Becoming Dangerous

February 18, 2019
In this uneven yet bold collection of essays, 21 authors explore how they “resist the onslaught of a world of irrational happenings” by performing personal rituals that incorporate magic. Each essay is by someone who considers themselves marginalized and responding to a culture that “has attempted to cast a banishing spell” on them. Highlights include “Trash Magic” by Miranda Elizabeth, a self-described “sick mad crip borderline witch” who tweaks tarot readings and crystal rituals to suit the needs of her “disabled perspective” and Avery Edison’s “Before I Was a Woman, I Was a Witch,” which details Avery’s discovery of a witch kit as a teenager. A common thread is the subversion of conventional feminine beauty, such as in Catherine Hernandez’s “Femme as in Fuck You” in which she writes of taking intentionally ugly photos to reclaim her sense of beauty after an accident that left her scarred, and merritt k’s “Total Mood Killer,” about how she fashions her nails for peak scariness, “sharp enough to easily scratch skin—maybe draw blood.” Powerfully intimate and angry yet hopeful, these narratives will appeal to “magickal practitioners” looking for new examples of how others have dealt with oppression.

Starred review from April 1, 2019

Not always about witchcraft, but always about the magic of finding power, this collection of 21 essays by various self-identified female authors offers a deeply personal exploration of coming to terms with and, as often, rejecting expectations and inherent shaming imposed on women by society. In essay after essay, the reckoning is a fierce and voluble refutation of the patriarchy and its soul-crushing oppression of female power. These writers make clear that as witches, femmes, and queers, they will use their own strength, ingenious rituals, beauty routines, and spells to rise above and beyond the limits of racism/classism and objectifications set by a male-dominated society. These are not dainty stories. While some are humorous, most are gut-wrenching in their honesty exposing the mental, emotional, and physical cruelty imposed on those outside the norm of "pretty is" and "pretty does;" all are exuberant victory tales. VERDICT While bound by a thread of magic, these are inspiring feminist writings for readers of feminist literature, however identified.--Janet Tapper, Univ. of Western States Lib., Portland, OR

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