Missing Witches

A guide to invocations, rituals, and histories at the intersection of magic and feminism, as informed by history's witches--and the sociopolitical culture that gave rise to them.

When you start looking for witches, you find them everywhere. As seekers and practitioners reclaim and restore magic to its rightful place among powerful forces for social, personal, and political transformation, more people than ever are claiming the identity of "Witch." But our knowledge of witchcraft and magic has been marred by erasure, sensationalism, and sterilization, the true stories of history's witches left untold.

Through meditations, stories, and practices, authors Risa Dickens and Amy Torok offer an intersectional, contemporary lens for uncovering and reconnecting with feminist witch history. Sharing traditions from all over the world--from Harlem to Haiti, Oaxaca to Mesopotamia--Missing Witches introduces readers to figures like Monica Sjoo, HP Blavatsky, Maria Sabina, and Enheduanna, shedding light on their work and the cultural and sociopolitical contexts that shaped it. Structured around the 8 sabbats of the Wheel of the Year, each chapter includes illustrations by Amy Torok, as well as invocations, rituals, and offerings that incorporate the authors' own wisdom, histories, and journeys of trauma, loss, and empowerment. Missing Witches offers an inside look at the vital stories of women who have practiced--and lived--magic.

Risa Dickens and Amy Torok started the Missing Witches podcast in September 2018. Both have a background in creative community building, and ran two different, interdisciplinary monthly arts performance showcases for years in the same town before beginning the podcast.

Dickens has an undergraduate degree in English Literature and a masters in Communications Studies, where she wrote about the communications history of open source. She helped found Worn Fashion Journal and in that capacity wrote feminist fashion history for a couple of years. Since then she has worked in community building in tech for over 15 years.

Torok has a B.A. in English Literature and a post-graduate diploma in Journalism. She is also an accomplished visual artist and musician, adept at all forms of story-telling.