowledge and gather as a community. Editor and internet folklorist Günseli Yalçınkaya notes that the turn towards signs and symbols is an indication that we are returning to the past: “Technology is accelerating at such a speed that our post-Enlightenment brains cannot comprehend it, so we turn to fiction to understand the unknowable—using allegories to grasp the abstractions of the digital world.”

It was once assumed that the internet would alienate us and erase the last remnants of community and art (Ronnell, 2001). However, the cyber-pagan community has shown that the internet can be a powerful tool for social connection and, therefore, for creating new expressive knowledge that nurtures digital or virtual culture. Cyber witches and folklorists have developed their unique systems, drawing from postmodernist/structuralist thought, magical traditions, and internet culture. Cy, a cyber witch and artist, took classes in herbalism and ritual while studying technology at university, naturally integrating these seemingly opposing methodologies into their life. In practice, when online, Cy integrates magic and energy work, embedding protective spells into website code, performing energy work during Zoom meetings, or using selfies as a form of enchantment: “Practicing magical protection, invocation, and enchantment can be done online.”

Nella Piatek, a researcher and cyber witch, observes that the digital witch uses technology and social media as magical mediums for connection and myth-making, shaping preferable futures and facilitating epistemological questions about what it means to be human. Piatek notes that manipulating digital spaces as a cyber witch is similar to how ancient witches used rituals to merge nature with digital material. Her works, including *CTRL+R to Re-flesh* and *Into the Ethereal*, use digital matter to explore themes such as memory, digital decay, and death in a post-internet future: “I evoke the ethereal potential of the digital realm for conjuring. It signifies a blend of empowerment and creativity, where digital matter is a tool for play and enchantment.”

Postcolonial studies highlight the cyber sphere as a space where cultural hybridity, resulting from diasporic experiences, can be integrated into one’s constructed identity in ways often more challenging in the physical realm. As with the pagan community, the cyber sphere offers a place where individuals can construct their identities with greater political autonomy, creativity, and a sense of play. Cy emphasizes the importance of online personas and the possibilities they create for individuals and collectives: “I think we can learn to follow pleasure and play [when creating online personas], in ways that enhance our connection to ourselves and others.” The multiplicity of internet identities offers the possibility of fantasy, affirmation, and community. As Piatek notes, these internet fictions about the self can also be interpreted as ways to escape the turbulence of our time, as well as a form of resistance against neo capitalist values.

Nearly two decades ago, when the virtual realm was still largely textual, Stephen O’Leary (1996) observed activists in cyberspace rebelling against religious orthodoxy by inventing new rituals that use technology to reaffirm the power of language as performative expression. E-witchcraft is also appealing due to its accessibility, bypassing the otherwise arduous guardianship of old-school esotericism. Digital rituals—such as Zoom rituals, automation rituals, and initiation ceremonies downloadable from the net—challenge the traditional order of religious institutions while demonstrating the enduring power of language across different realms.

Another key component of cyber witchcraft is the use of AI random generators for divination, a practice rooted in the belief that reality—whether cognitive, perceptual, epistemological, or moral—is inherently random. Digital divination on sites like Daily Tarot Draw, Random Tarot Card, or Seeruno.com offers free readings where users virtually click on a card, and their fate is determined by software that randomly generates the outcome. The sacralization of chance in virtual divination provides insight into the central role of randomness in our lives and its paradoxical yet essential role in re-enchanting life in high-tech societies. Digital divination fulfills social needs for guidance, acceptance, and higher power—and for cyber witches, this higher power is the internet.

Peter Olson, founder of the theological movement “Universal Google Church,” which acknowledges God as the World Wide Web (www), explains that the internet is an omniscient entity that “can provide instant answers […] far more than can be said for the popular deities of our time.” Alan Cohen, a pioneer in wireless internet, adds: “If I can work on Google, I can find anything, which is why I say that Google is like God.” If God is an omniscient, all-seeing, all-powerful force, creator of the universe (and destroyer) and a distributed, decentralized system, then it is not entirely unreasonable to attribute godlike qualities to the internet and consider one’s contribution to the digital realm sacred or even divine practice.

Although this initially seems to reflect the paranoia of our age and the ongoing search for God in godless places, it becomes clear that digital folklore and witchcraft are simply ways of reshaping the divine. Not everyone believes in God, but almost everyone is influenced by theological belief, whether through institutions, culture, or the collective unconscious. The re-enchantment of technology confirms that technology is not inherently opposed to spirituality and that it is, to a certain extent, inevitable—while we may limit screen time or vow never to be iPad parents, the rage of digitalism is everywhere, and the values and aesthetics of the cyber world consolidate them, challenging existing orders in our physical and liminal worlds. In the magical world of cyber witches and folklorists, we find an intriguing compromise: if technology or God cannot be destroyed, they must be integrated, becoming part of contemporary fixation, folklore, tradition, and practice.