An’ Ye harm none? Discourses of hexes and harm on WitchTok

WitchTok describes a subsection of the social media platform TikTok dedicated to users and content related to Witchcraft. Though a range of topics and discourses circulate within WitchTok, this article focuses on a particular phenomenon: posts related to hexes and curses. Through critical thematic analysis of videos, captions, and comments, this article explores the content of spells, their intended purposes, and other ideas regarding magic which circulate. I argue that WitchTok reveals the ethics of magic which users collaboratively construct. The presence and promotion of hexes among modern Pagans and other magical practitioners provides a deeper understanding into the ways in which magic is understood, as well as the instances when harming others (or defending oneself) is considered acceptable. More broadly, discourses around hexes on WitchTok offer a case study to understand how religious and ethical norms are constructed on digital platforms.