Stepping into the Witch’s Cottage, North Hollywood’s latest mystical hangout, feels a bit like following a trail of breadcrumbs in a fairy tale. Inside, lamps shaped like pointy black hats hang above a counter serving bubbling witch’s brew coffee. In one corner of the café, there’s a parking spot exclusively for broomsticks; upstairs in the games room, a smoke-breathing dragon perches over a medieval-style fireplace. It’s as if a friend has invited you to join her outrageously cool coven, which just so happens to be meeting on the stage set of Wicked.
Which is all part of the magical masterplan, says co-owner and self-proclaimed witch Celina Lee Surniak. “The idea was: if you found a witch’s cottage in a forest, went inside and had tea and scones, how would it feel?” she says, dressed in a floor-length gothic gown, a witch’s hat pulled over a tumble of dark curls. “It’s about finding that wise woman in the woods. People really come here to discover something about themselves,” she adds, of the two-floor café, restaurant, bar, and event space which opened in February 2026 inside a former bank.
I’ve come to Los Angeles in search of my own wise woman in the woods, in a city that has become something of a hotspot for modern magic. Witches have long been part of Tinseltown lore, although more often as green-skinned caricatures cackling manically over cauldrons on the big screen.
Step beyond the backlots, however, and this open-minded Californian city is home to a happening occult scene. Shops such as The Crooked Path and The Green Man are chock-a-block with spell kits and crystals, while also offering workshops and tarot readings. The city also hosts a constellation of cosmic pop-ups, including Witchy Ways Market and Magic Market, where attendees often don their finest witchy looks, in billowing midnight capes and with lashings of black eyeliner.
It’s not just in Los Angeles that witchcraft is having a moment. A quick scroll through social media shows the hashtag #witchcore, an aesthetic inspired by the mystical and macabre, has generated more than 166 million views. Fashion has embraced the idea too, with Rodarte conjuring up ethereal dresses with spiderweb detailing, and Ann Demeulemeester offering high-priestess silhouettes in inky black chiffon, both for fall 2026. Cinema is also getting in on the act with the release of Practical Magic 2, due to hit screens in September 2026, once again starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock.
While calling yourself a witch may once have risked a summons to the gallows, today manifestation journals, intention-setting rituals, and witchcore aesthetics are as mainstream as yoga studios and daily horoscopes.
As a challenge to patriarchal norms, witchcraft feels particularly resonant right now, says Lee Surniak, who works as a stuntwoman and intimacy coordinator by day. “There’s an attack on feminine energy at the moment, with laws being overturned regarding our bodies and our right to choose,” she says, above the sounds of jaunty medieval flute music piping through the speakers. She leads me through the wondrous Dungeons & Dragons-style bar upstairs, complete with a clanking suit of armor and a hush-hush doorway concealed as a bookcase.
“People are tired of oppression. There’s a feeling that if those in power won’t help us, we’ll help ourselves. It’s about rising up and uplifting each other,” she says. And for those who don’t identify as witches, the space remains open to all. This woman and queer-owned business positions itself as an inclusive gathering place, whether you’re actively seeking a coven or simply here for an enchanting slice of chocolate cake…