{"id":20933,"date":"2019-11-01T01:10:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T01:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=20933"},"modified":"2019-10-31T16:41:20","modified_gmt":"2019-10-31T16:41:20","slug":"book-review-revolutionary-witchcraft-a-guide-to-magical-activism-by-sarah-lyons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2019\/11\/01\/book-review-revolutionary-witchcraft-a-guide-to-magical-activism-by-sarah-lyons\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review – Revolutionary Witchcraft: A Guide To Magical Activism by Sarah Lyons"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book <\/span>R<\/span>eview<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Revolutionary Witchcraft: A Guide To Magical Activism<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

by Sarah Lyons <\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

158 <\/span>Pages<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

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\u201cThis is a book about magic, politics, and how we can change the world when we blend the two together,\u201d activist and practicing witch Sarah Lyons writes in the introduction to her book, \u201cRevolutionary Witchcraft: A Guide To Magical Activism.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What many refer to as energy, prana or the Force, Lyons likes to call power, noting \u201cpolitics is about power.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Magic has always been used to channel the power of desperation, pain and rage by people with no other means to achieve justice. And because \u201c[w]itches get their power from a connection with the land,\u201d they are particularly suited \u201cto take on the problems we face in the world right now,\u201d she writes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The first chapter introduces ancestor work to strengthen an individual\u2019s magic while chapter two discusses the problems that arose as people began to feel separate from the natural world and its magic. The 2016 election served as a wake up call as America was confronted with its shadow self that, Lyons wrote, will \u201chaunt you until you confront it and incorporate its lessons into your life.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

With the old world dying and a new one coming to life, it\u2019s a time of revolution \u2013 and magic \u2013 in the face of all the isms (racism, sexism, capitalism, etc.). \u201cA target is always a person, never an institution or system,\u201d she states, and tactics are the method for demanding and creating change.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One example she gives is: \u201cVoting is a tactic, not a strategy. Voting is lighting a candle, not doing candle magic. Voting is reciting words, not doing a spell. You must put the correct meaning on it and connect voting to a larger narrative to be effective.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dreaming a different world and the activism to get there is the only way out of our present situation, Lyons states. She then presents a blueprint to do just that by practicing politically-motivated magic with such tools as sigils, soul flight, power mapping and protests for social justice, environmental activism and racial reimagining.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe earth is under attack \u2026 as witches we must speak the words the dying earth cannot,\u201d she said. Her handbook gives those ready for the magical uprising some witchcraft history, an outline for approaching problems, spells to customize and other tools to manifest a dream.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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About the <\/span><\/span>Book\u2019s <\/span><\/span>Author<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Sarah Lyons<\/span><\/span> <\/b>is a writer, activist, occultist and witch. She has practiced witchcraft <\/span>for <\/span>more than ten years, and her work and writing has appeared in a variety of publications. She is an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America, serving on the New York City chapter’s Ecosocialist Working Group. Visit her on <\/span>her website at sarahlyons.org<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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