Heal the Witch Wound
Reclaim Your Magic and Step into Your Power
- 2023 INDIES Finalist
- Finalist, Body, Mind & Spirit (Adult Nonfiction)
Celeste Larsen’s book encourages witches to embrace their magic and reject the stigmas associated with practicing their craft.
The book begins with an exploration of the Burning Times, a period spanning more than three centuries that resulted in the deaths of an estimated fifty thousand people. It looks at who the victims and the persecutors were, examining the environmental, economic, and religious conditions that lead to witch trials. It then draws a compelling parallel to modern conditions and the continued persecution of witches in parts of the world, including in Africa, where executions still happen, and in Western society, where role-playing games and books are banned and burned for fear that they are linked to satanism and witchcraft.
Larsen follows this history with a discussion of the ways in which it continues to affect people. This can be seen when practitioners hide their magic or limit themselves and their ambitions in order to appear ordinary. It may manifest through feelings of shame or distrust in regards to women’s energy. It may even show up as past-life memories. The book makes it clear that anyone might feel this pain and benefit from working to heal it. Replete with activities to help witches begin their healing process, the book’s later portions include journal prompts for self-reflection, advice for setting up magical and mundane boundaries, and simple, evocative rituals to connect with the wounded self, the divine feminine, and the natural world to reclaim one’s personal power.
Larsen is careful to state that the book’s recommended activities are not intended to replace professional therapy; she does not claim any easy fixes. Still, her book is full of opportunities for profound healing and growth—an illuminating, gentle, and thought-provoking self-help text for those experiencing many levels of hurt.
Reviewed by
Catherine Thureson
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
