Waking the Witch
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15
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Average rating4
From the podcast host of The Witch Wave and practicing witch Pam Grossman—who Vulture has dubbed the “Terry Gross of witches”—comes an exploration of the world’s fascination with witches, why they have intrigued us for centuries and why they’re more relevant now than ever. When you think of a witch, what do you picture? Pointy black hat, maybe a broomstick. But witches in various guises have been with us for millennia. In Waking the Witch, Pam Grossman explores the impact of the world’s most magical icon. From the idea of the femme fatale in league with the devil to the bewitching pop culture archetypes in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Harry Potter; from the spooky ladies in fairy tales to the rise of contemporary witchcraft, witches reflect the power and potential of women. Part cultural analysis, part memoir, Waking the Witch traces the author’s own journey on the path to witchcraft, and how this has helped her find self-empowerment and purpose. It celebrates witches past, present, and future, and reveals the critical role they have played—and will continue to play—in the world as we know it. “Deftly illuminating the past while beckoning us towards the future, Waking the Witch has all the makings of a feminist classic. Wise, relatable, and real, Pam Grossman is the witch we need for our times” (Ami McKay, author of The Witches of New York).
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What I love the most about The Witch Wave podcast is that even if you're not particularly interested in witchcraft, or anything woo-woo, in just about every episode you hear a story about a woman running her own business, creating her own art, controlling her own destiny. The fact that those businesses are often built on magick and spiritualism is kind of incidental. They are modern day witches, finding a connection to their past and creating a future. It's incredibly inspiring, not to mention invaluable to a have a platform for women to provide a roadmap to their success and independence that others may follow.
Waking the Witch is a kind of extended edition of the podcast and what it provides. It's not a book about witchcraft exactly - you won't find spells, or much talk about gods or goddesses. Rather, it's kind of a casual history of women (and a couple men) who broke the mold throughout time, and as such set the groundwork for modern day practitioners. From Tituba to Pamela Colman Smith, accused and accusers, wild free-spirited artists to suffragettes, Grossman ping pongs through history, profiling women who stuck themselves like thorns in the side of the establishment. She goes from detailing the roots of the fear and hatred of witchcraft to discussing their impact and appearances in pop culture. Interwoven in this is Grossman's own history, as a young adult discovering her power and finding her place in the world, and though Grossman is a little older than me, I found the tales of her adolescence in New Jersey extremely relatable.
To be honest, I think I could have done without all the pop culture references and discussion. In terms of media analysis, its not done with a particularly in depth eye, but if someone doesn't have much experience with looking critically at popular movies and television, it may provide some novel insights. Grossman's conversational tone and sense of humor - which sometimes feels a little try hard to me - makes the complex topics and histories she discusses extremely accessible to a young audience. I think a book like this would be great for teenage girls and other young people who go against the grain, who are looking to see themselves in history and are looking for a new perspective to see their future.
