Bargain Witch : Essays in Self-Initiation by Brooke Palmieri

An occult history that grounds the sacred yearning for magic in real life.

In these essays by scholar and self-initiated witch (and former Gay's the Word bookseller) Brooke Palmieri, occult history, the eternal now, and our magickal queer futures align, connecting us to an enchantment both contemporary and classic.
 
Drawing upon the knowledge and influence of practitioners from Rachel Pollack to Tituba, Palmieri grounds the sacred yearning for magic in real life, whether exploring the gossip of feuding Salem witches, paying the rent by playing “wizard” for news cameras, or detailing the psychic ups and downs of working in an occult bookshop. Written in a voice electrified with love for the craft and its lineage of eccentrics, Bargain Witch shows us witch life in all its quotidian humour and splendor, taking its place amongst the magickal classics that inspired it, a literary ouroboros.
 
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“Eager to forge a new reality, or recover an old one, with better metaphysics than the modern West? Bargain Witch can guide your self-initiation. It’s magic, through and through.” — Susan Stryker
 
“Impeccably researched, passionately political, vast in scope, yet unfailingly intimate, Bargain Witch is far more than an exploration of witchcraft—it is an autobiography of consciousness. Standing with Brooke Palmieri beneath the stars at midnight, invoking the primaeval, is utterly thrilling. I loved this book.” —Dodie Bellamy

“I love this book. My only critique is that it wasn’t long enough. I never wanted it to end! Reading this book is like doing a ritual with your coolest, smartest, queerest friend—it feels sexy, dangerous, and ecstatic all at once. Honestly, if you only get one book this year, get this one. Just reading it is like lobbing a molotov through the window of patriarchy: it’s fun, it’s educational, it’s good for the world. Read it! Then go be gay and do witchcraft.” — Amanda Yates Garcia

“Reading Bargain Witch is like taking home a thrifted mystery box and cracking it open to discover a trove of letters from wild mages, keys to lost archives, and strange objects that combine to form the perfect spell. This book brought me into communion with writers and wizards from centuries past while offering a new way forward, a way to live a life formed from communion and collection, from being with dead writers and the living earth, from finding teachers and kin everywhere. Palmieri’s debut has left me feeling enchanted and alive—a gift to witches and queers (and nerds and freaks) everywhere.” —Sam Cohen

“This book is going to become very important in some people’s lives, a blueprint for the romantic life of future libertine queer witches.” —Morgan M. Page

“Brooke Palmieri’s Bargain Witch is an idiosyncratic, syncretic delight. It is a deep dive into what it means to be a witch in the modern world, conjured with love, rigor, and a generosity of spirit. It draws equally on Palmieri’s extensive Oxford education in literature and his time working at Treadwells, one of London’s premiere magic bookshops. But Palmieri makes equal space in his theology for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Goosebumps books, creating a quick moving, far-ranging text that shows a witch practice that is both modern and ancient; accessible and esoteric. Palmieri never shies away from the grift, the acts of self-creation, and the always-already lost history of witchcraft. Each possible negative is explored as a positive, embracing a queer methodology and spirituality that thrums through every part of this unique collection.” —Hugh Ryan

“Bargain Witch is a spellbinding triumph! Brooke Palmieri doesn’t just write about magic, he channels it. With wit, wisdom, and a reverence for the fabulously freaky lineage of queer mystics, this book conjures an occult history that feels as lived-in as a dusty spellbook behind the counter of your favorite witchy thrift store. It’s hilarious, heartfelt, and haunting in the best way, like a séance with your smartest, sassiest coven.” —Peaches Christ
 
 
Brooke Palmieri is a writer and artist based in Joshua Tree. His writing considers the past as a supernatural encounter, spanning hundreds of years of queer and trans history, and the magic, mystery, and erotics of working in archives. Bargain Witch: Essays on Self-Initiation is his first book. He is a living, breathing wonder.