Literary Witches

“The Witch is a woman who stands entirely on her own. She is more often than not an outsider, and her gift is transformation. She is a change agent, and her work is sparked by speech: an incantation, a naming, a blessing, a curse.

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“Who is more worthy of this moniker than female writers, who themselves conjure worlds out of words? .

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. . . Let’s recall that many occultic words are connected to those of language: spelling and spells. Grammar and grimoire. Abracadabra is thought to be derived from an Aramaic phrase that translates to ‘I create like the word.’ To write, then, is to make magic. And so it follows that to be a female writer is, in fact, to be a kind of Witch.”

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Some of my favourite contemporary fictional descriptions of witches come from Terry Pratchett. In the Wee Free Men, Granny Weatherwax tries to explain to Tiffany Aching, a young apprentice witch, what she does. “We look to … the edges” Granny replies.

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#literarywitches

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#Iholdspaceintheliminality

@readasaurus_rex Emily Bronte’s page is the first in my Literary Witches book, and one of my favorites. How does one get the job “Watcher of the Moors” because sign me the hell up, I wanna. I love that this book takes the label of “witch” (frequently misused on any woman who didn’t safely fit inside a biddable, obedient box) and owns it as something to be proud of. 🌙✨🕯 I love being a woman. I love being connected through time and space to long lines of creatures who never held their tongues, who let their dresses get torn and tattered as they climbed trees, who lived as wise women herbalists and risked their own safety for the health of others, who didn’t hide their allure from the eyes of men and were thought to be witches or whores or both because of it, who marched and shouted and starved and died for the sake of their liberties. Our liberties. I love that this fierce, wild fire that burns within me has burned through generations of untamable, “wicked” women, and will keep burning until the end of the human race. I love the sisterhood that bonds us—all colors of the rainbow and all economic backgrounds and all sexual orientations—despite our differences, we still share so much, and I love that bond between us. Sisters, don’t ever let your fire go out🕯

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#bookstagram #booknerd #bookish #sisterwitches #literarywitches #emilybronte #wutheringheights #bookandcandle

📷 @maihamric

https://prudencesthomas.com/2018/04/08/literary-witches-a-celebration-of-magical-women-writers-review/