yourartistfriend
Izz ~ she/her š³ļøāš | Illustrator by day āļø Tarot reader and witchcraft practitioner by night š Status: Currently working on our October tarot reading āļø
7962 points
4.03 average Ā Ā·Ā 36 reviews
Click a segment to filter
There is so much I could say about this book, but I keep returning to this:Ā
I want this book printed on cheap paper. So itās precious to our heart and mind, but not in a way that it finds a permanent home on a spotless shelf, with pages intact.Ā
These pages were made to catch our tears as they slide down our cheek. They were made to be rolled up and bent out of shape, so you can carry this book in your bag or coat pocket when you need it with you. And so you can read it in bed when you canāt sleep, and not get concerned the next day when you discover it somehow ended up open, under your pillow.
I want this book to be so affordable, you can lend it to comrades without worrying about it making its way back to you... Because this book feels like a gift: full of endless hope, yet completely grounded in reality of the fight for collective liberation.
This is a really well intentioned book that unfortunately missed the mark for me. _
At the beginning of the book the author claims: āIf you know lots about witchcraft, but nothing about politics outside a voting booth, this book is for you. If you know loads about politics, but your knowledge of witchcraft begins and ends with Harry Potter, this book is for you, too.ā
After reading I can confidently say that my impression of the book was that only the second claim is true, or more accurately, I believe this book was mostly directed at sceptics. On its own, there is nothing wrong with writing a book on witchcraft directed at people who donāt yet know if they believe or want to take part in the practice, but that is unfortunately not how this book was marketed or presented in the introduction.
The author discusses the importance of community, connecting with the land we live on, bringing up important moments where community came together to fight for an important cause, such as Standing stones and the AIDS epidemic. She also mentions how you don't need tools to practice effectively and how witchcraft is for everybody. I can get behind a lot of what the author is saying, however she has a specific approach to this topic that did not work for me.
Various concepts from witchcraft and other magical practices were defined very loosely here. For instance, the author says ābeing initiated is like falling in love. You just know it when it happensā, which would not be accurate by most common definitions of initiation. She also says that āall protests are spellsā. The author uses Crowleyās definition of magic to inform this statement (which she quotes as āMagic is the art and science of causing change in accordance with the Will") and takes it completely literally, making it seem like all change we create in the world is inherently magic. By this logic, deciding to flip the switch and turn on the light in a room would be magic, as it is technically causing change in accordance with our will. This would not be considered accurate by most widely accepted beliefs in the magical community. This is not to say that the author canāt have her own definitions of these things that simply work better for her. All I am saying is that this approach didnāt work for me, as I believe it banalizes and oversimplifies witchcraft unnecessarily. Also, activism can stand on its own as a powerful, meaningful thing. It does not need to be associated with witchcraft to be that.
In the section about sigils, the author mentions in passing how: āThere are even programs online that will generate [sigils] for youā. It feels all sorts of counterintuitive to encourage people to use shortcuts with AI when it comes to something as involved as creating magickal symbols. Same as attempting to generate any other form of art, this does not sit right with me, and it reminds me of people who use AI to read their tarot, something which renders the practice completely pointless.
There are multiple instances in the book that feel slightly patronizing. In one instance the author says *āRemember when I spent an entire chapter defining what witchcraft is and you were still kind of confused?ā and there were other comments like āDid I just blow your mind?ā I can tell this was supposed to be funny, and Iām sure it wasnāt malicious in intent, but there is no reason to assume your reader was confused after reading a chapter from your book, especially since you claim the book is for more seasoned practitioners as well as for beginners.
One thing that really bothered me is that there is no bibliography in the book. It seems like a book on this topic really needs some decent references, and I was really disappointed to find that this wasnāt taken into consideration at all. _
Every time I see books on this topic I am so excited that the magical community is out there proudly fighting for justice and trying to inspire others to do the same. But I strongly believe that genuine critique is good. We critique things like books and movies because we want the entire industry to get better, not because we want to make those creators feel bad about what they created. This book isn't a terrible resource, but I didnāt think it was a good one either, which is why I wouldnāt recommend it. We can do so much better.
Hello, friends.āļø
It has been September for... some days :D...
( Listen, I never said these posts would come on the first of every month, please temper your expectations, thank youu šāāļøšš )
I have been going through it, folks. I had so many stressful things to take care of in August and that's going to extend to this month for me as well, and in some ways into the next. I feel like I have been behind on life-stuff all month and it really messed up what would normally be my downtime and my reading practice.
BUT!
We shall not crumble under the pressure of the world!
We shall get hard stuff done and also get better at taking care of our mental health! šāāļø
We have committed to bookish tarot check-ins every month, and so you better believe that's exactly what we will do. Grab a chair, let me be your most humble host, and let's look at some pretty cards and talk books. Come, come, comeā¦ āļø _
How this works
I pull some cards for us and write a little bit about what Iām seeing when it comes to reading inspiration for the month ahead. You are welcome to simply take what resonates from the reading and move on with your day, or, if you think of any specific books that align with what Iām describing, comment those titles down below for people to check out. These readings donāt aim to be particularly predictive, and they arenāt meant to be taken as gospel. This is simply a bit of fun, something to bring you some reading inspiration if you need it, and an opportunity for us to further connect as a community.
_
Iām using the Lilifer tarot deck, created by Marion Costentin, published by Little Darkness. The spread is designed by me.
Here are the questions we will be looking at, and the cards we got. For a better experience, I recommend viewing the pictures below on the Pagebound website!
Okay, friends. General advice for our reading practice in September seems to be pretty grounded. We're talking about simple day-to-day things, the little steps that ultimately take us to where we want to go. No earth-shattering, mind-bending energies here. There is a bit of a limbo, a bit of potential for discomfort, but it seems temporary and manageable. Letās talk!
Our general reading inspiration and potential is represented by the Seven of Pentacles. This is a slow-moving energy. Itās the seeds we planted slowly growing over time. They wonāt grow any faster if we sit and stare at them, overthinking and second-guessing ourselves, but if we are patient and consistent, they yield the most delicious fruit. The energy of this card is what we need every time weāre working on something that matters to us and that we want to make a key part of our life at any particular time. Itās a steady energy, not a spur-of-the-moment, flighty one.
The card that represents our potential issues when it comes to reading is the Six of Swords. This card often represents a bit of an uncomfy transition, although one that we expected to happen for some time. What Iām seeing from this is a suggestion of some change in our reading practice in September, the kind of change in routine that we need a little bit of time to get used to. This might be due to a lot of us wrapping up our vacations and going back to work or to academic environments around this time. Regardless of reason, we need to be reminded that our reading habits should be flexible enough to change as the rest of our life fluctuates. If this is not the case (hi), we should look into that and make it our goal to adjust. We deserve to have access to reading no matter what other things are taking place in our life, and if what we are used to doing doesnāt work anymore, we can restart at any time: pause current reads and start something more fitting, change our monthly or yearly goals, and manage our TBR so it isnāt giving us stress.
There seems to be good potential for our reading practice to develop meaningfully this month, but it might be good for us to avoid rushing it, even if we might be tempted. Letās try to stay away from the āall or nothingā mindset, and see how we can instead be more flexible with our reading goals and the ways we go about reaching them. . _
Now let's see what reading inspiration we can get from the rest of the spread. Nonfiction is where we will start.
Weāre looking at the first row of cards as one group. We have the Knight of Pentacles, and the Page of Cups talking to each other. The Knight of Pentacles is our general topic. Iām thinking that here it signifies positive progress and chasing a particular goal in life. This Knight cares so much about this goal, and they are willing to commit themselves and make sacrifices in order to reach it.
If the Page of Cups were to sit with our lovely Knight, it would ask them whether the things that take up most of their time and energy still align with what their heart truly desires. Now, this Page loves life and is full of hope, but they arenāt detached from reality. They understand we canāt always choose to do the job we love, or just go off and follow our passions wherever they may take us. However, they also know that sometimes we lose sight of what we want because of what society tells us we should want. Or that sometimes we convince ourselves that we donāt have any time to devote to our passions at all, even if that may not always be true. This Page also understands that the capitalist society we live in often makes us forget that we have inherent worth regardless of how successful or āproductiveā we are, and that things can have value even when that value cannot be exactly measured. These topics might be good to look into for our non-fiction reading this month.
We can also look into books that bring us back to our passions, back to our āwhyā, so we can figure out whether what we spend our time on is still for us, or whether we might have lost sight of ourselves somewhere along the way. This is a difficult question to ponder, and thatās why I think the approach card here, The Six of Cups is really important this time around.
The Six of Cups is often connected to nostalgia and the inner child. This is a gentler approach to this topic. As much as it is sometimes necessary, weāre not destroying anything with fire in this case. Instead, weāre gently pivoting in the right direction. Throw some humor in there while youāre at it.
I think as adults we sometimes forget we also need to be taken care of, and that we deserve gentleness. So for this monthās non-fiction, maybe weāre looking at books which will give us just that: a companion, a hand to hold as we figure out a particular aspect of our life, or a safe space to play and try new things that we feel excited about. This card is also one of stories, and reminiscing on specific moments of the past with the benefit of hindsight, so it might lend itself well to a memoir, if that is your thing. . _
Onto fiction! This is quite an interesting line-up this month.
We open up with The Moon card. The mood and atmosphere here is HEAVY. What Iām immediately getting here are those books where if the atmosphere wasnāt as strong and specific, the stories would end up falling flat. We are looking at stories that feel a bit like fever dreams. Things are a bit more floaty, immaterial. Perhaps weāre in the head of the main character, going through their imaginary scenarios, dreams, and anxieties. Or perhaps the rules of the world that we live in donāt apply the same way in these books. Moonlight often obscures the view, only showing partial pictures of things, so thereās an air of mystery and confusion. Itās the kind of books where you have to get on board early and trust the author that the journey they are taking you on will ultimately pay off.
Now, the Queen of Swords represents the issues for our character(s) in the story. When weāre talking about the negative side of this queen, thereās definitely issues with overthinking and unprocessed emotions. This Moon energy might just be the result of escapism that this character engages in.
This doesnāt have to be literal, and it likely isnāt. The Moon is very comfortable with symbolism, and very at home with allegories. The whole story could be a metaphor for processing specific emotions or difficult life events, which really opens up the options for the books this month.
Our third card is The Magician. Note how this card visually stands out with its warm red and orange in a spread full of muted colors. Just from that, I think weāre looking at books where the author was not afraid to commit to their world and everything that makes it unique. The author didnāt intend this book to be for everybody and didnāt mind being different. That said, weāre not talking about uniqueness for the sake of uniqueness. The Magician acts with full understanding of who they are and what they want to bring into this world. This is a distinctly authentic style, and this is evident in the writing.
Iād say we should look into some weirder fiction this month, the books where the atmosphere drips with imaginative visuals, or descends into straight up mental spirals. The singularity of the figures in these three cards is also making me think of first-person POV, so you may want to consider that as well, if you think youād enjoy having that perspective to the story.
. _
Thatās our reading for September! And how I loved sitting with you!
Did you think of any books that fit the reading and that youād recommend to the rest of the community?
Since Iāve been so over the place lately, I ended up starting many of my currently-reading books from the beginning and opting not to track progress for now. My September plan is otherwise empty, so Iāll just allow myself to see how I feel as the month goes on and only start new things if I either finish something Iām currently reading, or if I officially pause it and put it aside. Hopefully this will help me get back into the groove of things soon :)
Since September has already started, what are we reading?? Are you joining the readalong? Did you plan any buddy reads? šāļø Iād love to hear a few updates from you, friends, Iāve not been too active on here recently.
In any case, thanks for stopping by! āļø _
Previous readings:
August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026
yourartistfriend commented...
This was such a good time. I highly recommend it. I haven't written any reviews in ages but I'll write one for this to elaborate on my thoughts because I really hope people pick this one up!
( I'm honestly tempted to go back to the beginning and read it again but I have too many books yet to read this year so I'll try not to.... UNLESS it's a buddy read? š )
yourartistfriend finished a book
7w
It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful: How AIDS Activists Used Art to Fight a Pandemic
Jack Lowery
Shortlisted for theĀ J. Anthony Lukas Prize The story of art collective Gran Furyāwhich fought back during the AIDS crisisĀ through direct action and community-made propagandaāoffers lessons in love andĀ grief. In the late 1980s, the AIDS pandemic was annihilating queer people, intravenous drug users, and communities of color in America, and disinformation about the disease ran rampant. Out of the activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), an art collective that called itself Gran Fury formed to campaign against corporate greed, government inaction, stigma, and public indifference to the epidemic. Writer Jack Lowery examines Gran Furyās art and activism from iconic images like the āKissing Doesnāt Killā poster to the act of dropping piles of fake bills onto the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Lowery offers a complex, moving portrait of a collective and its members, who built essential solidarities with each other and whose lives evidenced the profound trauma of enduring the AIDS crisis. Gran Fury and ACT UPās strategies are still used frequently by the activists leading contemporary movements. In an era when structural violence and the devastation of COVID-19 continue to target the most vulnerable, this belief in the power of public art and action persists.
yourartistfriend commented...
I thought this was fucking great, y'all. I read this because I was proposing some event concepts, and while I didn't use everything from here, I can already tell that the proposals turned out 10x better compared to what they would have been if I didn't have this book. No fluff, loads of good examples, fun read. I will probably do a review at some point (in my life, lol) but I recommend this.
yourartistfriend finished a book
19w
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters
Priya Parker
A transformative exploration of the power, purpose, and benefits of gatherings in our lives: at work, at school, at home and beyond. Every day we find ourselves in gatherings, Priya Parker says in The Art of Gathering. If we can understand what makes these gatherings effective and memorable, then we can reframe and redirect them to benefit everyone, host and guest alike. Parker defines a gathering as three or more people who come together for a specific purpose. When we understand why we gather, she says -- to acknowledge, to learn, to challenge, to change -- we learn how to organize gatherings that are relevant and memorable: from an effective business meeting to a thought-provoking conference; from a joyful wedding to a unifying family dinner. Drawing on her experience as a strategic facilitator who's worked with such organizations as the World Economic Forum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the retail company Fresh, Parker explains how ordinary people can create remarkable occasions, large and small. In dozens of fascinating examples, she breaks down the alchemy of these experiences to show what goes into the good ones and demonstrates how we can learn to incorporate those elements into all of our gatherings. The result is a book that's both journey and guide, full of big ideas with real-world applications that will change the way you look at a business meeting, a parent-teacher conference, and a backyard barbecue.
yourartistfriend commented...
Whichever sweet person gifted me PB royalty for six whole months and by doing so also supported our lovely founders, you've got a free tarot reading with me, if that happens to be something you'd enjoy. In any case, thank you for such a sweet gesture āļøā” I appreciate you!
