Modern Magic
Stories, Rituals, and Spells for Contemporary Witches
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In this enchanted sibling to the cult classic Modern Tarot, literary and tarot icon Michelle Tea returns to her magical roots, offering stories, little-known history, traditions, rituals, and spells for any witch seeking a deeper spiritual practice.
A self-described DIY witch and professional tarot reader, literary and feminist icon Michelle Tea provides a fascinating magical history and spiritual traditions from around the world, giving us the tools, spells, and rituals to navigate our stressed-out, consumer-driven lives. Witty, down-to-earth, and wise, she bewitches us with tales of how she crafted her own magical practice and came into her own. She also shares enchanting stories from her earliest witchy days as a goth teen in Massachusetts as well as insights from her adult practice. Modern Magic gives us the tools to tap into a stronger, distinctive magic that lies within us, one that incorporates queer, feminist, anti-racist, intersectional values. These include:
Love Magic for the 21st centuryHexes for when you really need them (and an exploration of magical ethics)Sleep Magic, from dream interpretation traditions to prophetic dreamsThoughts on why magic practice is spiritual practice
Michelle shares her truth and observations about the world around us as well as her vision for what it could be. For novice and seasoned witches alike, Modern Magic is the essential guide for defining and deepening a practice that aligns with our individual political and spiritual values.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"The gorgeousness of a modern magic tradition is that we get to curate it to suit us exactly," according to this flexible and creative outing from memoirist Tea (Modern Tarot). After ditching her childhood Catholicism in 1980s Boston and embracing queerness and feminism, the author developed a "fully bespoke" witchcraft practice influenced by (mostly European) "mythology and history," pop culture, and "queer ancestry." Encouraging readers to shape their own witchcraft practice "to suit who you are," Tea offers a broad array of eclectic practices, including spells honoring different goddesses (one asks the Polish goddess Leda for "increased femme magic, strong femme protection"); "kitchen witchery" that uses food as a tool for practice (walnuts are "sacred to the planet Jupiter, handy for spells looking to bring about good fortune and jolly times"; sage is "helpful for grounding after you've been wounded or shaken"); and darker hex magic that can be valuable if not used for "petty, vindictive" aims (the author's own hexes are directed "toward the larger sociopolitcal ills we face"). Tea constructs an appealing notion of magic as an empowering spiritual alternative to patriarchial religious systems, and includes valuable sections on using magic to engage in social change. Wannabe witches will be delighted.
