BOOKS & GAMES

I’m not done studying Hermeticism yet, but the next big field of magic on my list to study is folk magic. I realize I don’t know enough about folk magic. I’ve gotten it through the filter of Wicca, or through the PGM, but I don’t feel like I’ve absorbed much folk magic that I can actually… y’know… use. So much of folk magic seems impractical to me, utilizing ingredients I don’t have access to or being too Abrahamic for my taste. I haven’t done a lot of spellwork (in comparison to theurgy and the like), and most of what I have done is an awkward form of sigil magic. This is a shame, because spellwork was the reason I became interested in occultism in the first place! I stopped calling myself a witch because I didn’t do enough practical “low” magic for it to feel right, and it’s about time I learned it. I’m finally cycling back around to witchcraft, and this time I know what to search for. So, I’m starting off with The Crooked Path by Kelden, which is an introduction to Traditional Witchcraft. Traditional Witchcraft, at least how Kelden presents it, is mainly based in the British tradition of cunning folk. It’s spiritual, but also practical — very firmly rooted in the pragmatic application of magic. It’s hedge witchery. Kelden explains in the introduction how he was originally taken in by Wicca, but ended up forgoing it for the older and more irregular practice of Traditional Witchcraft. I have no idea if this will end up being my path, but it seems like a decent place to start. Up until now, I’ve considered Traditional Witchcraft to be basically Wicca with the serial numbers filed off — I assumed it’s all the same sort of stuff, and certainly the same aesthetic, but without the doctrines and rituals that are specific to the religion of Wicca. This is not accurate. Though Traditional Witchcraft owes a lot to Wicca and related movements from the twentieth century, it owes just as much to folklore. I’m intrigued by the emphasis on developing a working practice out of folklore. I like that Kelden draws a distinction between drawing from historical sources, and drawing from folklore. Concepts like the Witches’ Sabbath, flying ointments, and familiar spirits are not necessarily grounded in any sort of historical tradition (especially if they come from confessions under torture), but knowing that, modern witches can still use these ideas to inform their practice. Kelden associates three specific practices with Traditional Witchcraft: folk magic, hedge-crossing, and reverence for nature. This means that Traditional Witches perform practical magic, travel to the Otherworld to work with spirits, and work directly with the natural world. Kelden provides a brief but nuanced take on the role of religion (or lack thereof) in Traditional Witchcraft — not all witches are pagan, not all witches are theists, and many traditional spells are Christian or syncretic.* I breathed a sigh of relief, because I was afraid that this book was going to be based in a vague, wishy-washy Wiccanate paganism in the manner of Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard. I regret my initial assumptions, because I really sold Kelden short. This book is well-sourced. It references medieval and Renaissance-era Christian lore, upon which much of the cunning tradition is based. It contains a succinct but really interesting and useful history of modern witchcraft, describing the various witchcraft traditions that sprung up around Wicca. The only one I was previously familiar with was Feri; I’d never heard of 1734 or the Clan of Tubal Cain. I’d also never heard of Cecil Williamson, which is criminal. And there’s no airy-fairy, pseudo-historical nonsense about vaguely-defined ancient pagans worshipping the moon goddess! Though Traditional Witchcraft still takes a lot of cues from Wicca, it is less like Wicca than I expected. Differences include a heavier emphasis on folklore as a resource, animism, more direct and personalized interaction with the natural world (as opposed to a standardized Wheel of the Year), and explicitly including baneful magic. Based on the information in this book, Traditional Witchcraft seems to “fix” many of my personal grievances with Wicca. For one thing, Traditional Witchcraft rituals tend to be more idiosyncratic than standardized, which works better for me. I’ve realized that I’m working “backwards” with respect to certain magical skills, and it’s far more productive to adapt techniques to suit the skills I already have than to try to force myself into a system that doesn’t work for me. Traditional Witchcraft rituals are also more ecstatic, in contrast to Wicca’s very ceremonial rituals. I definitely prefer the ecstatic kind. I quickly grew weary of rituals that consisted mainly of reading long verses out of a book or off of a website, and the stress of having to plan and set up rituals deterred me from doing them. Many of my own best rituals have been spontaneous. A more ecstatic practice also better suits the particular gods I work with. Kelden does describe the gods associated with Traditional Witchcraft in similar duotheistic terms. This book’s discussion of theurgy is brief, simplistic, and still very Wiccan. But it also makes the point that many witches have differing conceptions of divinity (or none at all), which is reassuring. I’m very tired of the Horned God/Triple Goddess, but Kelden has one of the most interesting takes on this concept that I’ve seen in years. He comes right out and says that the Witch Father (which is what he calls the Horned God) is the Devil. By this, he means that the folkloric conception of the Devil is more intrinsically associated with witchcraft than any other entity. The Devil has some very pagan dimensions, even on his own. Regardless of however much the Devil has been directly influenced by pagan deities, he occupies the same “space” in folklore that would have been filled by pagan deities in a pre-Christian context. He assumes whatever roles and aspects that the Christian God won’t touch. That doesn’t mean that Kelden or that any other Traditional Witch is necessarily a Satanist, but it does mean that the Devil in folklore informs the Traditional Witch’s conception of the masculine Divine. I really, really like this. It’s a nice middle ground between Margaret-Murray-ism and the edginess of Satanism. Everything Kelden said about the characterization of the Witch Lord (a bringer of enlightenment, tricksterish, likes dance and sexuality, dual-natured, both frenzied and somber, associated with life and death, represents the Shadow and primal aspects of the psyche) resonates for me, because that’s Dionysus. Much of what he said about the Witch Mother also resonated — that she facilitates initiation, that she presides over birth and death, and that she is a cosmic wellspring from which the universe is generated. Despite how jaded I have become with the duotheistic model, I am starting to warm up to these archetypes again, swinging back around to them after having been devastated by the amount of modern constructs and outright fabrications that surround them. The two gods I’m closest to, Dionysus and Hecate, embody these archetypes perfectly — even in their original (pre-Christian, pre-Wiccan) forms. Traditional Witchcraft is more ethically neutral than Wicca (or at least, mainstream Wicca) because it is grounded in the folk magic of disenfranchised people who didn’t have any other way of standing up for themselves. Kelden emphasizes that one should not haphazardly cast curses, hexes, banishments, and bindings, but that one should always know how to cast them if the need arises. This dual approach to magic is appealing to me. Turns out I actually know much more about folk magic than I thought I did, because all of the techniques that Kelden outlines are ones I’m familiar with. I wish he went into more detail about how to adapt historical spells into modern ones, because that’s where I feel I have the most trouble, but it may be that I’m overthinking it. I really like having the examples of workable spells that have been derived from these older sources. Like most witchcraft books, this one describes the method of hedge-crossing to be quieting down one’s body and mind through deep breathing exercises, to trigger an Out-of-Body-Experience. I’ve never experienced an OBE, not even once. This led me to believe that I’m incapable of hedge-crossing, when I’m actually really, really good at it. I just have a weird way of doing it. Quieting my body and mind down makes me more aware of my physical discomfort and more present in the real world. I travel to the Otherworld when I pace, or otherwise keep my body occupied with repetitive movement. I’ve had some pretty spectacular experiences like this, and I’m working on structuring my practice around them. I’ve even experienced the “Witches’ Sabbath” in meditation before, which I realized while reading this book. (Just like with the Devil, Kelden puts a positive spin on the concept of a “Witches’ Sabbath,” describing it as an otherworldly festival attended by witches and various types of spirits. You can go there to do business with spirits, perform magic, or just have fun.) I still hope to have an OBE someday, but if I don’t, I understand I’m not missing anything. Because of my unconventional methods, I don’t know how to explain hedge-crossing to newbie practitioners, so I’m glad I now have this book as a resource to point to. I also really appreciate the recipe for non-toxic flying ointment. The final section of this book is about communing with nature, which I have something of an ambivalent relationship with. On the one hand, I scoff at the notion that paganism in general is “nature-based.” Paganism thrived just as well in ancient metropolises that celebrated their “dominion” over nature. And there are so many different varieties of paganism, that generalizing them all as Druid-stereotype tree-hugging is, at best, reductive. On the other hand, I do really like being in nature. It improves my mental health. I ended up spending a lot of time in the nearby forest at my school. And, I distinctly remember that the most witchy I have ever felt was when I was dancing in my front yard with a hoop made from a wisteria vine. I haven’t been as interested in the wortcunning side of witchcraft, but I won’t pretend that the natural world holds no interest for me or has no relevance to my practice. As a child, I built fairy-houses in nearby trees and left food offerings. Who says I couldn’t do that now? I think my biggest hurdle is that I see local plants as mundane and boring in comparison to mandrake and mugwort, so I don’t really know how to magically engage with them. Kelden has some great advice about how to discover the “virtues” (correspondences) of native plants, rocks, and animals, and about how to safely work with poisonous plants for baneful magic. I also appreciate his advice about adapting the Wheel of the Year to suit your own seasonal patterns and landscape, as well as the spiritual/cultural associations that are actually important to you — no sense in celebrating agricultural or pastoral milestones if you’re not a farmer or a herder! Kelden closes off the book with a short chapter about how to actually apply all of the information in the book. Not enough beginner books do that. Establishing a regular practice is still something I haven’t quite gotten down, so even though it’s a short little section, any help is welcome. Color me impressed! I liked this book more, and got more out of it, than I expected. I loved how accessible it was. It was a really easy and fast read (this is the quickest I’ve gotten through an occult book in a while). Kelden does a great job of distinguishing where all these different ideas or practices come from — which bits of folklore, which preexisting occult traditions, which primary sources, when it’s UPG, etc. The Crooked Path somehow walks the line between having just enough specificity to not feel generic (i.e. it’s a guide to a particular tradition), and being universally applicable enough to work for people of different creeds and locales. There are some things I would change: Kelden could have included more advice about how to connect with the natural world when one lives in a completely urban environment, and the Otherworld chapter could have used a section dedicated to Shadow Work. But this is still one of the best and most accessible beginner books I’ve read in a long time. I’m definitely going to start recommending it as a non-denominational intro-to-witchcraft book, of which there aren’t many. Not that it’s bad to start with Wicca, but you have to know that’s what you’re doing; my biggest problem with Wicca 101 books is that most of them make certain beliefs/practices/approaches seem universal when they’re actually distinctly Wiccan, or draw no distinction between Wicca and witchcraft: “Witches” worship the Horned God and the Moon Goddess. “Witches” celebrate the eight Sabbats and Full/Dark Moons. “Witches” cast the circle and perform the Great Rite with the chalice and blade. “Witches” greet each other with “Blessed Be” or “Merry Meet,” and seal every spell with “so mote it be.” “Witches” follow the Rede. All of these things are features of Wicca specifically, but you have to know enough to be able to separate out the distinctly Wiccan aspects from everything else. As a neophyte who lacked that prior knowledge, I took all these things as a given. Early on, I frequently parroted “Wicca is a religion, witchcraft is a practice.” But somewhere along the line, I realized I didn’t know what that practice actually was. Wicca and witchcraft were so intertwined in my mind that I didn’t know what witchcraft looked like independently from Wicca. Traditional Witchcraft is still a specific path with its own history and associated practices, but it gives me a good idea of what “witchcraft” looks like on its own. It cuts out all the “unnecessary pomp” of the Golden-Dawn-esque ceremonialism and focuses only on the “low magic” stuff, giving me a better sense of what “witchcraft” is at its core, and providing me with a framework that I can more easily adapt. This book got me feeling witchy again, which is saying a lot. This is the most excited about witchcraft I’ve been in years, and Traditional Witchcraft scored a lot of points with me. I’m not comfortable with every aspect of it, but it gives me the freedom to change the things that don’t work for me. I read descriptions of other Traditional Witchcraft books on Amazon, and most of them also emphasized formulating an authentic and personalized craft based on one’s own environment. I wouldn’t expect something called “Traditional” to be so idiosyncratic; that seems a bit oxymoronic, but it’s also comforting and promising. If you’re a beginner and you’re interested in witchcraft, I highly recommend getting this book (or other books on Traditional Witchcraft) in addition to Wicca 101 books. That way, you can see what your options are, and select or combine practices as you see fit. * Note: The top critical review on Amazon is written by a person who seemed utterly appalled that so many of these traditional spells have God or Jesus or the Devil in them. That person does not seem to know very much about traditional British and American folk magic. If you have an anti-Abrahamic bias, I encourage you to put it aside when studying any kind of historical or historically-inspired folk magic (or ceremonial magic, for that matter). You can adapt these old Christian spells to suit any religion or spiritual tradition, and Kelden says as much.

I bought this book in a little shop on Victoria Street in Edinburg, the kind of shop that basically makes me say “SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!” It had a lot of Harry Potter merch, but unlike the one across the street that was laid out almost like a department store, this one had an aesthetic to it. It was small and crammed with mystical stuff and actually felt like a shop on Diagon Alley, so that’s probably why I bought at least three things. Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with your Coven by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman was one of them. I’d first seen it on Amazon, so I knew it existed, and I decided to buy it as soon as I saw the section titled “how to clothe yourself in literal darkness.” Online reviews of this book are mixed. The most common criticism is that it’s “tumblr witchcraft 101,” and contains almost nothing related to occultism. That’s true — this is not a book about witchcraft, it’s a feminist self-help book that uses the archetype of the witch as a means of empowerment. I understand the criticism. I too can easily picture the thirteen-year-old girl who goes around eagerly calling herself a witch after reading only this book. Yes, that would be cringeworthy. Yes, the part of the book where emojis are presented as the modern version of runes is even more cringey. But this book is very upfront with what it is and isn’t. It says outright, in the first few pages, that it is not about Wicca. It uses “witch” in the context of an archetype, that of a woman who is considered dangerous or rebellious in society: “a witch is any woman who understands she has power even when the world insists she doesn’t.” “Many women are taught from an early age that any power we have, even power over ourselves, is considered dangerous, but witches revel in that danger. Ambition, assertiveness, non-conformity, high standards, the ability to say no, control over your own body: all witchcraft, by our definition. Our witchcraft also means practicing arts that may be devalued because they’re too feminine: listening, supporting your friends, choosing clothes, applying makeup, crafts and cooking, taking care of people or animals, making and keeping friends, allowing yourself space. If you speak when you’re told to be quiet, take pride when you’re told to feel shame, love what and who you love whether or not others approve, you’re practicing witchcraft.” Honestly, I kind of like this. Wicca does not have a monopoly on the concept of witchcraft, and “witch” as a powerful and dangerous woman who has been ousted from society for her non-conformity is a real literary phenomenon. I definitely have insecurities around this, and I know I have to do psychological work around it. I’ve realized that the reason I haven’t been doing Goddess work is because I’m mentally uncomfortable with myself as a woman, and I could use some reclaiming of that. I also don’t have any problems with this book being focused around women because it gives a good reason why without dismissing men or nonbinary people who might also be interested, and it doesn’t make any sexist or TERFy comments. Nor does it place an unsettling amount of emphasis on women’s reproductive systems. So, although defining “witchcraft” as occult-flavored-feminism instead of actual occultism is a bit off-putting, I appreciate what this book is trying to do. It’s trying to help women embrace the power of being scary, of being perceived as a threat to the social order, of being in charge of her own destiny. It’s kind of edgy, but that’s also part of the point. I also think that magic(k) works really well as a self-help tool, because most of magic is reconditioning your brain to give yourself what you want. It’s exactly like Harry Potter pretending to slip Ron Felix Felicis to ensure that he would do well in the Quidditch match, but he hadn’t actually been given any lucky potion. For non-witches, the writers have a pretty good understanding of how and why magic works. If you remove the mystical and/or religious element from magic, then magic is simply retraining your brain to have better thought patterns. If all these rituals do is trick your brain to help you adapt to new and better paradigms, then that is magic! Using magical techniques and rituals to reconfigure your thinking and make your life better is the first step towards any “higher-level” magical work. Honestly, it’s the part of magic and occultism that I struggle the most with, since I’m not really inclined towards positive thinking. (I feel like I’m working backwards with regards to occultism, for multiple reasons. One is that theurgy comes more naturally to me than practical ‘low magic’ does.) I’ll be addressing each chapter separately. I will address them on their own merits as self-help, and also in the context of actual occultism. Glamour This chapter is all about learning how to change your appearance to enhance your self-esteem and confidence. It begins with that “how to clothe yourself in literal darkness,” which refers simply to wearing black, but reminds me a lot of my concept of ‘folds’ (still one of the best ideas I’ve ever come up with). I like the idea that wearing black brings you “closer to infinity”—the vastness of the night sky, the deep ocean, the subconscious mind. That aligns very well with my ‘folds’ concept, which are magical garments that represent the subconscious Shadow displayed externally. This chapter also covers using clothes to deliberately alter your emotional state, like wearing layers to keep you emotionally guarded from the world, or bright colors or patterns for confidence. I think I unintentionally match my clothes to my emotional state a lot, and this is certainly a valid practice within occult fields. Pretty much any book on planetary magic will tell you to match the color of your clothing to the planetary influence you’re attempting to utilize. It’s only a small step from this to actually enchanting clothing by charging it with a particular emotional state, if it isn’t charged already. It also addresses color correspondences with regards to makeup, and encourages the reader to try out vivid or bolder colors instead of trying to go for the natural, “no makeup” look. The whole point is to push the boundaries of what makeup “should” look like, and wear the colors that make you happy and make you feel beautiful. I rarely wear makeup, but whenever I do, it tends to be part of costumes. Back in middle school, my friend invited me over for a makeover night and I painted my eyelids with teal and scarlet like a Cirqué de Soliel performer, because I literally did not know what else to do. That’s what makeup is for, right? What’s the point of putting all this goop on my face if I’m trying to look natural? Makeup is absolutely a form of shapeshifting. It’s as much a mask as those used in any shamanic or Dionysian ritual. Makeup has been decried as something only unsavory or manipulative women use, making it part of the “witch” archetype. This book points out that makeup, especially lipstick, has historically represented women’s control over their own bodies (which is, of course, scary). And although the book doesn’t say this, the only thing scarier than a woman wearing makeup is a man wearing makeup. Men wearing makeup is an even bigger sign of social defiance! Nothing says ‘f the patriarchy’ more than men acting in gender-non-conforming ways. Makeup is indeed a glamour, made to make you look subtly different to attract or intrigue or scare. If you add a genuine magical charge to it, just imagine the effect it can have. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t like makeup! (As an aside, I definitely recommend using bath bombs as magical tools. Nothing charges you with the energy of a color like literally bathing in it. Black bath bombs are the absolute best.) The next section is on hairstyles, particularly ones that aren’t considered “feminine” like a shaved head, a pixie cut, asymmetrical hair, or natural hair. I’m personally not a fan of short hair — I like long, flowing hair on women and men. I like the association of different haircuts with different kinds of spells, though — a shaved head is a banishing that gets rid of everything you don’t want, a pixie cut is a binding spell that is both masculine and feminine, asymmetrical hair is an illusion spell that looks different from different angles, etc. Once again, I can’t help but consider how an occultist could make such a spell literal instead of a metaphor. I don’t do anything with my hair other than brush it, though, so I’m not the right person to figure that out. Next is talismans, objects that we carry that we believe will give us luck or keep us safe or whatnot. It’s a short section, but still has a good brief explanation about why talismans have power because we believe they do. It also explains how to charge the talisman, by visualizing the emotion you want it to evoke or the effect you want it to have and pouring that feeling into the talisman. My only complaint is that its list of crystal correspondences is absolutely pitiful — amethyst, moonstone, turquoise, jade, opal, and rose quartz… and that’s it. Next up, perfume. It’s the same deal, associating scents with emotional states, but smells are already so emotionally charged and naturally linked to our memory. (I personally recommend everything on Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s site.) The next section is entitled “dapper magic” and, I’m pleased to say, is directed at people who prefer a more masculine or androgynous gender presentation. I really respect this book for including a section for men, androgynous women, or nonbinary people who aren’t into makeup and jewelry and whatnot. It suggests using more masculine accessories like ties or wristwatches as talismans, or charging your body wash or deodorant if you don’t like perfume. That means that although this book is focused on women, it does not exclude everyone else! Other witchcraft books have problems with that, so it’s excellent that this book doesn’t. Closing off is a short section about using skin-care products like sunscreen or moisturizer for protection or transformation or whatnot as an alternative to makeup. There are also a few simple rituals in this section for banishing the pressure to be feminine, or promoting self-care. Although I appreciate the intent, and intent is ultimately what matters, I don’t really like them. They’re a bit too simplistic, and a single spell isn’t often enough to deal with deep-seated issues. Also, why waste an entire lipstick tube like that? However, I also recognize that they might work well for some people. Writing down everything you like about yourself is still an important step towards improving your self-esteem. The problem is that it takes practice and self-awareness for the visualization rituals described in this book to actually work, and this book doesn’t go deep into what visualization and energy work actually are or how to do them. Emotionally charging objects or clothes or cosmetics sounds like a great idea to me, but I really struggle with it, and this book won’t help that. Healing This chapter begins with the authors saying outright that they are fans of Western medicine, and they encourage you to go to the doctor when you need to. That’s very important, because anti-medicine, anti-vax, and anti-science strains in witchcraft and occult communities are real and insidious! But, they also highlight a very real problem with modern Western medicine — it is not good at dealing with chronic problems. All doctors can really do is prescribe drugs or surgery, which is great if you have a major issue that needs to be quickly taken care of, but not great if you have chronic health issues. If it’s not something that can be diagnosed, Western medicine doesn’t know what to do with it. I haven’t had too many major health scares in my life, but I have loads of chronic problems that are mild enough that they’re (usually) not debilitating, but very annoying and seemingly impossible to get rid of. For me, things like homeopathy and ayurvedic medicine help to fill in the gaps. This book does not explain healthy use of herbal remedies (that’s a little beyond its depth), but it does explain the virtues of simple household folk remedies like aloe vera, ginger, turmeric, and green tea, which is a safe place to start. The next major section is a few self-care spells. Once again, I feel torn about the nature of these spells. The first one, saying positive things about yourself into a mirror, isn’t really a spell in any sense that a witch would recognize, but self-affirmation is very important. So, I’m left saying that if it sounds useful to you, more power to you! The second one does make use of a poppet (while emphasizing that so-called “voodoo dolls” have nothing to do with the religion — good on them!). The spell describes using the poppet to help you become more confident about your body. I really like the sentiment, since so many women obsess over body image, and learning to do what you want with the body you’ve got is a great thing to do for yourself. It makes use of a sigil to infuse the clay poppet with this intention, and mostly sounds like real magic. Here’s the problem — Hands-On Chaos Magic devoted entire chapters to explaining how to properly use the techniques described in this spell. I feel like the only reason I feel like I could do this spell, and have it work, is because I have that more complex foundation. At no point does this book explain what sympathetic magic is. Maybe it doesn’t matter, but to me it just feels lacking. This is followed up with a few “kitchen witchery” recipes that involve infusing food with intention, which I think are great! I’m not much of a kitchen person, but I do love food. My only issue is the “attract a lover” spell involving making caramelized apples with cinnamon — although it sounds innocent, and caramelized apples with cinnamon are delicious, it is still a targeted love spell. Targeted love spells are always ethically dubious at best. The last section is about fitness, encouraging you to take up swordplay as a form of exercise, which I am completely in support of! It also recommends dance, aerials, Quidditch, juggling (because of David Bowie in Labyrinth) and… shuffleboard (because apparently Bridget Bishop was accused of corrupting people through it). It also gives various calisthenics witchy associations. I have no issue with any of this, except that it has zero association with occultism. It follows this up with a ritual around binging Netflix. Apparently it’s supposed to release the guilt around being unproductive? Binge-watching is an important part of self-care, but I’m sorry, all this “ritual” does is encourage you to tap into your emotions, which is a more general thing you should be doing if you’re a witch. Minor complaints aside, the only real problem I have with this chapter is the Witch History section, which rides upon the common myth that the people who were targeted during the witch hunts were healers and midwives. It’s mostly based on an outdated book called Witches, Midwives, and Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English. I have not read it, but apparently its argument is that the witch hunts were a result of the medical profession becoming male-dominated, leading to female medics being condemned as witches. It is my understanding that cunning folk were generally not the targets of persecution. They were generally protected by their communities, and were considered the first line of defense against diabolical witchcraft. And although some Renaissance treatises on witchcraft condemn midwives, midwives weren’t overwhelmingly persecuted either. As much as I love Lisa Tepes, the concept that women were systematically persecuted by the patriarchy for practicing effective medicine does not really exist outside of fiction, and it serves as a misleading propaganda piece. (References to this concept of witches as healers appears throughout the rest of the book. It’s fine as a metaphorical archetype, but isn’t that grounded in reality.) Summoning This chapter focuses on your social life, and uses the term “coven” to mean the group of people you hang out with. This rubs me the wrong way. Even though we’re using the word “witch” outside of an occult context, the word coven is more specific. In my opinion, a coven doesn’t necessarily have to be a formally structured initiation-only group, but it should at least be a ritual group, even if you only meet once a month on full moons to say a few devotional prayers and have some snacks. A coven is not simply an edgy word for a social circle. For that matter, a witch is not simply an edgy word for a feminist, but I’m somehow more willing to forgive that one. That aside, most of the advice in this section is pretty good. Building a social circle is definitely the hardest thing for me. At school, my life in quarantine doesn’t really look any different than it did before, except that some of my classes are online now. I still don’t have a group of friends, and it’s a big deal that I’ve even started to text occasionally with a few of my classmates. So, I appreciated some of the tips that this section had to offer. I particularly liked the simple tarot card spell to attract friendships by boosting your attractive qualities. I also like the protection circle spell to help you establish your own boundaries. I might actually try those. I also admire the emphasis this book places on being self-aware and vulnerable, letting your friends see your demons. Shadow-related things are always something I can get behind. I have mixed feelings about the spell that involves exchanging objects with a friend that represent insecurities, and reframing them as positive thoughts or qualities. Reframing your insecurities by using symbols is a good idea, but I can’t visualize a pair of friends actually doing it. I like the section about learning to effectively help your friends with emotional baggage, like a village wise woman and all. There’s a short interlude about pets that can be your familiars, listing the pros and cons of each. I’ve learned overtime that a familiar really is a spirit, not a pet, and although pets can certainly be familiars, not all pets are cut out for it. The section really is meant to be humorous — the last animal listed is a manatee, and its cons are “Confined to the water, illegal to touch in Florida (but don’t touch anything in any state without its consent).” But… some of the humor was lost on me. I don’t like dogs, but I can tell that its cons being “Sorta dumb, totally filthy, will absolutely betray you to your enemies” isn’t that funny. Idk, your mileage may vary. This section is clearly not serious. There’s some other interesting little tidbits in here. There’s an explanation of why Wiccans practice skyclad, with what sounds like encouragement to meet naked with your friends? Maybe? There’s a little section on “shine theory” combined with a pseudo-Drawing-Down ritual, which helps you be supportive of other women instead of feeling like you should compete with them… not too bad, actually. There’s a spell for banishing envy of things your friends have, which encourage you to discover what it is you actually envy (i.e. not a boyfriend, but the feeling of being loved, for example). That is excellent, since a very important part of spellcraft is determining what you actually want, not what you think you want. I also like that this spell encourages you to feel gratitude for the things you do have that bring you joy. There’s also a simple spell for letting go of a friendship that is apparently adapted from A Witches’ Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar (I assume, because they reference it without mentioning the authors’ names!) that I kind of like. Altogether, some good material in this chapter, although using spells and rituals to navigate friendships should really be a book of its own. This is all very surface-level. Enchantment This chapter focuses on love and sex. I agree that the bold and defiant embracing of female sexuality is a core component of the witch archetype. It’s definitely something I still have to work on. Women do risk social exclusion and being shamed if they dare to embrace their sexualities, so anything that helps women do that is a good thing as far as I’m concerned. However, this chapter was very much a mixed bag. Stuff I liked: I like the first exercise they describe, which is listing the qualities of your perfect partner. These aren’t just superficial stuff like “nice, handsome, and rich” but qualities that would make for a compatible partner whom you’re attracted to. The idea is that if you approach relationships from the perspective of finding a person with the qualities you do want, instead of rooting out people with qualities you don’t want, you’re more likely to get what you want. To do that, you need a good impression of what it is you actually want. And once you have that list, you can evaluate your potential love interests based on it. You can also allow God or the Universe to bring you someone with enough of your ideal qualities that you’ll be happy. No person will ever be perfect, of course, but they can still be compatible and attractive. The point is that you shouldn’t have to settle — you should find someone who makes you happy. I’ve actually already done this exercise, and I should probably update my list. Another thing I liked was the lesson on sexual consent, and comparing it to a magic circle. Check in with each other to make sure you’re still into it, maintain your boundaries, communicate openly, etc. It also emphasizes the difference between what you agree to and what you actually want. Decide what you consent to based on what you want, not what you feel you should do or what the other person wants. All of that is good. There’s a little ritual that helps you give power to your ability confirm or deny consent, making a yes or no more like an incantation. That’s good, too! Expanding on that idea, there’s a section that encourages that open communication by comparing mid-sex feedback to incantations. That same section also encourages you to “be annoying” about sexual safety to ensure that your partner adheres to it and to stick up for yourself. 10/10 to that. There’s also some advice about sex toys that, although basic, was also pretty good (and inclusive of people who aren’t physically female). I like the ritual to feel sexually confident, powerful, and comfortable in one’s own body. I also like the spell for healing heartbreak, that’s based around reminding yourself of the things you still have and that still make you happy even after a breakup, severing your happiness from dependence on the other person. That’s pretty good. The lack of “love spells” is also a plus. Stuff I didn’t like: This paragraph— “Some witches believe in white and black magic not as performances of good and evil but as representations of magical energy. White magic is done when your energy is high, when you feel loved and happy and fulfilled, and it creates more of those feelings in the world. Black magic is performed out of fear and anger, a final thrashing of panic in order to survive, and it creates more fear and uncertainty.” Who believes this? Most of the witches I know believe that “white magic” and “black magic” is a false dichotomy. The real problem with the notion is that it attaches a good connotation to white and a bad connotation to black, even if that connotation isn’t quite as extreme as “good” and “evil.” Why is black bad? It’s not. We had a whole chapter earlier about wearing black and how that was a good thing! It doesn’t even matter, because this book just uses it as a metaphor for healthy vs. unhealthy approaches to romance and sex, but still. Why use it at all? Just to maintain the “witchy” aesthetic? Can we just dispense with the whole idea of “black magic,” please? There’s no purpose to it, especially if we’re using it to mean “dating someone out of social obligation/horniness even when you don’t really want a partner.” The message itself is pretty good, but what a weird way to present it. Emoji spells. Yep. “Casting runes can supposedly tell you about your future, or at least symbolize deep truths that mere words can not reveal. You know what else are cool-looking symbols that can say more than words? Emoji.” If this were clearly a joke like the page on familiars, I might forgive it, but I don’t think it is, so that means it’s on par with The Emoji Movie claiming that emojis are “the most important invention in the history of communication.” This section reeked of the same kind of patronizing “fellow kids” nonsense as that film. It doesn’t take a genius to determine that texting a fork and knife might mean “I want to devour you,” y’know in a sexy way, or that texting a thought bubble might mean that you’re thinking of them. Or it just might be deeply confusing. I mean, sure, if you want to imbue an emoji with an intention like a sigil, then fine, but nothing about emojis reveals “deep truths.” The “Accepting Singleness” spell is a self-affirmation ritual that uses a tarot deck. It arranges a selection of the Major Arcana in a weird order, beginning with the Lovers and ending with the Wheel of Fortune. The ritual has you face each one of the cards and contemplate the quality it represents in yourself. So far, so good. I actually like the concept of this, but the problem is that the authors’ interpretation of each card is way too simplistic and surface-level. Think about your knowledge and intelligence when facing The Magician? Yeah, okay… except that The Magician isn’t intelligence so much as creative force and willpower, tempered with cleverness and subtlety. Think about your connection to “the spiritual or the scientific” when facing the Star? Not only is that vague, that’s not what the Star means; it means hope and rejuvenation after a trying situation. The directions tell you to pick either the Empress or the Emperor, and the High Priestess or the Hierophant, based on your own gender or your preference or “a coin toss.” Those cards are not interchangeable, even if they do represent counterbalancing masculine/feminine forces. And then, “for Strength, Justice, Temperance, and Judgement, think about each of those qualities.” This line makes me think that the authors know next to nothing about tarot cards. Strength and Justice are relatively straightforward, but Temperance refers not simply to moderation and self-control, but to universal balance, synergy, and alchemical transmutation. And Judgement? That doesn’t refer to a quality (i.e. “good judgement”), it refers to Judgement Day. It represents atonement, rebirth, and apotheosis. Who wants to tell them? The idea of this spell is good, but the writers have such a poor understanding of tarot that it comes across as shallow. Banishment This chapter is about getting rid of toxicity in your life. I think this is one of the best chapters. Banishment is an important part of any witch or occultist’s toolkit, and I agree with the authors that it’s a criminally underrated part of self-care. Honestly, I really don’t do it enough. Brooding in negative emotions is such a habit for me that I do it by default, and let those thoughts and feelings fester until they take over my life. Only now am I realizing just how self-defeating that is, even though it feels satisfying. I’ve begun calling it “emotional masochism.” Given how awful the last year has been for everyone, I think we could all use a good banishing. The techniques this book offers are good ones. For example, it suggests analyzing your reaction after spending a short amount of time with toxic people, vs. when you’re not around them, to see if they really are the source of your negative emotions, and then fortifying your energy field with the boundaries spell. That’s good. It compares the emotional manipulation and gaslighting tactics of abusers with enchantments and illusions, which I actually think is an apt metaphor. I don’t think that simple visualizations and affirmations will be enough to break free of an abusive relationship, but they’re not a bad start. Any reminder that you’re worth it and you’re strong is important when you’re in that kind of situation. There are some good spells in this chapter, like one to purge bad habits (especially those induced by other people), another to dispel curse-like feelings of bad luck, and another to get rid of imposter syndrome. There’s also an example of a hex in this section, which isn’t meant to directly hurt the other person so much as provide emotional relief for you, although it does curse the person to face the consequences of their actions. I don’t think such a spell is bad as long as it’s used in the right kind of context, one in which the person has actually caused you serious harm. My favorite part of this chapter is a list of pretty cleverly-named made-up demons, with cute illustrations, that represent different kinds of self-defeating or toxic mindsets. So, one makes you feel worthless, another makes you feel like all of your friends hate you or are laughing at you, another saps you of your self-esteem, another convinces you that everything bad that happens is your fault, etc. (The last demon is a horned toad named Frank. He doesn’t represent a self-destructive mindset. “Frank’s just a dick. Don’t listen to Frank.” You and the other monsters ditch Jerry when it looks away!) It also provides a little banishment spell to get rid of the demon. While not very sophisticated as presented here, this is a real technique — personifying qualities, conditions, or mindsets as entities that you can either talk to or fight is a legitimate way of dealing with them. I think it’s particularly useful for banishment because it helps separate these ideas from you. You are not worthless, that thing is making you feel worthless, so you should tell it to go away. Separating it from yourself, making it an external thing instead of part of your personality, sometimes makes all the difference. In fact, it’s just occurring to me that I could personify my lack of trust into an entity — the voice that tells me I shouldn’t trust myself, shouldn’t trust my peers, shouldn’t trust the gods, shouldn’t trust the creators of my favorite shows to give me a satisfying ending — and tell it to fuck off. The most insidious thing about it is it convinces me that it’s protecting me, that if I don’t listen to it, I’ll get hurt again and I’ll never be happy. So I stay in that place of suffering out of fear that if I let myself be happy, I’ll get hurt again, and I end up suffering more as a result. Fuck you, demon. I’m going to kick its ass Belmont-style. Okay, I don’t care how cutesy it is, thank you, book, for making me realize that! Also in this chapter is a spell that builds on the power of saying yes or no addressed in the last chapter. This section brings up how the defiance of saying “no” has been considered improper for women for centuries, who were (and in some cases, still are) taught to be accommodating and placid. A lot of women are taught to never say “no” outright because it’s “rude,” and women should not be rude. Saying “no” can therefore be a form of empowerment and banishment in and of itself, since it teaches you to “prioritize your own feelings over any (real or imagined) reactions from someone else.” I’m completely on board with this. There’s also a very useful little section about backfire, for example, doing a spell to put yourself first and ending up selfish and self-indulgent as a result. It suggests asking yourself important questions, like what you’re getting from your spells and how other people might be affected, or separating what you want from what you really need. I’m impressed that this is in here, since it’s important and needs to be addressed. Being self-aware about your spells and taking responsibility for the results is crucial. Divination The purpose of this chapter is to make peace with the uncertainty of the future, and direct it toward the result that you actually want. It has some interesting techniques, like conversing with yourself in a mirror as if your reflection were the future version of yourself, in order to have more self-discipline (i.e. will future-me be happier if I do this now?). I’ve never thought of that, but that’s not a bad idea. There’s another section about getting rid of worry by addressing fear of failure, comparing it to alchemical transmutation. This is another idea that I actually really like. Fears are often bigger and scarier than the actual things they represent, so this pairs well with the “exorcism” of the self-destruction demon in the last chapter. Of course, I don’t think transmutation is as easy as this book makes it sound, but learning from your failures is certainly a start. I also like the idea of embracing ambiguity and confusion, since the future is nothing if not ambiguous, and that can be hard for the mind to deal with. One little ritual has you spin widdershins and then try to draw a picture while dizzy, which will inevitably look like a squiggly mess, then turn the squiggly mess into a piece of art as a way of reclaiming failure. This chapter also provides some good advice on what to do when the future doesn’t turn out the way you anticipated, which mostly revolve around reclaiming your sense of power when the world feels chaotic and unpredictable. I like most of them, especially the one about narrating a better version of the future, or other possibilities in-between. It’s very easy to become fixated on the worst possible outcome, but there are other ones, and you have to be able to believe they’re possible. These little rituals and affirmations are interesting and potentially useful, but the only actual divination technique explored in this chapter is… tasseomancy. Wait, why tasseomancy? Not that there’s anything wrong with tasseomancy, but the chapter covers that and not cartomancy, cleromancy, or scrying? Even oneiromancy would make more sense to put in this book than tasseomancy. Who even uses loose tea leaves? And the times I have used loose tea leaves, there hasn’t been enough of them and they don’t form anything that looks like a coherent shape. “I see a very peculiar hand!” “I see a giraaaaaffe.” “Giraffes don’t just fall from the sky, Miriam!” Maybe I should try to read hot chocolate dregs instead. The descriptions of each symbol are very basic, one-sentence descriptions. This section isn’t really made to be taken seriously, though. Half of it is meant to be humorous, and it’s actually pretty funny: “Leonardo’s Last Supper: Your cup is too big. Cow: You will see a cow. Clump of tea leaves: You just had some tea. UR GONNA DIE: This one could mean anything.” I actually laughed at this! But the fact that this is overly simplistic and then silly means that this chapter doesn’t really have any actual divination techniques anywhere in it. Well, there is a “scrying” spell, but it’s just the same visualization techniques but while staring into a reflective surface, not true scrying (which, as I understand it, is allowing the images to come to you). Conclusion The spells and rituals in this book have been a bit of a “teach a man to fish” case — they use some real techniques, like visualization and energy work, but they don’t go into the details of why the techniques work the way they do. I already feel pretty awkward and self-conscious during rituals, sometimes to the point where I feel like all my power is sapped from me. I can’t imagine how a beginner might feel if all they had was this. Would it work for them? Would they get lost? Would they wonder what the hell was supposed to happen? This book lacks the foundation that makes these techniques work, and also isn’t directed at those who already have it. It doesn’t even mention meditation, for gods’ sake! So I was kind of surprised to find that it closes off with an explanation of how to make your own spells. And this information is actually pretty legit! How do you want the spell to make you feel, and what sorts of objects or colors create that feeling? Phrase your intention carefully, structure your ritual so that it has a beginning, middle, and end, make sure you believe what you’re saying… all good stuff, but it reads like one of my Quora answers. Other books I’ve read have dedicated whole chapters to each of these little pointers. It concludes with a list of the different spellcasting correspondences of the four elements, which is usually among the first things that books cover. We’re getting to elemental correspondences now, when there’s only two pages left? That, I think, is the biggest problem with this book — it’s shallow. If you’re looking for a book on Wicca, folk magic, ceremonial magic, or anything else related to actual occultism, this book is not it. Any real occultism that appears in this book is as watered-down, surface-level, and fluffy as it could possibly be. Lists of correspondences in this book are pathetic, being so short and simple as to barely be useful at all. The spells in this book are mostly fine, but although they use some real techniques, the authors don’t explain what those are or how and why they work. Instead, the authors co-opted the trappings of occultism. I can definitely understand how a beginner who didn’t know any better might come away from this book, calling herself a witch without understanding much about actual witchcraft, leaving occultists to tut at her. Also, the edgy “w e l i v e i n a s o c i e t y” got old after a while. The self-help advice is quite good, but aside from that, it’s all-style-no-substance. You could probably learn more about occultism from The Wizardology Handbook than this. That’s a book for children that’s meant to be fun and entertaining, but whoever wrote it clearly knew enough about occultism to infuse some real ideas in there. This book would be so much better if it were the exact same self-help content, but written by actual occultists, who could accurately and authentically combine witchcraft and self-help. If you want to study witchcraft as a discipline, this book will not help you. So, do I recommend this book to baby witches? I don’t think it should be purged from the shelves, and I definitely think that an aspiring witch could get something useful out of it, but with caveats. It definitely shouldn’t be your first or only book on witchcraft. You need something else to provide you with the foundation that this book lacks, but its tips and techniques can be used to compliment a real magical practice. If you already have a foundation in occultism, and you go in knowing what you’re getting, then you could get a lot out of this book. You might want ideas for how to infuse everyday objects or situations with magic, or need some simple self-affirmation rituals. Some of its advice is genuinely good, and its rituals aren’t actually that bad, if given a bit more sophistication. I also really like all the psychological self-evaluation techniques that it provides, especially since a lot of people struggle more with that than I do. What I got out of this book are simple ways of using magic to improve my actual life, since most of what I do is lofty theurgic “high magic” and I could really use some more practical “low magic.” My spiritual life and mundane life are usually separate, and to me, witchcraft (as opposed to other kinds of occultism) is about integrating the two. Building confidence and believing that you deserve good things in life are critical parts of magic that aren’t always given focus in occult books, so this book may be worth it just for that. So join the Bad Girl Coven. We have t-shirts.