BY MADISON MCKEEVER
I’ve been fangirling over author and overall goddess Kristen Sollée ever since I first read her book, Witches, Sluts, Feminists: Conjuring the Sex Positive. Aptly named after just a few of the contested identities assigned to women who misbehave, Witches, Sluts, Feminists delves into the origins and intricacies of witch feminism and its intersection with reproductive rights, sexual pleasure, queer identity, porn, sex work, and many other topics.
From a historical perspective, witches have often been associated with specific cultural functions, either enchanting as feminist symbols of empowerment, or inspiring terror in a paranoid misogynistic Miller-esque fever dream. In recent years, witchcraft, magic, and other alternative spiritual practices have been the focus of increased attention and subsequent scrutiny, as people experiment and engage with feminism in all of its iterations.
Throughout her work, Kristen has spoken with countless activists, scholars, artists, and practitioners of witchcraft in order to enrich the public’s understanding of witch feminism and illustrate that witches in all forms, from Tituba to Stevie Nicks to Sabrina to The Hoodwitch, are powerful and relevant well beyond the month of October.
In addition to being a champion of female sexuality, Kristen is the founding editrix of the sex positive collective, Slutist (RIP), and is a gender studies lecturer at The New School. Her second book, Cat Call: Reclaiming the Feral Feminine: An Untamed History of the Cat Archetype in Myth and Magic was just released in September. Kristen herself is too fucking cool, whether she’s speaking out against SESTA/ FOSTA or rocking a killer purple lip on Instagram. She’s brilliant and generous enough with her time that earlier this year I had the pleasure of speaking with her about Witches, Sluts, Feminists, capitalism, and fighting for sexual liberation.
MM: How did you first become interested in the topic of witch feminism?
KS: It’s a long, circuitous story filled with both intention and magical intervention, but I’ve been interested in the occult since childhood, was raised by a feminist intuitive, and found my way to this subject first personally, and then professionally.
MM: What was the process of researching and writing this book like?
KS: Not pretty. Writing a book like this required confronting a lot of my own personal demons as I was interviewing dozens of people, scouring libraries and bookstores and websites for source material, and meditating on how I could do justice to a history so rife with pain and persecution that has been obscured and manipulated in numerous ways. It wasn’t something that was always fun or easy, but it was overall a joyful project to get to amplify voices that matter so much to me.
MM: In Witches, Sluts, Feminists, you polled 50 people about the definition of “witch,” and came back with a wide variety of answers. What’s your personal definition?
KS: The witch evades a single definition—that’s the beauty of the concept, really—but I will try! A lightning rod. A change-maker. A caretaker. Priestess of the persecuted. Harridan and hierophant. Rooted in the earthly and the astral. Fact and fiction, feminine and masculine, and so many things. The witch will forever be a shapeshifter.
MM: Do you think there is a generational/ geographical/ socio-economic connection to how the idea of the witch is viewed?
KS: Definitely. There are those who understand the witch to be an archetype of empowerment, those who see her as a Satanic seductress or a relic of religious persecution, and those who think she’s merely a cartoon hag to chuckle at on Halloween. It all depends on your own background and belief system and knowledge of the history.
MM: If you had to pick a witch or goddess that you’re most inspired by, who would it be?
KS: Oh there are so many, but I will pick a fictional one: Elvira. A witch who wields her sexuality in potent and playful ways. So many witches in fiction are so serious, she’s really a breath of fresh air. And a forever style icon as well!
MM: What are your “required reading” books for anyone looking to learn more about witch feminism?
KS: Silvia Federici’s Caliban and the Witch; Starhawk’s The Spiral Dance ; Maryse Conde’s I Tituba: Black Witch of Salem.
MM: Aside from reading, what are some resources for witches-in-training who are looking to educate themselves about practices, lineage, and history?
KS: Your local occult shop, or, if you don’t have one, The Hoodwitch’s online community. There are infinite folks to follow online, too, but some of my faves for inspiration and education in addition to @thehoodwitch are @themexicanwitch; @iamsarahpotter; @jaliessasipress.
MM: Do you see witch feminism as a lifestyle, a religion, or a hobby that can be shelved and called upon at times when it’s needed? I’m thinking primarily of practicing witchcraft in the age of Trump, and how many feminists are calling upon chanting, intention candles, hexes, and crystalogy as self-care rituals to heal from oppressive and toxic masculine government forces. Does witchcraft look different depending on what it’s needed for?
KS: Absolutely. Everyone’s spiritual and political practice looks different. There is no one way to use these powerful tools. Some folks don’t believe in mixing their witchcraft and their politics. Others believe witchcraft is specifically for healing and fighting oppression in the personal and political realms and that you cannot separate the two.
MM: Why do you think witches are so trendy right now? Is it because so many people need an ideology that centers around empowered women? Is it a form of escapism? Or are people just looking for a source of spiritual healing in a world that increasingly feels more and more hopeless?
KS: All of the above.
MM: How do you feel about the intersection in recent years between witchcraft and capitalism? In Witches, Sluts, Feminists you highlight multiple voices in the witch community and the disparate opinions on the topic, but you also point out that, “the witch is ‘the embodiment of a world of female subjects that capitalism had to destroy’ in order for the reigning economic order to triumph” (132). What are the implications of capitalism co-opting witchcraft without educating consumers about the origins of their purchase? (ahem, Sephora)
KS: I am quoting Silvia Federici there, but yes, it is very necessary to address capitalism’s co-optation of witchcraft and the occult, particularly when workers (often women in sweatshops around the world) are actively harmed in the making of “witchy” products and when closed, indigenous practices are being stolen from in the process. That’s not witchcraft, it’s exploitation.
MM: What are your feelings on Trump’s ironic and often repeated use of the term “witch-hunt” in reference to himself and the media? I think the linguistic significance of this is fascinating based on what it entails, historically- speaking.
KS: Like much of what Trump says, it’s a horrendous distortion of historical fact. It also goes to show how much misinformation there is about what “witch hunts” actually were—and are today.
MM: One of the popular phrases that has gotten circulated across social media and throughout women’s marches in the last year reads (in some iteration), “Nasty Women are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.” Considering this and the prevalence of witch and goddess energy within the #metoo movement, do you think the spiritual and the political can intersect for the greater good?
KS: Absolutely, as long as the spiritual doesn’t become dogmatic. There still has to be room for spiritual and religious dissent and plurality or we’re no different than the religious right.
MM: I’m fascinated by the sexual connotations of American witch history, how witches were seen as harnessing an impure (ie. un-Christian) sexual appetite, and how the deeply patriarchal nature of early New England allowed this ideology to perpetuate until people were put to death. Can you speak more about how and why you think a deep-seated fear of female sexuality exists?
KS: Patriarchal religion—in America’s case Christianity—is at fault for this one. When you have an origin story that places female desire as the root of pain and suffering (hello, Eve) you’re not off to a very good start, you know?
MM: Why do you think the world seems to be threatened by sexually enlightened womxn, or womxn who unabashedly identify as sluts? Are sluts viewed as a threat to masculinity because subverting the terminology pushes back against the misogyny of our government and world?
KS: Being unapologetic about your sexuality or your body as a woman or a person on the feminine spectrum remains so radical because it counters everything that patriarchal society dictates about the masculine dominating the feminine.
MM: Are “witch,” “slut,” and “feminist” synonymous terms?
KS: No, I don’t think so, although there is great overlap between them depending on culture and context. To me, they are beautifully complex, complimentary terms.
MM: Do you think the meteoric rise of witches will continue indefinitely?
KS: Witches may not be splashed across The New York Times forever, but they certainly aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. And thank goddess for that.
Madison McKeever is a writer based in New York City. She probably wants to ask what your favorite book is. She's passionate about true crime, Timothee Chalamet's sartorial decisions, Instagram cats, and talking about the orgasm gap. Find her @thesleepygirlscout