Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power

2.5 stars<br /><br />I hate that I didn't love this book. I love Pam and her Witch Wave podcast, and I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but what I got wasn't it.<br /><br />First off, I happen to have the same political views as Pam, but I was so sick about hearing about Trump by the end of this book. We get it. He's terrible. I stopped paying attention to the news because I was tired of hearing about what an idiot he is. I didn't expect to be bashed over the head with it over and over again in a book about the history of witches. <br /><br />The book seemed to get more...meandering as it went along. It was full of interesting information, and I now have a list of new shows and movies to watch and books to read, but it seemed rambling at times. <br /><br />The last chapter, entitled "Who Is a Witch?" almost lost me completely. It had several pages about the last presidential election (ugh), statistics about attacks on witches, more pages about politics, warnings against cultural appropriation (basically, everyone can be a witch, but only particular people can be particular types of witch was my takeaway there), the stupid Sephora controversy, and then some pages about poetry. <br /><br />Also, the author mentions Lena Dunham on two different occasions as of what Lena Dunham says and thinks are of consequence to anyone.<br /><br />All around, the historical aspects were interesting, but I was left mostly with a feeling of, "Okay, and...?"<br /><br />Edit: I was discussing this book with a friend, and she summed up my feelings very succinctly: "I feel like she is trying to be as broad as possible and speak to everyone, therefore she speaks to no one."

As another reviewer said, I hate that I didn’t love this book. I’ve loved Pam’s writing for years, and her podcast is one of my favorites. I preordered this book and bought it in more than one format.<br /><br />I have trouble figuring out who the target audience is, and what each target audience might be expected to gain from the book. It’s sort of part memoir, part wide-lens historical summary, part modern political OpEd, and part love song to muses, all of which are very loosely threaded together by a vague sense of topic, and none of which are explored with the depth I would have expected from a book. <br /><br />There is certainly valuable information in here. But if you’re already familiar with Pam’s work, or feminist theory and history, or the practice and/or cultural history of witchcraft, most of what she touches on won’t be new to you. As a scholar and avid reader of both witchcraft and feminism who is within a decade of Pam's age, and as a big fan of art and literature, almost nothing in this book was new to me. Which could be fine on a surface level, but she also doesn’t dive deep into most of it in the kind of nuanced way that makes you feel like you’ve seen old knowledge in a new light.<br /><br />When she does provide insights, most of them won’t be new to you if you listen to The Witch Wave. Many chapters felt like podcast monologues, but without the context of introducing an interview subject, they just feel a bit incomplete and disjointed.<br /><br />I was also simultaneously overwhelmed and underwhelmed by the modern tie-ins. Does the Sephora witch kit debacle really deserve to be canonized in a book? Does Donald Trump deserve as much space as he gets in a small and topically wide-reaching book about feminism and witchcraft? I don’t personally think so.<br /><br />Lots of the information was good and valid, but some was lackluster or a bit troubling. In some cases, it felt like a topic was included out of a sense of obligation, but without the knowledge or research to give them the needed gravitas (e.g. a quick, neither-here-nor-there, sort-of-advicey-but-not-very-weighty, blip about cultural appropriation). In others, the lack of research or lack of unbiased research was disappointing (casually defending spiritualist women against claims of fraud, apparently just because they were women with spooky interests, when it’s well-known, documented, and evidenced that many of the big names in spiritualism—most of which were women—were frauds; if you’re going to defend a historical fraud, at least offer some evidence for why you think they were legit).<br /><br />If you have a teenager who has just expressed their first interest in feminism or witchcraft, I would certainly give them this book. But since the history she covers is largely modern, the insights are sort of fleetingly dropped opinions, and it all just skims the surface, it’s hard to imagine that an adult would find much that’s new here, at least an adult who has enough interest in the topic to pick this book up in the first place.

YEEEESSSSS!!! This book is packed with history and culture, and serious female power and witch pride. I loved reading this book; it really sparked something in me. I would highly highly recommend this book if you want sort of a primer about witchcraft and witch culture, are interested in Pam Grossman, or are just curious about it all. I love the way this is written and how it feels like a conversation rather than a book.

If you want an intersectionally-minded book about the history of witches, as well as the popularity of witches and witchcraft in pop culture, you will want to pick this one up. Grossman reads it on audio, and she does a fabulous job.

Part memoirs, part history book, part gender theory text, part film reviews – this book has it all, and is read by the incredibly smooth and pleasantly-voiced author. I loved the audiobook of this, although I want to obtain a physical copy as well – the cover is aesthetically pleasing and this author deserves ALL of the support, too. She talks about actual witchcraft, but more importantly, examines the ideas of witches in so many other areas of life. <br /><br />First, I enjoyed the not-too-deep historical analyses Pam provides to give context to witchcraft in history. From pagans swaying around fires to witch hunts in Europe, from mystical and medium-inspired artwork in the 1800s to teen witches on pop culture fave movies of the 80s, there is just so much here on the spectrum of witchery. Pam is nonjudgmental for the most part, save for where her disdain for the republican patriarchy of America tends to play into things, which I was all for, anyways. She discusses historical covens with looks at Crowley, talks about the Salem Witch Trials and how The Crucible did the true events no real service, examines the mediumship of several metaphysical artists I had been unaware of (even the designer of the original Rider-Waite deck art, a lady!). She gets to the point quickly without drowning us in information, and I highly enjoyed the topics the book skipped around. <br /><br />The film reviews strewn throughout the book were incredibly relatable – Pam tackles Labyrinth and the weird attraction we all felt for Jareth, the problematic Goblin King; The Craft, a movie that I came away from feeling gross and disdainful, and Pam appears to have felt similar; The Witch, one of my favorite movies, and others. <br /><br />Pam attacks transphobia, promotes activism of all sorts from women’s reproductive rights (and the all-important life choice to not have children of one’s own), and lauds inclusive witchcraft that could be solitary practice or coven membership. Her frankness and open acceptance of practicing however one wants was so soothing for me. All of the historical context and hilarious goth-kid-of-the-90s thirst was fascinating and relatable, too. I just…really liked this book. Pam is also great to follow on twitter! <br />

This is a personal trajectory entwined in a larger history of witchcraft, specifically in pop culture, art and music. It is not a vast survey of modern paganism, but you can feel a fond, acknowledged debt to Margot Adler. <br /><br />If you want something historically deep that scales wide, I wouldn’t suggest this; it’s too slim, touching on necessary tributaries without wading too deeply in. This is a jumping-off point, punctuated by the diversity of things that informed Grossman’s journey and fleshed out her path. The Further Reading is great; so too are the musical discoveries, the winks to Willow, Tara, Sabrina, Samantha; the witchy artists; the “Smith” history lesson on the Smith-Waite tarot deck, and Shakespeare’s Macbeth; and the thoughtful untangling of what a witch might mean in a given moment to a given person, who may be claiming the title or succumbing to it. <br /><br />In other words, you’ll be equipped with stuff that nuances and enriches your experience, evidence of the magical all around you, rather than leaving you wringing wrists about crystals to buy. <br /><br />So if this is the first book you pick up on your journey, you could certainly do worse. The voice is kind and informative, like Grossman in her Witch Wave podcast. And it’s also worlds more useful than any number of the glossy how-tos currently crowding the shelves. There’s meaning here, a call to be critical and thoughtful, but also empathetic. <br /><br />Thanks for everything you do, Pam.

Pam Grossman is a great writer and I am looking forward to checking out her podcast. <br /><br />I enjoyed this book in the arsenal of witchy awakening writings aside from a few small issues. <br /><br />Mostly, please don't dedicate so many pages to describing works of art with words. Have pictures put in. It got tedious pausing and looking up painting by painting on my phone so I just stopped. I would have loved seeing the pictures as I read. I ended up just skipping most of that chapter. <br /><br />Other than that, I have some opinions that differ from the author, but that doesn't take away from her well organised information. I do feel that this book intends to appeal to as many people as possible and thus, kind of comes across as a bit broad. <br /><br />There were plenty of media references though that I will be checking out.

In this must-read for anyone interested in feminism or witchcraft, acclaimed podcast host Pam Grossman illuminates a history of female power and persecution, and eloquently analyzes why witches are so relevant today. By exploring the figure of the witch across culture, Grossman explains her theory about why the newest wave of feminism just might be "The Witch Wave," and why millions of women now draw upon the magic of the witch to reclaim a sense of power amidst uncertain times. Part memoir and part historical survey, this book is jam-packed full of information, yet a surprisingly quick read. Get ready to be inspired; this witchy offering might make you want to start casting spells yourself!<br /><br />Many thanks to Leah Cushman at Powell's Books for providing me with an ARC of this title.

This review is only for the first quarter of the book as I will not be finishing it any time soon. I also received this ARC as a giveaway at my work and was not familiar with Pam Grossman or her podcast. As someone who is very interested in the portrayal of occult female figures in pop culture, this book sounded super enticing and I was looking forward to getting an in-depth study on how and why witches are portrayed. To be fair, there was a lot of great info but unfortunately the memoir vibe really turned me off. I was not expecting to hear so much about Grossman's own personal journey (like what cool concerts her teenage self went to or sorta slut shaming some goth girls she competed with for teen male attention?) so I'm putting the book down now. If you want more of a cis hetero white female Wiccan's musings on the topic then this book is definitely it, just...not for me. I will definitely give her podcast a listen to though, sounds interesting.

<b>4/5 stars: ★★★★☆<br /><br /><i>"The witch owes nothing. That is what makes her dangerous. And that is what makes her divine."</i></b><br /><br />This book makes me proud to refer to myself as a witch. Inspiring. Intelligent. Funny. Educational. Empowering. Wicked.