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Title: Bohemian Magick: Witchcraft and Secret Spells to Electrify Your Life by Veronica Varlow
Details: Copyright 2021, Harper Collins
Synopsis (By Way of Publisher's Info): "“The remarkable Veronica Varlow seizes life with both hands and bends it to her will. Learn from her.” —Neil Gaiman
In Bohemian Magick, Veronica Varlow, the last daughter in a line of Bohemian witches, weaves together witchcraft knowledge and ancient secret spells with an exotic rock-and-roll magick style that has earned her a devoted following worldwide. This beguiling grimoire-style guide is filled with potent, never-before-revealed spells, hand-written rituals, magick ephemera, hand-drawn sigils, potions, charms, and rhyming incantations that will call your power back to you and electrify your life!
With more than 150 illustrations— drawings, photography, and vintage art— and text written in her own hand, this sumptuous companion is brimming with spells for everlasting confidence, radiant self-love, healing, manifesting your dreams, and love with a desired partner. Veronica calls upon the ancient and hidden Czech-Romani magic passed down to from her grandmother Helen’s lineage and infuses it with her own signature sorcery to help you awaken and amplify your truest self. Each spell that you cast, each potion that you brew, and each chant you speak into the universe will rouse the most powerful part of your being!
In Part I, The School of Spectaculus, Veronica reveals, step by step, her personally crafted steps to spellcasting with power. She shares her secrets regarding writing and preparing for spells, calling on ancestors to give your spells oomph, and writing your own badass spells. She also provides information on when to cast spells and other basics that you need to know to perform the mind-blowing rituals she introduces in Part II.
In Part II, Initiations, she introduces you to the hidden magick of Bohemia. She leads you on five initiations, each focused on specific themes including self-love, sizzling confidence, healing, juicy mojo, and love.
Each initiation begins with an experiential journey of discovery, a story in which you are the protagonist, whether following a trail of candles through a dark wood to a river filled with tiny message-filled paper boats or venturing into a tarot parlor on a hot, sultry night to meet a Witch who has come back from the Afterlife to help you find true love.
And, of course, each initiation includes spells with a rock and roll vibe, such as:
Hello, I Love You: Use mirror magick to boost your confidence and magnetism.
Return to Sender: Create a magick candle and burn it upside down to protect you and send bad vibes back to where they came from.
Search and Destroy: Literally pulverize the false stories you tell yourself by writing them on china plates and smash those poisonous words to bits with a hammer!
Bohemian Rhapsody: A secret knot-tying spell to do with a partner to increase passion and intimacy
For each badass bewitching enchantment, Veronica explains its importance, the purpose of practice, and the necessary tools and preparation you’ll need to cast it correctly.
With Bohemian Magick, you’ll discover your adventurous side and your own unique magick. Get ready to rise up, call your power back to you, realize your purpose, and make your life story truly legendary! "
Why I Wanted to Read It: So last year was a big year in Witch books. I've read more new (as in published in the last five years) Witch books in the past year or so than I have in over a decade, to say nothing of the vast amounts of Witch (and witch) fiction I've consumed.
One of the big catalysts in this boom for me (which you know if you've been reading awhile) was reading Amanda Yates Garcia's important book and since this is the 2020s, I've also been following her work on social media. She spotlights other authors and creators and from when I first heard of this book, I was intrigued. I've been trying to get my hands on this book for over half a year now.
How I Liked It: Long-awaited books can be a double-edged sword. How on earth can the book compare to your expectations, that seem to go up the longer the book is just out of your hands? Is it even fair to the author at that point?
But first! Meet Veronica Varlow! This is a brightly colored, lushly illustrated book of Witchcraft from a Witch with Bohemian ancestry (she is of Czech Romani heritage) with more than a dash of burlesque and as the description might suggest, plenty of rock and roll influence (several rituals and chapter titles have song lyric/song titles that span from the '60s to the '80s of popular music, and are decorated by pictures of various artists including Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison).
The book details the Spectaculous tradition, a tradition founded by Varlow and her husband that draws from her heritage, but also adds to it. While it's a primarily spell-casting tutorial and explanation of various forms of magic, the book moreover has the feel of a self-help book and its focus is not so much on cookbook spells but personal transformation.
Ancestor work and worship, aforementioned personal transformation, and some spell-casting basics are included, as is a bit of memoir (including but not limited to various moments of personal tragedy and transformation from the author's life) and various "journeys" throughout the book to various places (both fantasy and real) with the author (guided meditations). The book ends with a glossary of terms used by the author, both exclusive to her tradition of Witchcraft, and general terms used in modern Witchcraft.
So I've been watching this book since it was preparing to drop last autumn. Author social media is increasingly a required part of book promotion and Varlow does it well, at least to someone like me that had never heard of her until now. But a bit of research shows that she's actually a fairly well-known burlesque performer with several screen appearances, and has been in the public eye for awhile now. Varlow's social media presence (at least, her Instagram) portrays an established and appealing character, with posts both personal and professional. Her persona from her socials alone make her seem like a fun, daring, wild friend that gives good advice. She's also great at keeping followers and engagement without it seeming too much like engagement. Is this a bit crass as to the state of social media in the 2020s? Absolutely. But I bring this up because unlike other books I've had to wait to read, this one stayed on my mind until I got to read it, thanks in part to Varlow's online work and persona. Endorsements of this book from other authors I like (including Amanda Yates Garcia) added to my excitement to finally get to read this book! So how on earth did it compare to the literal months of build up?
I could drag this out more, but I won't. The book was an absolute delight.
I've been reading a lot of Witch books, as you know. And honestly, they've been more lacking than not, as you've seen from my reviews. They're not only missing crucial info too frequently and push false to spotty information, they're also a slog to read. Frankly, in books of this nature, even the most helpful and informative ones can have an overly dry quality.
So I was not only pleasantly surprised, but downright shocked that I enjoyed this book so much I was actually quite disappointed when it ended. The author has an excellent way of pulling in the reader and making them truly feel like they're on a journey and it's fascinating! Particularly in the memoir sections, she has a way with words and imagery.
This is her grandmother comforting her after she's bullied at school.
My Grandma continued pulling the brush through my hair as tears fell down my face. When she was done, she gathered the puffy cloud of my hair out of the brush and put it beside the dock under a small rock.
"Watch," she whispered.
The afternoon sun made the water sparkle brightly, as if diamonds were bouncing on the tide. We had been watching the strands of my hair under the rock for a long time when suddenly a little brown bird hopped down and took some of the hair in its beak. If flew away, and then returned, taking more. This happened several times, until all the hair was gone.
My Grandma turned to me and said, "Are you really worried about other people's opinions of you when you know now that baby birds will sing their first song nestled in your hair? You are magick, you have to know that. What other people think of you isn't any of your business." (pg 16)
Later,
My Grandma Helen's magick was the Witchcraft of the working class. She read tea leaves from a torn-open Lipton's bag and laid down well-worn playing cards to read the future after her chain-smoking, whiskey-drinking poker games with the ladies.(pg 32)
But entertaining reading is not to say it's not also useful. The book, while fairly tailored to Varlow's particular tradition, contains enough material that if it's not directly serviceable to your particular needs, is enough of a delightful inspiration to spawn your own ideas. Again, more than a little of this book is activities and practices you would engage in with a therapist, including working on your own limiting thoughts and perceptions of yourself, setting goals, and considering the self you want to be, considering how you talk about yourself, and much more.
When you say "yes" to who you truly are, all the doors will open. When you fall in love with yourself, the world falls in love with you. There is an old saying, "Energy flows where attention goes." When your Electric is flowing within you, when that bright illumination of self-love is on, the world takes notice. (pg 175)
But perhaps most delightful to me is the inclusion of something so very very very many books leave out and it's something that is essential: energy raising!
Once you feel like a spell is complete, you must cast it out for the Spirits to help work it with you. Think of a spell as writing a letter to the Spirits: Steps One through Four are the equivalent of getting a paper and pen, writing the letter, putting it in an envelope, and sealing it and putting a stamp on it. If you don't do Step Five-- raising and casting the energy out-- you've left that letter on your desk! You need to take it to the mailbox and drop it in, babe!
Raising and casting the energy for your spell-- in other words, communicating it to the Spirits-- is the final step. You pull all of your magick together in one final exaltation to cast out your energy, to thank and bid farewell to your guide and the Spirits with one final thrust of your hands to the sky, a clap, an exuberant howl, or even speaking the Spectaculus words of closure in a loud and powerful voice: "See it. Be it. So be it." (pg 54)
Like Amanda Yates Garcia, Veronica Varlow has some truly thought-provoking thoughts on what a Witch is and what a Witch does:
When enchanted by a Witch, inanimate objects are filled with a life-force energy. In the magick of Bohemia, tarot cards, wands, crystals, potion bottles, brooms, and grimoires take on a living personality when infused with the breath, intention, and energy of their magickal master. (pg 24)
Growing up, most of us were fed faerie tales of heroes rushing in to save the day.
Witches don't wait for anyone to save us.
We save ourselves.
The courage to heal is an act of bravery. Prepare to call your power back to you and unleash the warrior Witch within as you deepen your sense of self-protection, strength, and capable confidence in this initiation. (pg 132)
And before we get into any quibbling about what Varlow's Witchcraft is (religion/spiritual practice, way of life, magic system, because Witchcraft absolutely can be all of those things or just one or all and more to people, thank you), I couldn't see she made any reference to any Deity, but she did talk a lot about spirits, especially ancestors, which she defines (as several in the craft, including myself do) as not just who might share your biological lineage, but who might share your spiritual ancestry:
ANCESTORS: Traditional forms of Witchcraft will argue that the term "Ancestors" applies only to those in your family line that have preceded you. In the Witchcraft of Spectaculus, Ancestors can include anyone who is on the Otherside who has given you a new belief system or core value life inspiration. My definition of an Ancestor is someone whose life, teaching, and work helped shape part of the person you are today. Your Ancestors could include people like Mr. Rogers or Martin Luther King Jr., if they influenced who you are today and a part of their legacy lives on in you. (from the Spectaculus Wordery)
Here feels like a good place to mention that Varlow talks about calling specific guides to you, as in deceased humans, generally famous ones, to work with you on personal quests. I have mixed feelings about this.
For one, her method of using what the person liked in life (a fragrance, certain music, et cetera) to use in the ritual to call them seems something highly debatable (especially given the person's level of fame) and potentially filled with folklore and falsehoods. You might cook up a dish you heard was that deceased rock star's favorite, but it might turn out it was something served regularly at a hotel where they stayed and someone made an assumption.
For two, you don't know what that person was like in life. Just because they created art that spoke to you or worked for things you value doesn't necessarily mean you'd want to spend time with them (or vice versa).
However, Varlow does make a convincing case for giving it a try and I realize this is slightly vague and I'm sorry, but it just doesn't read as manipulative as some of this sort of thing can get and encouraging of a toxic mindset (you are owed something from these entities and will demand it) that can quickly become a real problem.
Strictly on paper, I freely admit I might loathe the concept of this book. Pop culture (especially pop songs) inserted so heavily into this? The author making themselves a character with you? The author with a very distinctive tradition they are introducing? It sounds inane!
But in practice, it's anything but.
Perhaps it's Varlow's sincerity, perhaps it's her skill with writing, perhaps it's both and more, but it all just works.
I should explain the tradition thing. Unfortunately, like anything but particularly something like modern Witchcraft where there's been spotty history and conjecture and controversy about who did what when, founding a tradition of Witchcraft and being properly credited for aspects of that tradition is pretty important. It's not just an ego thing (although it certainly can be), it's about being credited for your work and contributions.
Varlow as I said draws upon her own personal heritage (Czech Romany) but also adds some new points:
Set the candle in its holder in the center of your altar and light it. In the lore of Bohemia, lighting a candle signals the parting of the veil between the earthly plane and the realm of the Spirits. The candle flame is meant to call Ancestors and the Spirits to your workings with its light. (pg 25)
Finish by saying the magickal words that we use to cast a spell in the Witchcraft of Spectaculus:
See it. Be it. So be it. (pg 24)
This section is below a photograph of Jimi Hendrix playing the guitar with his tongue:
Welcome to the gritty, hardcore side of magick. I'm talking about the power boost for spells that you'll never see on a rickety wooden shelf in the most badass Witch shop in Salem.
Your Sorcery Signature is your hair, nails, saliva, blood, and teeth. It is what you add to magnetize a spell to you. Think of it this way: your spell is a letter you send for the Spirits to read. Your powerfully unique DNA is your one-of-a-kind signature. Adding your Sorcery Signature is adding your physical essence-- the very pieces you're made of-- to your spell.
Squeamish? Sure. Maybe. But remember that you're learning Witchcraft from a burlesque girl whose wedding ring is made from her husband's tooth that was extracted when he was thirteen. I've got the very essence, the teenage bones of the man I love, on my fire finger that connects to my heart. (pg 50)
Welcome to the wild Witchcraft of Spectaculus, where every hour is the Witching hour and you are exactly where you belong-- living your magickal Wild with all of us.
This book isn't presenting just any kind of basic Witchcraft, babe. This is Spectaculus-- the deep, wild, naked, artistic supernova of Witchcraft. Spectaculus is an established branch of Witchcraft that I founded with my husband, David Garfinkel-Varlow. Spectaculus's roots are born in the Bohemian traditions of Grandma Helen and branch into our unique rock-and-roll magick that incorporates natural mysticism and instinctive creativity. All the secret traditions that you'll find in this book have been passed down through my Bohemian lineage or are spells, ceremonies, and magick techniques that I have invented. (pg 31)
I tell you all this because there are many different traditions in Witchcraft. The Witchcraft of Spectaculus has carved its own mystical path guided by the old candle flame burning from Bohemia, the words of rock-and-roll troubadours, and the haunting and soulful sound of blues guitars.
Spectaculus is not about power over others. Spectaculus is about finding the power within yourself, no matter where you come from, no matter what your past is, no matter what's in your bank account. Spectaculus is an anti-elitist, anti-establishment witchcraft. There are no levels that are higher in stature or better than others. We respect each other as equals. Spectaculus is the Witchcraft counterculture. It is a powerful melting pot of magick, with Witches of every skin color, background, shape, size, gender variant, and nonbinary. We recognize that there is a leader and a teacher in every single one of us, and we encourage sharing, adventuring, lettering our imaginations run wild, and supporting each other in our journeys. We learn from each other's experiences and personal life stories. We are revolutionary magick workers who work spells and use our voices for equality, freedom, and opportunity for all people as we fight oppression. We know this to be true: we are strong as individuals and even more powerful when we stand together. (pg 32)
[I]t is important that you honor and pay respect to the origins of this magick when you practice it, both privately and publicly. By participating in this journey, you are now part of the legacy of Spectaculus and you are carrying on the high honor of keeping the work alive.
You have my permission to create any spell in this book and use the spells, techniques, and rituals in your own Covens as long as you acknowledge the Spectaculus tradition by name. Acknowledgement through word, through deed, and through writing honors the Craft and those who practiced it before you. Passing off these traditions as your own or not giving credit where it is due is bad mojo and will diminish your magickal workings. Always remember that when you cast your spells with honor, tradition, and dignity, the love will continue on and circle back to you. (pg 36)
In Bohemian magick, it is customary to take ritual baths naked but adorned (the adornment is what differentiates a ritual bath from a regular bath in Czech Romani culture). (pg 176)
Also, your non-dominant hand is your "Spirit hand."
I have to say, this book is not quite what I expected. However, it didn't disappoint one whit and was an enjoyable rarity of this genre as both useful and entertaining. I think it also works for beginners as well as the more advanced (me) to probably even adepts, as Varlow's personality and outlook are an inspiration. One of the best feelings has to be when a long-awaited book is more than worth the wait.
Notable: Interested in contacting the author?
"But how do I get in touch with you?"
"Wait until it's a full moon, then set up thirteen tea lights around a six-foot circle. Lure me in by laying one vintage slip in the center, then scatter rose petals on the fabric. Hold a single sunflower in your Spirit hand and sing Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne' aloud but use my name instead. I'll hear you."(pg 223)
Kind of invites wondering what you personally would suggest for someone conducting a ritual to communicate with you.
________________________________________
Is it fair to criticize acknowledgments? Does anyone even read them? Well, I do.
I am grateful to my chosen family of performers at the Slipper Room for teaching me the magick of burlesque. (from the Acknowledgements)
I admit I have conflicting feelings about cis-het people using the term "chosen family." However, "chosen family" is a beautiful, important term, and also, we have no idea if Veronica Varlow is cis-het.
My deepest thanks to the Witches and Warlocks who answered my texts at all hours of the night with advice on the book and who did spells to make it happen: Neil Gaiman, David Nielsen, Gina Gershon, Silvana Perelli Vasaka, Sage Sovereign, Nicole Cox, Vanessa Mercedes, and Jaye Bartell. (from the Acknowledgements)
I get that this is tongue-in-cheek, playful usage, but seriously, don't use the term warlock. Bewitched is one of my favorite shows, but it lied about the meaning of warlock. The term has an ugly history and the correct term for a Witch of any gender is exactly that: Witch. If a man or masc person is squeamish about using a term that has been historically applied to women and femmes, that's something they need to unpack personally.
Final Grade: A
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