When most people hear the word ‘witch’, they immediately think of crones conspiring over a cauldron, a force of dark and vindictive power. But to hundreds of thousands across the world, being a witch is a living, everyday reality, much more varied than the fairytale image.
Witch Power follows Emma Quilty – herself a witch and an anthropologist – on an immersive journey into contemporary witchcraft, from Witchcamp retreats to ‘red tent’ menstrual events, Voodoo priestesses running ghost tours from their vans to TikTokers casting hexes on a viral scale.
Attentive to the history of witchcraft, she reveals the role power plays in how the figure of the witch has changed over time to suit the ever-present need to control and demonize women. Because to be a witch is to live in defiance of society’s expectations and rules.
But while the witch is always castigated as a threat, Quilty finds that the witch is never alone: the witch is a survivor and a symbol of resistance. Ultimately, Witch Power is a provocation and an invitation to readers to experience with the author what it means to embrace witchiness and what witchy feminism could bring to your life.
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