Muses No More: Portraits of Occult Women

Author: Ùna Maria Blyth

Illustrations by: Luciana Lupe Vasconcelos

Muses No More: Portraits of Occult Women is a meandering ghost train through the lives, work, politics and beliefs of both familiar and lesser known female occultists from the distant past to the 21st century. From the freedom fighting New Orleans Voudon Queen Marie Laveau to the witch-next-door personality of Sybil Leek, these biographical portraits bring light to women often sidelined in occult spaces and memory in favour of the (white, male) heavyweights such as Arthur E. Waite, Aleister Crowley and Gerald Gardner.

Readers will discover that there was much more to Pamela Colman Smith’s magical undertakings than her illustrations for the Rider Waite Smith tarot deck, and that Doreen Valiente, whilst valiantly fighting for the modernisation of Wicca, was an ardent follower of televised football.

Filled with fascinating historical trivia, there are deeper narratives at play in this compendium too - the struggle for women’s liberation, pleas for modernisation of religious movements, the reign of the patriarchy in many magical traditions, and the fight for civil rights.

Thoroughly well-researched and written with the flair of an impassioned queer, feminist occultist, Muses No More tells the centuries-spanning stories of women who threw off their aprons in favour of the search for greater esoteric knowledge.

The book concludes with tried and tested personal practices and rituals, respectfully designed in honour of these wondrous women, so that we might channel their power and knowledge and pursue the mysteries of the vast unknown.