The season of the witch is almost here – black cats at the ready! With just 30 days left until my witchcraft memoir is released into the ether, find out more about The Wheel (7 October 2021).
The Wheel by Jennifer Lane
If you’d have told me at the start of the pandemic that 18 months later I’d be launching my first book, I’d have said, ‘Alright, love. Sit down,’ and poured you another cup of tea.
Having time at home without the commute to and from work has given me an incredible stretch of time to write about my greatest love and a subject that dominates my daily life: witchcraft.
Witchcraft has been part of my world from a very young age and I began practising the craft at around 12 years old. While it may be odd now to think about the hours that little teenage me spent in her room tinkering with herbs and copying passages out of secret library books, magick really spoke to me and getting lost in realms of new knowledge captured my dark and witchy heart.
Moving on from life as a teenage witch
The experience of being a witch with deadlines, rent and a mountain of student debt, however, came as a bit of a shock.
Finding time for anything remotely witchcraft related, never mind a full ritual, seemed almost impossible as I hit my twenties.
The commute, which I usually took by tram into Manchester city centre, began to absolutely exhaust me. Shovelling toast into your mouth at 7 am is hard enough! But for me, being an introvert around hundreds of other people before I’d even started my working day really tired me out (perhaps more than it should have done). Witchcraft didn’t really seem to have a place in this busy, noisy world.
Where had the magick gone?
Many people whom I spoke to about surviving modern life and searching for wisps of magick, said they felt the same.
Hands up all the sensitive souls out there! The empaths, the quiet thinkers, the diary writers and the cosy book-readers. The modern world is not built around the needs of those who feel every emotion and long for another world that lies just beyond the surface.
I decided to write The Wheel to show the journey I took to restore balance in my life, reclaim my mental health and find magick in the everyday once more. I hope it can help you do the same.
What’s coming up?
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing a series of blogs about The Wheel, witchcraft and how we can learn to live in a society that is spinning way too fast! I’ll talk about:
- the Pagan Wheel of the Year
- celebrating the festival of Mabon
- slowing down and appreciating the seasons
- bats, cats and other witches’ familiars
- and how witchcraft and forms of connection with nature can help us to heal
I’ll also be speaking to some of my favourite witches, healers and shamanic practitioners – so stay tuned for some magickal podcasts and videos (keep an eye on my Instagram for more details)!
If you are a sensitive person navigating the tricky modern world, The Wheel could be for you. The Wheel by Jennifer Lane is out with September Publishing on 7 October – pre-order your copy on Amazon, Waterstones or from your favourite independent retailer.
(Live outside of the UK? Drop me a message and I can help you find your nearest copy of The Wheel!)
