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. 

January flew by and I’ve been spending extra time reading, which I adore. Next to the fire with my puppers in my lap and a cup of coffee nearby. It’s the best. My own book launch went off spectacularly and I am deep in drafting book two, so the bookish witch life continues.

Recently Finished:

Modern Magic: Stories, Rituals, and Spells For Contemporary Witches by Michelle Tea. The magic in this book is certainly the storytelling prowess of its author. Another title could have been ‘Craft for Real Life,’ as Tea weaves the necessity of the magic throughout a life peppered with unconventional living arrangements, relationships, and recovery. Everything from working with Saints, Mystical Snacktivism, House magic, and more. My favorite part has to be Laurie’s Egg of Light under the chapter called ‘Witch Panic.’ I was screaming in delight with recognition of my own kind of Egg of Light spells I cast for protection on kindred. Laurie wherever you are, I see you, Witch. Also, I love the approachableness of how Tea writes of her magical practice. It’s fluid and flowing and weaved in her life from dreams to charms. From breathwork to hexing, whether you’re a Witchling or a Crone, you’re going to dig this book.

An Apostate’s Guide to Witchcraft: Finding Freedom Through Magic by Moss Matthey. There’s a soothing flow and voice in this book. Matthey’s ‘considerate, sensitive, and nurturing,’ nature as detailed by foreword writer Mhara Starling is evident throughout the book. The escape from a cult healing that happens through Witchcraft is so validating for those of us who had our own religious trauma to heal from. The book clearly represents all the lessons that Matthey pulls not just from his cult escape, but also his Welsh and German ancestry. The section of the book on identity and diversity under the chapter of The Queerness of Witchcraft especially resonated with me. But the amount of quotes I pulled out to remember for later was pretty high in this book. His section on progressive revelation and Doubt is Divine under chapter 10 has me considering many new things as well as a new list of books to acquire from said chapter. The amount of progressive revelation from this seemingly new Witch shows that Matthey just may be an older soul than we know. A seeker like many of us, Matthey’s book is one to help you shed anything that’s not serving you and find your way to your own journey of freedom through the Craft. 

The Way of Fire and Ice: The Living Tradition of Norse Paganism by Ryan Smith. I love books with thick bibliographies and clear indexes, especially on subject matters that I may refer back to, like Nordic spirituality. Ryan Smith’s book is not only deeply knowledgeable in this path, but also its evident – if you study it – adaptable traditions that build community and resist fascism. This book is dense in all the subjects found under Norse mythology and the spiritual paths it has created. Smith’s radical look at this brings hope in a world seemingly bent on destroying healthy spirituality and its communities. If you’re called by the likes of Freyja or Thor, this book gives you a nice basis in understanding how to build relationships with these deities and develop practices (and songs) within a modern life. His section on Runes is making me seek out some other resources as well. As a long-time Rune caster there’s information in the book on the Elder Futhark that is counter to some of what I understood. I’m excited to find where the disconnect between what I understood and what he writes in the book may be bridged. I finished this book feeling like I had some new missions in my own spiritual practice, so good on ya, Smith. 

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay. This book was gifted to me near my birthday in November by the admirable Theresa Reed. It has been quite the solar-return blessing. This book brings us soothing prose, even I might add practical hopefulness in the light of so much violence and terror in the world. Gay is an award-winning poet and clearly a Knight for finding enchantment in our lives. Pleasure and happiness are the balance to the pain and sadness of modern life. Bite-sized essays are great to read when the world is too heavy. Grab your cat, cup, and get this book in your lap for a quick pick-me-up, or a long session of reading for bliss. My favorite – which will be unsurprising to anyone who knows me – surrounds an interaction with a praying mantis. It is essay number 7, which gets my numerology nerd excited. Birds and crows figure prominently, too, so Gay gets another stamp of approval from me. Seriously, the weaving of language to convey healing balm for the reader for the wounds and weariness of the world.

The Old Farmer’s 2025 Almanac. Every year this periodical finds its way to me. This year it was a Yule gift from my eldest daughter and her family, including my dear Grand Witchling. As a ‘farmer’ of sorts my whole life, the Sun, Moon, Stars, and Planets included in this book are always appreciated, but as I grow older, the coverage of farming trends and the people behind it are a bigger pull. This year’s volume has me planning a trip to the home-stomping grounds of Canadian kindred and the cheese makers in British Columbia. Such synchronicity – which often happens when you’re paying attention to the land and cosmic weather, which the TOFA has done for 233 years. I’d really love to see less advertising in it, or keep the advertising to the back, since sometimes the latest and greatest in land care can be found there. But this year’s publication seems to be especially fraught with commercialization. But the inspiration found inside of it is still gold. 

Up Next:

Blackthorn’s Protection Magic: A Witch’s Guide to Mental & Physical Self Defense by Amy Blackthorn. Many a book on my TBR pile comes from recommendations from a community I belong to and adore. Laura Tempest Zakroff has a patreon that I participate in as much as I can (I wish I could attend all the time!). If you want your TBR pile to grow, come hang out with this well-read crowd, too. I just dipped into this one the night before penning this post, so only initial reactions from me on this. But 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. Looking forward to more. 

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 I’m ready to learn all about natural wealth distributions and the idea that all flourishing is mutual. In a world where the rich cannot be satisfied, this book already feels like the start of realigning ‘enough’ in our lives. 

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!