American witches have come a long way since Salem and the trials of 1692, when the accusation of witchcraft got a lady hanged. Today, witching is in and sorceresses in the US and beyond are practicing magical activism to thwart The Donald’s bid for presidency.

Vermont’s Feminists Against Trump, a group of college professors in the state, is holding a pre-Halloween “witch-in” today in Burlington. They have issued a call to all crones and their black pussycats to join in the mass hexing to “cast magical spells of love and feminism to destroy the Great Orange One and the racism, xenophobia and sexism he feeds on.”

Organizer Laurie Essig, director of the gender, sexuality, and feminist studies program at Middlebury College, told the indie publication Seven Days that the witch theme is inspired by both Halloween and Trump’s comments that Hillary Clinton is a nasty woman. Given that the witch is the classic nasty woman—powerful, wise, and dangerous—Essig embraces the term.

She and Tina Escaja, interim director of the University of Vermont’s gender, sexuality, and women’s studies program, will lead the event. They’ve prepared original spells in English and Spanish. The idea, Essig says, is not just to curse Trump but also “to make some good feminist magic to surround ourselves with—something other than the hate that his campaign supports.”

In that spirit, costumes are encouraged. Still, it could get nasty. “We might be smashing Trumpkins,” Essig warns.

A more whimsical call for a witch-in was issued by artist Nathaniel Russell in June. He posted a fake flier on Instagram, showing a devilish figure surrounded by women, stating: “WITCHES: WE NEED YOU, hex on NRA, curse on Donald Trump, love potion for all peoples.” The artist was overwhelmed with requests to reproduce his work, which he encouraged, for free.

Earlier this month, the nonpartisan World Ad-Hoc Association of Witches attempted to exert mental influence on Trump during the final debate. Peter Gower, the Scotland-based spokesman, explained the plan to the Telegraph: “We will cause no physical harm. We will simply hold up a mirror to him on the astral plane. As we watch the debate, tens of thousands of us will shout the idea of quitting into his mind.”

Trump was supposed to drop out of the race within 24 hours of the event under this influence. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

Perhaps this weekend’s witch-in will succeed at casting the spell that fells The Donald. Anything can happen when nasty women gather to smash Trumpkins.

The image at the top of this story was shared under the Creative Commons license on Pixabay.