She sits on her bedroom floor in front of an altar doubling as a dresser that holds an assortment of crystals and candles.

Incense burns. Soft music plays. Let the healing begin.

Eryn Z. casts a circle for protection. She breathes in deeply and envisions a ball of gold light swell in her chest. It seeps into the floor, reconnecting with the energy of the universe, before traveling up her spine and back into her body.

“It cleanses and chases out anything dark, anything negative,” the 21-year-old University of Detroit graduate student said about the practice, called grounding. She asked that her full name not be used in this article, worried that it could affect hiring prospects in her chosen field of intelligence analysis.

The Canton woman identifies as a witch. Tolike when an astrologer used progressive U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's exact time of birth to make predictions about her political career.

In Brooklyn, witches hexed then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh amid allegation of sexual assault against him, and witches calling themselves the magical resistance have placed binding spells on President Trump.

Social media is a ground zero for witchy recipes, spells, and inspiration, with a combined 12 million posts for the hashtags "witch" and "witchesofInstagram."

Paganism in Michigan

Growing attendance at numerous public gatherings of pagans throughout the state indicates that Michigan appears to be following the national spike in interest.

In late June, a record 250 people attended Michigan Pagan Festival during four days at the Wayne County Fairgrounds. Another gathering took place Saturday in Madison Heights. There are about a