"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. While bound by a thread of magic, these are inspiring feminist writings for readers of feminist literature, however identified.” --Library Journal

Edgy and often deeply personal, the twenty-one essays collected here come from a wide variety of writers. Some identify as witches, others identify as writers, musicians, game developers, or artists. What they have in common is that they’ve created personal rituals to summon their own power in a world that would prefer them powerless. Here, they share the rituals they use to resist self-doubt, grief, and depression in the face of sexism, slut shaming, racism, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression.

Contents

Introduction

Notes from the Editors

Content Warning

1. Unfuckable—Cara Ellison
2. Trash-Magic: Signs & Rituals for the Unwanted—Maranda Elizabeth
3. Uncensoring My Ugliness—Laura Mandanas
4. Femme as in Fuck You: Fucking with the Patriarchy One Lipstick Application at a Time—Catherine Hernandez
5. Before I Was a Woman, I Was a Witch—Avery Edison
6. Undressing My Heart—Gabriela Herstik
7. Garden—Marguerite Bennett
8. Reddit, Retin-A, and Resistance: An Alchemist’s Guide to Skincare—Sam Maggs
9. The Future is Coming for You—Deb Chachra
10. My Witch’s Sabbath of Short Skirts, Long Kisses, and BDSM—Mey Rude
11. Buzzcut Season—Larissa Pham
12. The Harpy—Meredith Yayanos
13. Fingertips—merritt
14. Red Glitter—Sophie Saint Thomas
15. Touching Pennies, Painting Nails—Sim Bajwa
16. Ritual in Darkness—Kim Boekbinder
17. Gayuma—Sara David
18. Pushing Beauty Up Through the Cracks—Katelan Foisy
19. Ritualising My Humanity—J. A. Micheline
20. Simulating Control—Nora Khan
21. I Am, Myself, a Body of Water—Leigh Alexander

Contributors

Acknowledgements