A whip-smart and illuminating exploration of the globe’s fascination with witches from podcast host and practicing witch Pam Grossman (The Witch Wave), who delves deeply into why witches have intrigued us for years and years and why they’re even more relevant now than ever.

When you think of the witch, what do you picture? Pointy dark hat, perhaps a broomstick. But witches in various guises have been around for millennia. In Waking the Witch, Pam Grossman explores the cultural and historical influence from the about Waking the Witch: Reflections on Ladies, Magic, and Power world’s most magical icon. From the thought of the femme fatale in little league with the devil in early contemporary Europe and Salem, towards the bewitching pop lifestyle archetypes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Harry Potter; from the spooky ladies in fairy stories and horror films to the rise of feminist covens and contemporary witchcraft, witches reveal the energy and potential of females.

Within this fascinating read that is component cultural analysis, part memoir, Pam opens up about her own trip in relation to witchcraft, and exactly how her personal accept of the witch helped her discover strength, self-empowerment, and a deeper purpose.

A comprehensive meditation using one of the most mysterious and captivating numbers of all time, Waking the Witch celebrates witches recent, present, and potential, and reveals the critical part they have played—and can continue steadily to play—in shaping the world as we realize it.