Tendings: Feminist Esoterisms and the Abolition of Man

In Tendings, Nathan Snaza explores how esoteric practices like tarot and witchcraft connect to Black feminist and new materialist thought, offering a concept of tending that links ontology, attunement, care, and anticipatory action to explore how worlds persist through everyday acts of participation. He demonstrates how these practices constitute an endarkenment that challenges universal presumptions and rejects the racializing and colonialist mission of enlightenment modernity, affirming a pluriversal worldview that reimagines what it means to live in a more-than-human world.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 16 February 2024
Publisher: Duke University Press

In his book "Tendings," Nathan Snaza delves into the resurgence of interest in esoteric practices like tarot and witchcraft within contemporary feminist and queer popular cultures. By engaging with Black feminist and new materialist thought, Snaza offers a novel perspective on these practices. Through a comprehensive analysis of writing and performances by notable figures such as Maryse Condé, Barbara Ehrenreich, Deirdre English, Starhawk, Christina Sharpe, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, and others, Snaza introduces his theory of tending as a concept that connects ontology, attunement, care, and anticipatory action.

Tending, according to Snaza, is a concept that explores how worlds persist through everyday acts of participation. It challenges the universalizing presuppositions of the enlightenment and proposes an endarkenment that embraces decolonial spiritual knowledge. By highlighting how endarkenment practices challenge universal presumptions and reject the racializing and colonialist mission of enlightenment modernity, Snaza demonstrates how esoterism affirms a pluriversal worldview that reimagines what it means to live in a more-than-human world.

Through his analysis, Snaza shows how certain feminist occult and esoteric practices constitute an endarkenment that embraces decolonial spiritual knowledge. He emphasizes how these practices challenge universal presumptions and reject the racializing and colonialist mission of enlightenment modernity. By doing so, Snaza demonstrates the ways esoterism affirms a pluriversal worldview that reimagines what it means to live in a more-than-human world.

In conclusion, "Tendings" by Nathan Snaza is a thought-provoking book that offers a fresh perspective on esoteric practices within contemporary feminist and queer popular cultures. By engaging with Black feminist and new materialist thought, Snaza proposes a concept of tending that connects ontology, attunement, care, and anticipatory action to explore how worlds persist through everyday acts of participation. Through his comprehensive analysis of writing and performances by notable figures, Snaza demonstrates how esoterism affirms a pluriversal worldview that reimagines what it means to live in a more-than-human world.

Weight: 328g
Dimension: 152 x 230 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478030102