There’s a story doing the rounds at the moment about Maisie Williams hiring an “Etsy witch” to help her manifest a particular film role.
Maisie spoke about it at the Practical Magic 2 European premiere. She explained that she paid a witch on Etsy to help her manifest a movie role and was given words to repeat every night. She did what she was told, but ultimately she didn’t get the role.
Of course, the internet has taken that and run with it.
“See! It didn’t work.”
“Etsy witches are fake.”
“Spells are a scam.”
And as someone who actually works within this world, this whole conversation frustrates me because it completely misunderstands what genuine spellwork is supposed to be.
A spell not giving you exactly what you asked for doesn't automatically mean it failed
This is probably the biggest misconception surrounding witchcraft and manifestation.
Spellwork isn't Amazon Prime.
You don't place an order for a particular outcome and expect the universe to deliver it by Tuesday.
When I perform spellwork, I am working with intention, energy, opportunity and the roads available around a person. I can work to open those roads, remove obstacles, encourage opportunities and help energy move in a particular direction.
But I have never believed that witchcraft means controlling every person, circumstance and outcome involved.
Sometimes the answer is simply no.
Sometimes what you're asking for isn't the opportunity that's going to take you where you're supposed to go.
Sometimes something better comes along.
Sometimes the timing is wrong.
And sometimes you don't understand why one particular door stayed firmly shut until another one opens.
That's why I find the Maisie Williams story particularly interesting.
She didn't get the film role she originally tried to manifest.
But years later, she's standing on a red carpet talking about that experience because she's starring in Practical Magic 2, alongside Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.
A film about witches.
You really couldn't write it. 😂
I'm not saying that an Etsy spell from years ago manifested Practical Magic 2. None of us can possibly know that.
I'm saying that “I didn't get the thing I originally asked for” isn't necessarily the end of somebody's story.
Maybe that original role wasn't right for her. Maybe losing it made space for something else. Maybe it had absolutely nothing to do with spellwork whatsoever.
But that's exactly the point.
Life isn't as simple as spell + request = guaranteed result.
And then there's the term “Etsy witch”…
This is the part that bothers me even more.
“Etsy witch” is increasingly being used almost like an insult.
It conjures up this image of someone throwing together a ridiculous listing, promising an impossible result and taking somebody's money.
Were there scammers on Etsy?
Absolutely.
There are scammers everywhere.
There were also genuine witches, spiritual practitioners, readers and people who had spent YEARS building legitimate businesses, reputations and returning client bases.
Those people shouldn't all be thrown into the same box.
And there's another part of this story that's being completely overlooked.
Etsy has actually removed legitimate witchcraft businesses
The irony of everybody talking about “Etsy witches” in 2026 is that Etsy itself no longer allows the very services people are talking about.
Under Etsy's current policy, metaphysical services are prohibited. Etsy specifically lists spellcasting, rituals, prayers, Reiki and services advertising metaphysical outcomes such as attracting love, wealth, employment or relationship outcomes as things that cannot be sold on the platform. Tarot and other divination readings can still be sold when they include a qualifying digital or physical deliverable and don't advertise a metaphysical outcome.
And this didn't just affect scammers.
Practitioners who had established businesses on Etsy have spoken publicly about having their listings removed or their shops shut down. Some had thousands of reviews and long-standing customer bases.
That's an important distinction.
Removing witchcraft from Etsy didn't magically remove dishonesty from the internet.
It removed a category of service.
And unfortunately, from what I see when I look at Etsy now, a lot of what remains when you search witchcraft-related terms appears to be exactly the sort of thing that gives this industry a bad reputation: wildly exaggerated claims, questionable promises and listings that seem to dance around the rules.
That doesn't mean every remaining seller is a scammer. It would be unfair for me to make that accusation about people I don't know.
But I do think Etsy has created a strange situation where genuine practitioners who openly described what they actually did have been pushed elsewhere, while questionable listings can still appear if they find ways around the wording of the policies.
And Etsy has struggled with this contradiction for years. Even when metaphysical services were officially prohibited, reporting found large numbers of spell listings continuing to appear in Etsy searches.
Genuine witchcraft should never promise the impossible
This is where I think we, as practitioners, have some responsibility too.
I don't believe anyone should be telling a client:
“Pay me £20 and I guarantee you'll get that acting role.”
Or:
“This person will definitely come back within 48 hours.”
Or:
“I guarantee you'll win money.”
That's not how I practise witchcraft.
There's a huge difference between saying I will perform work with the intention of opening opportunities around your career and claiming I can guarantee you'll get this exact job.
One is spiritual practice.
The other is selling certainty that nobody can genuinely provide.
If Maisie was promised that this particular spell would guarantee her that particular movie role, then I completely understand why she'd look back and laugh when it didn't happen.
But that still doesn't prove that every witch is fake any more than one bad experience with a therapist, hairdresser, tattoo artist or tarot reader proves that an entire profession is fraudulent.
Maybe we need to stop measuring witchcraft by instant gratification
Modern life has conditioned us to expect everything immediately.
We track our parcels.
We refresh our emails.
We watch our bank transfers happen instantly.
We order food and watch a little car moving towards our house on a screen.
Spiritual work doesn't operate like that.
Sometimes manifestation is getting what you asked for.
Sometimes it's getting the opportunity that eventually leads somewhere completely different.
Sometimes it's realising that you've been knocking on the wrong bloody door for six months.
And sometimes a spell simply doesn't produce the outcome you wanted.
I'm comfortable saying that.
I actually think genuine practitioners need to be comfortable saying it.
Because acknowledging that witchcraft doesn't give us absolute control over life doesn't diminish the practice.
For me, it makes it more honest.
The witch didn't necessarily fail. Maisie didn't fail either.
She didn't get that role.
That's true.
But look where she is now.
Maisie Williams is starring in Practical Magic 2, one of the most recognisable witchcraft franchises in modern pop culture.
Maybe the original role wasn't her road.
Maybe this one was.
Maybe neither has anything whatsoever to do with that spell.
We'll never know.
But perhaps instead of using one unanswered manifestation as proof that an entire spiritual practice is nonsense, we could allow a little more nuance.
Because witches aren't vending machines.
Manifestation isn't a guarantee.
And not every closed door is a failure.
Sometimes it's simply not your door.
And occasionally, the next one that opens turns out to have Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman standing behind it.
Which, frankly, isn't a terrible consolation prize. 🔮
