The New Witch of the 21st century: from threat archetype to visually legitimized spirituality

The article examines the transformation of the witch figure in the visual culture of the 21^st century, drawing on examples from the fashion industry and its associated screen representations. Within the context of a post-secular society, the image of the witch is reinterpreted as a self-reflexive archetype grounded in individual spirituality. Particular attention is paid to the process of canonization of the witch’s visual image on the runway, in which recurring iconographic elements – such as a dark color palette, magical and ritual attributes (the pointed hat, broom, and cauldron), bodily expressiveness, and references to astrological and tarot practices – form a recognizable fashion symbolism of witchcraft.

The theoretical framework of the study is based on Christopher Partridge’s concept of occulture, which allows the witch to be understood as a mediator between archaic layers of culture and the social and aesthetic demands of contemporary society. Methodologically, the article employs visual-semiotic analysis of runway imagery, comparative analysis of collections by leading international fashion designers, and analysis of cinematic representations of the witch.

The study demonstrates that fashion functions as a specific medium for the representation of occultural narratives, while the runway operates as a space of contemporary ritual in which magic is translated into a language of form. The figure of the New Witch in fashion of the 21^st century is interpreted as a universal symbol of transition, enabling the experience of spirituality outside institutional religious frameworks and marking a shift from «dark femininity» toward socially legitimized spirituality.

1. Averintsev, S.S. (2006), Sofiya-Logos. Slovar’ [Sophia-Logos. Dictionary], Dukh i Litera, Kyiv, Ukraine.

2. Barthes, R. (1989), Izbrannye raboty: Semiotika. Poetika [Selected works: Semiotics. Poetics], Progress, Moscow, USSR.

3. Greene, H. (2021), Lights, camera, witchcraft: A critical history of witches in American film and television, Llewellyn Publications, Woodbury, MN, USA.

4. Owen, D., ed., (2017), The Oxford illustrated history of witchcraft and magic, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

5. Partridge, C. (2006), The re-enchantment of the West. 2 vols, vol. 2: Alternative spiritualities, sacralization, popular culture, and occulture, T&T Clark, London, UK.