Italian Folk Magic

Rue's Kitchen Witchery

By: Mary-Grace Fahrun

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo

Italian folk magic is a beautiful, powerful, and effective magical tradition that is accessible to anyone who wants to learn it, including Italians who want to regain their magical heritage. Containing magical and religious rituals and prayers, this book explores divination techniques, crafting, blessing rituals, witchcraft, and, of course, the evil eye, which is known as malocchio in Italian and which the author thoroughly explains, including what it is, where it comes from, and, crucially, how to get rid of it. Such insights will help listeners learn unique methods of magical protection, divination, and spells for love, sex, control, revenge, and more.

©2021 Mary-Grace Fahrun (P)2021 Red Wheel Weiser

Everything makes sense now

this brought back a lot of memories.. Everything makes sense now. All the mystery, the traditions, the whispers. Thank you

A much needed treasure trove of traditional folk Spirituality of Southern Italy and its diaspora

I soaked this book up. Both in print and when I wanted to listen in my car. As having had grandparents from Sicily and southern Italy I’ve wanted to reconnect with my culture but the organic mystical aspects that had no central teachings, no doctrine, was diversely interpreted and practiced, and were practiced side by side in a delicate dance with Catholicism was so hard to find. I had only my memories and words of those like me who could also remember some of the “old ways.” As the Italian diaspora has evolved so much of these traditions and the magic of our ancestors is disappearing in a divisive struggle between those eschewing tradition for modern secular skepticism and those resisting clinging ever so tightly to dogma and doctrine. The space to utilize imagination, magic, and mystical connection to the Ancestors is becoming thinner and thinner but is beginning to assert and define itself. This I think is a common theme that can be witnessed among many cultures. I love how the author points out things that her nonna did that I can relate to but also define the fluidity and personal nature of Practice as even those she practices today are modifications of the practices of those before her. It’s a beautiful journey of faith, imagination, magic, spirituality, tradition, food, finding the sacred in the mundane and longing for meaning and self discovery we all have.
My only complaint…the reader. I really hate to do this because readers are human too and I don’t want to be rude or mean. But just being honest it became hard to listen to as I found the reader to be over dramatic with her voice, and seemed out of touch with Italian American culture as her accents and pronunciations of Italian/Sicilian words were at times painful to listen to. But maybe I’m just being a snob. Anyhow give it a shot! No matter your religion, race, or cultural/ethnic background you can’t help but find something in this read you’ll be able to relate to.

Such a gift

Such a gift to have all of these folk concepts together in one place. I needed this. The reader has a clear voice and it would have been great for a story, but she was too over dramatic for a nonfiction book. Going into and out of hokey accents of the author’s relatives was uncomfortable.

I loved the book and will buy it so I can read it myself!!

I disliked the sound and cadence of the person reading I had to stop couldn't listen anymore

A good book for anyone into any folk magic!

Loved the insiders view of the Italian culture in this book. Can't wait to try the recipes, food is magic! This is a good book for anyone interested in any folk magic really, as there is lots of room to make things more personal to you!