Welcome to the Magic Resistance!
We are living in a time of great turmoil at the edge of history. A time in which liberal, democratic values and ideas that have withstood wars and despots are under attack by rising tides of authoritarianism, nationalism, xenophobia, and racial supremacy; an era in which our very existence as a species is imperiled by a rapidly warming planet, overpopulation, and our unquenchable desire for material goods.
And while patriarchal, top-down religions in the West are steadily losing their followers to the ranks of the religiously “unaffiliated,” more people than ever are seeking personal connections to a greater spiritual reality by embracing the worldviews of indigenous cultures and practical magical traditions.
We are at a crossroads, and the choices before us require either a (r)evolutionary change in our values and behaviors or simply giving up and accepting an unavoidable plunge into the abyss.
As Amanda Yates Garcia (the Oracle of LA) said, “So great is the threat to our world now that we must all become initiates. We must all become healers. We must all become shaman[s]. We must all become leaders and activists … Only if we all rise up, awaken, and hold ourselves and each other to high standards of leadership do we have the possibility of saving our world.” 1
If you’re reading this, my guess is you would prefer to take the road to a better future.
This book is for you. May the ideas and rituals within it help you on the journey ahead.
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Being a part of the magic resistance (represented by the hashtag #MagicResistance on social media) means working in service: service to the earth, to the dispossessed, the sick and broken, the downtrodden, the marginalized, and those with no voices; animals, trees, soil, streams, rivers, and seas. It means becoming aligned with spirits of place, the ancestors, and even the gods themselves. The magic you will find in this book is very different from most, because unlike magic done by an individual for practical means—love or money spells, for example—this magic is done for the higher good of all of us.
Which also means the rewards are different. With practical magic, the rewards are clear: you find a partner, get a raise, or your abusive neighbor moves to a different state. There is nothing wrong with such magic. In fact, for many beginners, successful practical spells are what is needed to convince them that magic is real.
The rewards of service magic are usually not so immediate or measurable, because its targets—deeply embedded social structures like racism, homophobia, misogyny, militarism, violence, greed, and materialism—are not going to be easily banished from human society. These social illnesses can, however, be pushed back.
There are exceptions, of course. Very specific circumstances, such as protecting an endangered river, can have direct, measurable outcomes, such as when legislation is passed to stop a new development threatening to dump pollution into it. There are clear and quantifiable victories in this game, too. But often we must work our magic to shift the balance into the proper direction, not to score easy wins. Resistance magic is about bending reality in
(r)evolutionary directions, either by pushing against reactionary and regressive trends or encouraging positive change.
Unlike many magical traditions, to become part of the #Magic
Resistance you don’t need any fancy initiations. There are no levels or grades or degrees, and you don’t need to spend a fortune on workshops or classes. All you need to do is pledge yourself to service of other sentient beings, improving our collective societal structures, and the sacred earth on which we walk. That doesn’t mean you have to become a selfless monk or nun, a humorless full-time radical, or give up having a rewarding, fun, and productive life outside of activism. Resistance magic derives its power from passion, creativity, humor, and love. The joy of doing service magic is that when you help others, you win, too.
Because we exist within political structures, we need to work within political and social systems to address the many crises facing us. And all those crises—environmental, financial, social, and political—are crises of the spirit. For far too long the spiritual aspects of political engagement and activism have been absent from progressivism, while the reactionary right has become synonymous with a toxic form of fundamentalist evangelical Christianity. It’s time for those of us who embrace liberal values and spirituality to push back against the stereotype of the godless left and bring our gods—all of them—into the fight for our future.
Frequently Asked Questions about Magic
What is magic resistance?
Magic resistance is a term for the use of magic—spells, rituals, prayer, divination, and other techniques—to resist or impede dangerous or oppressive political movements, politicians, and actions, including authoritarianism, white supremacy, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, environmental destruction, attacks on marginalized populations, and other toxic and regressive ideologies. It can be viewed as a magical form of self-defense or defense of others. But it is not just about resistance. This movement also uses magical practices to promote progressive, inclusive, liberating, and empowering political, environmental, economic, and social causes.
How do you define magic?
Magic, in its most basic sense, is the use of directed consciousness to effect change in the world. If that seems broad, it’s supposed to be. A ritual can create a magical effect, but so can a work of art, a prayer, a focused visualization, street theater, or a group of people marching and chanting in unison. Magic works best when it combines a mix of methodologies—that’s why a work of art, when combined with ritual and further energized by a group action or meditation, is especially effective.
Do I have to believe in magic?
Nope. You can do the spells and rituals in this book as a form of personal theater. They will still work, at least sometimes, if you do them sincerely and with your full commitment and energy. Practical magic is largely the enhancement of probability. If you practice the magic in this book and it seems to push your results into the positive results column, it is considered effective.
And doing magic is most definitely useful. One doesn’t need to understand how magic works to practice it. In fact, as one very famous magician, Peter J. Carroll, put it: “Magic works in practice but not in theory.”2
Does doing this sort of magic have personal benefits?
One of the key benefits of resistance magic—aside from having tangible results in the real world—is to renew, refresh, and reawaken your commitment to the principles of truth, justice, peace, and equality, and to strengthen your connection to the natural world and the diverse community of individuals that surrounds you.
Do I have to be a witch or a Pagan to use these spells?
The system of magic in this book is designed to plug into a number of established traditions and can be easily tweaked for your own practice. Because the rituals and spells herein are built upon the core principles that underlie all magical practices, they are just as effective if you practice Wicca, traditional witchcraft, chaos magic, ceremonial magic, or folk Christianity, or if you follow no specific tradition at all. This resistance magic employs universal techniques: directional attunement, incorporation of the four classical elements, ancestor communication, calls to spirits or deity, links to astrological cycles (particularly the moon phases), voice, symbols, sensory stimulation and inhibition, ritualized movement, and consciousness alteration.
If you don’t belong to any particular tradition, you are encouraged to experiment. A prayer to Hekate may connect more powerfully for you than one to a generic Great Goddess, or you may find that incorporating biblical psalms or working with Catholic saints is more effective than working with Norse gods. The best witches and magicians experiment and use what works, so don’t be afraid to try new approaches. If you don’t believe in angels or ancestral spirits, try working with them anyway—and you might be surprised. After all, does it matter if the deity or spirit you contact is objectively real or just a part of your consciousness as long as the magic works?
Isn’t mucking around with spells dangerous?
Of course it’s dangerous! But not anywhere near as dangerous as driving a car or riding a bicycle. Magic is a tool and can be used for positive or nefarious purposes. If you misuse it, it can have negative consequences. But since you’re reading this book, you are already aligned with sustainability, equality, peace, and social justice. And since the universe bends in the direction of those values (or at least that’s what I’ve come to believe), your magic will be aligned with those evolutionary spiritual energies and the deities who embody them. That’s a powerful safety net.
In other words, because you are working for positive causes and results and not harmful aims or ideologies, your magic will work more effectively and will have far less potential for unintended harm or psychic blowback.
But isn’t binding someone or casting a spell that thwarts the will of voters ethically problematic?
Much of the magic in this book is rooted in resistance to extreme conditions and threats. It is not touchy-feely, fluffy-bunny magic because it is meant to be employed against very clear dangers and existential threats. Vodou, Hoodoo, and Conjure, for example, developed as enslaved Africans adapted their magic to their oppressive, inhumane environment and were, of necessity, protective and self-defensive. While bindings and other defensive magic can be seen as constraining the free will of the spell’s recipients, it is clearly ethical to use such spells when the target is harming or attempting to harm others. A good rule of thumb to use is this: Would you endorse a legal action to stop the target’s harmful actions or policies (say, against a minority group, a forest, or a person unjustly accused of a crime)? If so, then a magical action is absolutely ethical.
Also, ask yourself why people question the ethics of magic for effecting change when they’re okay with marches, demonstrations, email campaigns, or direct action. What makes magic resistance somehow morally questionable when mundane means are acceptable? The answer is that people are uneasy about magic because they don’t understand how it works. But as activists, we are concerned with results, and if magic works, there’s no reason we shouldn’t use it.
But don’t you have to be experienced to do
magic effectively?
We live in a magical universe, and we are instinctively magical creatures. If you play lucky lottery numbers, pray for someone’s health, leave flowers at a loved one’s grave, or take notice of signs and omens, you’re practicing magic. Humans have worked magic since we could paint on the walls of caves or draw a circle in the mud with a pointed stick. Magic is, and has always been, a practice of the people, despite thousands of years of priests and religious leaders attempting to take it away. Those who say you need to be trained in specific techniques by their order or coven before you can work magic are just pushing their brand of dogma and probably trying to sell you courses.
The only way to learn about magic is to do it. The only way to get better at it is to keep doing it.
Is it okay to mix politics and spirituality?
Some of the greatest social movements have been driven by spiritual energy: the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements were in large part led by Christians and Jews, for example, and Mohandas Gandhi, a devoted Hindu, helped drive Colonial Britain from India through nonviolent resistance. Witches and Pagans have long been at the forefront of environmental activism, religious freedom, and feminism. And as you’ll discover in the following chapters, magic has been worked against political opponents throughout history, including kings, slaveholders, invading armies, and the Nazis in World War II.
But isn’t this just slacktivism? Shouldn’t we focus our energy on practical activities, like demonstrating, calling Congress, and sending money to organizations fighting for good causes?
You should be working on all levels for causes you care about. This book addresses the magical path, but spiritual activism is useless without engagement in the everyday world of elections, organizing, canvassing, protests, and other forms of on-the-ground action. Many have found that incorporating rituals, spells, and group magic workings into their social and political activism adds extra energy and motivation and brings better results. Hence this book.
Why this book, and why now?
A number of trends have ignited resistance movements around the world: the global rise of authoritarian and nativist political movements; religious and ideological terrorism; regressive policies harming women, minorities, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community; ongoing wealth concentration in the hands of the one percent; cuts to basic health care and social services; and the accelerating impact of devastating climate change. We have reached a perilous moment in our history—and the decisions we make now may decide the very fate of our species.
With the exploding interest in witchcraft and alternative religious practices has come a realization that the political realm is not divorced from spirituality but requires it. The growing magic resistance movement has shown the powerful desire to reunify spiritual beliefs with down-to-earth social and political activism.
So let’s get started!