Book Review - Mexican Magic

Title: Mexican Magic: Brujeria, Spells and Rituals for All Occasions

Author: Laura Davila

Publisher: Weiser Books

Rating: 5/5

As I've mentioned many times before, this year, inclusivity was a priority for my magical bookshelf. If I were going to purchase a book, I would want it to be written by an author from a different culture or race. While I cannot use many of them (due to cultural appropriation), I wanted to learn as much as I could about others' beliefs and practices. That's where Mexican Magic comes in. This book was my first ever purchase about Mexico and its magical history. I had a great deal of fun reading Mexican Magic, but I must admit that I can't speak with certainty about its authenticity. I'm not Mexican, and I did not grow up in Mexico. If you are, and you find this book inaccurate for any reason, I apologize. This book review is from an outsider's perspective, so I can only give my thoughts and opinions.

Davila's way of speaking is so beautiful to me. She has a poetic way of writing that I really enjoyed. I found myself writing down so many quotes because they just struck my heart as beautiful.

"Necessity is the bridge that connects us to magic, but, as a bridge, we are the ones who must cross to the other side." Ch. 1, Pg. 7

And I found myself chuckling and nodding my head when she discussed the 'magic courses' that have been springing up. You don't need an online certificate or an important-sounding title to be a witch. That's not true magic. Magic has always flourished where there was necessity and creativity.

As someone who has always viewed the entwining of witchcraft and Christianity with suspicion, I appreciated how Davila explained the intricate weaving of the two. You can't separate the folk traditions of Catholicism from authentic Mexican magic, and often the Mexican people have reappropriated religious icons into their culture. As an American, I see this same practice mirrored in Hoodoo, which is more familiar to me as a southerner. I had a really good laugh in Chapter 3 when she tells of hijacking a crucifix from the home of a couple named Jose and Maria. The very idea of stealing a holy symbol comes across to me as both ironic and hilarious!

Anima Sola - Lonely Soul

Chapter 6 was especially interesting to me. As someone who lives in Napoli, Italy, I was instantly drawn to her description of 'Animas' that Mexicans will turn to and pray for. These are souls trapped in purgatory. It's believed that if you pray for their soul to help ease their torment, then when judgment day comes, they'll speak on your behalf. As she began describing them, I realized that was exactly what the Napolitans did in Santa Maria della Purgatorio. I even made an entire blog post and YouTube video about it. To see it echoed so far away was really cool. I even did a quick look up of Anima Sola and smiled when I saw Wikipedia list it as 'Popular in Latin America, as well as Napoli and Palermo.'

Davila peppered the book with Mexican phrases and definitions, so I felt that I was also learning her vocabulary as I read her stories, which I found to be a nice touch. Learning different ways to look at chewing gum, tortilla makers, and trash cans was the highlight of my week. The people of Mexico are so creative! I never would have thought to use the ingredients in that way. Prickly pears, aloe vera, orange blossoms, etc. There were chapter after chapter of spells and hexes that worked on different aspects of life, from domination spells to ensuring your baby has beautiful hair. Anything you could think of, there was a spell for that inside.

I'm so glad I purchased Mexican Magic. I had a really fun time reading it and was pleasantly surprised to see the links to a culture across the globe. I highly recommend this read if you're a witch interested in learning about magic from a different culture. Hopefully, any Mexican witches out there can confirm if it's 100% accurate. As I stated at the start of this post, I'm not Mexican, so I have no clue. LOL. But it was definitely an enjoyable read.