Book Review: The Witching Year

The premise of The Witching Year is simple: “A skeptic spends a year trying to find spiritual fulfillment by practicing modern Witchcraft.” From there, our author descends into introspection, insecurity, and doubt until finding a well of strength and resilience within her.

A friend recommended this book to me. I love the idea of anyone committing to something for an entire year, especially something that expands your mind a bit. I loved the idea that a less-than-spiritual person might take a year to try to figure out what it’s all about.

It was beautifully arranged, the author is highly relatable, and I found the book cozy and relaxing, for the most part. At the beginning she struggled to let go and just let herself delve into the process, and I know that’s partly why she started this book to begin with, but I found that part hard to read.

I wanted to shake her and say, “It doesn’t matter what color candle you have! There’s no wrong way to do this!” But as we passed the halfway point, we reached the point where the author was finally getting the hang of it and learning to trust the process. That’s when the book got really enjoyable for me.

It’s always funny to see what comes naturally to people and what doesn’t.

I have friends that hate to craft and paint. It’s painful for them, no matter how much they try, and they struggle with the most basic crafts. My friend tells me she “has no vision”. It’s hard for me to imagine moving through the world from that perspective.

The same relates to my spirituality. There are things I know implicitly that I’ve never questioned. I’ve never questioned messages I’ve received, gut feelings and intuition, and I’ve always felt a connection to the earth and presences around me. I wonder what it would be like to go through life without that connection. Whether you find your solace in God, Allah, Freya, or the vague, ever-present Universe, I think it’s important to feel a connection to others, the earth, and the divine to be a well-rounded person.

To be human is to suffer, and finding our peace is paramount to navigating that suffering, finding our place in the world, and validating our own inner strength.

Over time, our author learns to trust herself and finds strength within, but it's a hard road. I rate this one 4/5 stars.

It’s cozy, sweet, and relaxing. It’s a nice biography and I got to learn about Neopaganism and Wiccan history. I definitely recommend it if you want something nonfiction, light, introspective, and witchy to read this fall.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked The Witching Year book review. Let me know if you give it a try!