Status
Publication
Description
New Age. Self-Improvement. Sociology. Nonfiction. HTML:A magical lifestyle guide for everything from powering up a stylish crystal to banishing terrible Tinder dates Want to feel terrifyingly beautiful? Wear the right color of eye shadow to project otherworldly glamour. Need to exorcise a toxic friendship? Repeat the proper incantation and make it disappear. Want to increase your energy? Whip up a tasty herbal â??potionâ?ť to rev up your stamina. DIY projects, rituals, and spellsâ??along with fun historical sidebarsâ??summon the best trends of the modern witchy lifestyle and the time-trusted traditions of the hell-raising women of the past. With humor, heart, and a hip sensibility, Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman dispense witchy wisdom for the curious, the cynical, and anyone who could use a magical boost. Selected Table of Contents: CHAPTER 1 - Self-Initiation: An Induction into Basic Witchery What We Mean by â??Witchcraftâ?ť Our Favorite Pop Culture Witches CHAPTER 2 - Glamours: The Power to Change How You Look How to Clothe Yourself in Literal Darkness The Dark Magic of Unfeminine Haircuts A Spell for Self-Care CHAPTER 3 - Healing: The Power to Care for Yourself A Spell to Make Peace with Your Body Magical Exercise A Ritual for a Relaxing Netflix Binge CHAPTER 4 - Summoning: The Power to Care for Others (and Have Them Care for You) The Transformative Power of Vulnerability A Collaborative Ritual to Deepen Friendship CHAPTER 5 - Enchantment: The Power to Make Choices about Love and Sex Conjuring Your Perfect Mate The Magic Circle of Consent A Spell for Talking about Sex CHAPTER 6 - Banishment: The Power to Avoid What Brings You Down Expelling Social Toxicity The Different Types of Personal Demons A Spell to Counter Impostor Syndrome CHAPTER 7 - Divination: The Power to Decide Your Destiny A Spell to Name Your Heartâ??s Desire Ho… (more)
User reviews
What this actually is is a positive, warm, funny guide to how to handle situations that are bound to come up in everyone's life. For example, that note that got my attention about toxic friends? I've got two, people I work with who used to be friends who knifed me when I wasn't looking, and whom I can't avoid. Will the section on what to do about it make it all better? Nope. But it serves as proof that I'm not alone – I'm not the only one who is going through something like this. And it does serve as a pretty good guideline of how to manage the way I think about it.
I'm not entirely thrilled with the light tone with which demons are discussed, but maybe I've been listening to too many funky podcasts lately. And nothing in here seems at all dangerous - quite the opposite.
In a lot of ways this is more therapy or counsel than Magick. Well, maybe it comes to the same thing, in the end.
The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.
I’ve been wanting to read this book for the longest time. I’ve been very interested in witches and witchcraft since I read the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and watched the Craft and the Love Witch
Please be advised that this book doesn’t feature “real” witchcraft that Wiccans would use, so if you are looking for that, then I would suggest looking elsewhere. Like most of the books Quirk Books publishes, this is more fun than it is serious. Instead this book takes the spirit of witchcraft and combines them with the ideas of feminism and turns it into a self help book.
From the self help point of view, I found all the chapters to be really empowering and useful. I could definitely see people actually doing some of these rituals. The rituals/spells were all about your mind and how you view situations.
One of my favorite things about this book were the historical sidebars about witches. I always love learning little historical tidbits.
The only thing I didn’t like was that there wasn’t a concluding chapter. I have a thing about nonfiction books and conclusions. I hate it when they just end, without any sort of wrap up. I would have loved to have seen some final words from the authors.
Overall, if you are looking for a fun and different self help book, or want to dabble in witchcraft without going full on Wiccan, then definitely check this book out.
If you are expecting a manual of Wicca or spell-casting, this book will not be what you're looking for. Saxena and Zimmerman are writing about witches in the sense of unruly and disobedient women who defy cultural expectations through positive energy, self love, and speaking up for
but it was way more like a self-help book than a witch's guide. it was like "here's a witchy way of dealing w something if you're having a bad fight with a friend".
there were some spells, but i wasn't interested in them. i thought it
i enjoyed the witch's history sections, so i'm gonna go look up more witch history.
such a shame, bc the illustrations were so cute!