How witches took over Tumblr in 2017
In February, Lana Del Rey decided to put a hex on the president.
This was a month before she debuted the trailer for her album Lust for Life — a two-and-a-half-minute short film about how she recedes into her home (in the middle of the H in the Hollywood sign) to practice witchcraft and figure out what her “contribution to the world should be in these dark times.” Fans on Tumblr had long considered Lana a witch, mostly just based on her general aesthetic and some garden-variety pop-culture conspiracy theories. But she spent the early part of the year embracing the idea, and being welcomed with open arms.
In July, Pitchfork dubbed her “the pagan pop star,” and when NME asked her if she really followed through with her plan to hex Trump,...