Mothers of Magic: Summoning the Wisdom of Our Ancestors

by Perdita Finn

Author of Take Back the Magic and co-founder of the beloved non-denominational fellowship The Way of the Rose Perdita Finn offers a profound invitation to remember and recover the power, presence, and wisdom of the Mother Figure.

“This book is a lodestar for anyone seeking to live with reverence, rootedness, and wonder.” —Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit  

At a time when so many of us feel unmoored from guidance, care, and belonging, Mothers of Magic is a profound call to return to our deepest sources of knowledge, nourishment, and kinship.

When Perdita Finn found herself at a crossroads with her health, she embarked on a search for healing that led her to confront a heritage of misogyny and violence—and to summon the wisdom of her ancestors to unravel the trauma woven into her story and the story of civilization itself. Braiding memoir with cultural history, Finn introduces readers to a pantheon of maternal figures, from the loving spirit of St. Anne and the defiant courage of Joan of Arc to the very Earth itself, who have long offered refuge, instruction, and love. Through these stories and her own journey of transformation, Finn reveals what becomes possible when we recover an ecological feminism that restores our relationship with our bodies, our mothers, and the body of our world. Alongside the narrative, she shares practical ways to summon all of our mothers—ancestral, spiritual, and earthly—to help us navigate our everyday challenges and deepest wounds. 

Radical and restorative, Mothers of Magic is an intervention for our time and a map back to the maternal wisdom that has always been ours—a path toward true connection and the deepest sources of love. 

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Kaitlin LaRosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely exploration into reimagining our relationships with the natural world and each other as Mothers. What changes when we recognize the responsibility we have to each other to mother and care and pour into each other. What changes when we remember our animal mothers, our plant mothers and the rich relationship we can have with the dead, our passed mothers and unlock the wisdom of our ancestors in our everyday lives

[zaynab · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

I enjoy Perditta Finn's imagination in many respects. But I think referencing the fact that returning to the mother can transform policing, politicians, and carceral systems almost cancels out the beauty of the imagination she's displayed in this book thus far. Maybe if she had been hip to the anthology Revolutionary Mothering by Alexis Pauline Gumbs and the more recent anthology from Haymarket press about mothering behind bars, she might be better equipped to understand how a return to the mother is explored by people who do not romanticize carceral systems or the state.

Return to the mother, but let's not pretend that carceral systems can be mothered to be healthier. There's no such thing.

[Megan Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perdita is the only author I've read who has taught me how to reparent myself - first through "take back the magic" and now through this book all about mothers. I feel so connected to this message that we are all mothers mothering all, seen and unseen, conscious and unconsciously, in this life and in many others, past and future. Anyone can find tender places within themselves where they're in need of the kind of mothering offered in this book. Thank you Perdita, for your reassuring voice that we are never alone and the mothers we need are just a call (or prayer) away.

[Serena C · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second book by Finn, I loved “take back the magic” just as much… I loved the interplay of memoir/storytelling, spirituality, history… so good. The ending Dear Mamas part made me cry. Healing book that I need so badly. Hate that my mother said the same things to me as her mother did to her, but that’s okay because everyone is my mother

[Heather · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. I enjoyed Finn's writing style in previous books and this one was even better. I found myself thinking about portions long after I'd finished reading it or relating an idea from it in various conversations.
I did feel like a couple ideas/views didn't jive with my own life experiences, but generally, this book was wonderful. Especially for those of us with complicated relationships with our mothers.

[Dawn · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

Beautiful, inspiring, pragmatic, and down-to-earth. It feels to me as if Finn is describing the world - or life - as I've always experienced it, but never ever heard described. Her writing in general, but this book especially, feels like coming home to me.