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The Witching Year: A Memoir of Earnest Fumbling Through Modern Witchcraft
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Memoir & Autobiography (2023)A skeptic’s year-long quest to find spiritual fulfillment through modern Witchcraft, perfect for fans of A.J. Jacobs and Mary Roach.
Diana Helmuth, thirty-three, is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So, she decides to try on the fastest growing, self-directed faith in Witchcraft.
The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit, and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations, and read all the liturgy. But there’s one glaring problem: no Witch can agree on what the right rules, liturgy, and incantations are.
As with life, Diana will have to define the craft for herself, looking past the fashionable and figuring out how to define the real. Along the way, she travels to Salem and Edinburgh (two very Crafty hubs) and attends a week-long (clothing optional) Witch camp in Northern California. Whether she’s trying to perform a full moon ritual on a cardboard box, summon an ancient demon with scotch tape and a kitchen trivet, or just trying to become a calmer, happier person, her biggest question Will any of this really work?
The Witching Year follows in the footsteps of celebrated memoirs by journalists like A.J. Jacobs, Mary Roach, and Caitlin Doughty, who knit humor and reportage together in search of something worth believing.
Diana Helmuth, thirty-three, is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So, she decides to try on the fastest growing, self-directed faith in Witchcraft.
The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit, and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations, and read all the liturgy. But there’s one glaring problem: no Witch can agree on what the right rules, liturgy, and incantations are.
As with life, Diana will have to define the craft for herself, looking past the fashionable and figuring out how to define the real. Along the way, she travels to Salem and Edinburgh (two very Crafty hubs) and attends a week-long (clothing optional) Witch camp in Northern California. Whether she’s trying to perform a full moon ritual on a cardboard box, summon an ancient demon with scotch tape and a kitchen trivet, or just trying to become a calmer, happier person, her biggest question Will any of this really work?
The Witching Year follows in the footsteps of celebrated memoirs by journalists like A.J. Jacobs, Mary Roach, and Caitlin Doughty, who knit humor and reportage together in search of something worth believing.
335 pages, Hardcover
First published October 3, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 297 reviews
October 7, 2023
Spoiler alert: she literally comes to zero conclusions about witchcraft
June 14, 2023
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
This interested me cuz I kinda went through the same thing during and after Covid. Life was lackluster to say the LEAST and I read a book about a woman who found great comfort in creating an altar, performing rituals, and doing spellwork to deal with her schizophrenic mother. So I thought, I've always been drawn to ascribing significance to objects and making things personally meaningful, so maybe getting into witchcraft could be an enriching and grounding experience for me. But like Helmuth writes, it's rough knowing where to start, being mindful of appropriation, willing yourself to believe in it at all, etc.
Helmuth decides she's going to try diligently practicing witchcraft for a year and a day to see if there's anything to it. The amount of stuff she buys to get started is... stressful. She sets up a makeshift altar on a cardboard box, casts a circle and calls the four corners, and she feels immensely silly doing it. It takes quite a long time for her to have an experience she feels is genuine and significant, where she realizes the interconnectedness of the universe, her relation to plastic strands on a broom, how her blood is the same as the water flowing in the river, etc. She tries and vaguely manages to commune with deities. She unsuccessfully tries to summon a demon to retrieve her mother's stolen property. She makes a pilgrimage to Salem, where she doesn't really feel much, but she later goes to the UK and Scotland to visit the roots of modern witchcraft, and she has a pretty cool mystical experience at Stonehenge. All the witches she knows say she should focus on connecting with her ancestors, but being white, she's afraid they're all abusers and colonizers who she wouldn't want to meet.
The way she delves into tons of contradicting books and tries to do things that don't feel meaningful to her stressed me out. I probably didn't go about getting into witchcraft in the most culturally mindful way, but I think I did it better for myself. Like Helmuth, I made a makeshift altar on a corner of a desk I was allotted in what was basically a closet. I didn't have any materials, so I gathered sentimental objects that seemed magical to me, like the stone I've had forever that looks like a water drop, my eyeball plate, some art I got from friends, little crystals I had, incense. I made it look nice. I was overwhelmed with all the facets of witchcraft so I chose just a few things to focus on that interested me (moon-honoring, self-honoring, candle spells, creating sigils, and tarot). I found it good for my mental health, and I think it strengthened my will and intuition. At any rate, it was nice to spend time basically meditating by myself while I was doing candle spells and to think deeply about my inner self and life events when I tried to read tarot. I don't practice now in the way that I did during Covid, but I'm still trying to get better at tarot, and I do a candle spell every year on my birthday. I use the sigil for my name to sign stuff. I'm glad I dabbled in it and it would be nice to go back to some of it.
Anyway, at the end of the book Helmuth isn't sure if she's gonna continue to practice. She isn't comfortable calling herself a witch. But the main reason for this is that the word "witch" is associated with being rebellious, a woman with self-agency who lives outside of the mainstream, who does cool shit despite the patriarchy, yadda yadda yadda. She doesn't like this because she thinks this idea SHOULD be mainstream, it should be for everyone and every gender, we all should be thinking deeply about ourselves, practicing nonviolence, and protecting the earth, and maybe there shouldn't be some special label for it? I see what she means, but witchcraft is too cool-sounding.
This interested me cuz I kinda went through the same thing during and after Covid. Life was lackluster to say the LEAST and I read a book about a woman who found great comfort in creating an altar, performing rituals, and doing spellwork to deal with her schizophrenic mother. So I thought, I've always been drawn to ascribing significance to objects and making things personally meaningful, so maybe getting into witchcraft could be an enriching and grounding experience for me. But like Helmuth writes, it's rough knowing where to start, being mindful of appropriation, willing yourself to believe in it at all, etc.
Helmuth decides she's going to try diligently practicing witchcraft for a year and a day to see if there's anything to it. The amount of stuff she buys to get started is... stressful. She sets up a makeshift altar on a cardboard box, casts a circle and calls the four corners, and she feels immensely silly doing it. It takes quite a long time for her to have an experience she feels is genuine and significant, where she realizes the interconnectedness of the universe, her relation to plastic strands on a broom, how her blood is the same as the water flowing in the river, etc. She tries and vaguely manages to commune with deities. She unsuccessfully tries to summon a demon to retrieve her mother's stolen property. She makes a pilgrimage to Salem, where she doesn't really feel much, but she later goes to the UK and Scotland to visit the roots of modern witchcraft, and she has a pretty cool mystical experience at Stonehenge. All the witches she knows say she should focus on connecting with her ancestors, but being white, she's afraid they're all abusers and colonizers who she wouldn't want to meet.
The way she delves into tons of contradicting books and tries to do things that don't feel meaningful to her stressed me out. I probably didn't go about getting into witchcraft in the most culturally mindful way, but I think I did it better for myself. Like Helmuth, I made a makeshift altar on a corner of a desk I was allotted in what was basically a closet. I didn't have any materials, so I gathered sentimental objects that seemed magical to me, like the stone I've had forever that looks like a water drop, my eyeball plate, some art I got from friends, little crystals I had, incense. I made it look nice. I was overwhelmed with all the facets of witchcraft so I chose just a few things to focus on that interested me (moon-honoring, self-honoring, candle spells, creating sigils, and tarot). I found it good for my mental health, and I think it strengthened my will and intuition. At any rate, it was nice to spend time basically meditating by myself while I was doing candle spells and to think deeply about my inner self and life events when I tried to read tarot. I don't practice now in the way that I did during Covid, but I'm still trying to get better at tarot, and I do a candle spell every year on my birthday. I use the sigil for my name to sign stuff. I'm glad I dabbled in it and it would be nice to go back to some of it.
Anyway, at the end of the book Helmuth isn't sure if she's gonna continue to practice. She isn't comfortable calling herself a witch. But the main reason for this is that the word "witch" is associated with being rebellious, a woman with self-agency who lives outside of the mainstream, who does cool shit despite the patriarchy, yadda yadda yadda. She doesn't like this because she thinks this idea SHOULD be mainstream, it should be for everyone and every gender, we all should be thinking deeply about ourselves, practicing nonviolence, and protecting the earth, and maybe there shouldn't be some special label for it? I see what she means, but witchcraft is too cool-sounding.
November 29, 2023
this was... okay. i think in the moments of this book that she discussed how wicca and witchcraft is mostly mental, and how it makes you look into yourself and work on issues you have in order to spellcast all have a lot of merrit to it, and i can appreciate the research she put into this topic. but this book gets So bogged down by the insane amount of white guilt she goes on and on about. like. we get it. you're an upper middle class white girl that lives in oakland and went to berkley. we get it. the world gets it, god gets it, we get it.
May 20, 2023
I wanted to give this book a 3.5 star rating but I couldn't so I went with 3. The Witching Hour is a work of nonfiction and it's full of intriguing information. Helmuth clearly did a lot of research for this book. I appreciated that. She is very detailed. In her writings and again I appreciate that much. I'm not sure if that's what could have made this book a bit dry. Other times, I was left wanting more of some stories. I'm truly conflicted by this because I genuinely appreciated all her detail and it is blatantly obvious that she did a lot of research regarding witchcraft. I badly wanted to give The Witching Hour a 4 star review for all her research and information but couldn't due to it being a bit dry with that being said, I recommend this book if you're intrigued by or into witchcraft.
Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and Diane Helmuth for the advanced readers copy to review.
Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and Diane Helmuth for the advanced readers copy to review.
September 4, 2023
The Witching Year by Diana Helmuth is an honest look into one woman’s quest to find out why so many young women are drawn to Witchcraft, and if they continue to practice later on in life, through her own experiences in the past and trying to see if reviving it in her present is something she wants to continue doing.
Helmuth digs into the “classics” of The Craft and finds contradictions and confusion within their pages. I feel like many people who have looked into Wicca, Witchcraft, etc… will be nodding right along with her, I know I was. It was great to see that others feel the same way and that you aren’t doing anything wrong, even with so many questions constantly coming up. Unlike organized religions where someone tells you what the texts mean, The Craft is more about finding the answers and yourself along your spiritual journey.
Helmuth incorporated lots of humor throughout, and had lots of good conversations with various practitioners. I saw myself in a lot of the things she tried, including spells and rituals on the various sacred nights. The Witching Year verified for me that while everyone may practice it differently, as long as you harm none, do what you will.
Helmuth digs into the “classics” of The Craft and finds contradictions and confusion within their pages. I feel like many people who have looked into Wicca, Witchcraft, etc… will be nodding right along with her, I know I was. It was great to see that others feel the same way and that you aren’t doing anything wrong, even with so many questions constantly coming up. Unlike organized religions where someone tells you what the texts mean, The Craft is more about finding the answers and yourself along your spiritual journey.
Helmuth incorporated lots of humor throughout, and had lots of good conversations with various practitioners. I saw myself in a lot of the things she tried, including spells and rituals on the various sacred nights. The Witching Year verified for me that while everyone may practice it differently, as long as you harm none, do what you will.
November 20, 2023
The Information Age (the age of anxiety) meets a baby witch discovering herself. The setup of the book reads like someone’s book report citing Wikipedia, with unidimensional interpretations of concepts that writers like Margot Adler previously described.
The voice/tone tries hard to be humorous, progressive, and TikTok worthy (perhaps marketers got ahold of the material). Later on, the book humor comes off as less sarcastic one liners, and more authentic. And as witches we need humor in our spirituality, we are not holier-than-thou monotheists or atheists. This was a risk worth taking that landed sometimes.
As the book progresses, it becomes more of a proper memoir and becomes more interesting. Reading the diary of a baby witch can be a bit insufferable, she’s like a little sister who is so close to getting it.
You want to help her, you want to be patient with her, and you also want her to figure it out for herself. You might find your patience tested reading the book, but know this is a lesson in empathy and relating to your younger self. After all, we were all there once weren’t we?
Luckily for her, this baby witch is growing up in California and has all kinds of witchy mentors and structures of support available. This kind of coastal privilege can be difficult to relate to, and it’s been a point of contention for several years, as we seek out more diverse backgrounds. How many people can call up Oberon Zell-Ravenheart as they’re learning about Wicca? In her defense, the coastal privilege is acknowledged.
Being new to a movement has an incredible advantage: you question assumptions. I love that she questioned astrology and what western astrology has become: stereotyping people based on sun signs (especially negatively). Astrology is best when it’s fun and insightful, not toxic.
It’s incredibly disappointing that the author ends the book by repeating stereotypes about witches and feminists (we are secretive rebels who disdain men and technology etc etc).
I’ve observed these conclusions are how a lot of young intellectual women, who grew up as coastal elites feel; and particularly straight intellectual women who struggle to empathize with othered persons and othered persons need for separate spaces (not separatism). They don’t understand that many did not choose to be outsiders, and that reclaiming the power of the outsider is important healing.
The conclusion reminds me of a friend who accepted a job at Walmart corporate just out of college, to “change the system from the inside.” He didn’t want to be seen as an outsider.
I don’t think the author understands that many of us are employing those same techniques already to actively change the culture. We would love eco-feminist ideas to be accessible/mainstream and one of the leading cultural figures here is Pam Grossman, whom the author also takes a shot at.
TLDR: It’s worth supporting baby witches everywhere. I hope baby witches read other books first. I also hope that as witchcraft continues to gain popularity, we can expand the diversity of thought a bit more.
The voice/tone tries hard to be humorous, progressive, and TikTok worthy (perhaps marketers got ahold of the material). Later on, the book humor comes off as less sarcastic one liners, and more authentic. And as witches we need humor in our spirituality, we are not holier-than-thou monotheists or atheists. This was a risk worth taking that landed sometimes.
As the book progresses, it becomes more of a proper memoir and becomes more interesting. Reading the diary of a baby witch can be a bit insufferable, she’s like a little sister who is so close to getting it.
You want to help her, you want to be patient with her, and you also want her to figure it out for herself. You might find your patience tested reading the book, but know this is a lesson in empathy and relating to your younger self. After all, we were all there once weren’t we?
Luckily for her, this baby witch is growing up in California and has all kinds of witchy mentors and structures of support available. This kind of coastal privilege can be difficult to relate to, and it’s been a point of contention for several years, as we seek out more diverse backgrounds. How many people can call up Oberon Zell-Ravenheart as they’re learning about Wicca? In her defense, the coastal privilege is acknowledged.
Being new to a movement has an incredible advantage: you question assumptions. I love that she questioned astrology and what western astrology has become: stereotyping people based on sun signs (especially negatively). Astrology is best when it’s fun and insightful, not toxic.
It’s incredibly disappointing that the author ends the book by repeating stereotypes about witches and feminists (we are secretive rebels who disdain men and technology etc etc).
I’ve observed these conclusions are how a lot of young intellectual women, who grew up as coastal elites feel; and particularly straight intellectual women who struggle to empathize with othered persons and othered persons need for separate spaces (not separatism). They don’t understand that many did not choose to be outsiders, and that reclaiming the power of the outsider is important healing.
The conclusion reminds me of a friend who accepted a job at Walmart corporate just out of college, to “change the system from the inside.” He didn’t want to be seen as an outsider.
I don’t think the author understands that many of us are employing those same techniques already to actively change the culture. We would love eco-feminist ideas to be accessible/mainstream and one of the leading cultural figures here is Pam Grossman, whom the author also takes a shot at.
TLDR: It’s worth supporting baby witches everywhere. I hope baby witches read other books first. I also hope that as witchcraft continues to gain popularity, we can expand the diversity of thought a bit more.
March 6, 2024
I am genuinely so shocked by the amount of negative reviews about this book. I can only imagine people are misinterpreting the purpose of this.
this is not a guidebook or how to for witchcraft. this is not an autobiography on a high priestess’s life. this is not a decisive opinion on if witchcraft is right or not.
this is about a normal woman’s journey with craving a spiritual connection with a history of being a skeptic.
our author genuinely immerses herself in the world of Wicca & other forms of witchcraft for a year and documents her journey with that. it was fascinating, relatable, raw, and so beautifully realistic.
I connected so much to this someone who is drawn to witchcraft for very similar reasons as our author. so much of her path & questions reflected my own when I started my practice ~4 years ago. I haven’t connected this much to a witchcraft book since drawing down the moon and I knew I was hooked when the author started quoting it immediately.
if you would traditionally call yourself an atheist/agnostic but you still miss a connection to ~something~ I would especially recommend this to you; even if you aren’t interested in witchcraft. our author’s thought process through this year was very validating to me.
this is not a guidebook or how to for witchcraft. this is not an autobiography on a high priestess’s life. this is not a decisive opinion on if witchcraft is right or not.
this is about a normal woman’s journey with craving a spiritual connection with a history of being a skeptic.
our author genuinely immerses herself in the world of Wicca & other forms of witchcraft for a year and documents her journey with that. it was fascinating, relatable, raw, and so beautifully realistic.
I connected so much to this someone who is drawn to witchcraft for very similar reasons as our author. so much of her path & questions reflected my own when I started my practice ~4 years ago. I haven’t connected this much to a witchcraft book since drawing down the moon and I knew I was hooked when the author started quoting it immediately.
if you would traditionally call yourself an atheist/agnostic but you still miss a connection to ~something~ I would especially recommend this to you; even if you aren’t interested in witchcraft. our author’s thought process through this year was very validating to me.
July 3, 2024
This memoir chronicles Diana Helmuth’s experimental foray into learning about and practicing at a beginner’s level the art and craft of Witchcraft within, very loosely, the tradition of Celtic paganism and Wicca. As she explains to her mother in Chapter 1, “I’m just. . . turning hiking into church.”
Already a self-professed nature lover and tree-hugger, she spends 366 days trying to figure out what Witchcraft is, what it all means, does any of it work, and who she is in relation to this new faith that she is trying – with various degree of success – to develop. I really liked her spiritually adventurous nature, entertaining writing style (there were a few LOLs), and her intelligence in how she approaches her project and the problems she encounters in her practice. But I really loved how openly Helmuth shares her journey into what is essentially the very personal subject of faith, the baggage she brings to it, and her doubts and feelings of inadequacy, where we see all her vulnerabilities. There are many, many traditions and philosophies contributing to the concept of modern Witchcraft and many experts and mentors to consult, which make it all the more challenging for her to reconcile with her own personality and beliefs. It’s complicated. She also seems quite neurotic, in a rather endearing way, but that’s not a problem for me. It just makes her more relatable. (I can surely claim a little neurosis; not sure if we share the endearing quality.)
In the end, she isn’t sure what she will do with her new knowledge, but realizes she doesn’t like the representation of witches as rebels, because what she wants is for “Witchcraft’s values to be mainstream as fuck. . . I want to live in a world where nonviolence is normal, everyone is making an effort to right the path of our ancestors, and we see the earth as a something that [sic] would behoove us to protect and live with harmoniously.” She also stresses that Witchcraft should not be solely about female empowerment, but has many important lessons for men as well. “While it has helped women considerably, it’s a disservice,” she says, “to pretend this whole spirituality is only for one gender.” Hard to argue with any of that.
Helmuth has a background in nonfiction writing, especially nature and travel writing, and a degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley. In an interview with The Wild Hunt: Pagan News and Perspectives, she explains, “My book is not prescriptive; it is a memoir, not a how-to. But my hope is it allows some people to feel safe exploring their spiritual sides. Even if it doesn’t feel like it’s working.”
For those wanting more, there is a seven-page bibliography to document some of her sources and to inspire further reading.
Already a self-professed nature lover and tree-hugger, she spends 366 days trying to figure out what Witchcraft is, what it all means, does any of it work, and who she is in relation to this new faith that she is trying – with various degree of success – to develop. I really liked her spiritually adventurous nature, entertaining writing style (there were a few LOLs), and her intelligence in how she approaches her project and the problems she encounters in her practice. But I really loved how openly Helmuth shares her journey into what is essentially the very personal subject of faith, the baggage she brings to it, and her doubts and feelings of inadequacy, where we see all her vulnerabilities. There are many, many traditions and philosophies contributing to the concept of modern Witchcraft and many experts and mentors to consult, which make it all the more challenging for her to reconcile with her own personality and beliefs. It’s complicated. She also seems quite neurotic, in a rather endearing way, but that’s not a problem for me. It just makes her more relatable. (I can surely claim a little neurosis; not sure if we share the endearing quality.)
In the end, she isn’t sure what she will do with her new knowledge, but realizes she doesn’t like the representation of witches as rebels, because what she wants is for “Witchcraft’s values to be mainstream as fuck. . . I want to live in a world where nonviolence is normal, everyone is making an effort to right the path of our ancestors, and we see the earth as a something that [sic] would behoove us to protect and live with harmoniously.” She also stresses that Witchcraft should not be solely about female empowerment, but has many important lessons for men as well. “While it has helped women considerably, it’s a disservice,” she says, “to pretend this whole spirituality is only for one gender.” Hard to argue with any of that.
Helmuth has a background in nonfiction writing, especially nature and travel writing, and a degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley. In an interview with The Wild Hunt: Pagan News and Perspectives, she explains, “My book is not prescriptive; it is a memoir, not a how-to. But my hope is it allows some people to feel safe exploring their spiritual sides. Even if it doesn’t feel like it’s working.”
For those wanting more, there is a seven-page bibliography to document some of her sources and to inspire further reading.
June 6, 2023
When I was around 14 or 15, I found a small pile of books under my mother’s bed: books which could be summed up as ‘Wicca for Beginners.’ My mother never necessarily identified as Wiccan or pagan, but it was one more spiritual path that she wanted to learn more about on her personal journey.
I was enchanted by these books I found, and thus went through the very typical ‘teen witch phase’ that Diana Helmuth, author of “The Witching Year,” described herself as also experiencing. As the years passed I found myself a spiritual drifter, trying on different beliefs, eventually settling comfortably into being quietly agnostic, perhaps with some earth-worshippy tendencies.
It’s because of these experiences that I was excited to read “The Witching Year” - here was a memoir, in the voice of a fellow millennial, with some overlapping experiences in the world of belief (or disbelief) to mine, about diving into the world of witchcraft as an adult.
As the author describes her tentative first steps into witchcraft, at times I couldn’t help but smile at her unprepared fumbling, all too familiar to anyone who’s been there. The author’s anxiousness to get things “right” was endearing for a little while, then anxiety inducing for me to read about when it didn’t ease up. Many, many times I found myself thinking, “Girl, you are WAY overthinking things!” Skepticism is one thing, but at times I found myself wondering, “Why are you doing this if you seem to hate it so much?” She seemed so unhappy and stressed out for so much of the journey, incredibly self-conscious even when alone, and unable to emotionally reconcile with the idea of there being no concrete rules or right way to do things, despite intellectually knowing that.
Still, I found myself rooting for her to, at the very least, come out of the experience feeling that it was a net positive, which I think she did. The conclusions that she would ultimately reach by the end of her journey into witchcraft felt obvious from the start. Any experience where nobody gets hurt and you finish feeling more in touch with yourself is a good one, I think. Ultimately, I saw less of myself in the author than I thought I would when choosing ‘The Witching Year’ to read - and that might be a good thing, too.
Thanks to NetGalley, Simon Element and the author for the chance to read & review ‘The Witching Year: A Memoir of Earnest Fumbling Through Modern Witchcraft.’
I was enchanted by these books I found, and thus went through the very typical ‘teen witch phase’ that Diana Helmuth, author of “The Witching Year,” described herself as also experiencing. As the years passed I found myself a spiritual drifter, trying on different beliefs, eventually settling comfortably into being quietly agnostic, perhaps with some earth-worshippy tendencies.
It’s because of these experiences that I was excited to read “The Witching Year” - here was a memoir, in the voice of a fellow millennial, with some overlapping experiences in the world of belief (or disbelief) to mine, about diving into the world of witchcraft as an adult.
As the author describes her tentative first steps into witchcraft, at times I couldn’t help but smile at her unprepared fumbling, all too familiar to anyone who’s been there. The author’s anxiousness to get things “right” was endearing for a little while, then anxiety inducing for me to read about when it didn’t ease up. Many, many times I found myself thinking, “Girl, you are WAY overthinking things!” Skepticism is one thing, but at times I found myself wondering, “Why are you doing this if you seem to hate it so much?” She seemed so unhappy and stressed out for so much of the journey, incredibly self-conscious even when alone, and unable to emotionally reconcile with the idea of there being no concrete rules or right way to do things, despite intellectually knowing that.
Still, I found myself rooting for her to, at the very least, come out of the experience feeling that it was a net positive, which I think she did. The conclusions that she would ultimately reach by the end of her journey into witchcraft felt obvious from the start. Any experience where nobody gets hurt and you finish feeling more in touch with yourself is a good one, I think. Ultimately, I saw less of myself in the author than I thought I would when choosing ‘The Witching Year’ to read - and that might be a good thing, too.
Thanks to NetGalley, Simon Element and the author for the chance to read & review ‘The Witching Year: A Memoir of Earnest Fumbling Through Modern Witchcraft.’
September 18, 2023
When I first read the blurb about this book, I knew I had to read it. I immediately felt a kindred spirit with the author. A millennial, a life-long dabbler in the occult. And an inquisitive spirit. What would happen if she lived for a year as a Witch?
There were times I couldn't put it down. She made me laugh, worry, cry, grieve, and rejoice right alongside her. Diana seems like the kind of person you could chill and have a beer with...
For the most part.
I just wonder what she could have achieved had she truly let go of her guilt...and her reservations.
You can tell a huge part of Helmuth's personality is her self-castigating, liberal white guilt. I truly believe that all of us, as humans, despite our religiosity or lack thereof, should strive to combat injustice and inequality whenever we encounter it. To me, it's the difference between guilt and righteous indignation. There is only so much atonement one can offer for the past misdeeds of someone else. At what point have you paid enough back to be absolved of sins that aren't your own?
Towards the end, she justifies her guilt, proclaiming, "guilt is like fuel. It's useless and dangerous sitting alone by itself. Put it to action, and it is power." So true. But the hotter and faster it burns, the more destruction it can cause if not harnessed properly, especially to the one wielding it.
But this is her journey to which we've been invited to tag along. And I'm truly glad I took her up on the offer.
There were times I couldn't put it down. She made me laugh, worry, cry, grieve, and rejoice right alongside her. Diana seems like the kind of person you could chill and have a beer with...
For the most part.
I just wonder what she could have achieved had she truly let go of her guilt...and her reservations.
You can tell a huge part of Helmuth's personality is her self-castigating, liberal white guilt. I truly believe that all of us, as humans, despite our religiosity or lack thereof, should strive to combat injustice and inequality whenever we encounter it. To me, it's the difference between guilt and righteous indignation. There is only so much atonement one can offer for the past misdeeds of someone else. At what point have you paid enough back to be absolved of sins that aren't your own?
Towards the end, she justifies her guilt, proclaiming, "guilt is like fuel. It's useless and dangerous sitting alone by itself. Put it to action, and it is power." So true. But the hotter and faster it burns, the more destruction it can cause if not harnessed properly, especially to the one wielding it.
But this is her journey to which we've been invited to tag along. And I'm truly glad I took her up on the offer.
August 8, 2023
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review...I have always been fascinated with witchcraft, Wicca, pagan...you name it and I will probably read about it and watch movies about it. This one was really interesting to me because it is true...she took a year and tried to be a witch and wrote about her experiences...the experiences themselves were very interesting and it gets 4 stars because she made me laugh through the whole book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes witches, Wicca, true stories, memoirs...you get the idea.
December 12, 2023
As a baby witch, I wanted to love this book, but it was starkly disappointing. Truly, there was only one part I enjoyed, when she visited a coven on Oct 3 if I'm remembering correctly. Otherwise it was boring and hard to read - I almost didn't bother finishing it but I kept hoping it would get better. It didn't. It wasn't informative, or intriguing. There was nothing 'earnest' about it-It sounded more like she did the absolute bare minimum maybe a handful of times and then questioned why she wasn't getting anything out of it. A lot of long descriptions and tangents about unrelated things. I don't think there's a single thing I will take away or remember about this book. There was so little substance it's difficult to describe. Yikes.
May 7, 2023
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this fantastic ARC!
This was such a vibe to read. While I don’t particularly practice what is “witchcraft” or similar per the books discussion, I was so intrigued by this entire exploration.
I’m a huge fan of Mary roach and this type of book read just like that - nonfiction, with memoir properties from the authors own research.
I loved all the facts and traditions and how what some view as “witchcraft” is actually relatable.
This was thought provoking and a fantastic nonfiction read, I recommend but HIGHLY recommend reading around fall as it refers to all kinds of holidays and celebrations.
This was such a vibe to read. While I don’t particularly practice what is “witchcraft” or similar per the books discussion, I was so intrigued by this entire exploration.
I’m a huge fan of Mary roach and this type of book read just like that - nonfiction, with memoir properties from the authors own research.
I loved all the facts and traditions and how what some view as “witchcraft” is actually relatable.
This was thought provoking and a fantastic nonfiction read, I recommend but HIGHLY recommend reading around fall as it refers to all kinds of holidays and celebrations.
November 27, 2023
Recommended for adult dabblers who are curious about what it might be like to dedicate a year to the craft. Every experience will (of course) be different. I appreciated how the author genuinely practiced and read and asked the advice of many others. Those already in this world might squeal at some of the interviews Diana included and also reflect on their own beginnings. I noted down many quotes and feel like the book inspired me to consider my practice(s). My favorite part was when the author had a mental Tower (tarot card) moment (but in the book, she thought it would be something bigger!)😆
September 3, 2023
I feel like this authors experiences, and inner monologue mirror mine in a lot of ways and that was very weird (in a good way!) to read. I really appreciated the frankness and the humor in this book and I thought the author did a very good job of exploring her own experiences with a new religion and the epilogue discussed the personal outcomes from that journey. I wish that there was a little more AFTER the 366 days included in this book, but I also found myself appreciating this as-is, and found it enlightening. 4.5/5 Stars
January 12, 2024
I loved Diana’s honest and objective viewpoints when it came to examining the craft. I think her conclusions were pretty valid, and it helped me feel valid about some fumbling I’ve had in my practice.
January 18, 2024
too much memoir not enough witchcraft
October 7, 2023
You know what is not for me? Groups. I’m destined to be lonely. Witchcraft is just as boring as any other club. You have to buy a lot of shit and then go to meetings. No thanks. To each their own.
November 7, 2023
Two stars might be generous but it was well researched. I’d just rather read the books she mentioned. This was super boring.
June 16, 2024
It took me months to slog through this whiny, white guilt- and angst-ridden exercise in futility, with weeks of having to put it away before girding my loins and taking another shot. I couldn't stand the author's choppy sentences, her stating, "It made me feel..." every other sentence, and her constant referral to witchcraft (with a capital W) as a "religion" (what an insult to the craft!). She focusses pretty much solely on Wicca, assumes goddess/god worship is mandatory, and never seems to understand that this is only one of many eclectic paths one could take. She's far too concerned with trapping herself out with all the witchy gear, not appropriating anyone's anything, going to all the events and meeting all the right people, and, above all, "doing it right"; in other words, she's desperate for affirmation, to fit in and please everyone (especially her boyfriend), to be accepted by a community and to not appear ridiculous whilst doing so - it's irritating and pathetic. I think the main failure here is that she was just conducting an experiment, not a private, personal journey of growth and discovery, because she knew she was going to write a book about it. At the end of this yearlong rigamarole, she looks down her nose at us witches, dismisses us all as "rebels" and "outsiders", and decides not to be a witch after all. Her loss; good riddance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2024
At turns humorous and heartwarming, this memoir is full of factual information about modern witchcraft - with footnotes! - and real struggles with belief and skepticism. I found it very pleasant to read quickly, but if you wanted to follow along with her year of witchcraft, you'll want to pick the book up in June! I could see reading it slowly, one "day" at a time, as a companion on your own journey into paganism.
But I'm too hard-nosed an atheist to do that, so I just ate it all up and enjoyed the drama of personal growth and research. It gave me ideas about incorporating ritual into my daily life and my fiction. It also made me fall in love with Diana, a person I already knew, because so much of her warm personality is in this book.
Oh yeah, bias alert - I am in a critique group with the author and I read many passages of this in their rough stages. It was a delight to see how she revised to our feedback, and sometimes in spite of it. :)
But I'm too hard-nosed an atheist to do that, so I just ate it all up and enjoyed the drama of personal growth and research. It gave me ideas about incorporating ritual into my daily life and my fiction. It also made me fall in love with Diana, a person I already knew, because so much of her warm personality is in this book.
Oh yeah, bias alert - I am in a critique group with the author and I read many passages of this in their rough stages. It was a delight to see how she revised to our feedback, and sometimes in spite of it. :)
January 10, 2024
During Covid Lockdown a lot of us picked up new things: bread making, Animal Crossing, and house plant hoarding to name a few. Diana Helmuth decided to pick up religion, Wicca to be exact. At heart Helmuth is a skeptic of all things spiritual but like many still desires something to give her life a deeper meaning, to be in service of a greater power.
And so begins Diana Helmuth's year and a day of living life as a follower of Wicca and as a witch. (You quickly learn that not all Wiccans are witches and vice versa). Helmuth's journey brims with equal measures self-deprecating humor and sincere emotional vulnerability. Everything is shared from the mundane stress of trying to find an orange candle on the eve of Samhain to the sad longing of wanting to know if a dead parent approves of all this witch stuff.
Diana Helmuth's Witching Year gives her a flood of insights about herself but ultimately few concrete answers about the universe. And if you are looking for Helmuth to come down definitively with a "yay or nay" on Wicca, you will be disappointed. As one friend reminds Helmuth, this road is called "The Crooked Path" for a reason. -Jenna
And so begins Diana Helmuth's year and a day of living life as a follower of Wicca and as a witch. (You quickly learn that not all Wiccans are witches and vice versa). Helmuth's journey brims with equal measures self-deprecating humor and sincere emotional vulnerability. Everything is shared from the mundane stress of trying to find an orange candle on the eve of Samhain to the sad longing of wanting to know if a dead parent approves of all this witch stuff.
Diana Helmuth's Witching Year gives her a flood of insights about herself but ultimately few concrete answers about the universe. And if you are looking for Helmuth to come down definitively with a "yay or nay" on Wicca, you will be disappointed. As one friend reminds Helmuth, this road is called "The Crooked Path" for a reason. -Jenna
June 1, 2024
A lot of the lower reviews here are from people already familiar with some element of Wicca, witchcraft, and all of the variants that exist. THAT WASN'T ME. So everything here felt fresh and honest and interesting, from the artifacts to the grappling with the duality of gender in witchcraft (yet the way in which individual practices allow people to feel comfortable as themselves, as outsiders from the mainstream but cherished members of a different flock) to the Celtic roots of many of these traditions.
I for one appreciated the author's willingness to discuss the ways in which modern witchcraft appropriates but also makes room for (perhaps less so than would be ideal) indigenous practices, Black practices like rootwork, hoodoo/voodoo/houdou, and brujeria, not to mention the slew of Eastern philosophy that has been assimilated into some generic "Mystic Practice" sometimes turned into a sincere belief, but other times trotted out as a new-age fad. I also appreciate the chapter about Salem, about the commercialization of women and men's deaths into a celebration of witchcraft, a practice the Salem dead never espoused and went to their deaths denying they participated in. What would these dead, like Rebecca Nurse and Mary Easty, say to witch cookies and costumes and the transformation of Salem into the world of Bewitched and cute tradwife witches, instead of what it truly represented for them: intelligence, folk wisdom, skepticism, done out of view of male leadership and scrutiny, etc.?
I also liked Helmuth's broad sampling of different practices, concerns about the colors of candles, cycling back through different texts, and grappling with their contradictions. I'm not any shade of spiritual, but that's exactly how my anxious ass would wade into witchcraft: feet first, then all in, then running back, heart racing, to check the manual.
I for one appreciated the author's willingness to discuss the ways in which modern witchcraft appropriates but also makes room for (perhaps less so than would be ideal) indigenous practices, Black practices like rootwork, hoodoo/voodoo/houdou, and brujeria, not to mention the slew of Eastern philosophy that has been assimilated into some generic "Mystic Practice" sometimes turned into a sincere belief, but other times trotted out as a new-age fad. I also appreciate the chapter about Salem, about the commercialization of women and men's deaths into a celebration of witchcraft, a practice the Salem dead never espoused and went to their deaths denying they participated in. What would these dead, like Rebecca Nurse and Mary Easty, say to witch cookies and costumes and the transformation of Salem into the world of Bewitched and cute tradwife witches, instead of what it truly represented for them: intelligence, folk wisdom, skepticism, done out of view of male leadership and scrutiny, etc.?
I also liked Helmuth's broad sampling of different practices, concerns about the colors of candles, cycling back through different texts, and grappling with their contradictions. I'm not any shade of spiritual, but that's exactly how my anxious ass would wade into witchcraft: feet first, then all in, then running back, heart racing, to check the manual.
May 9, 2024
I LOVED this! This was the perfect combo of things for me, as it's one of my favorite types of books (part memoir, part journalistic deep dive into a single topic) written with such earnestness & open mindedness. I really felt a kinship with this author, as we are extremely similar people (natural skeptics but still with a desire to find community and connection, with a genuine interest in counterculture), and because of that everything she said resonated with me in a profound way. All the angles I wanted covered were in here, plus some nice narrative moments that tie it all together.
November 11, 2023
I love reading about other, lesser-known religions, but this definitely felt, for me, like it fell more into the memoir category than anything else. Which was fine, because I also love memoirs! I really appreciated how Helmuth, as a kind of tourist into this religious practice, treats the things she's studying with utmost respect (another book I read on this subject, Witches of America, famously did not), and keeps the focus more on her and her individual journey (as well as what's going on in her personal life—coincidentally, this was a big year for her outside of studying modern witchcraft) than on painting a voyeuristic portrait of other people's private faith journeys. It did start to lose me a little bit in the last third (I have the utmost respect for all religions, but I will NEVER EVER EVER understand why ANYONE would think it's a good idea to literally try and summon a demon! Just! Don't!) but overall an enjoyable portrait of both a very unusual (and increasingly popular) religious tradition and a year in one woman's life.
I do wish, anecdotally, that some of the life events Helmuth mentions were followed through on a little better. What happened to her chickens?
I do wish, anecdotally, that some of the life events Helmuth mentions were followed through on a little better. What happened to her chickens?
January 25, 2024
Ok, this book was a time for me. So I consider myself a spiritual person with more engagement to the witchcraft part of Spirituality. I was hoping I would relate to this a bit more as a quasi witch. I couldn't for multiple reasons, but could for well, multiple reasons.
The good: She does talk about skepticism about witchcraft and tools that are used. I disagreed with her mostly because I am one who loves tarot, astrology, and spellwork! She clearly didn't resonate with it and found more enjoyment from meditation, sitting with herself, gratitude, and being in nature, things I struggle with. This to me is a plus because it really opens up the idea of witchcraft/Spirituality and what it means to the individual.
The Bad: However, her skepticism on tools and spellwork were a bit aggravating to hear. She talked about how much she struggled with spellwork and hoping they worked and needing tools for each spell and ritual, etc. however, her biggest issue was herself and her struggle with perfectionism and to get everything right. It was clear she wanted someone to hold her hand and tell her she was doing things right, but that isn't the point of witchcraft. It isn't doing things right it is doing things right for you. It is intuition based which she clearly struggles with. Which leads to my second bad point.
Her research on certain topics at the beginning is a bit...obtuse. The beginning of her book she is trying to find "legitimacy" in witchcraft and it comes across as if Witchcraft is a new thing, never discovered before and with a lack of history or agency. It isn't until she goes to another country where she sees a large cathedral and realizes witches don't have this because we've had to stay hidden and or have been murdered for existing, which is in the later part of the book. To me this could have been figured out in a simple Google search about different kinds of witchcraft and the roots of it. She could've spoken about Voodoo/Hoodoo, Bruja, indigenous cultures magic more, but she stuck to things only she can practice. Which I am not saying she should practice, but simple research could've been done in it is all. Now with my blurb you'd think, "Well this is her journey with witchcraft why does it matter if she researches or not?" Because she involves several large names members of wiccan/pagan circles and gets answers from them.
Good: Despite my blurb above. I do appreciate the authors willingness to put herself in rituals and travel to different countries to partake in festivals and activities. To me it was beautiful reading her thoughts on them and seeing what it meant to her. It was clear she felt a pull and something enjoyable in it. It also brought a lot of jealousy from me
Bad-ish: she never comes to a conclusion in anything. Both to her feelings upon witch craft and how her life continues on. She brought up multiple problems from things being stolen, to interacting with demons, and having back problems, but they don't wrap up as nicely as I would've wanted. Does she still continue to have back problems? Did she get her rings back? Does she still interact with the demon? Does she still practice? Her ending she said she didn't know which can be a bit frustrating as a reader because we want clear concise answers, but at the same time I can't blame her. It is a big question and a year doesn't seem like enough time to really change your perspective on religion/spirituality I get it. I guess I wanted some more clarity if she still does spellwork or sets up for rituals and over all how she felt about things.
So at the end of this very long review do I recommend it? I think if you are someone who wants to dabble in witchcraft I think it's safe and it might even be eye opening since you could relate. However, I do recommend getting a book to go along with this one. Something that helps explain witchcraft more to you.
The good: She does talk about skepticism about witchcraft and tools that are used. I disagreed with her mostly because I am one who loves tarot, astrology, and spellwork! She clearly didn't resonate with it and found more enjoyment from meditation, sitting with herself, gratitude, and being in nature, things I struggle with. This to me is a plus because it really opens up the idea of witchcraft/Spirituality and what it means to the individual.
The Bad: However, her skepticism on tools and spellwork were a bit aggravating to hear. She talked about how much she struggled with spellwork and hoping they worked and needing tools for each spell and ritual, etc. however, her biggest issue was herself and her struggle with perfectionism and to get everything right. It was clear she wanted someone to hold her hand and tell her she was doing things right, but that isn't the point of witchcraft. It isn't doing things right it is doing things right for you. It is intuition based which she clearly struggles with. Which leads to my second bad point.
Her research on certain topics at the beginning is a bit...obtuse. The beginning of her book she is trying to find "legitimacy" in witchcraft and it comes across as if Witchcraft is a new thing, never discovered before and with a lack of history or agency. It isn't until she goes to another country where she sees a large cathedral and realizes witches don't have this because we've had to stay hidden and or have been murdered for existing, which is in the later part of the book. To me this could have been figured out in a simple Google search about different kinds of witchcraft and the roots of it. She could've spoken about Voodoo/Hoodoo, Bruja, indigenous cultures magic more, but she stuck to things only she can practice. Which I am not saying she should practice, but simple research could've been done in it is all. Now with my blurb you'd think, "Well this is her journey with witchcraft why does it matter if she researches or not?" Because she involves several large names members of wiccan/pagan circles and gets answers from them.
Good: Despite my blurb above. I do appreciate the authors willingness to put herself in rituals and travel to different countries to partake in festivals and activities. To me it was beautiful reading her thoughts on them and seeing what it meant to her. It was clear she felt a pull and something enjoyable in it. It also brought a lot of jealousy from me
Bad-ish: she never comes to a conclusion in anything. Both to her feelings upon witch craft and how her life continues on. She brought up multiple problems from things being stolen, to interacting with demons, and having back problems, but they don't wrap up as nicely as I would've wanted. Does she still continue to have back problems? Did she get her rings back? Does she still interact with the demon? Does she still practice? Her ending she said she didn't know which can be a bit frustrating as a reader because we want clear concise answers, but at the same time I can't blame her. It is a big question and a year doesn't seem like enough time to really change your perspective on religion/spirituality I get it. I guess I wanted some more clarity if she still does spellwork or sets up for rituals and over all how she felt about things.
So at the end of this very long review do I recommend it? I think if you are someone who wants to dabble in witchcraft I think it's safe and it might even be eye opening since you could relate. However, I do recommend getting a book to go along with this one. Something that helps explain witchcraft more to you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2023
Though Diana Helmuth has been a self-proclaimed skeptic where religion is concerned, she has spent her life searching for meaning, which culminated during the pandemic in a wish to explore the growing trend of Witchcraft. She decided to spend a year and a day living as a practicing Witch, studying some of the leading books on Wicca and Witchcraft, interviewing authors and friends who practice, and trying out the rituals and spells and celebrations for herself. Through the year and through this book, she explores some of the big questions about Witchcraft itself, especially as now popularly practiced, and the spiritual quest as a whole, searching for what is real and for what resonates with her.
I appreciated the idea behind the book and enjoyed her dry commentary not only on her own mishaps but on the many contradictions found in books on Witchcraft and in various practices. Since Witchcraft has become very fashionable and Instagrammable, it sometimes seems like practitioners today can be more caught up in the consumer aspect of the Craft (crystals, herbs, etc) than in the spiritual quest. Helmuth addresses this briefly in the book, but it does seem like many of the things she tries end up causing her to spend more money, so I'm not sure she offers much of a different perspective. (And I'm not saying that Witches shouldn't buy anything, but I think there are contradictions that have yet to be addressed fully among many practitioners.)
I found it curious that Helmuth would jump into practicing without doing much research -- not even really reading about basic ritual practices before attempting her first sabbat celebration (Lughnasadh) -- or preparation. But I did appreciate that she recognized that the deeper she got into the practice, the more she came to understand that the true work of her practice was in facing herself honestly and learning to work through her questions, fears, anxieties, and more.
An enjoyable read, but I had hoped for more. And maybe that's on me, because one year is hardly enough time for anyone to dive really deeply into spiritual matters, no matter the path. 3 stars.
Thank you, Simon and Schuster and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.
I appreciated the idea behind the book and enjoyed her dry commentary not only on her own mishaps but on the many contradictions found in books on Witchcraft and in various practices. Since Witchcraft has become very fashionable and Instagrammable, it sometimes seems like practitioners today can be more caught up in the consumer aspect of the Craft (crystals, herbs, etc) than in the spiritual quest. Helmuth addresses this briefly in the book, but it does seem like many of the things she tries end up causing her to spend more money, so I'm not sure she offers much of a different perspective. (And I'm not saying that Witches shouldn't buy anything, but I think there are contradictions that have yet to be addressed fully among many practitioners.)
I found it curious that Helmuth would jump into practicing without doing much research -- not even really reading about basic ritual practices before attempting her first sabbat celebration (Lughnasadh) -- or preparation. But I did appreciate that she recognized that the deeper she got into the practice, the more she came to understand that the true work of her practice was in facing herself honestly and learning to work through her questions, fears, anxieties, and more.
An enjoyable read, but I had hoped for more. And maybe that's on me, because one year is hardly enough time for anyone to dive really deeply into spiritual matters, no matter the path. 3 stars.
Thank you, Simon and Schuster and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.
May 16, 2023
I was thrilled to receive an ARC of *The Witching Year* by Diana Helmuth, via NetGalley.
The book’s description called to me from the marketing material. I had the sense that the author was brave enough to take an exploratory journey many women would have liked to attempt but were not willing to risk or to commit to.
The wide-ranging, sometimes contradictory, and often commercialized modern practices of Witchcraft are a compelling topic as seen by the success of the novels the author mentions fairly early in her book. *Practical Magic, A Discovery of Witches, The Once and Future Witches, A Secret History of Witches* have all been extremely popular with women(mostly). This book helps us understand why. The author’s need to “figure it all out” with regard to the persistence of belief in witches and witchcraft in the present day resonated strongly as did her challenges with letting go of that need and accepting the reality of the decentralized, chaotic but coherent world she discovered.
The book also works well as an artifact of the search for meaning during the Covid times as lived on the west coast. I think it will resonate with those who have read all the novels mentioned above or who want to know more about the relevance of the candles and crystals and tarot cards that they probably already own could have in their spiritual practices.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for making the ARC available.
The book’s description called to me from the marketing material. I had the sense that the author was brave enough to take an exploratory journey many women would have liked to attempt but were not willing to risk or to commit to.
The wide-ranging, sometimes contradictory, and often commercialized modern practices of Witchcraft are a compelling topic as seen by the success of the novels the author mentions fairly early in her book. *Practical Magic, A Discovery of Witches, The Once and Future Witches, A Secret History of Witches* have all been extremely popular with women(mostly). This book helps us understand why. The author’s need to “figure it all out” with regard to the persistence of belief in witches and witchcraft in the present day resonated strongly as did her challenges with letting go of that need and accepting the reality of the decentralized, chaotic but coherent world she discovered.
The book also works well as an artifact of the search for meaning during the Covid times as lived on the west coast. I think it will resonate with those who have read all the novels mentioned above or who want to know more about the relevance of the candles and crystals and tarot cards that they probably already own could have in their spiritual practices.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for making the ARC available.
September 3, 2023
In my lifetime I have never been a religions person. That topic just never made sense to me. Now as a 33 years old a lot of the religions in this word doesn't make sense to me and that's just my opinion. Throughout reading about Diana's Journey of studying wicca/witchcraft I began to think in a way I have never thought about before. I enjoyed how detailed she wrote. Even though this is a non fiction book, it didn't feel like it at times. There were moments where I was laughing and I could feel her emotions. I happen to be from Massachusetts and have been to Salem so I really enjoyed reading about her time there and also going to the camps. Diana made me learn a lot and as a person who love to learn I am thankful for that. I look forward to reading more of her work.
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