The number of books on witchcraft has grown in recent years, but mind-body-spirit publishers now offer an eclectic mix of authors who draw magic from a variety of sources, from ancient times to current trends and far-flung ones. to the grounds and backyard herb gardens. Upcoming titles include recipes (think cocktails or cannabis), collections of ready-to-spell spells, handbooks known as grimoires, for those who walk the realm of sorcery, and more. What they all have in common is the alluring promise of empowerment to enrich your life or change the world.
Running Press taps into the continuing interest in witchcraft with several titles, including The Night School: Lessons in Moonlight, Magic and the Mysteries of Being Human (August 9) by Maia Toll, author of the Wild Wisdom series. Toll uses the literary technique of introducing a narrator, the Night Mistress, to “introduce readers to a wide selection of mystical topics, from philosophy and divinity to astrology and alchemy,” says Shannon Fabricant, executive editor of the Hachette imprint. Other titles from Running Press aimed at beginners include: Potions: A Guide to Cocktails, Tinctures, Teas, and Other Magic (August 23) by Nikki Van De Car, author of Practical Magic: A Beginner’s Guide to Crystals, Horoscopes, Psychics . , and Spells. The new book is an illustrated collection of rituals and recipes. Finally, How to Study Magic: A Guide to History, Lore, and Building Your Own Practice (October) by Sarah Lyons teaches basic tools and techniques to “child witches.”
Mature readers may consider Inner Traditions’ Witch Wisdom for Magical Aging: Finding Your Power through the Changing Seasons (August 16). Cait Johnson, the author of six witch titles, here creates “four lovely, passionate old witches” to illustrate ways to “embrace your journey through the last sacred half of life,” according to the publisher. Holistic Witch: A Guide to Self-care Witchcraft and Mushroom Magic are both out now from Sterling Ethos by Witchy Wisdoms writer Shawn Engel. Executive editor Kate Zimmerman finds Engels’ books so helpful, she’s already using Engel’s recipes for spell bowls—containers for holding one’s wishes and intentions—and buying toad-themed home accessories.
Everyone loves a good spell, so A Spell a Day (Watkins, June 2023) offers 365 of them, compiled by esoteric expert and Wicca priestess Tree Carr. Mango Publishers Don’t Want to Suffer Heartache Witch’s Book of Love Spells (January), by Wiccan author Cerridan Greenleaf, uses techniques for using moon magic, crystals and gems to promote love. Greenleaf offers advice on finding peace and prosperity in The Witches Book of Candle Magic (out now). Fair Winds Press author Lidia Pradas, who offers Wiccan advice on Instagram, teaches you how to write your own custom spells in The Untamed Witch: Reclaim Your Instincts. Recreate your craft. Create Your Most Powerful Magic (Oct.). Witch, author, and Pagan podcaster Lisa McSherry includes spells among the basics of witchcraft in A Witch’s Guide to Crafting Your Practice: Create a Magical Path that Works for You (Llewellyn, October).
Are you feeling anxious (and who isn’t these days)? Weiser Books offers a variety of titles. Hearth and Home Witchcraft: Rituals and Recipes to Nourish Home and Spirit (September) Jennie Blonde, a pagan who calls herself a cozy witch. Associate publisher Peter Turner says it promotes the skills to “be comfortable with your true self in all aspects of your life.” You may be able to rise above your worries in Weed Witch: The Essential Guide to Cannabis for Magic and Wellness (April) by Sophie Saint Thomas, an expert in blending witchcraft and cannabis to help any reader “reach your highest self,” she says. publishing house. Or you can live a beautiful life with another upcoming Saint Thomas title, Glamor Witch: Conjuring Style and Grace to Get What You Want (January), with “sex-positive” spells and beauty tips for all budgets and body types according to the author. “Bankruptcy is not a sin,” he writes, extolling the power to be found in costumes, fashion, makeup, and “glamour magic tools.”
But stocking up on power tools for witchcraft isn’t essential because, “Our bathroom mirrors are as prophetic as any crystal ball,” say Risa Dickens and Amy Toro, authors of New Moon Magic: 13 Anti-Capitalist Tools for Resistance and Re-enchantment. (North Atlantic, May 2023), which take a discounted view of witchcraft marketing. They present a book of new moon rituals and interviews with modern witches stating: “Witchcraft is a multi-billion dollar industry. You can get kid-made crystals, wands, and potions by drones. But you don’t have to. You can support local artisans and buy only fair-mine stones, but that also means privilege. This book was written to remind us all that we have identities and power beyond consumption. And we don’t have to buy a single thing to connect with our incredible magic.’
Folk magic and sorcery know no boundaries of time and culture. The newest entry in Llewellyn’s Complete Books series is Llewellyn’s Complete Book of North American Folk Magic: A Landscape of Magic, Mystery and Tradition (April) by Cory Thomas Hutcheson, a 25-year-old expert on folklore, religion, and ethnicity. practitioners from coast to coast. According to Acquisitions Editor Heather Greene, “seekers are looking for depth of meaning in ancient places, immersing themselves in history, classical practice, and occult philosophy to truly connect or feel their own spiritual experience.” Jason Mankey and Astrea Taylor with the history, knowledge and magical practices of pagan witches: detailing the origins and powers of the Greek gods and mythological titans, before offering techniques for invoking their powers today.
Weiser Books offers Mexican Witchcraft: A Practical Guide to Brujeria de Rancho (February) by Laura Davila, a “ranch witch.” Her healing and divination skills come from a folk-Catholic spiritual tradition in Mexico, “about which there is almost nothing published before,” says Turner. It claims to be available to Pagans, non-Catholics, and practitioners of Hoodoo and Conjure.
Hoodoo, originally practiced by African American slaves in the American South, is gaining attention. Hoodoo for Everyone: Modern Approaches to Magic, Conjure, Rootwork, and Liberation (North Atlantic, August 23) is “magic for people seeking liberation and healing, for those who have been hurt, misunderstood, or neglected.” to the publisher Author Sherry Shone, a self-described Black, Lesbian Hoodoo worker, writes that anyone can practice Hoodoo if they “respect tradition, history, and themselves.”
Respect has always been hard to come by for witches. “Women are still being killed today in Africa, India and other places after being accused of witchcraft,” says Turner. Weiser has released Heal the Witch Wound: Reclaim Your Magic and Step into Your Power (Apr.) by pagan witch Celeste Larse. It emphasizes healing and self-reliance to overcome “the collective, intergenerational, spiritual wound of people still being afraid to express their magic and power,” according to Turner.
Today’s witches have more on their minds than spells and rituals of self-power. The Modern Craft: Powerful Voices on Witchcraft Ethics (Watkins, out now) is a collection of essays edited by Alice Tarbuck and Claire Askew that explores the social responsibilities of witchcraft, says publisher Fiona Robertson. The book includes spells for working-class and queer witches, and demonstrates a gender-fluid approach to breaking down traditional hierarchies in magical symbolism.
Danielle Dulsky, author of The Holy Wild Grimoire: A Heathen Handbook of Magick, Spells, and Verses (New World Library, September), looks at time-honored stories of life, death, and rebirth with healing practices for coping with challenges. , and becoming a force for good, says NWL editorial director Georgia Hughes. The rituals and practices in the book explore the elements of air, water, fire, ether and earth with the main idea: “By being mindful of our place in nature, we can also begin to take action for change in the world,” Hughes said. he says
