Last winter I was going through a personal challenge that engendered a lot of fear when I came across the first book in Nora Roberts's Dragonheart series, Awakening, at the grocery store. Now, I rarely buy books at the grocery store, yet something pulled me to this book. The story is of a young woman who comes into an inheritance from her father who was from Ireland and decides to visit his homeland only to discover that he's not really from Ireland, but from the land of the Fae and she is, in fact, a witch. She has to embrace the power within her to overcome a demon who is threatening not only the Fae but humankind as well. The story is just what you would expect from Nora Roberts: cozy, focused on love, community, and belonging with fierce female characters. There is also a spiritual depth to the tale, and in some ways, it felt like a metaphor for what I was going through. Reading it had a healing effect on me.
Hoping to recapture that healing effect, I spent the first part of the year reading stories that had to do with witches, faeries, and magick of some sort. I wouldn't categorize them all as "healing" in the way the Dragonheart series was, but there is something about a person drawing on the magick that is always present to overcome evil that heals us all.
Here in the United States, witches are associated with Halloween, and depicted as ghoulish figures with green skin and pointy hats. They are evil incarnate in the female form. But throughout history, witches were wise women attuned to nature and gifted in the healing arts. They used their power to nurture and care for each other and the world around them. The books in this list speak to the latter type of witch. Even those witches gifted with "dark magic" use their power in service of good. Some of these stories are social commentary, some are romantic, some are just fun. All of them might heal you a little.
As the days get shorter and the air gets cooler, there's nothing like a good tale that puts you back in touch with the power within. So brew up some tea, or a pumpkin spice latte, and check out one of these witchy delights.
The Once and Future Witches by Alex E. Harrow
Weyward by Emilia Hart
Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell
From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harber
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
The Awakening by Nora Roberts
The Becoming by Nora Roberts
The Choice by Nora Roberts
For more magickal books, check out my list
in my Bookshop.org affiliate store.