Book Review: Ancient Spells and Incantations by Enid Baxter Ryce

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I love a good historical text or research paper, especially when it comes to the occult. Our magical history is rich, but sometimes inaccessible to the general public. There are a large number of resources that are hidden away in museums that have yet to be digitized, and many never will be. Unless you know where to look and know the right things to say, these are documents that are going to go unseen by most. Thankfully, we have people like Enid Baxter Ryce, who work tirelessly to bring these works to light, and that is exactly what she did in her most recent work, Ancient Spells and Incantations: Echoes of Magic Through the Ages & Across Cultures.

In Ancient Spells and Incantations, Baxter Ryce describes her process to uncover magical spells for our past. This included viewing the original texts and translating them before stylizing them for modern readers. I am glad she was honest and upfront with her methodology, which has its very own section at the end of the book, complete with a bibliography so you can do your own verification research. There are many authors who attempt to pass off their translations as the original versions, failing to account for changes in language, tone, and culture. Baxter Ryce makes it known that she has done her best to maintain the original integrity of the spell while modernizing it for today's readers. I appreciated her candor and dedication to ensuring these spells are not completely lost.

The book is divided into chapters based on types of magic. There are spells for manifesting, love, healing, protection, and even cursing, coming from a wide array of cultures, heritages, continents, and time periods. There are Greek papyri from 100 BCE to American Hoodoo spells recorded in 1931, and everything and anything in between. If you are of a particular culture, there is likely at least one spell or incantation to be found. I love that she took such a diverse approach to her research, including a wide breadth of knowledge, instead of focusing only through a Eurocentric lens.

While there is a wide variety of expertly translated spells and incantations to be found, there are some things I wish Baxter Ryce had included. Context is key, and it is completely lacking here. How and why were these spells used? Where were they found, and how does that impact their meaning? Removing these translations from their context deprives them of their true meaning, making it difficult to implement them into modern practices. Sure, there would be a lot of speculation, but that speculation could have been scholarly. There are plenty of experts who have written on these topics over the years. While this is one of my largest complaints about the book, it doesn't negate the inherent value of the work, especially if you are interested in incorporating such spells and incantations into your own practice.

Now you'll notice I said "complaints" above because I have another. I did not like Baxter Ryce's approach to cursing, binding, and 'vengeance' spells. She says in the introduction for the chapter that we should focus on healing and that these spells are a sign of someone "not at their best." Well, no shit. Some of these people were living in severe poverty, starving, sick, enslaved, or unduly punished simply for existing. Cursing and hexing are valid magical practices under the umbrella of protection. To say otherwise is to misunderstand history and is a very colonial view. She further goes on to say we should send love to the ancient targets of these spells. Shut up. I will not be sending my love to bigots. If someone took the time to curse them, they very likely deserved everything that came to them.

With that said, I don't think Ancient Spells and Incantations: Echoes of Magic Through the Ages & Across Cultures by Enid Baxter Ryce is a terrible book, and it will certainly have its place on many a witch's bookshelf. This is one I plan to hold onto for future research purposes, especially because her bibliography is so wonderful. However, unless you know how to read critically, you might want to forego picking this one up for the time being. I do not suggest Ancient Spells and Incantations for the novice witch; you definitely need to have years of practice under your belt before picking this one up.

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