Giselle the “Good Witch”

Avery Teal

The biggest conspiracy in the world of football today might not actually have anything to do with football. At least, that’s what people who are keeping up with Tom Brady and Giselle Bündchen’s impending divorce might tell you. But will marital strife really make Tom Brady’s career suffer? Some people think so, especially after one particular video interview done by Tom Brady in 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghYHY3xz

In this lighthearted interview, Brady was asked about his game day rituals and superstitions. And this is where Giselle comes in. Brady tells the interviewer that he has learned a lot from her in terms of the power of intention. He said she made him an altar featuring pictures of his kids to bring to games and that he uses stones for healing and protection. He also says that she has him wear a special necklace, take drops she makes, and say mantras. These are all practices that are associated with paganism and magic, though they aren’t exclusively pagan. And neither is Giselle; however, Brady did wrap up that portion of the interview by quoting her, saying “You’re lucky you married a witch, I’m just a good witch!”. And while Giselle herself hasn’t confirmed her identity as a pagan or a witch, she certainly hasn’t rebuffed what was said in the interview. So, what happens to Tom Brady’s career now that instead of being married to a witch, he is divorcing one? Some people are theorizing that this is the end for his career. Others say that’s ridiculous, and that Giselle’s rituals weren’t that big of a factor in his record shattering career. But the non-believers might be steadily approaching the minority.

Giselle Bündchen is certainly is not the only modern witch; in recent years, there has been a boom in popularity in the use of manifestation techniques, stones and crystals, and alters such as the ones she employed on her soon to be ex-husband’s behalf. More and more people, ranging in age from Gen X to Gen Z, are turning to these spiritual practices to impact their lives, and possibly the world around them. This upwards trend really took off during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the google search term for “manifestation methods” reaching an all-time high in December of 2020. Today the social media app Tik Tok proves that witchcraft practices remain relevant; there are 32.8 billion views under the hashtag #witchtok and 5.1 billion views under the hashtag #crystaltok. But what is driving this new massive interest?

Parts of the Witchtok community think it has to do with the lack of control and connection people are experiencing following the global pandemic. There was such a huge loss of control of circumstances and increased isolation that some people looked to their spirituality to regain a sense of control and connection. Stanford medievalist Marisa Galvez thinks that the current crystal craze can be attributed to the hunger that people have to possess a concrete material object that embodies spirituality. It might also be that we are experiencing a surge of enchantment in our disenchanted world; Tarot decks are being sold at Barnes and Noble, astrology apps are more downloaded than ever, and even sports outlets are discussing witches. The real cause behind the rising interest in practices intended to produce “magical” outcomes is unknown and undoubtably complex, but one thing is for certain; Giselle Bündchen is most certainly not alone in the world of witchcraft.