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The temperature’s dropping, nights are getting longer, and there’s a crisp chill in the air. That’s right, spooky season hath arrived, and Halloween is just around the corner. Along with trading in your summer snacks for pumpkin spice everything or some candy corn, that means you’re probably about to rewatch Hocus Pocus for the thirteenth time or just experiment with some creative Halloween makeup looks for your costume. (Because if your Halloween party is on Zoom, your costume is most important above the shoulders, right?)

If you’re looking for a little seasonal pop culture consumption, or you’re just interested in all things magical and occult, hello, we are here for your witchy needs. That’s right, we’ve found the best books about witches and witchcraft, from YA fiction like the Brooklyn Brujas series to nonfiction guides to exploring the craft yourself, like Gabriela Herstik’s Embody Your Magick. So whether you’re looking to immerse yourself in a magical, fictional world, you're looking to read up on IRL witchcraft, or you’re a witch yourself who’s looking to learn some new spells, get ready to add these titles to your to-read list.

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1

For baby witches

Embody Your Magick: A Guided Journal for the Modern Witch Tarcherperigee amazon.com

$14.99

Gabriela Herstik's Embody Your Magic offers creative prompts, ritual instructions, and DIY spells, perfect for anyone beginning their spiritual journey.

2

For fantasy fans

Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas) amazon.com

$9.99

Zoraida Córdova's Labryinth Lost kicks off the Brooklyn Brujas trilogy, which follows three teen witches as they develop their in the mysterious realm of Los Lagos. 

3

For Harry Potter fans

Akata Witch amazon.com

$8.99

Praised as "the Nigerian Harry Potter," Nnedi Okorafor's Akata Witch follows a twelve-year-old girl who discovers she has magical powers.

4

For the crystal connoisseurs

Spells for the Modern Mystic: A Ritual Guidebook and Spell-Casting Kit Harper Design amazon.com

$31.99

Kelley and Brandon Knight, who run the popular brand Modern Mystic Shop, recently released a guidebook featuring 25 rituals and spells.

5

For outdoorsy witches

The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More Adams Media amazon.com

$14.75

Arin Murphy-Hisock's The Green Witch is perfect for witches who want to get their hands dirty–by gardening, foraging, or exploring the woods. 

6

For intersectional readers

The Year of the Witching Ace Books amazon.com $26.00

$20.99 (19% off)

 Alexis Henderson's debut novel follows Immanuelle, a biracial young woman living in a strict society who learns that her late mother consorted with witches. Reviews have praised its intersectionality.

7

For memoir fans

Initiated: Memoir of a Witch Grand Central Publishing amazon.com $27.00

$20.37 (25% off)

Amanda Yates Garcia's mother was a practicing witch, but Garcia didn't embrace her own power until adulthood. This memoir follows her journey, through a series of initiations.  

8

For Greek mythology fans

Circe Little, Brown and Company amazon.com $27.00

$14.89 (45% off)

Readers interested in Greek mythology will appreciate this novel about the life of Circe, the witch from the Odyssey. 

9

For activists

Revolutionary Witchcraft: A Guide to Magical Activism Running Press Adult amazon.com $16.99

$13.99 (18% off)

Activist and witch Sarah Lyons explores the leftist history of magic, from historical witch hunts to modern-day organizing. 

10

For fans of the classics

I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem University of Virginia Press amazon.com

$18.99

First published in 1986, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem reexamines the Salem witch trials from the point of view of Tituba, the enslaved Black woman who was accused of witchcraft.

11

For Babysitters Club fans

The Babysitters Coven amazon.com $18.99

$15.59 (18% off)

What if the Babysitters Club were...witches? Kate M. Williams imagines a coven of teen babysitters with magical powers.

12

For the folk magic-curious

Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals HarperOne amazon.com $16.99

$12.78 (25% off)

First published in 1988, Luisah Teish's Jambalaya blends memoir with folk magic instruction.

13

For pop culture aficionados

Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power Gallery Books amazon.com $16.99

$14.19 (16% off)

Pam Grossman, host of the Witch Wave, discusses the pop culture history of witches, from mythology to the Wizard of Oz to Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

14

For vampire fans

Witches of East End Hachette Books amazon.com

$14.99

For those who like a little vampires with their witches, check out Melissa de la Cruz's Witches of East End, a stand-alone spin-off novel from her Blue Bloods series.

15

For the magic-curious

Witchery: Embrace the Witch Within

Third-generation witch Juliet Diaz guides the reader on how to connect with their inner witch, from creating rituals to working with the Moon.

16

For dark fantasy fans

The Bone Witch Sourcebooks Fire amazon.com

$46.00

Rin Chupeco' The Bone Witch follows a teenage girl, Tea, who discovers that she has the power to raise the dead. 

17

For feminist witches

Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive ThreeL Media amazon.com

$14.51

Kristen J. Sollée's Witches Sluts Feminists traces the history of "witch feminism" in media.

18

For romance lovers

A Discovery of Witches Penguin Group amazon.com $18.00

$12.89 (28% off)

Deborah Harkness' A Discovery of Witches is the first book in her All Souls Trilogy, which follows a science professor who embraces her magical heritage, with the help of a vampire love interest.

19

For manifesters

Moon Spells: How to Use the Phases of the Moon to Get What You Want Adams Media amazon.com

$11.66

Diane Alhquist's Moon Spells teaches you how to work with ritual through each phase of the Moon.

20

For '90s nostalgia

Practical Magic Berkley Books amazon.com $17.00

$14.29 (16% off)

Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic was published in 1995, and just three years later, it was made into the Sandra Bullock/Nicole Kidman movie you probably watch every Halloween.

21

For '00s nostalgia

T'witches #01: The Power Of Two Scholastic Paperbacks amazon.com

$87.35

Was anyone else obsessed with this YA series about a preppy witch and a punk witch?

22

For those who wish Edith Wharton was just a little witchier

The Witches of New York: A Novel Harper Perennial amazon.com

$15.49

Ami McKay's The Witches of New York adds a little magic to Gilded Age New York. 

23

For practical witches

Mama Moon's Book of Magic: A Life-Changing Guide to Star Signs, Spells, Crystals, Manifestations and Living a Magical Existence Hardie Grant amazon.com

$22.99

Semra Haksever's Mama Moon's Book of Magic tells you how to use magic to get stuff done, whether you're trying to get a promotion or fall in love.

24

For political witches

Becoming Dangerous: Witchy Femmes, Queer Conjurers, and Magical Rebels Weiser Books amazon.com $16.95

$14.17 (16% off)

This essay anthology features 21 writers describing how they use ritual to fight "sexism, slut shaming, racism, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression."

Erika W. Smith Senior Astrology Editor As Cosmopolitan's Senior Astrology Editor, Erika works with the Cosmo(s) Council members to help you decode your birth chart and prepare for every Mercury Retrograde.

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