The Witching Hour

Leave the sweet-craving kids at home this year and unleash your inner Witch, says Savant Spy – glass of red wine in hand, of course

For some, Hallowe’en is just another stress of herding small children incapacitated by flammable costumes through pitch black damp streets to gather sweets - the equivalent of child-crack. In the good olden days, we got to dance naked in forests summoning Satan. Then witch-hunts, Enlightenment, Capitalism, and – well, you know the rest.

Feminism, wanting to be taken seriously, put intuition and horoscope-reading on the backburner. But have you noticed lately there is something witchy in the air? And it’s no longer in the realm of teenage Goths and EMOS but espoused by grown-up wellness influencers and gurus.

The sudden abundance of insta and TikTok #babywitch tags, psychics, Goddesses and Tarot readers are clearly cashing in on a trend - or trying to stand out in a sea of beige wellbeing and perfect brows. But they seem to be just the tip of a larger, burgeoning interest in all things spiritual.

We have Goop gang and their ilk suddenly ‘Manifesting’ everything from bigger bank balances to fabulous sex; bougie shops selling arty Tarot cards and crystals; Vogue’s Astrology Cool List featuring Chani Nichols, whose fans include Lizzo and Jane Fonda and the horoscope queen of Vice magazine Randon Rosenbohm; never mind Sabrina, Circe, Hermione et al. Last year, Glamour mag ran a piece entitled How to Be a Modern Witch – think sound-baths, crystals and tapping into the healing power of the Universe – while Caitlin Moran rebrands middle age as living the ‘hag’ life (hanging out in her shed drinking wine and cackling with her mates).

Witch is no longer an insult. It’s got power, diversity, hagitude, eco credentials, healing, sexuality and some rather stylish merch.

So, once the kids have crashed after the sugar rush and gone to bed, it’s time to dust off your broom, light a candle and celebrate the Witching Hour - with some blood red wine and spa sorcery, of course.

In her book Everyday Magic; Rituals, Spells and Potions to live your Best Life, ex fashion stylist and boho entrepreneur Semra Haksever believes modern witchcraft is more about self-care and empowerment (broomsticks and black cats, so last cench! Am I right?). Her aim is to help us tap into our inner creative force, make positive changes, cleanse and heal through simple rituals, spells and manifestations. Light a candle to break a hex and get over past lovers? Hell yes.

Tarot cards are all the rage right now but - if you are even a slight believer - not for the amateur. You need basic knowledge of how to cleanse your deck (lay it out under a full moon, duh). For something less seaside, more on the art and spa end, try a botanical Tarot sesh with Bel Senlle, one of the regular ‘readers’ at She’s Lost Control in Broadway Market, London. You get a bespoke flower essence aligned with your reading to take home, too.

Not in London? You can also purchase books, crystals, jewellery, rituals, tarot cards (we love their Modern Witch deck and Manifest This Shit bowls) from their online store.

Lush has released some Hallowe’en products to add to their Lord of Misrule collection. You can indulge in a green-tinged witches’ brew of a bath with their bombs and lotions. Even better, book in for a Lord of Misrule bath experience at Lush’s Cardiff spa.

Join your fellow witches for a frolic at the Friday Avalon Wellbeing Ritual at Yorkshire’s Broughton Hall, home to a major rewilding project, where you can indulge in Ecstatic Dance, Forest Yoga and Crystal Sound Bathing. Stay in the magnificent hall or book an off-grid Shepherd’s Hut for a spellbinding stay.

Consciouslyconnectedtravel.com offer Immersion Days, such as Cacao New Moon and Goddess rituals in Fitzrovia’s Mortimer House, a Celestial Sufi Journey in Morocco, and a slightly more affordable crystals masterclass for the novice witch. Check out their website for some divinely beautiful inspiration and journeys to far-out realms.

Eastwell Manor in Kent is a 450-year-old luxury spa hotel with a colourful past and a couple of ghosts haunting its glamorous corridors and edges of the lake. Book into the Champney’s spa and after, access your inner Yvette Fielding and set off for some spooky sightings. Look out for the ghostly horseman and white lady. Failing that, try some (clothed) night-time star gazing.

Hoar Cross Hall offers an Autumn Seasonal Treatment for £75 with a pumpkin theme. The 60-minute experience starts with a divine back massage fit to unleash you inner Goddess, then a radiance-boosting facial using Elemis’s AHA Cleansing Butter, with pumpkin enzyme.

Lastly, every witch worth her salt is talking about the Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Beauty Mask (£52), active with magical crystals, pumpkin enzymes and acids, it’s not for the faint hearted but said to produce impressive results – with a lovely autumn, cinnamon scent. We can’t wait to manifest it.