Baba Yaga's Book of Witchcraft: Slavic Magic from the Witch of the Woods
Discover the fairytale of Baba Yaga and Vasylyna alongside detailed descriptions and guides to Ukrainian folk magic.
Witches: Radical Figures, Feminist Icons
Let’s talk about witches. Marie Laveau, Baba Yaga, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Nancy from the Craft, Willow Rosenberg, the Wicked Witch of the West – you know them, maybe you fear them, but you love them too because they are so undeniably cool!
Historically villainized and recently reclaimed, witches loom large in many different cultures. Persecuted by patriarchal communities that feared women’s independence, they have long been heroes for the unconventional, the ostracized, and those who wish to live free from society’s constraints.
The following nonfiction titles explore witches as radical figures and feminist icons, from a painful past of witch trials to a powerful, magical future.
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In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial
This feminist treatise examines how witch hunts from the 1300s to 1700s targeting single women, childless women, and elderly women made an oppressive impact on those populations that can be felt in the modern day.
This title is also available for checkout as an eBook/eAudio on Libby and eAudio on Hoopla.
The Mexican Witch Lifestyle
This primer on brujeria, a Mexican-originated spirituality with Afro-Indigenous roots, gives both an overview of this witchcraft culture and a guide to respectfully engaging with the practice.
The Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World
A richly researched portrait of colonial Massachusetts that follows the lives of Mary and Hugh Parsons, a Puritan couple accused of witchcraft.
This title is also available for checkout as an eAudio on Libby.
Toil & Trouble: A Women's History of the Occult
From the Salem witches to WitchTok, this book documents how women and nonbinary people have historically used magic and the occult to influence, effect change, and find their place in the world.
Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power
The host of the Witch Wave podcast deconstructs witch stereotypes while analyzing witchcraft’s impact on history and pop culture, from Lolly Willowes to Sabrina the Teenage Witch to Lady Gaga.
This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Libby.
Witches: The Transformative Power of Women Working Together
A celebration of what women can accomplish when they come together, from covens to midwife collectives to teen girl fandoms.
This title is also available for checkout as an eAudio on Libby.