ENCHANTMENTS

In an era when fewer young people than ever are involved in organized religion, and when the rights of women, gender nonconforming people, and religious minorities are under constant attack from institutions of power, perhaps it's no surprise that many people are drawn to the eclectic, female-empowered nature of self-guided witchcraft. But entering into an ancient practice of ritual and tradition can be daunting. That's where Mya Spalter comes in.

Spalter is a longtime employee of Enchantments, the oldest occult store in New York City, where she spends her days carving intention candles, recommending incense, and giving spiritual and practical advice to seasoned witches and curious novices alike. ENCHANTMENTS: A Modern Witch's Guide to Self-Possession is a portable introduction to the occult with a modern twist, offering a guide to building your own eclectic witchcraft practice out of the life you already have. Magic, Spalter reminds us, is everywhereeven in the seemingly mundaneand we need only to look for it to release the power that's waiting around and within us.

Wise, irreverent, informative and hilarious, ENCHANTMENTS is the perfect primer to developing your personal spirituality. You'll learn how to set up a home altar (if you don't care for deities, try using a graven image of Prince), how to cast a love spell on yourself (which is really the best way), how to banish negative energy (which may or may not involve throwing a party), and how to choose crystals, candles, incense, and colors to complement your spells. On every page, Spalter's tone is frank, funny, and relatable, as she teaches you to, in her words, "haunt your own damn house."

Mya Spalter is a writer, editor, former colleague, and lifelong New Yorker. She writes nonfiction about witchcraft, and poetry about science. During her stint in Spiegel & Grau's editorial team she proved as funny and charming in life as she is on the pageand I do hope German editors will fall in love with her voice and infectious energy, as we all have.