Witches and Zines

Magical Zines

I'm currently taking WRIT 20323: Intro to Multimedia Authoring: Collective Zine Making with Dr. Wenzel. In this class, we discuss the significance of zines. Zines are essentially self-published mini-magazines. Because they are self-published, they give insight into people and stories that wouldn't be released by major publishers. Zinesters (zine writers) often focus on themes of identity and social issues. You may be thinking, "What does this have to do with witches?" To that, I say surprisingly a lot. 

Though the term "zine" wasn't coined until the 1930s, witches are actually a large part of the history of zines. Some people claim that the writings on how to practice witchcraft created in the 1400s were the first zines. For example, pamphlets on healing, birth control, and herbs written and distributed by cunning folk would be considered zines. Of course, these were quickly followed by religious zines on how to catch witches (Alanna Stapleton 2024, Joe Beil Make a Zine, 2017). In his book Make A Zine, Joe Beil mentions that "Malleus Maleficarum" by our good friend Heinrich Kramer could be considered a zine.

Today, modern witches are still making zines. Witchy zines have grown in popularity over time and have created an entirely new sub-genre of zine. A quick search on Etsy for "witch zine" comes up with over 1,000 results. Many of these zines are guides on how to practice witchcraft in modern times. A lot of them discuss how witchcraft can connect to social issues and identities. For example, "F*** your Magic Antisemitism" by Ezra Rose (which you can download for free) looks at the history of witchcraft and Jewish beliefs. Also "A Pagan Anti-Capitalist Primer" By Alley Valkyrie And Rhyd Wildermuth talks about how paganism clashes with capitalism. 

I find it really interesting how people are still finding ways to practice witchcraft today. Though witchcraft has changed so much over time, these zinesters have the same goals witches did back in the 1400s, spreading knowledge about witchcraft.