Brujas: The Magic and Power of Witches of Color

Monteagut, Lorraine

Witchcraft has made a comeback in popular culture, especially among feminists, and there is a new kind of witch emerging in our cultural consciousness: the bruja. Brujas chronicles the magical lives of these practitioners as they extend their personal rituals to larger self-care and activist movements and use their services to empower young people of color. The bruja represents the new “witch” of the United States, a practitioner who melds ancient tradition with new technologies and mirrors the diversity and activist spirit of today’s youth. Brujas reminds us that witchcraft is more than a trend—it’s a movement. 

Brujas follows this movement from its historical practices to its current manifestations. Through profiles of bruja practitioners who make their living offering magical products and services, author Monteagut examines the conflicts that have arisen as spiritual traditions are appropriated and commodified. Brujas also delves into the historical practices from which brujas borrow to provide readers with information and resources to begin their own spiritual practices and businesses. Above all, the bruja movement is about empowering people to find the healing magic in their own lives and to imagine a happier and healthier world.