Readings for Women, Witches and Bit*hes

Read everything about everything they taught you to be afraid of.

Despite earning a doctorate, I know that most of the knowledge we need is hidden in the pages of books and the memories of our elders. For the past four years, I have been on a mission to learn everything they taught me to be afraid of so I can successfully deconstruct from "colonization. I began sharing my insights on TikTok and recently opened a video with the quote, “Witches were not burned. Women were burned.” This, which I heard from a wise, healing woman in my own life, opened the door to learning more about the women we call witches. Check out the video below.

@siathesageThey been lying to us and who is surprised #sprituality #decolonize #neurodivergent #womenshealth #witches

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I was taken aback by the number of supportive comments from women, witches, and healers around the world who offered encouragement, recommended readings, insights, and suggestions. One of the top comments was a request for my reading list, which was a seemingly easy task until I realized how much I had read on the subject over the past four years.

Below is a list of the books related to women, witches, and spirituality that I recommend. I also included a list of suggestions from the comments which I will update as more are added. I look forward to sharing more recommendations for women, creatives, neurodivergence, and spirituality in future posts.

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Sia’s Reading Recommendations for Women

Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype | Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes

In Women Who Run with the Wolves, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairy tales, folk tales, and stories from her traditions to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of this instinctual nature.

The Power of the Crone: Myths and Stories of the Wise Woman Archetype - Audiobook | Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Entering the terrain of wisdom comes at any age. We sometimes step, sometimes stumble, and other times are pulled into the territory of the Crone when the need for a deeper, larger understanding of our most meaningful paths in life can no longer be denied, and when the gifts are hidden in our challenges must be brought forth.

Rebel Witch: Carve the Craft That's Yours Alone by Kelly-Ann Maddox

A truly contemporary take on how to be a witch, Rebel Witch is an antidote to the cookie-cutter witchcraft agenda that gives a new perspective on the craft, asking each reader to create a powerful, personalized practice that taps into the current mood of female empowerment and spiritual rebellion.

Unleashing Your Inner Witch: An Introductory Guide for New Witches by Delia-Raven Black

Unleashing Your Inner Witch aims to help you as a beginning witch understand the magical foundations of witchcraft, harness your energy, discover your witchcraft type, and take all the necessary steps to learn and cast your first spells.

Orishas, Goddesses, and Voodoo Queens: The Divine Feminine in the African Religious Traditions by Lilith Dorsey

An inspiring exploration of the goddesses of the West African spiritual traditions and their role in shaping Yoruba (Ifa), Santeria, Haitian Vodoun, and New Orleans Voodoo.

NOTE: Working with African spirituality is a closed practice for those inducted into these religions. This book is for educational purposes only.

Comment Section Recommendations

This list will be updated periodically through August 1, 2024.

“The Sybils: Prophetess of Mami Watta” by Mama Zogbe 

The Theft of African Prophecy by the Catholic Church: For 6,000 years, Africa was ruled by a powerful order of Sibyl matriarchs. It was a Sibyl who called-up the spirit of "Apostle" Samuel. Their "pagan" prophecies were used by the emerging Roman papals to create a “western theological” foundation and became the undisputed precursor for their Christian Bible.

‘Witches Midwives and Nurses’ by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English 

Witches, Midwives, and Nurses examine how women-led healing was delegitimized to make way for patriarchy, capitalism, and the emerging medical industry.

“Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation” by Silvia Federici

Caliban and the Witch is a history of the body in the transition to capitalism.

“Heal the Witch Wound: Reclaim Your Magic and Step Into Your Power” by Celeste Larsen, Leslie Howard, et al.

You were born to live a magical life. Deep within your soul, you know this; it is why you picked up this book. But there is another reason why you now hold this book in your hands: because some part of you feels it is unsafe to fully embrace the magic that exists within and around you.

“Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials” by Marion Gibson. 

This “inventive and compelling” (Times Literary Supplement) work of social history travels through thirteen witch trials across history, some famous—like the Salem witch trials—and some lesser-known.

“The Ruin of All Witches” by Malcolm Gaskill

Drawing on rich, previously unexplored source material, Malcolm Gaskill vividly evokes a strange past, one where lives were steeped in the divine and the diabolic, in omens, curses and enchantments. The Ruin of All Witches captures an entire society caught in agonized transition between superstition and enlightenment, tradition and innovation.

“In Defense of Witches” by Mona Chollet

Celebrated feminist writer Mona Chollet explores three types of women who were accused of witchcraft and persecuted: the independent woman, since widows and celibates were particularly targeted; the childless woman, since the time of the hunts marked the end of tolerance for those who claimed to control their fertility; and the elderly woman, who has always been an object of at best, pity, and at worst, horror.