Jasper Reviews: Death Witchcraft volumes 1 & 2
After talking to my lawyer- I MEAN, reviewing these zines and my notes on them, I have decided that it makes the most sense to review them both together.
Death Witchcraft volume 1 and Death Witchcraft volume 2 are a duology of zines by Yunan Kirkbride, better known as @death-witch-envy (or DeathWitchEnvy, or DeathWitchEnvy). These are centered around death witchcraft (obviously), spirit work, the dead, and everything that an aspiring necromancer needs the TLDR on.
DWv1 is fairly short at 24 pages and was first published in 2017. Many of the good things I have to say about it apply to DWv2 as well, so we'll cover those first.
Firstly, this zine is very personal in tone and content, drawing on the experience of the author. It's handmade/printed and overall very aesthetically pleasing and put together well from a more practical standpoint. It stresses how mundane actions help magical actions, like building relationships with the spirits of a graveyard. It has several safety warnings, and the author stresses that you shouldn't do anything you're not comfortable with or don't feel safe doing.
As for the criticisms for DWv1 alone, the crystals for the dead appendix feels like it was cut in half, stopping after lapis lazuli (and since it's in alphabetical order, the cutoff was very jarring). There are also no recommendations for further reading. Both of these may be due to having to save pages, as this seems to have been one of the author's first works.
Moving on to DWv2, it expands on and clarifies things from DWv1. It's much longer (43 pages) and was written in 2019.
There are guides to things in death witchcraft that people don't usually think about, such as cleaning bones. There's also a fascinating historical necromancy analysis that talks about how the term has become muddied over time. There are very kindly-handled notes on the spirits of suicide victims and miscarriages, as well as what feels like a deeply personal note reaching out to suicidal practitioners. It's handled very well and the topics are treated with care. This zine also comes with the further reading appendix that DWv1 was missing.
My sole criticism of DWv2 is that it mentions house rules but doesn't explain what they are and why you should have them. It's easy to look up online, but it feels like a puzzle piece that's missing compared to the detail and care in the rest of the zine.
On a more neutral note, the appendices in DWv2 aren't alphabetical, and the zine refers back to DWv1 rather often.
As for the both of them together, the sections are short and to the point without feeling like too much detail is lost. This sort of thing is a fine balance to strike, and the author does it very well!
These two zines are very much a "first toe in the water" zine and an expanded sequel. You very much need to get the other if you get one.
Also, despite the fact that I ordered the two separately instead of in the bundle with extra stickers, I still received an adorable skull sticker and a handwritten note from the author. Very sweet and kind!
So with all of that in mind...
Official Jasper Review: 10/10, possibly the best zines you could pick up if you're looking into death witchcraft and want to support a small business!
I will definitely be picking up every other zine that Yunan has written and will review them in the future, so keep your eyes open for those! Also yes I DID plug their Etsy shop as much as possible, support witchy businesses and get these zines because they're amazing.
