This section of my blog is dedicated to spreading the love of reading and books and the people who make them happen. I would not be the Witch I am today without books. I owe an obscene amount of gratitude to all the makers of books out there. This is my way of giving back. I hope that something I pick up and review will guide you to acquire the next tome on your To Be Read stack.
February flew by with a flurry of whiplash from our current political climate. I continue reading books as a way to resist the shift to fascism within my country of origin – although apparently that’s up for review, too. So here it is the beginning of March and I missed a February post – actually I didn’t miss it, I just became distracted with :: gestures about wildly :: and FORGOT TO POST IT! The political rages is real. However many more words were written over on my Patreon about how to provide pest control for the species of Nazis America is dealing with now.
Recently Finished:
Blackthorn’s Protection Magic: A Witch’s Guide to Mental & Physical Self Defense by Amy Blackthorn.
Blackthorn really wants the reader to understand where they stand in the world of magic before proceeding and that kind of expectation is something I deeply support. Like many Craft books, it might be wise to bring a notebook and pen to your reading sessions. There are many questions to answer as you make your way through Protection Magic. Big fan of chapter 5 – gardening for protection and if you ever get a chance to visit Villa Westwyk, you’ll see all the protection plants here. Blackthorn’s physical security background made this a triple threat book because it covers mental, physical, and magical protection. Bad ass, in my book. This is a book I’m likely to refer to repeatedly when crafting Protection spellcraft, wards, and the like.
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
From the author of Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss comes another title that seems destined for more in my own life, as getting more serviceberries here at Villa Westwyk is a goal. Kimmerer is known as a great teacher and her approach to storytelling and distilling science into magic made learning all about natural wealth distributions and the idea that all flourishing is mutual. In a world where the rich cannot be satisfied, I can see this book helping folx realign ‘enough’ in their lives. Given my permaculture background, Kimmerer speaks to my soul when she writes, “the Maples who gave their leaves to the soil, the countless invertebrates and microbes who exchanged nutrients and energy to build the humus in which a Serviceberry seed could take root, the Cedar Waxwing who dropped the seed, the sun, the rain, the early spring flies who pollinated the flowers, the farmer who wielded the shovel to tenderly settle the seedlings.” Kimmerer is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and her indigenous understanding of people as partners and equal beings demonstrates the network of relationships that the Earth’s survival –and all its inhabitants – depends on. But each time I give a bucket of berries to my neighbor, I’m going to give a nod to this book and its mission to shift the never-satisfied environment of capitalism and shift into a gift economy. Such a changed economy will value things like reciprocity, community, and sustainability. This book is tiny but powerful.
Relishing Longer:
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder
Many folx have been reaching for this book again after the November 2024 Presidential election in the United States. I read this back in 2017 when it first came out and democracy was being attacked then. It’s still being attacked and it felt like an act of resistance to re-read this and having the first Trump presidency in the rearview (and the Pandemic) as a new ruler to measure the lessons Snyder presents in this book. Snyder lays out how fragile democracy is and how we can (and dare I say, must) defend our freedoms. Each lesson is a directive for that defense, such as “Establish a Private Life” or “Be as courageous as you can,” as well as the well-known “Do Not Comply In Advance.” We can change the structure of the situation we are living in right now and the instruction manual exists in this little, yet powerful book.
Up Next:
As you can see, I read a little of everything. I’m always curious about what others are reading. What book are you working through right now? Let’s talk about books! Comment below. If you have a book you think I should read, let me know that, too!