Book Review: Chronically Magickal
Danielle Dionne’s recent book, Chronically Magickal: Navigating Chronic Illness with Witchcraft, is something I wish I had ten years ago. As someone who identifies as a witch, pagan, and disabled person with a chronic illness this book spoke to so many aspects about both my daily life and my spiritual practice.
This book is a comprehensive and personal exploration on how the tools of witchcraft can help those of us who live with a chronic illness lead fuller, richer lives. As Dionne herself if clear to spell out, the exercises and suggestions in this book are no way meant to replace the care provided by modern medicine and therapy, but finding ways to incorporate our magic and spirituality into how we care for ourselves addresses a dimension of healing all too frequently overlooked in modern Western society.
Among all of the incredibly valuable material presented in this resource are two things I specifically want to draw attention to, because I personally found them immensely impactful.
Over the course of my near forty years in this life I’ve experienced all sorts of injuries and illnesses that left their mark. The most severe of these is a chronic GI illness that manifested itself about ten years ago, but for which I’ve only received a partial diagnosis and the support to manage it in the last couple of years. Early on in my chronic illness journey I developed a fear of spending too much time out of my home, and went from someone who was regularly pretty social or spent time hiking at local parks to becoming more of a home-body. Mind you, I’ve since grown to love being a home-body, tending to my garden, etc. but it took years of relearning the limitations imposed by this illness.
In the early years this sudden and involuntary pivot to my lifestyle caused a lot of depression and anger. Chapter 4 of Chronically Magickal is titled “Your Sacred Home”, and it is full of tips, tricks, and exercises for reimagining and managing your relationship with your home. I could have really benefitted from this chapter in the early years of my illness to help reframe not seeing my home as a prison or punishment, and instead as a refuge and partner in my healing.
Additionally, given the nature of my illness, when I am experiencing flares I tend to spend a lot of time in the bathroom. One part of this chapter discusses “Your Magickal Bathroom” and ways to turn that space into an energetically supportive space. This is something I never thought of before, after all it’s just a bathroom, right? Needless to say, I am now in the middle of reimagining that space to be a more pleasing and healing environment.
The other thing I want to draw specific attention to is the exercise in Part Three called “Communicating with the Spirit of Your Disease.” While the overall purpose of this exercise, finding a way to learn to know and be in relationship with your illness, is something I came to on my own several years ago I cannot fully express how incredibly powerful it is that an accessible ritual facilitating this is now so readily available. Being in conversation with your illness, being in relationship with it, and learning how to listen to it is such powerful medicine. I am so thankful to Dionne for including this in the book.
Chronically Magickal: Navigating Chronic Illness with Witchcraft is out now through Llewellyn Press. You can purchase a copy here. (Please note, this is my affiliate link to Bookshop.org so I do make a small commission.)
