A Guide to Taking Notes on Witch Books
A couple years into my craft, I decided that I wanted to read some witchcraft books. I got a notebook and a pen, decided to try to take notes like it was college. Whatever book it was that I chose to read was full of things that just didn't work for me or with me, but I tried to power through. It didn't work, I got frustrated and abandoned the book within a few days. I tried again nearly a year later, this time with a book that's pretty infamous if you've followed my Tumblr for any amount of time: The Modern Witchcraft Spell Book by Skye Alexander.
Y'all. It was bad. My notes started to become arguments with the text. "Skye, I don't think that's as common as you think it is." "Skye, what are you talking about?" "Skye, I don't think that's how that tradition works." And lemme tell you, that one-sided argument was the best thing that happened to my craft. Reading a book that was so cartoonishly terrible that it forced me to deconstruct what I was doing was an invaluable experience.
Recently my friend Ali asked how I take notes and write my witch book reviews. Apparently the conversation ended up being more helpful than I was expecting, so now I present this little guide to you.
Which Books to Pick
- Truly, any book. Don't worry about whether it is a 'good' witch book or not. Every book has something to teach you, even if that thing is 'this author is talking out of their ass'.
- Backwoods Witchcraft was one of the best witch books I've read. It taught me what a practice can look like when a practitioner thoroughly knows the ins and outs of their own craft, and has a very solid understanding on what works for them. I learned about folk magic techniques, and how to use what is on hand rather than specialized items.
- The Modern Witchcraft Spell Book is one of the worst I've read. It sent me on a research mission where I learned about the Law of Attraction, what kinds of things it teaches, and how prevalent those things are in standard witchy advice. This taught me how to identify places in my own craft that had been unintentionally influenced by it, and allowed me to weed those things out. I learned how to analyze a spell and find techniques that intrigue me, even within a spell that is entirely useless otherwise.
- Read something that is similar to your own craft. Find the author's reasoning for doing what they do, and see if it matches your own.
What to Make Note Of