Etsy Witch Curses and Hexes: What They Are and What Happened

An Etsy witch curse is a hex or curse sold online by a self-described witch, usually as a service the seller performs on the buyer's behalf and often labeled "for entertainment." Etsy has prohibited metaphysical services that promise outcomes, naming revenge as an example, since 2015, so curse listings break its rules. The topic reached a far wider audience in September 2025, when the website Jezebel published, and then removed, an article about paying Etsy witches to curse the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed two days later.

This guide explains the facts of that story carefully, how Etsy treats curse and hex listings, why many practitioners refuse to curse anyone, and how to spot the scams that cluster around curses. One clear note up front: Weather Witch only performs good-weather rituals. We do not sell curses or hexes, and we never will.

What is an Etsy witch curse or hex listing?

A curse or hex listing is an offer to perform a ritual meant to bring misfortune to a named person. In practice, these listings follow the same pattern as other online spells:

1. The buyer submits a target and a wish, from petty ("may his coffee always be cold") to more serious.
2. The seller performs a ritual, often with candles, written petitions or symbolic objects.
3. The seller sends confirmation, sometimes a photo or a short message.
4. The listing carries a disclaimer, usually "for entertainment purposes only," to sit inside a marketplace's rules.

Prices fall in the same band as other online spells. NBC News, in its December 2025 review of the Etsy witch trend, reported that spells generally sold for about $7 to $50. Curse listings were one niche within a much larger market dominated by love, money, success and good-weather spells. For the full picture of the trend, see what an Etsy witch is.

What was the Jezebel Etsy witch article about Charlie Kirk?

On Monday, September 8, 2025, Jezebel, a women's culture website owned by Paste Media Group, published an article titled "We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk." The writer described buying hexes from Etsy sellers, including one called "Make Everyone Hate Him."

The piece was framed as satire aimed at Kirk's public statements about women. The writer stated that she was not calling on dark forces to cause him harm and listed the kind of misfortunes she had in mind: minor, comic annoyances such as a pimple, a malfunctioning podcast microphone and ill-fitting clothes.

What happened afterwards

Paste Media Group president Josh Jackson told Variety that the article was "a tongue-in-cheek exploration of people selling hexes on Etsy" and that the writer "was very clear that she didn't want real harm to come to Kirk."

The reaction

The article drew heavy criticism after Kirk's death. Many commentators and readers called it tasteless or worse, and the story was covered widely by national outlets, including Variety, Newsweek and NBC News. Jezebel explained that it removed the piece out of caution for its staff and to prevent it from being misused in a tense environment.

Sellers connected to the story also commented publicly. One seller quoted by several outlets said that a person's life and death always has weight and that they did not celebrate the loss of life. Within the online witchcraft community, at least one prominent creator urged followers with Etsy shops to take down hex and curse listings and remove personal information from their profiles.

Did a curse have anything to do with Kirk's death?

No. There is no evidence that a curse, hex or spell can cause any real-world event. Kirk was killed by a gunman at a public event. The two-day gap between the article and the shooting was a coincidence, one that many people found deeply unsettling, which is a large part of why the article provoked such a strong response. A man's death is a tragedy for his family and many others, and it should not be treated as a story about magic.

Does Etsy allow curses and hexes?

No. Etsy's rules have prohibited curse and hex services for more than a decade, though enforcement has varied.

• 2015: Etsy banned metaphysical services that promise or suggest an outcome. The policy, reported by Time, named "love" and "revenge" as examples and applied "even if it delivers a tangible item."
• 2015 to 2024: Enforcement was patchy. Sellers relabeled spells, including curses, as entertainment or attached a digital image.
• June 2025: Etsy revised its Services policy. Spells, prayers and distance healing remained prohibited.
• Early 2026: Vice reported that Etsy removed many spell shops, including stores offering love spells, protection rituals, money work and curses, often without warning.

So when people search "Etsy witches banned," the answer is yes for services, including curses, and no for physical items such as candles or crystals that fit other categories. Our guide to whether witches are still on Etsy covers the full timeline.

Why do ethical practitioners refuse to curse?

Many witches, especially those who sell their work to the public, simply do not curse. Their reasons are both spiritual and practical.

It is fair to note that witchcraft is not one religion, and some traditions accept hexing or "baneful magic" in certain circumstances. But for the mainstream, commercial side of the Etsy witch trend, refusing curses is a widely held standard. When choosing any practitioner, our checklist on how to choose an Etsy witch treats a refusal to curse as a good sign.

Red flags: curse scams and removal upsells

The biggest real-world harm connected to curses is not magic. It is fraud. The classic scam runs in reverse: instead of selling you a curse, someone tells you that you are cursed and that only they can fix it.

Common warning signs

1. An unprompted diagnosis. You bought a love or money spell, and the seller suddenly says they discovered a curse, a "block" or "dark energy" on you.
2. A removal fee that keeps growing. The first cleansing "uncovers" a deeper curse, which needs a pricier ritual.
3. Urgency and fear. Claims that something bad will happen to you or your family unless you pay quickly.
4. Off-platform payment requests. Gift cards, crypto, wire transfers or payment apps instead of a card through a marketplace.
5. Guarantees. Any promise that a curse will "definitely" work, or that a removal is "100% guaranteed."
6. Secrecy. Advice not to tell friends or family about the ritual.

What to do if it happens to you

• Stop paying. A legitimate practitioner never needs repeated emergency payments.
• Keep screenshots of all messages and receipts.
• Dispute card charges with your bank, and report the seller to the platform.
• If you have lost a significant sum, report it to the police or to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Talk to someone you trust. Scammers depend on isolation.

A broader guide to vetting sellers, on or off Etsy, is in our spell caster guide.

Should you ever buy a curse?

We would not recommend it, for four reasons:

1. It cannot do what it claims. There is no evidence a curse affects anyone.
2. It can hurt you. Dwelling on revenge rarely makes people feel better, and buying a curse can draw you into the upsell scams described above.
3. It breaks platform rules, so you have little protection if something goes wrong.
4. It can cause real distress. As the Jezebel story showed, publicizing a curse against a real person can frighten them and their family, and can attach your name to events you had nothing to do with.

If what you really want is to feel less powerless about a person or situation, talking to a friend, a counselor or, where relevant, a lawyer will do more than any hex.

What we do instead: good-weather rituals only

Weather Witch performs one kind of ritual: good-weather rituals for weddings, bachelorettes and other big days. No curses, no hexes, no binding spells, no rituals aimed at another person. Our wedding weather spell is a personal ritual for your date and place, performed in the nights before your day, with photo proof and a written blessing. We are honest that it cannot guarantee sunshine; it is intention, comfort and tradition. We are not affiliated with Etsy.

The bottom line

An Etsy witch curse is a hex sold as a service, and it has broken Etsy's rules since 2015, when the company banned metaphysical services promising outcomes like revenge. The subject became national news after Jezebel's September 8, 2025, article about paying Etsy witches to curse Charlie Kirk. Kirk was killed two days later; Jezebel condemned the shooting and removed the article, which had drawn heavy criticism. No curse causes real-world events. Many ethical practitioners refuse to curse at all, and the most common curse-related harm is financial: removal scams that escalate fees through fear. If a seller tells you that you are cursed, stop paying.