The New Aradia: A Witch’s Handbook to Magical Resistance by Laura Tempest Zakroff

The New Aradia: A Witch’s Handbook to Magical Resistance Reviews

• 
  Stacy

  I very much enjoyed this book. I know a lot of hard work and spiritual energy are packed within it. The majority of the book gave me a lot to think about. I walked away with some new insights and a few good thoughts of things I can incorporate into my own practices and workings. I definitely came away with a better understanding of how Aradia and her spirit may have morphed, changed, strengthened, and resurfaced over the last 100 years. If you work with Aradia, or do any social justice, healing, protection, and, yes, even hex work, this little book will make a big contribution to you!
• 
  Julie McCord

  A small but mighty volume. The first few articles are about the legend of Aradia and why we should be following in her footsteps today - which may be a case of preaching to the choir, since if one has bought the book one is probably looking for tools to do so. So the good news is that the rest of the book gives you those. There are rituals, invocations, spells, recipes, herbal lore, and several sigils designed by Laura in workshops for use in such current needs as protection during protests, avoiding ICE, and building community with other resistors. There really isn't any dead weight here.
• 
  Samantha Strong

  I zipped through this book in an afternoon, but it's chock full of highlighting and dog eared pages. It feels like a dawning for someone interested in magickal political influence -- some of the basics will take a moon cycle to setup and many will entwined throughout my magickal resistance until our goals are reached. It contains both general incantations and spells aimed at specific issues, which is fantastic.
• 
  thieuke

  This was a fun one to read. Though some of the selected writings missed the point. All can be said to aid in resistance, even cleaning products? Others then seemed very much written just to write and be published under the banner of 'Witch of the Resistance', a dangerous attitude in my opinion. But not all was sad pages! There were some very interesting pieces as well, for example, how regeneration and recreation is a big, often neglected, part of revolution. When interested in these things you won't be sad you read it, but it's not really a high quality one in my opinion. (Laura Tempest is really good with the sigils and treats us to some in this one as well)
• 
  Alan D.D.

  An interesting ebook about the perception witches have about the world of today and how to work with it. I really like the idea, the contributions and the sigils presented, which are works of art on their own. Laura Tempest Zakroff is with no doubt an increible author, but proved to be an editor with a good eye. Hopefully, this will not be the only book she edits.
• 
  SwarthyPete

  This is a book that will stand the test of time.
• 
  Larissa Lee

  First Glance
  This summer I went hunting for books about magical resistance. With America being full of unrest and injustice, I wanted to do something! This book came up on more than one suggested reading list, so I decided to grab a copy.
  
  Positive Bits
  If you’re feeling overwhelmed or hopeless, this book is for you. Thanks to the variety of writers who pitched in their works, the handbook serves as a pep talk across diverse angles of approach. There are rituals and sigils to work toward change, but there are also reminders of our inherent power laced throughout.
  
  I’m pleased to say that the focus isn’t so targeted to 2020 that the book will lose value with time. While highly applicable to today’s problems, I feel like the writers made smart choices in providing ideas and spells that can be molded to any working angled toward justice, positive change, and community. When I bought this book in June, I imagined I’d make the most use out of the sigils included. However, here I am in November embracing the self-care rituals and reminders of my personal power as a witch. Clearly, the topics covered flex with your needs.
  
  As a poet and longtime witch, I don’t often use other people’s spells as written. I tend to rework the wording, paraphrasing the original in my own syntax. However, I found myself impressed with several of the workings as written; I find myself wanting to use them “as is” rather than transforming them, and that’s a good thing. Well-written magic is beautiful and powerful!
  
  Less Enjoyable Bits
  This book should be three times bigger than it is! In all seriousness, I wish the book had been delayed a bit longer to allow for more content inclusion; the introduction mentions how rushed the creation process was, and I feel like we missed out on an opportunity to truly build a social justice handbook for witches everywhere.
  
  The title made me think there’d be more of an embrace of Aradia’s mythos, but she was minimally included. As I don’t connect to her story, it didn’t bother me; however, newer witches less familiar with her might wonder why she was used as a lens to view magical resistance through in this book. Aradia’s mythos is very focused on using witchcraft to fight oppression, particularly when wielded by the minority against a powerful majority. I think including a bit more explanation of her history might’ve been helpful for some readers coming in blind.
  
  There’s no organization to this handbook. My brain works the same way, where most thoughts are only tangentially tied together. If you prefer linear thoughts and patterns, then this book might frustrate you. Fair warning!
  
  Is it worth the coin?
  Yes – I needed this. Of all the books I purchased with magical resistance in mind, this is the first one to give me something back: hope.
• 
  Antoinette

  It was okay. I skimmed through most of it (I read it as part of the Witches Book Box). I am really unfamiliar with the original Gospel of Aradia, so maybe that's hindering my enjoyment of the book. Some of the contents were excellent (the sigils were pretty great), other ones were a bit lack-luster. Pretty easy read.
• 
  Karen Kohoutek

  A very short but inspiring anthology of essays, mostly 2-3 pages in length, focusing on modern interpretations of folklorist Charles Leland's "Aradia: Gospel of the Witches," an influential text from 1899 presenting myth and theology about Italian witchcraft. One of its themes was the use of witchcraft as a way for the impoverished and disenfranchised to work against forces that oppress them, and this aspect is the main interest of this collection, applying these magical concepts to contemporary situations. It was overall pretty good, although I did skip over some of the more recipe-like spells.