Witches and wizards just work because… they can be anyone. (Willow’s queerness was also integral to my own journey to figuring out my own – to a point – but I didn’t quite understand that when I was a tween.) I remember being a preteen watching Buffy without any expectations and being excited to realize that Willow Rosenberg taught herself how to be a witch. Even in blood-focused societies, there’s always a Hermione who doesn’t need to be genetically gifted because she has skills. One of the coolest things about witches and wizards in urban fantasy is that there’s often an element of “anyone could be one” across the narrative. Despite all of Rowling’s many (many) faults, that book series that’s now viewed as part of the Western canon helped nudge me on towards a deep love of urban fantasy that’s still obviously present to this day. I think Rowling’s work was the first “witchcraft and wizardry” book I read as a child. I grew up reading Harry Potter in the Virgin Islands.
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