A seasonal guide to magic in the twenty-first century, and a history of witchcraft through the ages.
'Witches occupy a clear place in contemporary imagination. We can see them, emerging shadowy, from 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...'
In A Spell in the Wild, Alice Tarbuck explores what it means to be a witch today. Where 'witch' was once a dangerous - and often deadly - accusation, it is now a proud self-definition. And as the world becomes ever more complicated and we face ecological, political, social and global health crises, witchcraft is experiencing a resurgence. Magic is back.
Alice describes what she practises as 'intersectional, accessible' witchcraft - it's about the magic you can find in an overgrown snicket or a sixth floor stairwell; whatever your gender; whether you're able to climb a mountain or can't leave the house. Month by month, Alice walks us through everyday magic for extraordinary times.
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.
Industry 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
