toil and trouble

“the absence of the witch does not invalidate the spell”

Oct 15, 2024

Growing up in an evangelical household, that I guess was still in the grips of the Satanic Panic, I was not allowed to read literature1 that featured witches. Unless it was The Chronicles of Narnia because the witch was a villain and ultimately defeated. Lord of the Rings, The Wizard of Oz and Arthurian legends also had special dispensation because those were wizards2. Very very different.

Perhaps due to its forbidden nature, I’ve lately become captivated by the mythic, metaphorical and modern witch. There’s so much lore in the tales, history in the trials and baggage in the word ‘witch’ that has piqued my fascination. I’m determined to ‘be curious’ like Ted Lasso and follow rabbit trails like Alice to see where it leads, especially when so much of what I was taught was only one part of the story. Usually the part of the story that most benefitted the patriarchy in performing their age old exercise of exerting control and dominion. In the case of ‘witch’ dominion over (mostly) women; their bodies, power, expertise, communities, knowledge and legacy. I’m enthralled by all of the assumptions, connotations, history, misogyny and overall burden that is piled onto ‘witches’. There’s a very specific sort of humbling yet invigorating painful pleasure in learning ‘everything you thought about X is wrong!’ and lately, I’ve been on this journey most especially in regards to ‘everything your evangelical ~~cult~~ church taught you about abc…xyz is wrong!’

I mentioned this Guardian article in my it’s all greek post as it was written by the author of Circe3, Madeline Miller, and because it is a fascinating overview on the history of women in/with power being feared, reviled, mocked, shamed and burned creating the stubbornly persistent idea that a ‘witch’ is a wicked, evil, hideous, and (usually post-menopausal) woman in league with the devil. Not a fully human rebellious troublemaker, experienced healer/midwife, or nonconformist but a hag, a demon on the lookout for penises to keep as pets. This sort of information is important because unfortunately, witch hunting is not a thing of the past.

From Circe to Clinton: why powerful women are cast as witches

In the late 19th century, the suffragette Matilda Joslyn Gage asserted something revolutionary. The persecution of witches, she said, had nothing to do with fighting evil or resisting the devil. It was simply entrenched social misogyny, the goal of which was to repress the intellect of women. A witch, she said, wasn’t wicked. She didn’t fly on a broomstick naked in the dark, or consort with demons. She was, instead, likely to be a woman “of superior knowledge”. As a thought experiment, she suggested that for “witches” we should read instead “women”. Their histories, she intimated, run hand in hand.
Obviously, she was on to something. When we say witch, we almost exclusively mean woman. Sure, men have also been accused of witchcraft, but they are by far the minority. Further, the words used to describe men with magical powers – warlock, magus, sorcerer, wizard – don’t carry the same stigma.

And ugliness, of course, is key. The haggish outsides of these witches are meant to match their evil insides, and testify to their unnaturalness, since women are supposed to be as neat, attractive and young as possible. But the association with age also contains a kernel of truth: many of the women accused of witchcraft were so-called “wise women”, older figures, often poor widows, who scratched out a living in the community with their experience as midwives, herbalists and hedge-doctors. Their solitary, vulnerable status and unusual knowledge made them perfect targets for people’s rage and fear when crops failed or babies died.

Once I realized the role patriarchy played in the creation and subsequent persecution of the ‘witch’ spanning time, culture, geography and religion, I’ve become very interested in re-contextualizing and reclaiming the word and concept. Currently, I’m on the lookout for ways I can discover and lean into my own witchy traits, whatever those are. A strong sense of autonomy? Self-determination? Bravery? An air of ‘fuck politeness’? A trickster habit of disrupting norms? Perhaps a sense of unpredictability or wildness? Or nurturing a more mystical, mysterious and intuitive nature? Committing to creative, connective and cyclical rituals? Or even developing a richer, deeper relationship to nature!?! Ok, ok don’t get crazy here Abby.4

Today’s shelf touches on the mythic, metaphorical and modern witch and each book is very different in tone than its sisters. We’ve got a light, fantastical rom-com, a non-fiction book of (mostly) humorous essays and a novel that reimagines the suffragette cause to include a bit more witchcraft. I’ve got a fair few literary analysis, cultural commentaries and academic texts re: witches on my library queue, so this isn’t the last time we’ll see them.

Under the glow of a full moon, next to a bubbling cauldron fall under the spell of one of these books. Pro tip: cackling manically every so often will usually cause others to give you a nice, wide berth.

THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEWOMEN WITCHES by India Holton

Charlotte belongs to the League of Gentlewomen Witches, a secretive society that must perform their (somewhat mundane) magical activities without any witnesses though they don’t always succeed at this. She is thrown into the company of the pirate5, Alex O’Riley, when they are forced to work together to steal ~~the MacGuffin~~ the long lost amulet of the notorious Black Beryl for reasons. Through escalating antics and dangers aplenty, feelings are found, enemies are thwarted and tea is served.

This is the second in the Dangerous Damsels series, but it arrived from the library first and honestly, I enjoyed it the best of the trilogy as it was the funniest, steamiest and had the best characters.6 This is one of those rollicking romps of nonsense where the plot is completely secondary to the tone, voice and vocabulary as our characters flail about from adventure to escapade to shenanigan and there is little logic to be found anywhere. Tempest in a teapot vibes. I enjoyed the playful chapter headings that sort of lay out the beats of what is coming up but make no sense without context. Actually, now that I think about it, getting the context doesn’t even add that much sense. Charlotte is headstrong, stubborn and thrilling which is revealed on the very first page when she throws a book at a stranger’s head and immediately blames someone else. Alex is roguish, charming and adorably wicked so all of their interactions are a frothy delight.

Everyone has their little groups and they operate with extreme prejudice to everyone outside of them, constantly threatening censure, bodily harm, death or tea parties even though they are all basically the same. There’s banter galore, swashbuckling, spell casting, angsty sexual tension and dry asides as Charlotte and Alex go places, do things, save the day and fall in love. This is for when you really need something escapist7, fast and silly that’ll make you chuckle, scoff, giggle and ultimately feel cozy, cute and comforted.

So he was Irish, as suggested by his mild accent. An Irish pirate in London. Charlotte could only imagine the unbridled poetry he was leaving in his wake. "I cannot say I am pleased to meet you, Mr.O'Riley. But if you leave me your card, I'm sure I'll acknowledge the acquaintance should we happen to encounter each other again at some public ball or soiree."

"Or," he countered, "I could just knock you unconscious, take back my briefcase, and kiss you before I leave."He smiled wickedly. Charlotte almost gasped for the second time in twenty-one years. Her outrage was so great, she struggled to summon a witty retort.

THE WITCHES ARE COMING by Lindy West

Lindy West, author of Shrill8 and Shit Actually, podcaster, comedian, columnist, wrote this book of essays in 2019 as a response to the world at that time9. Which unfortunately means this feels almost quaint and simplistic looking at it now in 2024. So while this can read funny, galvanizing and validating is can also read as fucking depressing because (gestures about wildly). OH! Want another ‘fun’ time capsule? Do a read through of ‘Lest We Forget The Horrors’ which I bookmarked four years ago10 because my faith in humanity is such that I knew this would continue to be pertinent.

Back to the book. These essays tackle politics, culture, climate, media, etc through a feminist lens with West’s signature pop culture allusions, smart aleck snark, pithy observations and tendency to YELL IN ALL CAPS. Her particular brand of comedic expression may read juvenile to some, but I mostly enjoy it because she brings levity to her clever takes, combining silliness with smarts encouraging the reader to laugh instead of cry, you know? Much of her inspiration for this book comes from #metoo, the #metoo backlash and, of course, the Trump presidency. She sets the scene in ‘Introduction: They Let You Do It’

One thing we’ve been hearing a lot recently when a man -particularly a man a lot of people really like- is accused of something awful is that the accusations aren’t real but in fact are part of baseless, bloodthirsty, politically motivated mass hysteria known as a ‘witch hunt’. This is a relatively new usage of the term. Traditionally ‘witch hunt’ has been used in reference to the witch trials of early modern Europe and colonial America, during which an estimated 40,000-60,000 people were brutally tortured by being briefly ostracized at work and having a lot of people yell at them.
Wait. That’s wrong. They were actually hanged, beheaded or burned at the stake. Still, though. Very, very similar to the modern-day witch hunts against rapists!

We’ve got essays like ‘Choosing the Lie’ which encourages naming hard, uncomfortable truths in pursuit of true growth and to stop false equivalences as she compares reactions to Ted Bundy and Elizabeth Warren in games of likability. 11

Things that DON’T make a (white) man unlikeable
Murdering
Grabbing women by the pussy
Cult leading
Genocide
Being a DJ
Things that DO make a woman unlikable
Voice
Body
Kids
No Kids
Sex
No Sex
Money
No money
Metabolizing food

Then we’ve got her deep hatred of Adam Sandler movies in ‘Is Adam Sandler Funny?’12 and in ‘Obsolescence is a Preventable Disease’ we get her encouragement to be curious and open minded in order to intellectually and societally evolve. Through rants, raves and hot takes she shares thoughts on Hollywood, having a body, smoky PNW summers, her husband’s quirks, including her abortion story in her tv show,13 Gamergate, quitting Twitter14 and more.

In ‘Anger is a Weapon’ she writes about the doxxing, memeifying, villainizing and dehumanizing tactics against ‘angry’ women who are of course always shrews/bitches/witches/the coldest person they ever met15 etc.

Not only are women expected to weather sexual violence, intimate partner violence, workplace discrimination, institutional subordination, the expectation of free domestic labor, the blame for our own victimization, and all the subtler, invisible cuts that undermine us daily, we are not even allowed to be angry about it.
We are expected to keep quiet about the men who prey upon us, as though their predation was our choice, not theirs. We are expected to sit quietly as men debate whether or not the state should be allowed to forcibly use our bodies as incubators. They call us ‘hosts’ and then apologize clumsily, and we are supposed to say thank you? We are expected not to complain as we are diminished, degraded and discredited.
When a woman gets angry, the typical response is: She didn’t understand what happened. She misunderstood. She’s bleeding out of her whatever.
Men can choose how they treat us and this is the world they choose. Frankly, not being angry is irrational. Feminism is the collective manifestation of female anger. Men suppress our anger for a reason. Let’s prove them right.

This is a snapshot of one woman’s rage, bafflement and incredulity that perhaps will make some readers feel less alone16 and maybe even serve as a motivation, call to action or discovery of sisterhood. I’ll bet some of these opinions and events mirror many other women’s experiences, that this anger has only grown since its publication five years ago and that the broad strokes of this feels apt now and will continue to in the future.

So fine, if you insist. This is a witch hunt. We’re the witches, and we’re hunting you.

The witches are coming, but not for your life. We’re coming for your lies. We’re coming for your legacy. We’re coming for our future.

THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES by Alix E. Harrow

When the estranged Eastwood sisters are mysteriously drawn back together during the spring equinox of 1893, it becomes clear that New Salem will never be the same again. Wild, impetuous Juniper, strong and steady Agnes and wise, quiet Bella have been separated for seven years and though they each have demons to fight, sins to outrun and betrayals to atone for, they tenuously reunite in an attempt to reawaken magic. And get the vote while they’re at it. Though witches are forbidden and magic has been purged, the sisters are fueled by visions of a dark tower, the lost stories of Old Salem and whispered spells passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter. They create a secret coven, “The Sisters of Avalon: dedicated to the restoration of women’s rights and powers”, stirring up trouble, staging uncanny protests and gathering members, knowledge and strength before making enemies of the Christian Woman’s Union and a power hungry egomaniac running for office17. But they aren’t the only clandestine society of witches in town and there’s more to the old stories if you have the will, the words and the way.

I love this book.18 It’s inventive, immersive and electrifying. Harrow’s language and plot beats fall into place so beautifully and naturally that I always feel safe in her novels. The three sisters represent the archetypes Maiden, Mother and Crone and each are perfectly individual and richly imagined. I loved watching their angsty interactions evolve over the course of the book as they rediscover their heritage, repair their relationship and reclaim their power. Their complicated bond felt realistic and their individual and collective arcs well earned.

Like all of Harrow’s books, stories, lore and legend are hugely important here. Repeating motifs, oral traditions, classic ‘witch story’ beats and homages to the old tales all tangle together with real life elements (with a feminist/fantasy twist of course)19 that lend a sense of realism both comforting and horrifying. Harrow was a historian and her love of academia and research is evident in this. Looking back at the ‘old ways’ for wisdom is a truly thrilling exercise and I enjoyed every bit of it. I especially loved magic as a stand-in for suffrage because the attacks, propaganda and suppression against suffragettes aligns quite well with witch hunts. Can’t have these pesky women having opinions, gaining power or having autonomy! Just take a look at some of this anti-suffrage imagery. Truly wild stuff. Glad its all in the past.

This also explores themes of class, race, labor rights, motherhood, queerness, intersectionality, the rewriting of history, manipulation of the press and dangers of mob mentality and, somehow, Harrow makes it all work. It teems with symbolism, nursery rhymes, poems, bedtime stories, tarot readings, ancient history, solstice rituals, animal familiars, rites and runes along with spells and rituals that span culture, geography and time. Oh and, of course, there’s a witch trial. Be prepared, things can get quite dark and really suspenseful as the enemies close in and situations get dire. Like, clear your schedule when you start this one.

I read this in a day or two because I was transfixed20 by the sisters, their mission and all the creative uses of old, archetypal story beats. There’s a terrifying villain and some light romance, but sisterhood is the main event here; family both blood and found. The power of women and their words being passed down over the decades through their specific witchy ways was thrilling and clicked so well throughout. Of course, this journey includes fire, bridles, shackles and collars as the road to women gaining power is never easy. I had never heard of a witches bridle before but damn, I’ll never forget it now. Can you imagine!? Seriously, what the fuck.

Finally, and crucially for me, Harrow always lands the tone of her endings. They aren’t happy, but they are hopeful, nuanced and correct. Like her other books, I think this cover is too pretty for the claws and teeth in its pages.

Extra Credit: Alix E. Harrow on Intertwining Witchcraft and Women’s Suffrage on LitHub

There’s no such things as witches, but there used to be.

It used to be the air was so thick with magic you could taste it on your tongue like ash. Witches lurked in every tangled wood and waited at every midnight-crossroad with sharp-toothed smiles. They conversed with dragons on lonely mountaintops and rode rowan-wood brooms across full moons; they charmed the stars to dance beside them on the solstice and rode to battle with familiars at their heels. It used to be witches were wild as crows and fearless as foxes, because the magic blazed bright and the night was theirs.

But then came the plague and the purges. The dragons were slain and the witches were burned and the night belonged to men with torches and crosses.

There’s still no such thing as witches.

But there will be.

Extra Credit: Notions of Witchcraft and Magic in the US Suffrage Movement21

Serving as a direct comparison to witch themes, suffragettes were similarly described as ineffective mothers and disobedient wives.

More Extra Credit: Witch Podcast from the BBC

Even More Extra Credit: How the Printing Press Ignited Europe’s Deadly Witch-Hunt Frenzy

As stated earlier, Circe from the it’s all greek shelf fits here nicely.

I wasn’t a fan of A Discovery of Witches as it felt boring, slow and unsexy. Nor was I a fan of Witch of Wild Things which was silly, simplistic and halfway through introduced a plot point that negated the entire emotional arc of the main character.