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October 19, 2005
Search for witches in Kansas and elsewherePVT
You ate breakfast, showered and dressed, being sure to put on your lucky socks because it's going to be a big day. It's going to be a good day, too, because on your way to work you hit all the stoplights right. You're thinking that's a really good sign. It also means you were touched by some sort of magical thinking three times. Three is an especially good number according to Christine Wicker, and in her new book "Not in Kansas Anymore," you'll find out how much magic swirls around you in your everyday life. When Christine Wicker told her friends that she was embarking on a journey to learn about magic in America, most people told her to be careful, that depravity and evil would be the end result of that sort of journey. Others said she would only meet weirdoes and nuts on the road to knowledge. Skeptical, Wicker went forward with her quest armed with a pen, a notebook and a journalist's curiosity. So where does a Southern-born former churchgoer go to start learning about magic? She begins with a Vampires and Victims Ball, where she meets a few witches, some vamps and vampires and their "victims," and she notes that pretty much everything she needed to know was right there in the crowd. If only, she says, she had heeded that information. Delving further, Wicker visited Salem, Massachusetts, where she participated in a witches' walk that ended up on a magical hill. She didn't feel any spirits there, but she did feel sore feet from standing too long in uncomfortable shoes. Later, she sought out a California woman who teaches good magic and helps make spells with hoodoo herbs and objects. She met two elves and a werewolf. She found a root worker who took her to Zora Neale Hurston's grave so they could get some dirt for powerful spells. She was shyly welcomed by people who gave her the same sort of reception that they wish they'd received. In the process of her exploration, an ever-skeptical Wicker learns that magic has a place in everyone's life - even hers. It might be easy to make fun of some of the people in "Not in Kansas Anymore," but Wicker doesn't do that. This book is written with respectful tongue in cheek, and Wicker gamely - although sometimes reluctantly, and with a big wink - goes along with nearly everything believers suggest to her. Parts of this book got a little dry, but Wicker's gentle humor and willingness to poke fun at herself make you forget about those arid sections. If you've ever carried a lucky coin, worn the same shirt every Sunday during NFL season, or even believed that spirits guide your life, then you need to read this book. Conjure up some time and you'll be spellbound. Schlichenmeyer reviews books for the Pahrump Valley Times from her home in Wisconsin. |
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