Storied Selves: Shaping Identity in Feminist Witchcraft

Storied Selves focuses on feminist Witches and their constructions of identities through the use of opposition and speculation as technologies of identity, particularly (post)colonial, maternal, and holistic identities. Through these identity formations, feminist Witches are invested in changing consciousness to create a just and sustainable world—an act which is fundamental to their practices of magic. Looking at three novels—Barbara Walker's Amazon, Cynthia Lamb's Brigid's Charge, and Starhawk's The Fifth Sacred Thing—Klassen asks three questions: how are technologies of identity deployed; where are feminist Witches most successful in promoting and/or creating models for a just and sustainable world; where and how can feminist Witches push these technologies of identity even further to create continuing oppositional and speculative identities which could lead to a just and sustainable world?

Storied Selves analyzes religion and spirituality from feminist theoretical perspectives, focusing particularly on the ways in which religion and spirituality incorporate politics. Klassen develops a discourse of technologies of identity that shows the multiple ways of constructing identity.

Chris Klassen is assistant professor of religion and culture at Wilfrid Laurier University.