It’s Halloween, right? As someone who has long been fascinated with the witch, both archetype and actual, how could I not write an issue on witches?
But where to train my focus? Witches, according to the internet, are having a real “moment.” One such article, published by The New York Times, read to me like the writer was constantly rolling her eyes while writing it:
Witches are your millennial co-workers doing tarot card readings on their lunch breaks, and professional colleagues encouraging you to join them for a New Moon ceremony aimed at “career success.” (This happened to me the other day.)
I’m guessing that coworker will not be inviting you again.
I felt like the writer was judging other women for being or at least exploring themselves. Yes, witchcraft is trendy right now, but instead of writing off women who are engaging with witchiness, instead of suggesting it’s just an aesthetic, can we explore for a minute why witchcraft and witches are trending?
For me, “witch” has always been synonymous with “powerful woman.” To paraphrase Madeline Miller, author of Circe, “The thing that witches have in common is they are women who have an amount of power that makes society uncomfortable.” To be a witch is to have at least a modicum of influence, of control. These are things that women often have to fight for. Hell, they’re things that anyone who isn’t a straight, white, cis, upper to upper middle class, male-identifying human has to fight for. I’m not saying witches are trending because this fight has gotten worse or more difficult, but I think the last five years have shone a harsh light on the chasm between where some women—myself included—thought we were and where we actually are. And where we are is kind of fucked. Witchcraft—whether you practice it religiously, seek it out as an aesthetic, or something in between—is an embodiment of power, a call for control.
Besides power, I think people are also grasping for something to believe in and a community to connect with. Whether this is due to recent events or is a slower yielding of the grip organized religion has on society, I can’t say. (It’s also possible I live in a bubble of heathens and I’m totally reading the room at large wrong.)
I haven’t felt connected to a religion, though I’ve often wanted to. I was raised Lutheran, but the Christian God never felt familiar to me. In middle school, I tried out Wicca—ok, fine, I bought a book and some candles and lost interest fairly quick, not really jiving with the Wiccan God and Goddess either. Still, I believe in something; I believe in energy, in some intangible connecting force. I believe there are forces at work that I can’t perceive. Magic forces? Maybe. Sometimes my brand of magic is just science that can’t yet be explained.
It makes sense to me that in a world which feels increasingly chaotic and untenable we are all grasping for something. For a lot of people, myself included, that’s witches.
So, where to train my focus, the archetype or the actual? How about both? Allow me to recommend the witches, literal and literary, that I’ve read and enjoyed.
T*Witches by H.B. Gilmour and Randi Reisfeld
This series is out of print, but I would be doing a disservice to my middle grade self if I excluded it. This ten book series had a sizeable effect on my twelve year-old brain. Yes, the book cover does say “Twins. Witches. Exactly.” Why? Unclear. But if you make fun of this book series I will fight you. If you mention the dumb Disney Channel movie, I will also fight you. If you want to borrow every single book in the series you are welcome to come over, yes they made the cross country move with me. You can tell book one was well loved.
Identical twin witches, separated at birth because their uncle—who murdered their father, btw—wanted them dead, Camryn and Alex meet by chance, sixteen years later, at a Colorado amusement park. Months later when Alex— goth/emo/edgy—loses her mother to cancer, she magically shows up on Cam’s—preppy/popular/put-together—front stoop. Together once more, their powers grow and their uncle comes knocking. Excuse me, I’m just going to re-read this whole series because I bet it holds up. The magic was great—believable, earth-centered—the dialogue was spot-on, the stakes were high.
Also, it’s pronounced “t-*space*-witches.” If you call it “twitches” I will fight you.
Witches of America by Alex Mar
And now for something completely different.
While working on a documentary about fringe religions, Alex Mar found herself drawn to witchcraft and paganism. This memoir, the work of five years exploring different corners of the occult, is the result of that fascination. I liked this book because Mar is skeptical, but intrigued and willing—an emotion I often feel when it comes to faith. And she goes all in, participating in rituals, attending conventions, even training in a specific pagan tradition. It’s been a few years since I’ve read it, but I found her exploration of faith and religion fascinating at the time. I’m actually in the process of transferring the notes I made (brackets, I rarely write anything in books—too often your future self finds you ridiculous) in my galley copy to the paperback I now own. And by “in the process” I mean I started a few months ago and am currently on page twenty-seven.
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
In this novel, a young woman is taken from her village and trained as a witch. I am a fan of magic that takes work, magic that is rooted just enough in reality to make it seem almost possible, magic that you can nearly hold. That’s the kind of magic Agnieszka must learn. But not long into her training she flees her new home in order to save her village from a sentient, evil forest. Seriously. This is the kind of forest where, if you’re lucky to get out of it alive, you come out changed and you and your entire family will likely be dead by morning. This is a forest that attempts to topple a government.
It’s. So. Good. I’ve read it twice, but it may be time for a third read. Or maybe a second read of Novik’s latest book, Spinning Silver, another fairy tale-inspired book, but, despite the similar-looking covers, not a sequel.
Circe by Madeline Miller
I just had the pleasure of hearing Miller discuss Circe and it reminded me how much I love this book. I jotted down some paraphrased quotes at the event, which I’ll add when relevant, but I wish I’d been able to record the whole thing.
Circe is the story of the goddess witch who appears in two chapters of The Odyssey (which I still haven’t read). Themes of power, the so-called domestic realm, empathy, feminism are all explored here. Putting a birth in an epic was important to Miller, as it had no place in classical epics.
Parenting is hard even for a goddess... this creature is totally dependent on you and yet you also have to respect that they have their own boundaries.
And again, the theme of magic taking time, practice, and hard work shows up.
“I wanted to explore a woman finding her power as an artist; witchcraft was her art.”
If you haven’t read it yet, I can’t recommend the audiobook enough. I’ve said this a million times, but the narrator has a voice like smoke and cream, and it’s incredible.
Enchantments by Mya Spalter
More nonfiction! If you’re interested in exploring modern witchcraft, Spalter’s guide is a solid place to begin. Spalter works at Enchantments, New York’s oldest occult shop. She covers some basics of witchcraft and spellwork—including altars, candles, holidays, sigils, astrology—giving you a foundation for exploration. Each chapter ends with recommended reading, so if there’s a topic you want to explore, you’ve already got a jumping off point.
Spalter is pretty no bullshit. Her writing is accessible, her tone welcoming. Some books about witchcraft feel unapproachable, especially older ones—they make me feel like I already need to believe, like I need to be all in. Spalter’s attitude is more laissez-faire, like she wants you to take what works and leave behind what doesn’t. There’s no wrong way.
Waking the Witch by Pam Grossman
If you were intrigued by my rambling introduction, you might enjoy Waking the Witch, which examines the history of the witch archetype—its growth from this
to this
The book is a blend of memoir and cultural analysis; Grossman, a practicing witch, also explores her own journey to witchcraft. Like Spalter, Grossman is low key and welcoming to anyone identifying with the witch, even if they’re mostly attracted to witches of fiction.
…the fact and fiction of the witch are inextricably linked. Each informs the other and always has
This book introduced me to so many women I want to learn more about—artists like Leonora Carrington, Pamela Colman Smith, and Georgiana Houghton. It dips into history, delving deeper when the topic is especially interesting, but mostly skating the surface, an expansive, aerial view of the complex world of witches.
Grossman is also the host The Witch Wave an interview podcast featuring witch and witch-adjacent guests. (If you’ve made it this far, you may enjoy her episode with Madeline Miller).
I won’t talk about what I’m reading this time—I think this issue is long enough. But if there are books on witches—fiction or nonfiction—that you recommend, please send them my way!
Also shout-out to Lolly Willowes, a witch I love, but whom I’ve already mentioned on numerous occasions.
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