A good spell makes new things possible. Years ago I saved this quote from Stone Butch Blues. It is the genderqueer protagonist’s reaction to reading Women’s Studies books.
I felt as though I was rushing into a burning building to rescue the ideas I needed in my own life.
That line made it easy to explain that a book can be worthwhile and problematic at the same time, provided you have a mission. It made it possible to see reading terrible books with a critical eye as heroic instead of embarrassing. It’s a good spell for someone like me who borrows a lot of books from the 000-200 section of the library, and at the same time has enough science background to question using quantum physics to explain serendipity and enough political analysis to see random dreamcatcher cover art as racist.
If that is too metaphorical, here is a short and direct motto from a vanished blog I used to love. I use this as a disclaimer all the time. It’s a spell that can transform a sketchy text into a resource, that can invoke a bigger context and invite all of someone’s history and knowledge into an encounter. I predict this will be a good spell for most things I post here.
Bring your own analysis.