32 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 9-15, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com LIT Spells are one of many ways in which the power of language manifests itself. To name things means to be in control of them, to define the world, to impregnate it with one’s politics and wishful thinking— through prayers at night, casting a love spell to secure someone’s feelings or insisting on “The Gulf of America.” “Who isn’t interested in magic?” asks Enid Baxter Ryce, a local author, poet, herbalist, visual artist and filmmaker, who also happens to be a descendant of three Salem witches. She just published Ancient Spells and Incantations: Echoes of Magic Through the Ages and Across Cultures. Belonging to the sphere of magic and religion, spells and incantations have been with us longer than recorded history. They belong to the oral tradition, where the rhythm, the rhyme and the power of repetition plays a huge role. Baxter Ryce spent countless hours leafing through old books, including witches’ trial transcripts, collecting spells preserved in Latin, Old English, Celtic, French and other languages. In the U.S., 19th-century Pennsylvania was a region abundant in such traditions. If you want to manifest dancing in your house (meaning the party started but nobody has picked up the beat), you might want to follow an old Danish solution and write the phrase “Ellon Agron Gramaton” on an aspen leaf and place it beneath the threshold. There is a special spell you cast when travel is urgent, and one for the lady afraid to face her landlord. Many of the spells accompany ancient medical practices, others seem to come with certain herbs as rhymed instructions and serve to support the memory of the healer and their students. Ironically, as Baxter Ryce explains, spells were collected by those who wanted to fight them—the inquisitors and the colonizers who wrote down some of those outrageous habits to demonstrate their evil nature and the need to convert the pagans. “Snitches get witches,” Baxter Ryce observes. To her, what we learn from this oral tradition is how unchangeable human nature has been through ages. “We share the same vulnerabilities, fear and wish for the same things,” she says. Ancient Spells and Incantations by Enid Baxter Ryce book launch party 6-8pm Friday, April 10 at Downtown Book & Sound, 213 Main St., Salinas. Author talk 5pm Thursday, April 16 at El Gabilan Library, 1400 N. Main St., Salinas. Both events are free. enidryce.com. DANIEL DREIFUSS Shaping Reality Enid Baxter Ryce’s new book on spells reclaims the power of the spoken word. By Agata Popęda Marina-based artist and author Enid Baxter Ryce with her recently published book Ancient Spells and Incantations. INDOOR AND OUTDOOR DINING AND TAKEOUT Eat + Drink Fisherman’s Wharf’s Newest Restaurant Serving Fresh Seafood, Pasta, Steaks, Sandwiches Open Daily at 11:30am Great views at the end of the Wharf #1 www.rockfishmonterey.com • 831.324.4375 Indoor and Outdoor Dining on the Dog Friendly Patio Tapas (Happy) Hour 4:30–6pm Nightly Sunday Brunch 9am–1:30pm 700 Munras Ave., Monterey | 831-375-0176 | estebanrestaurant.com ’25 Best Appetizers/ Small Plates Monterey’s MOST Recommended Pizzeria Open at 4pm Mon-Thurs • Open at 3pm Fri Open at 12pm Sat.& Sun. 725 Lighthouse Ave, Monterey giannispizzamonterey.com 831-649-1500 BEST PIZZA ’98-’24 BEST PIZZA PLACE ’25 OPEN EVERYDAY for DINNER at 4:30pm Offering all your favorites plus wine, cocktails, bottle and draft beers. Now Serving Snake River Farms’ American Wagyu Prime Rib. 763 Wave St., Monterey | 831.373.3778 | thewhalingstation.com ’25 Best Steak BEACH HOUSE RESTAURANT + BAR @ LOVERS POINT ★ CASUAL CALIFORNIA DINING INDOOR & PATIO DAILY AT 4:30PM 620 OCEAN VIEW BLVD. PACIFIC GROVE 831-375-2345 • BEACHHOUSEPG.COM LOVERS POINT BEACH CAFE OPEN DAILY, 9AM–4PM ’24 Best Restaurant in Pacific Grove WOOD FIRED PIZZAS, BURGERS, PASTA, SALADS, SANDWICHES AND MORE 11:30AM MON-FRI, 10AM SAT & SUN melvilletav.com 484 Washington St., Downtown Monterey 831.643.9525 HAPPY HOUR FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS Daily 4-6pm WEEKEND BRUNCH WITH BOTTOMLESS MIMOSAS 57 Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey 831-373-1851 www.abalonetti.com ’25 LUNCH & DINNER SERVED DAILY from 11:30am-8:30pm Monterey County’s Best Calamari ’25 BEST RESTAURANT IN MONTEREY COUNTY! JOIN US NIGHTLY FOR DINNER AT 4:30PM TWO HAPPY HOURS DAILY 4:30-6PM & 8-9PM 3-Course Early Menu, $59, 4:30-6pm Daily Call or go to sardinefactory.com for details, reservations. 701 Wave Street, Monterey, 831-373-3775
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