Litsy

Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials | Marion Gibson

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This book specifically talks about (imp) trials in history where someone was accused of being a "witch", why they were accused, who accused them, and what was at stake. We get to see how accusers conflated this idea of being a "witch" with religious beliefs involving the devil, as a way to really people to their side (bc oh no, the devil).

But my fav part was the contemporary section. I think that part brought things into perspective #feminism

8 likes

LitStephanie

Something in the Walls | Daisy Pearce

bailed

How to properly evaluate a teen girl who has experienced trauma and now is withdrawn, says spooky things in a weird voice, and believes a witch is watching her, per the actual psychologist (and a reporter she barely knows but eagerly joined in this trip) in this book:

1. Pack a bag and move into the family's small house for an undecided length of time.
2. Have one private conversation with the afflicted girl of maybe 30 minutes' duration.
👇

LitStephanie 3. Perform a SEANCE like preteens at a 1980s slumber party to give credence and an audience to the poor girl's delusions/acting out, or, if there is some evil witch trying to possess the girl, she can be invited right in and cause further damage and trauma.

What? You think that sounds wildly inappropriate, unprofessional, and unethical, even if there is something supernatural going on? Then this is not the book for you. DNF. 1w

dabbe #hailthebail! 🙌🏻 #betterbooksahead 1w

10 likes2 comments

monalyisha

Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic | Tabitha Stanmore

Stanmore couldn‘t have stood less of chance.

However, much as I loved Idle Grounds, Moominland knocked it out of the running on the left side of the board. AND, much as I loved Moominland, I expect my Wild Card to sideswipe it in the end.

The drama!!!

#2025ReadingBracket
#ReadingBracket2025

CSeydel

monalyisha *Technically,* Anne of Green Gables should‘ve won the spot this month. But it‘s a long-time favorite. If I include it, I know it‘ll cease being a competition. So, let‘s agree to ignore technicalities. I almost always do, anyway! 😜 2w

peanutnine I don't count rereads for my brackets, it feels like cheating and I want to see what new favorites I acquire! So I totally get you on that 2w

CSeydel @monalyisha @peanutnine Same!! 2w

monalyisha @peanutnine @CSeydel Glad we‘re in agreement about how to rebel! 😎 2w

51 likes4 comments

monalyisha

Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic | Tabitha Stanmore

June ended up being more about quantity than quality. I‘m still surpassing my reading goals but I didn‘t LOVE anything this month (other than Anne, of course, which was a reread). Cunning Folk seemed like it was going to really do it for me, for a while, but it fell short stylistically.

Better luck next month, me!

#AWreads2025

57 likes

lil1inblue

Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with Your Coven | Jaya Saxena, Jess Zimmerman

Did my bestie and I wander away from the group today to collect water from Mama Superior, rocks, and driftwood for magical purposes? Yes. Yes we did. No one should be surprised. #sorrynotsorry #haikuhive #haikuaday

lil1inblue @jari-chan @dabbe @itchyfeetreader @kristy_k @debinhawaii @mimi28
@thebookhippie @jenlovesjt47 @reggie @vivastory @eggs @jdiehr
@thespineview @cbee @julieclair @anncrystal @bellabella @booksandcoffee4me @susanita @kelli7990
2w

AnnCrystal 🤩🐝🪄🌊🐝🙏🏼💝. 2w

dabbe L🤩VE!!! 🖤🐝🩶 2w

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JenlovesJT47 Love this!! 💚💚💚 2w

CBee Love this so much ♥️ 2w

AmyG 👊🏻🙌🏻❤️ 2w

TheBookHippie Love!!!! 💚💚💚💚💚 2w

Itchyfeetreader 💚🐝 2w

julieclair Love this! What fun!!! 💚💚💚 2w

lil1inblue @AnnCrystal @dabbe @jenlovesjt47 @cbee @amyg @thebookhippie @Itchyfeetreader @julieclair Thanks, y'all! It was so wonderful to fall into old habits with my oldest friend. 🥰🥰🥰 2w

Eggs How lovely 👏🏻👏🏻 1w

46 likes11 comments

Robotswithpersonality

The Witching Year: A Memoir of Earnest Fumbling Through Modern Witchcraft | Diana Helmuth

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Honest, pragmatic, vulnerable.
Subjectively, I can say, as an atheist who has previously dabbled in neopaganism/Wicca, there was a lot of relatable content in here.
But there were also a multitude of experiences and thoughts that stretched my credulity: I couldn't follow the author in all of her reasoning, interpretation, anxiety, over-thinking, and what appeared to be emotional trauma, occasionally leaking out during her practice. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? This is a writer recounting many excerpts from a year and a day exploring the religions associated with Witchcraft as well as the practice of Witchcraft, reading and interviewing, doing spells and rituals and attending seasonal celebrations and community events. 3w

Robotswithpersonality 3/? But it's also a memoir of this woman reflecting on her (lack of) relationship with her deceased father and the shared life with the atheist boyfriend she lives with as they continue to support each other, both struggle to find a more satisfying living situation together, transitioning from the quarantine to the new reality of an ongoing pandemic, her people-pleasing tendencies, and how this all spilled over into her explorations of Witchcraft. 3w

Robotswithpersonality 4/? I loved the writing, it's good, memorable and often funny, not always in a self-deprecating manner.
Helmuth retains a grounded sensitivity to issues of cultural appropriation, racism, history of colonialism, gimmick/snake oil/consumerism which can creep into the craft and religion, as well as raising some points specific to a more recent look at Wicca: the limitations provided by older texts' emphasis on the gender binary of the God and 3w

Robotswithpersonality 5/? Goddess, the maiden, mother, crone dynamic, the orthodoxy and intricacy of ritual that is theorized to have a linkage to many early practitioners having a Judeo-Christian organized religious background, the widespread acknowledgement that this is a tradition created in the twentieth century, with no historical proof of ancient linkage points, as much as earlier symbolism has been cited/borrowed, which the author reckons with at length. 3w

Robotswithpersonality 6/6 It's an odd paradox, to watch a belief system and magical craft arguably structured around more religious freedom and individual empowerment cause such frequent quandaries in a person who went looking for spiritual fulfillment, specific answers, but the journey of exploration is authentic, and I appreciate the book for holding steady in this regard, relaying the doubts and discoveries as they unfold.

⚠️Animal death
3w

9 likes5 comments