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estfortis · 6 years ago

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Book Review: Magic for the Resistance by Michael M. Hughes

I was given an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review

I went into this book ready to love it. I was so excited to see the flip side of the conservative Christian monopoly on spirituality in politics. But I’ll be honest, I have really mixed feelings about this book.

I’ll start with the good, since I do think that overall it’s a worthy and valuable addition to the published literature on contemporary magic. Hughes includes a great overview of magic as a tool of the oppressed throughout the book. The very beginning of the book consists of a survey of political movements, social uprisings, and protests that have been key aspects of witchcraft across cultures and throughout history. This is very much an overview, and doesn’t go into great depth or detail on any of them, but is an excellent jumping off point for readers to do their own research on any of the movements that are personally resonant. He also does a great job emphasizing the use of magic as something that can both bolster feelings of personal power -- especially in times where we may feel powerless -- and also to bring people together to enact change on both magical and mundane levels. In this way, the book is fantastic. Hughes uses his own example of the Spell to Bind Donald Trump which you may remember from the time right around or after the inauguration. I didn’t recognize Hughes’ name when I got this book, but I certainly remembered the spell that included a stubby orange candle and the Tower card! This spell was developed for Hughes and his personal circle to feel that they could participate in a form of resistance, but it quickly went viral and witches across the country participated, combining it with demonstrations in front of Trump Tower and leaving piles of baby carrots and orange candles in their wake. The hashtag #magicresistance took off on social media, and even those who did the ritual because they thought it was funny and not because they believed in its power were reinvigorated and encouraged anew to become or remain politically active. Incidentally, Hughes also reminds us of the power of humor, both to keep perspective and to make our movements feel accessible and relate-able.

To be honest, though, I really think the major contribution that Hughes makes with this book is his advice on how to plan demonstrations, protests, and other political actions. His advice on humor, as stated above, is intermixed with logistic suggestions for meeting up with other activist witches and planning actions as well as ideas for guerrilla magic - such as leaving talismans of protection at women’s clinics, leaving Justice tarot cards with the names of unjustly convicted activists or victims of police violence on the courthouse steps, etc. He does include a section of pre-written spells and ritual ideas, but after the rest of the book they felt kind of superfluous to me. However, perhaps other readers will appreciate the templates he offers, and will be inspired to enact them or similar spells on their own. Even if his specific spells don’t resonate with me, though, I have not seen a Black Lives Matter spell before, or a Hex the NRA response to the ‘thoughts and prayers’ offered by politicians. They were powerful simply by virtue of existing in print, and for that I am grateful.

Additionally, I particularly appreciated Hughes’ discussion of using magical means to intervene in individual actions via curses, hexes, or binding spells. His take is that if you are willing to take mundane action to reach the same result, then using magic is not unethical. That is, if you are willing to write a letter trying to get a politician to change their stance on an issue, why would you be averse to using magical means to do the same? If you are willing to get a restraining order to keep someone from stalking another person, why would you not also enact a binding spell - essentially a magical restraining order - to add some oomph to the process? He does not advocate cursing willy-nilly or binding someone when a conversation could do the trick, but he is pragmatic and views magic as just one more tool for us to keep in our tool box.

If you’ve read my other book reviews, you can probably guess what my first critique is going to be. Cultural appropriation is a huge problem in magical and pagan communities across the country (and probably the world, but I’m most familiar with the U.S.), and this book is no different. I don’t know what kind of mentoring, training, or initiation Hughes may have undergone, and I certainly don’t want to position myself as any sort of gatekeeper, but I do know that this is a white man offering ideas on how to make mojo bags in the vein of Hoodoo and Conjure traditions (conjure, rootwork, etc, come up frequently in the book); he regularly references Qabbalistic magic (maybe he’s Jewish, but he definitely writes about it in a way that feels like he’s dabbling), and his rituals often use components of or reference traditions with little to no background on why you might use these methods, in what contexts they are or are not appropriate, etc. I was able to pull the useful pieces out of the book and gloss over the pieces that felt inappropriate, but for the most part I am not part of the groups that he is sampling from. If I were, I may have a harder time ignoring it or feeling like the rest of the book was worth it. Mostly, it felt somewhat hypocritical to uncritically sample from closed or initiatory traditions-- or even traditions that may not be closed but are associated with specific, historically oppressed populations-- in a book on social justice.

My other critique is maybe a little picky, but while individual sections were well written, the flow of the book seemed odd at points. We switched back and forth from a history lesson to a discussion of magic that felt at least at the 201 level back to a 101 lesson on altar set up and how to cast a circle then a discussion of street activism. I appreciate that the book is geared toward a variety of experience levels and abilities, but it felt like perhaps it could have been organized better. Guidelines on altar set up, how to do basic magical actions like casting a circle, etc, could have been included in an appendix along with the individual spells. That may have contributed to a better flow overall, and left more space for a sustained discussion of the political implications of what magical tradition you choose to work with and why, or even just how to match your ritual to your action to your intended political outcome.

In any case, I do think this book is worth reading, especially for those new to activism of any kind, magical or mundane. With that said, I am unlikely to buy it or keep it as a reference, since my favorite parts are the broad ideas rather than the specific spells that I might need to review before performing. Overall I give it 3/5 stars.

#NetGalley #MagicForTheResistance #magicresistance #MichaelMHughes #book review #witch #witchblr #magical activism

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krowyn · 7 years ago

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Pagan, Witch, but not Wiccan?

“If you do not believe in magick, you will never find it.” -unknown

These words ring truer today since the first time I read them. Magick is around us. It is the dirt that we walk. Thriving in the plants that it feeds. Rushing in the waters that fall upon the earth and flow through the lakes, rivers, and seas. It is ever present in the moving wind that spreads the elements. It is the warmth of the sun, and the light of the moon. It is found in the ecosystems that balance the planet. We are magick. The essence of life and evolution. It is inherent to the world around us, our perception of it, and the faith that we are driven to. It is present in the world around, and the world to which is veiled beyond. The mere chance of life to take hold on our world, where, by our lack of evidence, is nonexistent elsewhere in the vast cosmos of space, is extremely rare. Where some see intelligent design, others see luck. The more we understand about the world around us, the more questions they raised, than answers produced. The more we understand that we truly know nothing, the better we are to embrace it. I always looked at the balance of the two; science being the how but not the why.

In order to understand the why, we have to look inside ourselves. Understand what our heart and soul believe, and take the journey. Simply, it is faith in the world around us, and faith that we exist, because we need to exist, and that their is a purpose to walking the world of spirit and of men. It is belief in the soul. And, if we believe in that, and we understand that energy is never truly destroyed, merely transformed, then how can we not have faith in the spiritual energy moving to another plane? The answer is simple: belief.

One must take the first step, in order to begin the journey.

Most people want to believe in something that is greater than us. Others need empirical evidence. What is evident to one, may not be evident to another. We all come to our own path, in our own time. Perhaps, some never really do. Believing in something greater than ourselves is how we discover magick. The world around us is filled with wonder, and potential life beyond our world is not only exciting, but hard for some faith driven people to accept.

I initially grew up Catholic. My grandparents instilled the concept of faith at an early age. Although I believed, growing up in the Church, and seeing the concept of condemnation firsthand, made me question teachings. In order to take that first step, one must hear the call of gods, of the spirits among the trees, above us, and below us. Then, you must heed that call. The most challenging piece of an awakened soul is shedding belief for new teachings - all of what you thought you knew; looking at the world as a child with fresh eyes. I knew I was gay as a kid. I knew it, like I know that I am a witch now, and forever. I always felt and saw things from different perspectives, seeing and hearing things that others did not, or chose not to. There were no answers in the church for me. Only condemnation of sexual perversion and blasphemy. At 12, I was thrust into the world of spirit, and I saw more in one moment, than most will see in their entire lives. Shedding the skin of what you know does not come easy. It is a series of tests that will allow answers, and raise more questions. It is a test of faith, and power, and trust. To trust in the gods, is to trust in yourself. It comes with shedding fears. Opening to what is beyond us. Walking the line of tomorrow, today, and peering into the void beyond the veil, only glimpsing the true self.

Understanding nature’s cycles is the path of the Pagan

There are as many starting points for the personal journey, than there are stars that we haven’t seen. The one thing that I do understand, is all paths lead to the same end. The journey is what it’s about.

Defining a pagan, is like explaining the color red to someone born blind. It is simple, yet entirely complex. In the simplest form, a pagan is a term used to define anyone outside of the accepted Abrahamic foundations. In its most complex way, it is the cycle of nature and the cosmos itself, and how the human balances their lives with the natural, and in that complexity of life, that we know nothing of why or how we came to be, but theorize in scientific and spiritual essences to understand the very flow, reason, and evolution of all things.

Not all pagans are witches. Not all of us perform ritual. There are some that honor the cycle of the land, as it flows with the seasons. Honoring the cycles through the growing of food, raising animals, tending to the evolution of our species and ecosystems, and the balance of our life and the effect on the environment.

I believe that we, pagans, in trusting the cycles of nature, inherently want to understand what led us here, right now, on this journey, in this time. In doing so, we look to our ancestral lines, and that of the ancients. We study what remains after great crusades destroyed civilization’s, and entire faith systems. We look to understand ourselves through what histories or artifacts we can find. The truth is, most of what was spoken orally was never written. A lot of what was written was either lost, locked away in vaults, or destroyed. We have some insight into our ancestral lines. We examine the ancients through vast monuments aligned, for only theorists can say, to star systems in the sky. And we see through ancient harvest festivals, that our pagan ancestors honored the land, and followed her rhythm.

Wicca is the foundation for modern witchcraft

This statement is true in how most of us new to the craft learn. No longer, in most free societies, do we see witchcraft being hunted down, and thrown to the fires. We do see condemnation from sources that choose not expand belief, or lack a foundation of conscience.

Wicca began its modernization in the early twentieth century by a man named Gerald Gardner (1884-1964). He paved the first road of our modern understanding of what a witch is, or can be. After living abroad and fighting in WWI, he returned to England in the 1930′s with his understanding of indigenous practices learned along his journeys. There, he discovered the New Forest Coven, a practice of European occult leftover from the pre-Christian era. He branched out and created his idea of modern occult practice, Wicca, combining his experience with kabbalah, as well as the writings of Aleister Crowley, among others. [1]

The further you dive into the origins of Wicca, and understand the branch from Aleister, to Gardner, and the work of his apprentices, the transformation of the various occult studies modernized into the general practice of the witch today. Evolution is inevitable, and much has changed in the landscape of practice.

“And ye harm none, do what ye will”

The Wiccan Rede is the guiding principles of the Wiccan way. I first discovered these words from a book gifted me at 13 years old, authored by Silver Ravenwolf, To Light a Sacred Flame. There, in black and white, I understood that my love of all things magick as a child were not for wont, casting my first spell - her Spell of Wisdom and Strategy. My first spell was successful, in such a way that it awakened my hidden knowledge, and thrust me further on the path of a witch.

If there were a survey, and I had to choose my religion, and check the box, I would be pressed to check Wicca, as it is the closest way to describe my faith that is not solely Abrahamic. It is a protected in the US under the first amendment, as seen in such cases as:Roberts v. Ravenwood Church of Wicca, (249 Ga. 348) in 1982. [2] To protect your right to practice the craft, you must know you have the right. To whatever witch path you adhere, one thing is clear, we are protected like any other Abrahamic faith to practice our craft, and will protect our right to do so.

In truth, I am a witch, but I am not a Wiccan

Wicca, in its simplest, is a nature based spiritual path, honoring the duality of the divine masculine and the divine feminine. It is a polytheistic practice that calls out the eternal goddess and god inherent in all things, birthed from the cosmos, as her star children and of the earthen womb. Wicca embraces witchcraft, and the seeker. It understands that, to know ourselves, is to know our gods, and the spirits that dwell within the elements. The foundation connects the masculine or feminine through the moon, and solar phases; through the cycles of nature and the seasons, and the ever turning wheel.

Wicca is a path toward a priest and priestess. It is a working coven that comes together, or a solitary practice. I have had the honor of working with fellow believers on my path. I have never been part of a coven. In some instances, that can be a reflection of bias, my own bias against organized faith, and the bias that can come from that organization. An initiate must go through phases and certain practices, moving forward into the craft, leveling up, so to speak. That is not my truth. My truth tells me that we all have inherent powers and gifts, and have followed many paths in our current, and previous, incarnations. That a witch can be of any creed, or any sex. I believe some Catholics. among others, are witches, but tap their power through other tools. True magick lies within the heart of the practitioner, within morals, or the lack thereof.

Wicca is hetero-normative, calling the aspects of the male and female. Leaving little inherent ritual for the LGBT witch. Ritual is designed in taking the form of the magick into the male when calling the god, and the same for calling the goddess. Within sex magick, love magick, and personal growth, these themes continue. When in truth, our souls can be inherently feminine or masculine, born to a body that is either male or female - a male that is gay could have a feminine soul, like a straight male is seen to have a masculine soul, and vice versa. While I respect that the majority of Wiccans may disagree, I know that living as a gay male witch, little has crossed my path regarding the embracing of this thinking, or inclusion in mainstream circles. Please do not mistake my words for thinking that the community is homophobic. We only see examples of this in the white nationalist movements that embrace paganism, and corrupt its beauty. From the perspective of a gay witch, like most things in mainstream culture, it gravitates toward hetero-normative gravitas.

To be a witch, is to to walk the cycle, to know the light and the dark. To embrace what is unknown, and learn lessons. We must understand that darkness, does not necessarily mean evil. From the void, we’re born. A recurring theme for me is morality and intuition. Doing what one must to maintain balance and justice. To protect, one must know how harm is cast. To heal, one must know how to curse. To give honor, one must know how to dishonor. To be good, is to recognize that evils in people, and spirit, exist. To know these things is to know the way of the witch. To embrace the light, you must bear witness to the dark. To fight evil, you must cast good. Magick, in its truest form is neither good or bad, and knows no color, but the heart, soul, and experience of the witch leads power’s use. To be a witch, is to return, times three, that which was sent to harm. The threefold law can be recognized as karma. In a way I believe that you get what you give. If you seek justice, you reap justice. If you seek evil, you reap that, transforming your soul. To recognize the yin, is to know the yang.

A witch is a witch, no matter the creed. To fight injustice, you must know injustice. The morale of the witch, is inherently good, and evil–it’s your choice to harm, and it is your choice to heal. Use your power wisely, and learn from your time as the fool, for one day, you may be foolish again.

* Share or reblog as you will. These words/spells are my own, and if you wish to post or print on any other forum, please reach out to me, and credit.*

References:

1. ThoughtCo. Gerald Gardner &Gardnerian Wicca

2. Is Wicca a Religion? Rulings by US courts

#witch #witchcraft #magick #spells #spell #magic #magical #seer #samhain #pagan #pagan witch #gay witch #gay pagan #magicresistance #wicca #wiccan #druid #celtic witch

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