The Modern Craft edited by Alice Tarbuck & Claire Askew

Galvanizing and electrifying glimpses from the brink of the contemporary Craft.

In a world that often feels like it makes no sense, many people have begun to reach out to the numinous for a sense of understanding and connection. Looking back to ancient wisdom, folklore and classic texts for answers can be helpful, but sometimes without the context of the contemporary it can be hard to see how these old ways apply to the here and now.

Too often, depictions of witches – and indeed some contemporary witchcraft practices – perpetuate harmful racist, colonialist and culturally appropriative narratives. Gender essentialism crops up often in witchcraft circles, and  #witchgoals trends proliferated by large companies and mass media raises troubling questions about the relationship between witchcraft and capitalism.

This eclectic and radical collection of essays on responsible witchcraft is a fascinating snapshot of contemporary occult practice. Essay topics include the ethics of decolonization, meditations on what it means to honour Mother Earth during the Anthropocene, the reclamation of agency for working-class and queer witches through practical spellwork, poets on the magic inherent in language,  a gender-fluid perspective on breaking down traditional hierarchies in magical symbolism, a day in the life of a disabled Pagan Irish practitioner, and so much more.

Poetic, inspiring and electrifying glimpses from the brink of contemporary craft, these essays show how anyone, no matter where they live or who they are, can find positivity and the force for powerful change in the subversive unknown.

Featuring contributions from: Claire Askew, Lisa Marie Basile, Stella Hervey Birrell, Jane Claire Bradley, Madelyn Burnhope, Lilith Dorsey, AW Earl, Harry Josephine Giles, Simone Kotva, Iona Lee, Briana Pegado, Megan Rudden, Sabrina Scott, Em Still and Alice Tarbuck