A Spell in the Wild: A Year (and six centuries) of Magic

by Alice Tarbuck

Overview

'Witches occupy a clear place in contemporary imagination. We can see them, shadowy, in the corners of the past: mad, glamorous, difficult, strange. They haunt the footnotes of history - from medieval witches burning at the stake to the lurid glamour of the 1970s witchcraft revival. But they are moving out of history, too. Witches are back. They're feminist, independent, invested in self-care and care for the world. They are here, because they must be needed.'

What it means to be a witch has changed radically throughout history; where 'witch' was once a dangerous - and often deadly - accusation, it is now a proud self-definition. Today, as the world becomes ever more complicated and as we face ecological, political and economic crisis - witchcraft is experiencing a resurgence. Witches are back.

In A Spell in the Wild, Alice Tarbuck explores what it means to be a witch today. Rooted in the real world, but filled with spells, rituals and recipes, this book is an accessible, seasonal guide to witchcraft in the twenty-first century. Following the course of a witch's calendar year while also exploring the history and politics of witchcraft, A Spell in the Wild is the perfect primer for the contemporary witch.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529380873
Publisher:	John Murray Press
Publication date:	10/01/2020
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	814,826
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Dr. Alice Tarbuck is the author of the poetry collection Grid and an academic working at the University of Dundee. Her work on witchcraft has been featured in 404 Ink's Nasty Women, the Dangerous Women Project, and she runs Toil and Trouble, a witchcraft course. She has been invited to speak on witchcraft as feminist practice by Scottish PEN and by Freedom TV. Additionally, she has taught workshops for the National Library of Scotland, the Scottish Poetry Library and further afield. When she was born, a white wizard came to her house to bless her, and this, she suspects, is where the trouble started.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

A Note on the Spells and Other Magical Conduct 11

September: Foraging 19

A Herbal Soda for Fever and Heat 47

October: Samhain and Talking to the Dead 49

Blessing a New Altar 78

November: Sex Magic 83

A Healing Ritual for Winter Aches and Pains 111

December: Midwinter and Magic in the Dark 113

A Spell for Hope in Darkness 141

January: Smelling the Weather 145

A Spell for the Full Moon 173

February: Fairies 177

A Spell for Weather 205

March: Witches, Money and Protest 209

A Charm for Money 229

April: Witches Becoming Animals 231

A Spell for Eating Bitterness 258

May: Magic in the Land 261

Ecological Spells 286

June: Midsummer and Light Magic 289

A Spell to Store Up Light 308

July: Fortune Telling and Divination 311

A Spell Against Anxiousness 334

August: Protection and Sympathetic Magic 337

A Spell for Getting Rid of Something 364

Conclusion: September, Again 367

Acknowledgements 375

Further Reading 377

Notes 379

Editorial Reviews

These enchanting words make the world feel less broken.—Emma Mitchell, author of The Wild Remedy

Part-primer, part-chronicle; a fresh and personal account of a contemporary witch's year told with lucidity and verve.—Eley Williams, author of The Liar's Dictionary

A Spell in the Wild is a beautiful and intimate set of reflections on the persistence and necessity of magic, not just in our mythologies but our in daily accommodations with the changing natural world.—Paraic O’Donnell

The wise words in A Spell in the Wild offer solace for our hearts and homes in a changing world. Every reader will find themselves under her spell.—Nancy Campbell, author of The Library of Ice

A joyful foray into wild landscapes, celebrating nature's calendar and harnessing the power of lunar phases—The Herald

From the Publisher