WASHINGTON – As the public and the media continue to digest the latest release of the Epstein files, attention has largely focused on two parallel reactions: outrage over the extraordinary scope of redactions and renewed concern for the many victims whose lives were permanently scarred by Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. Late this afternoon, the Department of Justice released yet another batch of documents, adding tens of thousands of pages to an already sprawling and deeply unsettling archive.
The newly released material—made public following recent congressional action—is a familiar mix of mundane scheduling emails, administrative exchanges, and heavy redactions, punctuated by hints that investigators at times considered taking a closer look at Epstein’s powerful social and political circle. The new batch of files includes continued references to wealthy, influential, and political figures.
Much of that story is being aggressively pursued by mainstream outlets. They can have it.
The Department of Justice has officially released nearly 30,000 more pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be…
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) December 23, 2025
However, some readers have contacted us with a different concern. We have received letters and messages from readers asking whether the newly released Epstein documents contain implications—explicit or implicit—toward the Pagan community, Witches, or any adjacent spiritual practices.
Given the historical tendency for moral panics and conspiracy theories to seek out symbolic villains, these concerns are not unfounded. In an environment saturated with online speculation about secret lists, coded language, and hidden networks, communities that are poorly understood by the general public can easily become scapegoats.
The fear is naturally amplified by the sheer volume of misinformation circulating alongside legitimate reporting. Conspiracy narratives often thrive where documentation is fragmented, redacted, or difficult to interpret. In those spaces, cultural shorthand—words like “witch,” “Satanic,” or “cult”—can be misused to suggest sinister meaning where none exists. That dynamic has played out repeatedly in American history, from the Satanic Panic of the 1980s to more recent viral hoaxes linking minority religions to imagined criminal conspiracies.
Those concerns are sharpened by the way Ghislaine Maxwell herself has attempted to frame her public image. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for assisting Epstein in the sexual abuse of underage girls, told a British tabloid that she resents being portrayed globally as a “Wicked Witch.” These statements do nothing to diminish her criminal responsibility, but the language is notable for how easily it slips into archetype and metaphor. “Witch,” in this context, is not a reference to religion or spiritual practice, but a cultural trope used to signify evil, manipulation, and moral transgression, language that is readily amplified and misinterpreted through search engines and social media platforms.
Seal of the US Department of Justice
Similar rhetorical slippage appears elsewhere around the Epstein narrative. One reference URL in the released material points to the former location of a blog called Birth of a New Earth (now Birth of a New Earth Ministry), run by Jeanice Barcelo, an author and activist known for her critiques of modern obstetrics. The site promotes the idea that hospital births constitute systemic trauma and argues that, contrary to mainstream medical consensus, technologies like prenatal ultrasound cause neurological damage. It also overlaps with a wider constellation of rhetoric about “dark forces” controlling society.
Another widely cited anecdote comes from journalist Vicky Ward, who has stated that Epstein once threatened her during a heated exchange by saying he would have a “witch doctor place a curse” on her unborn children. This statement, disturbing as it is, reflects intimidation and rhetorical cruelty rather than any documented engagement with spiritual practices. It also fits a broader pattern of Epstein responding aggressively to scrutiny and investigation, using whatever language he believed might unsettle or silence critics.
Beyond these anecdotes, a handful of low-credibility sources and online discussions have attempted to link Epstein to occult or witchcraft themes. These include conspiracy theories built around bizarre Wikipedia edits, sensational podcast episode titles, and speculative social-media posts. None of these claims is supported by credible reporting or by the primary documents released by the Department of Justice.
So, we had a look at what was in the files, such as they are, with the current release.
In the documents, the term “Witch” appears only as part of the phrase “witch hunt.” It is used incidentally, reproduced within a modern political and cultural context, and is unrelated to Paganism, Witchcraft, or religious practice.
The same is true in interview transcripts related to Maxwell, where the term appears, if at all, as casual rhetoric rather than analysis or testimony. In all instances, “witch hunt” functions as cultural shorthand rooted in the historical memory of the Salem witch trials—an expression of perceived persecution, not a literal reference to religious practice.
We also searched for other terms that might be adjacent to, or misconstrued as connected with, Paganism. One document, labeled EFTA00008220, is a published instructional book—Massage For Dummies—included among the exhibits. It contains references to Reiki and uses the term “New Age,” but only in a neutral, descriptive sense common to wellness publishing in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Reiki is discussed alongside complementary therapies as general background information. There is no connection to criminal behavior, exploitation, or abuse, and nothing in the text suggests ritualized or religious activity tied to Epstein’s crimes.
A separate batch of documents contains incidental references to the word “Satanic,” but again only in academic or analytical contexts. These references appear in expert testimony or scholarly discussions about moral panic, memory, and false allegations—topics that often reference the Satanic Panic era as a historical case study. They do not allege Satanic belief, ritual abuse, or organized occult activity by any party involved in the Epstein case.
The same pattern holds for mentions of Witchcraft and “animal sacrifice.” These terms do appear in the files (a police report – document 1328-22), but only as attributed speech: a parent describing her concerns about local youth behavior to law enforcement. Officers recorded the statements as part of routine narrative documentation. They did not investigate them, corroborate them, or treat them as relevant to the alleged crimes under review. No charges, inquiries, or findings related to Witchcraft or ritual activity appear anywhere in the official record.
Finally, the term “occult” appears only in relation to medical testing, not spiritual or religious practice.
Taken together, across thousands of pages of documents, there is no evidence that the files contain references to Witchcraft, Pagan religious practice, Satanism, or occult ritual activity. The words that sometimes trigger alarm appear only as metaphor, cultural shorthand, academic reference, or unsubstantiated third-party commentary. None are actionable. None are evidentiary. None implicate modern Pagan communities in any way.
At a moment when public trust is strained by political activity surrounding these files, the appetite for hidden explanations and scapegoats runs high. Fortunately, the current batch of released documents does not drag minority religions or spiritual practices into the Epstein file sewer.
Right now, the Epstein files expose only their own horrors: institutional failures, the exploitation of children, the protection of powerful men, the gaslighting of victims, and the devastating consequences of unchecked power.
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