Magic for the Resistance: Rituals and Spells for Change

by Michael M. Hughes

Overview

"Inspires socially conscious magical practitioners to harness the power of our imaginations and collective will, reminding us where true power really resides: in the hands of the people."—Amanda Yates Garcia, the Oracle of Los Angeles

Use Magic to Make the World a Better Place Today

From the creator of the Spell to Bind Donald Trump and All Those Who Abet Him

The resistance is growing, and it needs your help. This book provides spells and rituals designed to help you put your magical will to work to create a more just and equitable world. These magical workings can be used by activists of any spiritual or religious background. With ideas for altars, meditations, community organizing, self-care, and more, Magic for the Resistance offers a toolkit for magical people or first-time spellcasters who want to manifest social justice, equality, and peace.

If you've ever felt disillusioned or burned out because of the slow progress of social change, this magical work can nurture and support you, sharpening your focus and resolve for more sustained, long-term activism. In addition to influencing the outside world, these rituals bring you in closer alignment with your higher spiritual consciousness—because transforming your society begins with transforming yourself.

Includes spells for:

• Racial justice
• Women's rights
• LGBTQ+ rights
• Antifascism
• Environmentalism
• Immigration
• Refugee support
• Nonviolence

Praise:

"Readers interested in the power of magic and dismayed by the tumultuous current political moment will want to give this enticing guide a look."—Publishers Weekly

"Magic for the Resistance is a rabble-rousing battle cry for magical thinkers everywhere."—Amanda Yates Garcia, the Oracle of Los Angeles

"This wonderfully engaging guide—one part history, one part grimoire—demonstrates how and why to combine spell work and activism to heal our society and get rid of our heel."—Mitch Horowitz, PEN Award–winning author of Occult America

"This is rare combination of a how-to book that also gives a solid historical and cultural perspective on the uses of magic to resist political oppression. Sound and well-grounded both factually and magically, it's also well written and well informed."—Sabina Magliocco, Professor of Anthropology, University of British Columbia

"Vote. Organize. March. Protest. Boycott. Resist. Be an activist for your beliefs. Then...put your magic where your mouth is! You might want to start by reading Magic for the Resistance."—Lon Milo DuQuette, author of Low Magick

"Magic for the Resistance is a fascinating look at how the occult arts can be used to promote progressive politics and social change."—Gary Lachman, author of Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump

"An eminently necessary guidebook for the magic-workers of our time."—David Salisbury, author of A Mystic Guide to Cleansing & Clearing

"This book empowers the reader to liberate stagnancy and facilitate positive change, to feel/be heard, and to learn from obstacles and challenges that are encountered."—Fiona Horne, author of Witch

"Michael Hughes has drawn on his erudition as well as his quarter-century of experience as a practicing magician to offer a complete manual of 'Warrior Magic' in the service of justice."—Leonard George, PhD, author of Crimes of Perception

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738759968
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Publication date:	09/08/2018
Pages:	264
Sales rank:	326,686
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Michael M. Hughes (Baltimore, MD) is an author, speaker, magical thinker, and activist. He is the creator of the internationally viral "Spell to Bind Donald Trump and All Those Who Abet Him," the largest magical working in history. He speaks on politics, magic, pop culture, psychedelics, the paranormal, and tarot. Michael lives in Baltimore with his wife, two daughters, and a rabbit named Toby Turnipseed. You can sign up for his newsletter at http://michaelmhughes.com.

Table of Contents

Contents

Preface … xv Magic versus Magick xv

On Appropriation xvi

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Magic Resistance! … 1
Frequently Asked Questions about Magic 4

Chapter 2: Witches and Occultists versus Kings and Nazis … 11
Witches versus Kings 12
Against the Enslavers 15
Mrs. Satan: The Revolutionary Feminist Who Spoke to the Dead 20
Occultists versus Nazis 24
Hexing Hitler 27
Levitating the Pentagon: Radical Magic in the Sixties and Seventies 30
WITCH: Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell 33
Modern Feminist Witch Activists 36

Chapter 3: Binding Trump … 41
A Spell to Bind Donald Trump and All Those Who Abet Him 47

Chapter 4: Toolkit for Magical Activism … 51
Magical Tools 51
Altars: Creating Your Magical Dashboard 65
The Art of Sigils and Magical Writing 74

Chapter 5: Offensive and Defensive Magic … 85
On Binding and Hexing 88
Protection and Defense 94
Mojo Bag Wake-Up Ritual 107

Chapter 6: Magic Beyond the Altar… 113
Guerrilla Magic 113
Magical Boosts to Practical Activism 116

Chapter 7: Finding the Others: Coven and Community Building … 119
Finding the Others 119
Group Magic 122

Chapter 8: Self-Care and Resilience … 129
Balance 130
Meditation 131
Breathwork 131
Nature Bathing 133
Descreening and Unplugging 133
Food and Movement 134
Treat Your Body 136
Party for Your Right to Fight 137
Cultivate Joy 137
Gratitude 138
Intoxicants and Entheogens 139

Chapter 9: Preparation for Ritual … 141
Getting Clean: Cleansing and Purification 141
The Ritual Mind 146
The Centering Ritual 152
Consecration Ritual 160
Spheres of Protection: The Hermetic Seal 166

Chapter 10: The Magical Activist’s Spellbook … 175
Black Lives Matter: Spell for Justice for a Victim of a Police Action 176
We Shall Form a Circle to Protect Our Children 178
Spirits of (Polling) Place 181
Healing the Earth (Microcosm Ritual) 183
Hands Off, Laws Off: Hekate Invocation for Reproductive Rights 187
Dance of Pan: LGBTQ+ Protection 191
Calling Bullshit 193
No Borders, All One Family: Invocation to Hermes 195
#MeToo 198
Hex the NRA 201
Candidate Boosting Spell 208
Lucky Stone Charm 210
Fuck Fascists 211
Share the Wealth Spell 216
Cease Fire Shrines: Invocation of Eirēnē 218

Conclusion: Go to Work… 221

Appendix… 223

Correspondences 224

Resources 227

Bibliography… 235

Editorial Reviews

08/27/2018
Activist Hughes builds on the viral popularity of his blog post “Spell to Bind Donald Trump and All Those Who Abet Him” to create a radical, inspirational, and results-oriented primer on 21st-century resistance magic in this enthusiastic debut. Seeing himself in philosophical lineage with Virginia Woodhull’s antipatriarchal spiritualism, Gerald Gardner’s magic against Hitler, and Abbie Hoffman’s ritual to levitate the Pentagon as a Vietnam war protest, Hoffman argues that hexing or binding magic has a role to play in protest movements, alongside more traditional activities, such as participating in marches. Hughes provides basic information on magical tools, spiritual self-defense, and self-care, and also offers creative ideas such as designing effective sigils and spreading them via stickers left in public places. Instructions for rituals for justice against police violence, protecting women’s reproductive rights, hexing the NRA, cutting ties to abusers, redistributing wealth, and keeping immigrant communities safe (not to mention a general “anti-bullshit” spell) are clearly explained and can be carried out with simple household items such as oil and candles. Readers interested in the power of magic and dismayed by the tumultuous current political moment will want to give this enticing guide a look. Agent: Matt Bialer, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Magic for the Resistance:

"Readers interested in the power of magic and dismayed by the tumultuous current political moment will want to give this enticing guide a look."—Publishers Weekly

"Inspires socially conscious magical practitioners to harness the power of our imaginations and collective will, reminding us where true power really resides: in the hands of the people."—Amanda Yates Garcia, the Oracle of Los Angeles

"Magic to the people! This wonderfully engaging guide—one part history, one part grimoire—demonstrates how and why to combine spell work and activism to heal our society and get rid of our heel."—Mitch Horowitz, PEN Award–winning author of Occult America and The Miracle Club

"This is rare combination of a how-to book that also gives a solid historical and cultural perspective on the uses of magic to resist political oppression. Sound and well-grounded both factually and magically, it's also well written and well informed."—Sabina Magliocco, Professor of Anthropology, University of British Columbia

"Vote. Organize. March. Protest. Boycott. Resist. Be an activist for your beliefs. Then...put your magic where your mouth is! You might want to start by reading Magic for the Resistance."—Lon Milo DuQuette, author of Homemade Magick and Low Magick

"Magic for the Resistance is a fascinating look at how the occult arts can be used to promote progressive politics and social change...From Victoria Woodhull, the mesmerist, feminist, and free-love advocate who was the first woman to run for president, to the attempt by Allen Ginsberg and Abbie Hoffman to levitate the Pentagon in 1966, Magic for the Resistance shows that throughout history, spells have been cast to help the light contain the darkness."—Gary Lachman, author of Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump

"In Magic for the Resistance, Michael Hughes has written an eminently necessary guidebook for the magic-workers of our time."—David Salisbury, civil rights activist, magic-worker, and author of A Mystic Guide to Cleansing & Clearing

"This book empowers the reader to liberate stagnancy and facilitate positive change, to feel/be heard, and to learn from obstacles and challenges that are encountered. On the surface, mass-market, glitzy media publicity can look worthwhile and even meaningful—but real lasting change/evolution is more than a knee jerk reaction or a fad. It starts at a grassroots level and is perpetual, and this is what Hughes expounds and educates on in this well-written and entertaining book."—Fiona Horne, author of Witch: A Magickal Journey and The Naked Witch

"Michael Hughes has drawn on his erudition as well as his quarter-century of experience as a practicing magician to offer a complete manual of 'Warrior Magic' in the service of justice."—Leonard George, PhD, Chair of the School of Social Sciences, Capilano University, and author of Crimes of Perception

"Besides shedding light on certain little-known aspects of our cultural history (the second chapter is a particular revelation), this book provides an excellent and accessible glimpse into the mechanics, philosophy, and, yes, ethics of magical practice."—Ray Grasse, author of The Waking Dream, Under a Sacred Sky, and An Infinity of Gods

"If you are seeking a route into activism through the application of practical magic and ritual, with clear guidance and support, then you will likely find this book an excellent resource."—Em Chuter for Pagan Dawn

From the Publisher