Etsy witches and the murder of Charlie Kirk

We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk. 

Yes, that is a real headline that ran last week. 

The article, published by Jezebel, appeared Sept. 8—just two days before Charlie Kirk’s murder. Jezebel is a liberal publication for women that brags about its progressive support for feminism, DEI, and sexual expression. The name says it all. 

The article, written by Claire Guinan, is the author’s story of purchasing hexes for Charlie Kirk on Etsy. That’s right, the online shop for crafts and homemade goods has witches for hire. Who knew? 

Guinan’s search, “curse enemy,” returned 5,000 results, so she settled for “multiple curses at different severity levels.” Guinan prefaces the article by assuring the reader she isn’t “calling on dark forces to cause him harm.” But by the end, she hopes that one of the curses will lead to a harsh rash or that his head grows “until it eventually pops.” The article did not age well, to say the least. 

And Jezebel knew it. On the day of Charlie Kirk’s murder, the site added an editorial note condemning the shooting. The article has since been replaced by an editor’s note, written on the recommendation of Jezebel’s lawyers. But the editor wants you to know that the original piece “made it absolutely clear that we wished no physical harm. We stand by every word.” I’m still not sure how causing Charlie Kirk to contract a rash or his head to pop would constitute anything but physical harm. It sounds like their lawyers might agree. But what role did Etsy witches play in the murder of Charlie Kirk? 

I have no way to evaluate their effectiveness. I do know what the Bible says about witchcraft, and Christians would do well to listen. While modern readers hear “magic” and think of sleight of hand or optical illusion, Biblical authors and their readers understood that demonic powers operate behind the magical arts.

Deuteronomy 32 says that those who practice such idolatry offer their sacrifices “to demons” (v. 17). Paul writes, “pagans sacrifice ... to demons and not to God” (1 Corinthians 10:20). In Acts 19, Luke records a confrontation between exorcists and a demon in which they attempt to cast out the demon with a spell invoking the names of Jesus and Paul. One of the most prominent collection of spells from that time, The Greek Magical Papyri, is full of incantations that give the caster power over demonic forces to make the hexed fall in love, perform poorly in sports, incur physical ailments, or cause other calamities.

Similarly, the Jezebel article mentions that one can find a spell on Etsy for almost anything—good weather, love curses, or even thwarting political powers. One of the Etsy witches confirmed to Guinan the casting of her curse with a video of a photograph of Charlie Kirk engulfed in flames with the message, “Trust the unseen.” In other words, the demons are on it.

That demonic influence is one reason why the Bible denounces magic in the strongest terms. The Old Testament calls magicians “an abomination to the Lord” (v. 12) and subjects them to capital punishment (Exodus 22:18). Revelation 21 says sorcerers will be cast into the lake of fire (v. 8). In Acts 13, Paul confronts Elymas the magician as a “son of the devil” (v. 10). When Claire Guinan solicited Etsy witches to curse Charlie Kirk, she trafficked in demons.

To be clear, I am not arguing she consciously requested demonic help. But I fear Christians read the headline and forget that demons hide behind its ridiculousness. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against ... the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (v. 12). When Judas betrayed Jesus, he did so as a coconspirator with Satan (Luke 22:3; John 13:2, 27). Jesus charged the religious leaders who sought to kill him as being of Satan: “You seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ... You cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:37, 43–44). Satanic hate nailed Jesus to the cross. And it put the bullet through Charlie Kirk’s neck. 

Charlie Kirk’s murder should be a wake-up call to Christians. We are in a cosmic war, and that war often centers on ideas. When Charlie Kirk went to university campuses to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, when he defended the truth of the Bible, when he stood for the family and God’s ordering of the universe, he was engaging in spiritual battle. And while his death is rightly being labeled a political assassination, it is much more than that. He died a casualty on the Battlefield of Truth. 

In that sense, then, one can understand why FBI Director Kash Patel would end his tribute to Charlie Kirk by saying, “See you in Valhalla.” But Christians know where Charlie Kirk is, and it isn’t in Valhalla. He is in heaven, victorious and with the resurrected Christ, having conquered Satan “by the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). If we are faithful to the truth of God’s Word, the powers of darkness will hate us just like they hate Jesus (John 15:18). May we be found hated. And may the Lord strengthen and embolden us to fight the good fight of faith as Charlie Kirk did, as one who loved not his life even unto death.