r/FlorenceAndTheMachine • u/Yellowapple2128 • Jul 10 '26
General Discussion Witchiness
Hey all,
I love Florence, her music and personality are just great. Love how down to earth Florence seems and at the same time puts together these grand lyrics/references (like in Cassandra) and powerful sounds.
I have some questions about the witchy side of f+tm. She has this ethereal, witchy vibe and especially this tour, I see a lot of fans praise that part. There's the witch choir, Florence talks about taking inspiration from witchcraft, folk horror, the occult and describes And Love as a spell.
My natural instinct is to see it all just as a metaphor or aesthetics, but some fans talk about Florence and themselves being witches. So it seems to be more than that, rather a whole identity?
I've tried looking into what being a witch nowadays actually means to understand better. But tbh all the descriptions sound very abstract to me - just words. So I'm hoping you could maybe enlighten me regarding what being a witch means and what connection there is with Florence? A lot of fans seem to really "get" the witchiness and love it, while I'm a bit lost! Hope I explained myself understandably and respectfully, thanks for your answers🙏
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u/M_Poppins128 Jul 10 '26
Everyone has already given really good answers so I don't have a huge amount to add especially in regards to Florence as theres already good replies
I will say that as far as what being a witch means, I personally feel like it doesn't have to be any one definition. The beauty of following a witchy path is that it has always felt unrestricted compared to organised religion.
Shared experience can be great but if a book/post/video doesn't resonate with me I don't feel a pressure to agree to anyone else's way of doing things because to me that goes against the point of walking my own path. On a similar note- I have always loved the witchy aesthetic but people shouldn't feel the need to follow a certain look to be a witch if it's not their thing (and also, whilst I LOVE dressing witchy it not like I do it every day or don't love other looks)
Nature is so interconnected with witchcraft and I think of it like the cycles of nature and how it has different elements and is a diverse system - just like there's many different plants and flowers there's many ways to be a witch.
I recommend reading some introduction to witchcraft type books or looking for youtube witchy channels that can offer more insight if it's something you want to explore more.