A British witch, who claims she can predict illness and pregnancy, says she’s been practising witchcraft for 23 years after learning about the powers of the natural world.
Alexa Thompson, 31, from John O’Groats in the Scottish Highlands, says her dad and grandad taught her “country ways” which she believes are the root of her power.
The young witch, who says Halloween is like her Christmas, is currently single and reckons her powers are “a turn-off” for potential dates.
During the pandemic, she claims lonely hearts have contacted her on Instagram asking her to cast love spells – but she refuses.
She said: “I have ranted many times on Instagram about why targeted love spells are not a good idea and I flatly refuse to do them.
“About six months ago, there were loads of people wanting love spells.
“But my grandfather told me if you use witchcraft and make somebody fall in love with you, it’s a curse you place on yourself.
“He’s right because you don’t know whether they really love you, or it’s just because of the spell.”
Although people often approach her for help with their love lives, Alexa jokes being a witch can be an obstacle to her own.
She said: “Men have done a double-take if they’ve come to my house and seen the altar in my living room!
“It’s two altars in one – a witchcraft one and an ancestral one.
“My ancestors are very important. They’re my first line of defence – the spirits that tell me things and have my back.
“My altar is where I work my spells. It’s where I charge herbs and crystals and the things I need for my soul for actually practising witchcraft.”
She claims men have been unnerved by her sixth sense in the past.
She said: “I was on a date with someone just before the first lockdown.
“I asked him, ‘Am I correct in thinking your dad’s no longer with us?’
“He wondered how I knew and I said, ‘Because I think he’s coming through to me.’
“He tried to remain sceptical until I told him his dad’s full name, after which he ordered the bill and I never heard from him again.”
She says supernatural knowledge has also led her to predict heartbreaking illnesses in members of her family. One relative whose illness she predicted tragically died in December 2020.
Alexa said: “I walked into her house and this voice whispered in my ear that she was seriously ill. The voice has been with me all my life and it’s never been wrong.
“It was right – although, of course, I didn’t tell her. You don’t tell people news like that. There’s a responsibility that comes with being a witch. It’s not all crystals and herbs and money spells.”
However, there are positives to her powers too, as Alexa successfully predicted each of her sister’s three pregnancies.
She said: “I’ve told my sister she’s pregnant before she’s had the opportunity to tell me, even though she lives 200 miles away.”
Alexa follows strict rules to keep her powers in check: she’ll only cast spells for people she knows and she refrains from cursing anyone – unless they’ve really ticked her off.
She said: “I tend not to perform spells for strangers in case they don’t work or backfire or, more importantly, in case I’ve not been given the full story.
“If you don’t have all the facts, you could actually be doing something quite harmful, so I only really cast spells for my friends and family and for my coven – the witches that I know, personally.
“Once or twice I’ve performed a curse, but you have to do something pretty horrible to warrant it. It’s an ethics thing with me, I don’t really want it on my conscience.
“And 99 per cent of the time, traditional witches help people.”
She added a curse can take any form, from giving someone bad luck to ending up in a serious accident – but she admits casting curses can be a “slippery slope.”
In the past, she’s been confronted by people who were convinced she’d cursed them – when in fact, there’s a perfectly logical explanation.
“I ask if they’re sure it isn’t simply the consequences of their actions. There’s usually an explanation,” she explained.
Alexa is the only person in her family who calls themselves a witch, but they were all raised with some pagan values and taught to respect nature.
She said: “My dad taught me the importance of not stepping on bugs. He’s in tune with the area we live in.
“Similarly, my grandfather taught me country wisdom and witchcraft and paganism followed on from there for me.
“Wicca, the modern pagan religion, didn’t really suit me.
“Then, about 10 years ago, I stumbled across some books on traditional British witchcraft, which is slightly different. That was where I found my tribe.”
Alexa brings her powers into the modern age by sharing her life on Instagram, @the_barefoot_witch_ – which now has 50,000 followers.
“I would tell someone genuinely interested in witchcraft to read everything they can get their hands on about it – whether that’s books, blog posts, Instagram, or even going on to YouTube,” she said.
“I have my own book of spells and rituals I’ve gathered over 23 years and I’m hoping one day to turn my Instagram posts into a book and to have them published.”
Recently, Alexa has spent a lot of time casting healing, money and job spells.
She said: “If someone wants a spell to land a job or a promotion, I light them a candle and focus on their intent.
“I visualise them being successful at an interview or getting a promotion, then I send that out to the universe. I tell the universe what I need to happen.
“If I’ve visualised it effectively, it should happen – although it can be in a roundabout way.
“For example, they could be invited to join a training programme leading to a different higher paid job.
“It might not be the immediate promotion they wanted, but the spell would be successful. Spells can open doors – then it’s up to the person to put the work in.”
She says she wishes she could “click my heels” and make things appear, but she says “it doesn’t happen like that.”
“And if a spell just flat out doesn’t work, then you have to accept it wasn’t meant to be for you anyway.”
The young witch says the pandemic has led to an increase in people asking her to cast protection spells – having performed it for 8 people in the last two years.
“The last protection spell I did was a week ago. It was to guide the soul of someone who passed away incredibly suddenly onto the next world.
“It’s not all fun and games, there’s definitely a level of responsibility that comes with being a witch.”
With Halloween coming up, Alexa is getting ready to celebrate her favourite time of the year.
She said: “It’s a day where you remember and honour the dead.
“Halloween is almost like Christmas. Every year without fail I cook pumpkin soup, followed by sausages in cider with mustard and bacon and treacle tart for pudding.
“Halloween has a different energy from other days and I love that.
“It’s a great day of mischief and fun when we feast and we remember the dead. Most witches love Halloween. It’s our big day – our big party.”
Alexa wants to show people that traditional witchcraft is a force for good.