Welcome to The Art of Enchantment
A Top Ten Literature Substack
A gathering place for lovers of myth, fairy tales and (post-Jungian, mostly Archetypal) depth psychology. Here, we explore the mysteries of the psyche, our relationship with place and planet – and whatever might lie beyond it all. My focus is on reimagining women’s stories, exploring women’s faith and spirituality, and thinking about the relevance of myths and fairy tales to the personal, cultural and environmental issues we face today. The Art of Enchantment is about finding meaning – and joy – in this ever-more-challenging world.
And enchantment? In my 2018 book The Enchanted Life, I wrote that ‘enchantment, by my definition, has nothing to do with fantasy, or escapism, or magical thinking: it is founded on a vivid sense of belongingness to a rich and many-layered world; a profound and whole-hearted participation in the adventure of life.’ Yes, even – especially – when it gets tough. Each of us has a gift to offer this world, a unique way of expressing what it is to be human, a unique way of being a flower in a garden that would be poorer without us. The Art of Enchantment is designed to help readers flower.
Subscribe today and receive a free gift – a PDF workbook on ‘Myth and Metamorphosis’ – for joining me.
I’m an award-winning and internationally bestselling author and psychologist, with an academic background in the mythology and folklore of Britain and Ireland, too. I have a degree in Psychology, a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience (on anxiety and panic), MAs in both Creative Writing and in Celtic Studies, along with many other academic and professional trainings in psychology, psychotherapeutic practice, mythology and folklore. I’ve been awarded research fellowships from the Wellcome Trust and the Mental Health Foundation, have been a British Psychological Society-approved Chartered Psychologist and have worked as a psychotherapist – but these days I’m a full-time writer who does a little teaching and lecturing in between times.
The transformative power of story has been at the heart of my work for decades. As well as writing six books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestselling If Women Rose Rooted and Hagitude, my writing has appeared in several international media outlets – among them the Guardian, the Irish Times, and the Scotsman. I’ve been interviewed by the BBC and US public radio on my areas of expertise. My awards include the Society of Authors’ Roger Deakin Award and a Creative Scotland Writer’s Award.
I’m a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Honorary Member of the UK Association of Jungian Analysts, awarded ‘in recognition of the importance of lifetime achievement and contribution to Jungian ideas in the world’. I’ve taught and lectured at several academic institutions, Jungian organisations, retreat centres and cultural festivals around the world. I’m also online faculty for Pacifica Graduate Institute, California, where I currently teach an Advanced Training Certificate Course on ‘Finding Ourselves in Fairy Tales: a Narrative Psychological Approach’ and other programs.
From 2013 to 2017 I was the founder and editor of EarthLines Magazine, described by Jay Griffiths as ‘a deeply intelligent publication’, by George Monbiot as ‘a rare combination and much needed’, and by Robert Macfarlane as ‘a real point of convergence for many thought-tributaries and philosophical paths’.
I’m represented by Jane Graham Maw at Graham Maw Christie Agency. You can find out much more about me at my main website.
Why subscribe?
My commitment to those of you who choose to subscribe to The Art of Enchantment is to ensure that you receive something of value in return. Not just carefully crafted words, but ideas and inspiration for life. Because if I’m passionate about anything, I’m passionate about transformation – about the idea of life as a constant process of becoming. It’s only by transforming ourselves that we can hope to transform the world.
Join my community as a free subscriber to ‘The Art of Enchantment’, and you’ll receive an emailed monthly newsletter with news and reflections, book recommendations and reviews. There are occasional additional articles for free subscribers, and you will have access to that archive. In addition, you’ll receive a gift for joining me: a downloadable workbook on ‘Myth and Metamorphosis’.
As a paid subscriber, you’ll also have access to weekly work focused on myth and fairy tales, on depth/ archetypal psychology, on women’s stories, on reimagining the second half of life and on place and belonging. If you’d like to access exclusive new content from me, then for £7 a month/£70 a year you can have it sent directly to your email inbox. You’ll receive:
Monthly ‘Myth & Fairy Tale Salons’, in which you can join me or an occasional guest teacher for a live Zoom session to talk about these beautiful old stories in greater depth. In 2025, we’ll be working with some rich and mythic stories in the Arthurian and Grail traditions, as well as the usual complement of fairy tales
‘On the couch’, a regular ‘advice column’ where I’ll give a long-form answer to one of your questions about an aspect of our journey through life that you’d like help with
Long-form articles and opinion pieces in my specialist areas
Access to an exclusive occasional podcast in which I’ll be in conversation with a guest on one of the subjects I’m passionate about
‘Ask me anything’ opportunities
Paid subscribers can engage with me at any time in the ‘Chat’ section of Substack; you can also begin your own (relevant) threads there, and enjoy the conversation with the rest of the community
The Hearth
The Hearth is an exclusive space within this community for what Substack terms ‘founding members’: those of you who want to deepen your work with story and the mythic imagination, and gather around my work in a more focused way. Membership of The Hearth includes all the benefits that paid subscribers have, along with:
Four online retreats with me each year. These retreats last for around an hour and a half and are focused on the qualities of the season, on kickstarting the imagination, and deepening our sense of belonging to the world around us.
From January 2025, monthly conversations around women’s spirituality and contemporary faith, through articles, chat and four Zoom sharing circles per year.
The chance, a couple of times a year, to win a thirty-minute one-to-one session with me.
My guide price for membership of The Hearth is £120, but in the interests of inclusivity, if this is beyond your means then you can select the amount you can afford – as long as the price you choose is more than the cost of an annual subscription (which is £70). Please note that Substack currently only allows founding members to pay annually, not monthly.
I believe in writers being paid for their work, but as someone who grew up in poverty I also believe in making my work accessible to as many people as possible. So if you are genuinely unable to afford a subscription but think this community is for you, please email us at sharon@sharonblackie.org and we’ll offer you a complimentary paid subscription, with no questions asked. Substack does not currently allow free upgrades to founding member status i.e. The Hearth.
Why enchantment?
I’ve been writing about enchantment for over a decade now; here’s what I said about it in my 2018 book The Enchanted Life:
I believe that enchantment is an attitude of mind which can be cultivated, a way of approaching the world which anyone can learn to adopt: the enchanted life is possible for everybody.
Enchantment, by my definition, has nothing to do with fantasy, or escapism, or magical thinking: it is founded on a vivid sense of belongingness to a rich and many-layered world; a profound and whole-hearted participation in the adventure of life.
The enchanted life is one which is intuitive, embraces wonder and fully engages the creative imagination – but it is also deeply embodied, ecological, grounded in place and community. It flourishes on work that has heart and meaning; it respects the instinctive knowledge and playfulness of children. It understands the myths we live by; thrives on poetry, song and dance. It loves the folkloric, the handcrafted, the practice of traditional skills. It respects wild things, recognises the wisdom of the crow, seeks out the medicine of plants. It rummages and roots on the wild edges, but comes home to an enchanted home and garden. It is engaged with the small, the local, the ethical; enchanted living is slow living.
Ultimately, to live an enchanted life is to pick up the pieces of our bruised and battered psyches, and to offer them the nourishment they long for.
If you’d like to know more about enchantment, and why I write about it, please visit this page.
You can find out much more about me and my books at my main website.
Copyright notice
Please be aware that all writing and other material at The Art of Enchantment is my copyright and it may not be used or reproduced in any form without written permission. For permission, please email sharon@sharonblackie.org.
Refund policy
If you have upgraded to paid status in error, you can request a pro-rata refund within 7 days of making the payment. Refunds are not available in any other circumstances. I hope you will understand that, if this publication should ever be forced to close due to death or severe illness, refunds in such an unfortunate situation will not be possible. Admin email for all such matters is sharon@sharonblackie.org; please note that I don’t reply personally from this address.
Rewards for referrals
If you enjoy ‘The Art of Enchantment’, I’d very much appreciate it if you would help to spread the word, and invite your friends to read it. If you refer friends, you’ll receive rewards that will give you free access.
When you use the personalised referral link below, or the ‘share’ button on any post, you’ll get credit for any new subscribers: one month free for 3 subscribers, three months free for 10 subscribers, and six months free for 25 subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media. Once you've reached a referral milestone, you'll receive an email with the reward. Please note that if you are a paid subscriber, your complimentary subscription will be applied at the end of your current billing period.
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