Halloween is just around the corner — but for FRCC student Ella Korman (who goes by any pronouns), witchcraft isn’t about costumes or cauldrons. It’s about energy, intention, and self-discovery. A fourth-year architecture major and self-described “second-generation witch,” Ella has spent years exploring her spirituality through personal practices and a coven community.
When asked what makes someone a witch, Ella smiled. “Anyone can be a witch. I’d define a witch as someone who believes in and works with magic—it’s not gender-based at all. If you’re following your intuition toward love and light, you can’t go wrong.”
“The first spell I remember,” Ella recalled, “was my mom teaching me a general protection spell to protect my aura. That’s one I use literally every day.”
What began as a childhood lesson has grown into a daily spiritual rhythm. “In high school, I really started putting my own energy into witchcraft. If anyone tells you there are hard rules, they’re trying to sell you something—make it personal, make it your own.”
Ella began with simple rituals to connect with nature — “calling the elements into my hands, feeling a raindrop, grounding myself” — before exploring tarot.
“I doubted if it was real but thought it would be a good self reflection tool,” she explained. “My friend gave me my first deck, and I really bonded with it. Get yourself a deck and experience it yourself, until you’re doing it and you see the direct results, it won’t hit you.”
Though Ella identifies as agnostic, her tarot readings feel like dialogue with the universe. “Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to my spirit guides, sometimes just to the deck itself,” she says. “The biggest misconception is tarot means you’re talking to the devil or something. But intention is everything—if you go into it wanting to talk to the devil, that’s who you’ll talk to.”
Tarot is far more than fortune-telling, Korman says. “A lot of people think each individual card has a set meaning, but tarot is a story. When I do a reading, I tell the story, and the person tells me how it relates to their life. It’s a conversation.”
Community plays an important role in her practice, too. Ella is part of a local coven—a group of three or more witches—who gather to celebrate nature, and support each other in spiritual growth. One such time are full moon rituals where you can manifest for the next month and let go of what no longer serves them.
“We don’t have a leader or hard-set rules,” she says. “We share energy, ideas, and growth. Once everyone helped me break an old spell for an ex—it was incredibly powerful.” Shared practices bring them together and increase their connection to nature in an impactful way.
As the season of the witch approaches this Halloween, Ella shows how spirituality doesn’t have to fit into a mold—it just has to feel true to you. For Ella, witchcraft is about empowerment.
“It’s about believing in your own energy and shaping your reality with intention,” she says. “As long as you’re going towards love and light, you can’t go wrong.”
We are all infinite and abundant beings of love and light <3