In the 2013 season of American Horror Story: Coven, Cordelia Goode (a witch played by Sarah Paulson) says, “Men are simply not equal when it comes to magical ability. Testosterone is a known inhibitor-it impedes access to the ethereal realm.” Clearly, Miss Goode never met a male Instagram witch.

For the uninitiated, a male witch, much like any witch, functions as a therapeutic guide with a magical twist. Over the past 15 years, they’ve been popping up all over Instagram and TikTok (WitchTok), where they help viewers of their social media channels become the best versions of themselves. Think of it as spiritual manscaping. You may have heard other names for them over the years. There’s mage, a popular gender-neutral word for the group. Warlocks, a more dated term, can sometimes imply, among the magical community, that the male witch in question is deceitful. Some people use the term wizard, which is more common in writing or fictional tales. The worst anyone can do is call them a “mitch” (a portmanteau of male and witch) a term invented online to bring them down a peg. They mostly prefer to be called plain old “witch.”

In recent years, magical thinking has hit a high on social media, where manifesting and vision boarding have become normal parts of a person’s personal therapeutic journey. Even dream journaling and the use of crystals have become more prevalent in the world of physical therapy. Joe Burrow is rumored to use crystals as a means of recovery. While former NFL player Devon Cajuste left a career in football to become a crystal healer in 2019.

The modern male witches of Instagram and TikTok typically offer in-person services via Zoom or other virtual communication. Though there’s no one “type” of customer they typically service, those who attain their services are often looking for answers in a confusing state of affairs. In times of uncertainty, many turn to esoteric means to comprehend their place and role in society and gain hope and a deeper understanding of themselves. Witches can sometimes do that by offering interpretations through aura photography, mediumship, rune readings, meditation, and other esoteric means.

Corbin Chamberlin, the owner of the whimsical fragrance company Salt & Sage Perfumery, sees his existence as a counterpoint to common societal assumptions about witchcraft. “Being a man who openly practices witchcraft automatically disrupts a stereotype,” says Chamberlin, who has over 65,000 followers on Instagram. “It gives me space to show that the craft isn’t confined to aesthetics or gender. It’s about awareness, power, and intention.”