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Book Review: The Witch's Art of Incantation, 2nd ed. by Roger J. Horne

10/10, I'd buy again for what it is: but you should know what it is before you buy it

This is a review of the second edition, which is about 100 pages longer than the original and contains 55 additional incantations.

What's it about?

This is a book of translated and edited historical and folk incantations to be used in syncretic folk witchcraft or any form of witchcraft. These incantations are grouped into 9 categories:

Seeking the Old Ones

Calling to the Green World

Love and Spurned Love

Coinage and Prosperity

Curses and Maledictions

Spirit Flight and Second Sight

Blessings and Benedictions

Heretical Psalmistry

Miscellaneous latinate charms

Besides a brief introduction, the book is just incantations.

It's not a spellbook. It doesn't tell you to collect candles or herbs, or what day of the week to work them on, or the moon phase, or whatever. Just as it says on the tin, it's a book of incantations.

However, Horne does have a very handy section at the beginning called Approaches to the Art of Incantation.

Here he describes methods and techniques to help empower incantations (I recommend not skipping it), a framework for understanding the power of words, and folk magic actions that may be combined with incantations, such as the burning of candles with pins stuck in, or speaking over poppets.

If you've skipped Folk Witchcraft, definitely check out this section.

(As Horne explains in the introduction, the first ed. of this book was a companion book to his other text, Folk Witchcraft. Apparently, Folk Witchcraft provided a great deal of context and lore surrounding the use of the incantations themselves.

The second ed. has been developed into a standalone text, but Horne still recommends looking to Folk Witchcraft if you want more context.)

Where do these incantations come from?

Horne makes it clear that he primarily sourced incantations from Europe and America (primarily Appalachia) not because they're particularly better in any way, but because these are the areas his ancestors and practice stem from. He makes an outspoken statement against any perceived Eurocentric authority, and warns people to not take his area of focus to mean there is more power within those cultures than within others.

That being given, these incantations are sourced historically from at least the first century onward, from a wide variety of sources, including Greco-Roman, Irish, Scottish, Cornish, Welsh, French, German, Appalachian, Icelandic, and more.

When possible, Horne notes where the incantation originated from, and in what manner he edited it.

All of these incantations have been edited for use by the modern reader; they are Horne's original adaptations. This is not a historical reference.

An example?

To give you an idea of the contents, this is one of the shorter incantations in the book, "A Call to Fire."

A Call to Fire Fire untamed, lustrous, and bright, power behind the sun, moon and every star. Aetherial fire, source of life, most splendid flower, heat-bringer, light-bringer, hear me, radiant fire. [Origin: 3 BC - 1 AD. Greco-Roman. Adapted and rearranged with poetic license after The Hymns of Orpheus. pg. 100.]

This incantation may be used to charm offering candles, to consecrate sacred fires, to call forth salamanders or fire elementals, to honor a god or spirit of fire, and so forth - the application is up to you.

Is the variety solid? Are they versatile enough for use even if you don't consider yourself to be a folk witch?

A big reason I recommend this book so highly isn't just because it's handy for me, but because I think it is very versatile.

The variety of what's presented is exceptional; there are charms to hail the seasons and the moons, the Old Ones and plant allies, to cure grief and wrath, to call a lover, to steal wealth, to conjure all varieties of helpful spirits, to reveal a thief, to hag-ride, to skin-change, to induce second-sight, to charm your cards for better readings, and I could go on and on.

In addition, because Horne sources everything where he can, it's a wealth to look not only at his adaptations but compare the charms to the historical originals, and thereby gain inspiration for developing your own incantations.

The best part for me is that they're all usable. It's not a spellbook where you can't get some ingredients so you can't use some spells. They're incantations that you pair with whatever spell elements you want to include, including just using them on their own.

But are they sexy? Will I feel like I'm living deliciously?

Yes. You will feel like you are living deliciously. You will feel like ye olde wytche who feeds blood and honey to their familiar, and steals the potency of men at night as you roam in your second skin; you will believe you may only be harmed with a silver bullet when you take the form of a hare to rob milk from cows.

Real quick, what's up with those 'heretical psalms' and latinate charms?

The last (and smallest) portion of the book more heavily leans into syncreticism. Horne's attitude in the book is that folk witchcraft is by practicality and oftentimes necessity a syncretic one, and that witches use what's on hand in order to get the job done. He references the importance of the influence of the Church on modern cunning traditions, including both the adoption of psalms and also of latinate language.

Twenty-three psalms are printed in the book along with recommended magical uses, along with a list of the magical uses of psalms (which you'd have to look up yourself).

Finally, Horne has a fifteen incantations in Latin. Or, latinate, as he keeps clarifying. He hasn't taken charms and translated them into Latin, rather he's edited historical folk charms that were recited in liturgical Latin by the people who used them - again emphasizing syncreticism in folk magic.

If you're not into Christian syncreticism, I doubt this section would be of use to you. This section constitutes 80 total pages out of 319, or about a quarter of the book. Personally I'd still get it for the more pagan incantations even if I didn't want the more syncretic ones, but it's certainly not to everyone's tastes.

(Be advised that there is a lot of Scottish folk magic in this book, plenty of which calls on Mary as divine authority. Obviously you can change the incantations as you please, but if you're allergic to these things, be aware they are peppered throughout the text.)

Chicken, who would you personally recommend this book to?

I would recommend this book to a practitioner who is:

Ready to start seriously investing in their personal repertoire of spells

Confident enough to experiment with spellcrafting

Sick and tired of spellbooks that recommend inaccessible ingredients, and just want building blocks to make their own full-format spells

Wanting a resource that helps with getting practical magic done within their current paradigm, without having to adopt a lot of new ritual aspects or theories

Looking for inspiration to expand their current practice without having to restart their practice

Looking for resources on Christian or heretical witchcraft

Anyone seeking resources on the power of words in practical sorcery

I'm a pagan, not a witch, and I love hymns and incantations. Would I like it?

To be honest, I doubt it.

Yes, the book starts with incantations to the Old Ones, who are ostensibly gods; but anyone with an eye to see can tell that the incantations all either relate to the Devil or the Queen of Witches. Also, one for Fenris ("darkling wolf") and one for the Sun.

Like 5 of the incantations may clearly be associated with Greek gods, but those gods are not named and the association appears to be selected based on their relevance to witchcraft.

A vast majority of all incantations in the book are related to spellwork and conjuring nature spirits. These incantations were designed for use in magic, which includes calling spirits and compelling action; not so much veneration or worship.

Readability and Accessibility

The physical quality of the book is disappointing. And that's not the author's fault and has no bearing on the actual contents, but right out of the box I was afraid the poor thing was going to fall apart. However it was cheap as hell so I have nothing to complain about, this thing was like $15 for a paperback. It has the quality you would expect from such a cheap purchase.

The text is sort of an artsy one? It's a serif font that's not too out there, but it's smaller than I was expecting, and my eyes don't love it. You will have to find your reading glasses for this one. All his books I bought are published in this typeface so I assume it's a choice.

Horne loves big paragraphs and long sentences. I find his writing style to be clear and easy to follow, but it's not a lower grade reading level. You may expect a maximum of two paragraphs per page in the prose portions.

The incantations themselves are broken up into much more manageable parts, always containing no more than 2 lines per paragraph break.

I believe Horne did this on purpose to compel the reader to find their own cadence in the incantations. But, it has the added effect of contributing to readability. The way each incantation is split up makes it very easy to follow and not lose your place.

6/10 for physical manufacture; I really wish the typeface was less artsy and more standard, but I could still read it through, especially once I got used to it.

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Finished my first book of the year! Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler has cut me open, ripped my heart out, chopped it up, put it back and stapled my skin together. Probably top 5 greatest Christmas gifts i’ve received, my sister knocked it out of the park with this one.

No spoilers, but I do want to issue a warning to those: This is a NECESSARY read as a black woman, but the plot does mirror issues we are going through right now. I truly had to put the book down for a week because I started having nightmares and what ifs about certain things actually becoming real. I am on the hunt for the sequel and just other works by Ms. Butler because black sci-fi dystopian is officially my favorite genre.

Share y’all’s thoughts if you have read it!

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Laurence's most famous actions take place during his years as an Aerial Corps captain/admiral, and he will go down in history as Captain Will Laurence Of Temeraire, but his naval past remains the biggest part of his career as a soldier and he will never forget his roots.

And neither will his friends from the Corps.

In fact, they will NOT let him forget. Even years into his service in the Corps, even if he has taken to aviator life like a fish to water, even if everyone has a deep respect for him as a dragon captain (and still thinks of him as a competent aviator after The Events), even if he would look weird in blue Navy uniform to anyone who has known him since 1805, deep down in everyone's mind, he's still basically the Token Naval Guy.

Someone has a question about ships or sea? Immediately asks Laurence.

A Navy captain makes the news? "Was it one of your former buddies, Laurence?" "For the last time, I don't know every single captain sailing in England"

Jokes about seamen? Laurence braces himself because half of the time he's included in the joke, even if the punchline is making fun of how he is Not Like The Other Navymen

A couple of years after the war, Emily and Demane unexpectedly drop by in a rush and Laurence panics for a moment, before it turns out they want to settle if a weird fact they heard about sailing life is true, and of all their social circle, the only man who can answer the question AND be honest is Will Laurence.

And yet if someone outside the Corps calls Laurence a sailor, every single aviator will scoff at you and sneer that excuse you, that's Captain Laurence, respectable aviator of the Aerial Corps, that you're talking about, Sir.

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It’s 2025 and it’s high time we start writing more unapologetic merlin in magic reveals because that boy deserved kingdoms on their KNEES for him

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Legitimate *pro bono legal services* don’t exist without a good reason. In a few of the exmormon groups I’m in you’ll see regular posts saying stuff like “Look what my lawyer sent me today!” with a pic of their resignation confirmation letter from the church.

You know. Just stuff that a normal average church that is definitely not actually a cult would do. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

🙄

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my summary of a study in pink:

John: I am tired. Tired man from war. PTSD does not stand for proficient talent for sucking dick. Seen enough violence to last me a lifetime. My poor leg. Tired.

Sherlock: yo wanna check out this dead body

John: hell yes

Mrs hudson: I'm not ur maid

Sherlock and john: ok but when is our tea gonna be ready

Sherlock: *deduces john*

John: brilliant

Sherlock, not used to praise: uhhhhhhhhhghhh dO iT agAiN

John: so how do u do the deduction thing?

Sherlock: your puny brain couldn't comprehend the answer

John: yeah well i actually have a sister not a brother

Sherlock: wow fuck me i guess.

John: soo any girlfriends?

Sherlock, sweating: not rlly my area

John: boyfriends???

Sherlock, panicking: i'm uh married to my work john

John, also panicking: oh yeah i'm uh not gay obviously ha ha

Sally: don't talk to sherlock, he's mad

John: ok boomer

Sherlock: shut the fuck up Anderson you fucking idiot

Nobody:

Nobody:

Mrs Hudson and Angelo looking at John and Sherlock: ha gay

Mycroft: Sherlock is my arCH NEMESIS

John: that's a thing? lmao

Sherlock: you're my brother dipstick

John: wow and i thought i had a dysfunctional family oof

John: why are you happy?

Sherlock: :) Moriarty :)

John: who the everloving fuck is that?

Sherlock: :) no idea :)

John, trying to flirt: hello

Anthea: goodbye

Sherlock: good shot

John: owo wdym i have never shot a gun in my life

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ao3 is back up and i’m begging you. comment on fics. did you like it? say “i liked this!” and the fic author will be giddy w excitement i promise. longer comments are adored, yes, but so are the shorter acknowledgments of enjoyment!

i think back to fanfic from ten years ago, and the comments were abundant! maybe this is part of the “content” discourse and fried attention spans idk but, fic writers agonise over and spend hours on their work, and they put it up for free.

it’s also fun for readers! idk how much others do this, but i love reading comments on the fics i love, seeing if ppl pointed out a line i also liked or reacted to a part in the same way as me. and often i find more things to admire about the fic from the comments! but that can only happen if ppl comment on fics!

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we may never get to see the exact moments on the show, but i’m willing to bet sherlock realising he was in love with john was like !divine thunderclap!, orgasmic ‘oh’, a mindpalace deduction climax filmed by wes anderson himself. meanwhile john’s was probably earlier on, a nondescript breakfast at baker street, sherlock entering the kitchen and yawning with pillow creases etched into his cheeks, rubbing his eyes. john gets that sinking feeling you get when you Know before you actually know and he thinks, mostly resigned, “oh fuck.” 

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Words from On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

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HorrorVale is a Spooky, Horror themed adventure releasing October 1st, 2024! Join Alice the Skeleton Witch on her journey through undead towns, scary forests, dark swamps, and more as she hunts for her lost Dog! Wishlist today and be there when it drops!

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Hey folks!

If you haven heard we're crowdfunding the SOFTCOVER ANTHOLOGY EDITION of PRISM KNIGHTS (Winter's completed series of short stories featuring queer knights of varying identities)!

The picture above is the iteration of the stories from the last run of the campaign printed as mini soft covers in a boxed set. These were super well received we'd be so happy to bring these back-- and potentially the Hardcover:

As mentioned in our last post, these stories are a bit of a 6 shades of Gay situation where each colour of the rainbow follows a different queer identity via knights and royals... and maybe even.... a dragon~ They're a messy bunch. Here's our quick pitch of each of the stories:

Coqelicot -- a redux of Rapunzel featuring evil lesbian knights. Bronze -- a redux of The Princess & The Pea featuring a nonbinary, ace knight caught in a time loop. Lamplight -- a redux of Beauty & The Beast featuring a trans knight learning to love and forgive herself. Juniper -- a redux of Cinderella featuring a tragic gay knight running from his past and right into a blacksmith's arms~ Sapphire -- a redux of Sleeping Beauty featuring a polyam ship between a dragon (she/her), a knight (she/they) and a royal (they/them)~ Velvet -- a redux of 12 Princesses featuring a bisexual knight overcoming grief.

While the stories are in a Series you don't need to read them in order but the characters DO overlap here and there!

If any of this sounds like its your jam.... consider...

backing the project~

The softcover anthology has been funded, we've hit almost 3 stretch goals so far and if this keeps going the way its going we.... might ACTUALLY hit our goal to unlock a fancy little hardcover redux!

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HA, you thought the trauma was over for Merlin

First >> Prev >> Next

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do you ever think about how sometimes it just... takes one random message? and suddenly you find yourself with a best friend or in constant conversation with someone who lives on the other side of the world but is just as much of a freak as you are or maybe you find yourself in love with someone without a last name but with so much kindness and affection in their words and presence. crazy how life and love and friendship just happen

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What article would you recommend to someone just getting into queer history?

It would really depend on the person and what they are looking for in terms of queer history, but how about we do a choose-your-own-adventure type answer!

Are you looking for a look at how we got to where we are today in terms of queer history?

Read: Magnus Hirschfeld or Maryam Khatoon Molkara

Are you looking to find comfort in the fact that queerness has existed throughout history?

Read: Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum or Sir Ewan Forbes 

Are you looking to have some of your preconceived notions about queer history to be challenged?

Read: The Golden Orchid Society or Rotimi Fani-Kayode

Does queer history intimidate you because you are afraid of it being a list of tragedies?

Read: The Ladies of Llangollen or Jackie Shane

Do you want to learn about the intersection of queer and disability history?

Read: Lou Sullivan or Victoria Arellano 

Do you want queerness that resonates with lesser-known/discussed identities?

Read: Kristina King of Sweden or Zinaida Gippius 

Are you looking for more information about names you already recognize?

Read: Sappho or Langston Hughes

Are you looking to be pulled into a rabbit hole of queer history?

Read: Edward Carpenter or Xulhaz Mannan 

Are you looking for someone within your region?

Read: Making Queer History by country

Just searching for an odd little slice of queer history to wet your appetite?

Read: Elmyr de Hory or Salim Halali 

Just want to know something new?

Read: Bajazid Doda or Geoffrey Bawa

Just looking for a story to grip you emotionally?

Read: Emmeline Freda Du Faur or Zdeněk Koubek 

I hope you find something in this list that helps!

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