1.How and when did you get interested in magic? How long have you been a practitioner of magic ritual?
Magic has been an integral part of my life since I was aged four, sitting under my family’s piano with a plastic crystal ball; treasure I gleaned from collecting tokens off cartons of Kellogg’s Honey Nut Loops. I showed early signs of the autism I was only recently diagnosed with, possessing a penchant for rhythms, rituals and repetition. I would pray to the Gods, three times in a row, saying things like “I must wear glasses!”, “I must wear glasses”, “I must wear glasses!”. The proof was in the pudding, I thought. After all, it turned out I was pretty short sighted. Vampires were my next in-road; as a horny teenager I gobbled up queer vampire fiction set in New Orleans and started smoking clove cigarettes and carving out sigils in fake blood. Eventually I graduated to young adulthood and bought my second tarot deck (the first had been a gift from my mother), from which I began conducting readings for friends whilst studying Politics at the University of York. Fast forwards a few years and I was living in London, undertaking a lengthy initiation ritual with the theatre company/ritual magic group FoolishPeople.
2.You were a member of Theater Company Foolish People. Could you tell us more about this?
My time as a core member of FoolishPeople was heady, mind-bending and just all-round f**king intense. We constructed and conducted pretty hardcore magical rituals at lightening speed during our secretive rehearsal periods, which were themselves part of longer, deeper rituals. Concentric circles of ritual. I lost my mind completely. I left at a time which was healthy for me, but I was still devastated to take a step back. During that era working with FoolishPeople was a gateway into self-insight, channelling, manifestation and the world of story. That period in my life made me who I am but it was exhausting and unsustainable in terms of my wellbeing.
3.Could you tell us about writing your book “Muses No More“. What well know women Of the magic arts are written about?
Writing “Muses No More” vacillated between being the most creatively satisfying period of my life and the most troubling. I alternated between periods of research and writing about each of the 17 women the book explores, taking care of myself less and less as I went along. My partner was basically my carer during this time – cooking meals, cleaning, keeping all those practical aspects of life in hand. I feel so much gratitude towards her. Things reached a crescendo just as I was winding up the editing process. I was hospitalised twice during this period, and can’t even remember one of those episodes. All I know is that I was not well and certainly not in any sort of harmony with myself or the world of the present. The 17 women the book is about span time and space, and are organised by their death days, from the most recent (Wiccan priestess Margot Adler) to the most distant in history (Irish medicine woman Biddy Early). Along with my partner and friends, it was these occult women who kept me going. Their stories really had to be told.
4.Was Aleister Crowley originally a member of a witchcraft coven? Is he written about in Muses No More?
I say quite a lot about Aleister Crowley in the introduction to Muses No More so I won’t repeat myself here. I’ve always been a bit fascinated by and in awe of the Great Beast but I certainly don’t want him taking up too much space when I could be shouting about the wild and wonderful women I champion within the pages of the book.
5.You are a cartomancer as well as a writer. Could you tell us more about this practice?
I’ve been reading cards for about twenty years now, for both myself and others. My cartomancy practice has evolved and shifted over that time – it has a degree of flexibility to it. I position myself somewhere between your spooky agony aunt or purveyor of parlour games, and just a simple little channel for whatever the cards have to say. I treat the future as a stew of tangled, chaotic relational occurrences and as something that is not fully knowable. What divination tools can offer us is a guide to flipside thinking, and suggestions of where there might just be some wiggle and nudge room. I guess I hold a lot to Adam Philips’ notion of psychoanalysis as a creative practice – I consider cartomancy holds up a similar space. Its a site of imagination, creativity and how we mess around with the great unknown.
6.What brand of magic was performed in Shetland where you live in the UK, in previous centuries and today? Do you wish to keep this Magic Tradition alive?
Shetland’s magical history is a predominantly oral tradition. Our easiest guides, then, are through the healing incantations and curing traditions passed down through generations, as tools of what was known as leechcraft. Practices differed according to area and local customs. Magical devices such as a “trow’s sword” and “lightning bolt” stones still exist today and are considered prized artefacts by their proud households. Spells for storm raising were particularly common and widespread; usually to rid the waters of unwelcome ships. Shetland has a long tradition of archiving and preserving oral lore, so there are really all manner of spells to work with if one takes the time to do so. Many of the magical practices converge with traditional Scandinavian and Scottish folk practices – unsurprising given the islands’ location halfway between Scotland and Norway. In fact, Shetland “belonged” to Norway until relatively recently.
7.Could you tell us about Sybil Leek? Why is she important to the history of magic?
Oh I adore Sybil Leek! She is a fascinating witch because she was bold and unabashed and spoke out about (and stood up for) witches just a short time after the Witchcraft Act was repealed in 1951. Before that all acts of witchery were outlawed in the British Isles. It’s really something to contemplate just how brave Leek must have been to stand as a public figure in the midst of such a hostile environment; she even appeared on BBC television! Tragically, she was hounded out of the UK and made her home in the States where it seems she was very content travelling the country for press engagements, and writing many books. I view Leek as very much a thread that binds the deep, hidden histories of witchcraft and the modern day fascination with the occult. Her writings are matter of fact, practical, and reliable. What a witch! I’m so thrilled I got to spend time with her spirit during the writing of Muses No More.
8.What will your next book be about Una?
I intend for my next book to be about the convergence of magic and Madness. I have a long history of entanglement with the Western, biomedical mental health system and I’m very inspired by the works of Scottish psychiatrist R.D. Laing and the contemporary philosopher Wouter Kusters, who both write about the interconnections between magical practice and extreme mental states. This book is a long way off into the future. But the seeds are being planted which will help to bring it into being.
Any future plans and projects?
Aside from contemplating the early stages of working on my next book, I really am a very unadventurous soul. I enjoy the details in life – the way the sun warms my house at the start of the day, summers in Shetland with my feet dunked in the ocean, time with my beloved ones, offering mentorship and doing card readings for clients. I’m not really someone who makes big crazy plans for the distant future, and I really don’t take on many new projects unless they’re yarn related. I’m just out here on a rock in the middle of the North Sea getting by and living as if this were my last day, quiet and as free as I can be.
Website: https://www.unamariablyth.com/
