Book Review: Social Media Spellbook

Amy Blackthorn and Natalie Zaman, Social Media Spellbook: 366 Ways to Get Witchy on the Web. New York: Sterling Ethos, 2024. (Book comes out August 20, 2024).

Genre: witchcraft, magic, pagan, esoterica

Subgenre: almanacs

Format: e-book galley

Source: Edelweiss Plus 

This book is a collection of spells, meditations, and rituals to tap into the collective energy of the internet that powers social media. The idea is to enhance your magical practice and merging your energy with that of others online. Given the state of the internet in these Hard Times I am not sure if I want my energy merging with that of strangers online, but I leave it to readers to decide what they will do or not. For folks who practice a magical craft and are very active online, this may be a book for them. 

The spells and activities are organized as a calendar where you get a daily spell, meditation, ritual, or other activity. Some activities are simple, and others may be more complex and require multiple ingredients. Readers can decide which spells and activities work for them best. The activities are identified by icons in the book; an icon key is provided in the early part of the book. Some icons identify activities such as sharing a photo online, expressing yourself in emojis, and performing a ritual. You can also choose to share online or not what you do. 

The book is pretty basic. It does not have much in the way of frills. It just provides the spells without any other sections to the book. You get the "rules of manifestation" (disclaimers and opening advice), the icon guide, and the spells month by month. At the end of the book you get the spells listed in categories; this is helpful to find a spell by topic. The book ends with a suggested reading list. Out 14 books listed, 5 are from co-author Amy Blackthorn. Other authors featured on the list include Mat Auryn and Cassandra Snow. 

As for the spells, you get the spells with instructions after the book's opening, and that is it. Spell and activity instructions are fairly detailed. As I mentioned, difficulty levels can vary, but you should be able to adapt spells and activities as you see fit. I did find one or two rituals I would be interested in trying out, and I am sure readers may find something to try out too. 

For libraries, public libraries that collect other witchcraft and esoteric materials may want to get this book. For academic libraries, this may be optional. I liked it, and as I said, I found things to try out, so I found some value. For others, it may depend on how active or not they are online and how much or not they want to bring their practice online or not. 

4 out of 5 stars.

 

Book qualifies for the following 2024 Reading Challenges: