The Witches of New York Quotes

“She’d always adored autumn storms, from the quiet that came before the rain, when the birds and bugs went silent, to the raucous cracks and grumbles that echoed between the clouds, rife with the possibility of goblins and ghosts.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“Close your eyes and get some rest. We gain new worlds when we sleep. —The Grimoire of Eleanor St. Clair”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“The time between first and second sleep is neither slumber nor waking. Too much dark and your mind will stay at rest, too much light and your dreams will surely flee. Use this time wisely—for writing spells, summoning spirits, and, most important, remembering your dreams. Queens have been crowned, schemes hatched, fortunes gained, demons defeated, lovers found—all from visions born in the stillness of the night. In dreams, our souls are given the eyes of Fate. Dreams must be encouraged by all possible means. —The Grimoire of Eleanor St. Clair”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“Fortune favors the prepared mind. Beauty seeks attention. Intelligence commands it.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“May you rise with the sun, ready to make hay.
May the rains come at night to wash your cares away.
May you sleep with the angels sittin' on your bed.
May you be an hour in Heaven a'fore the Devil knows you're dead.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“People like the feeling they get when they think they've stumbled upon something miraculous. It's a proven fact.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“Of course the act of drinking tea was, in and of itself, quite troublesome, as it had been known to lead to all sorts of sins: idleness, gossip, political activity, subversive thinking.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“Let that be a lesson to you,” her mother had said, wagging her finger at her daughter. “Those who use magic to find what they seek may not always like what they find.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“If there ever was a place where one could start again, it was Manhattan. Move a block, and your enemies become your friends. Move ten blocks and you might never see anyone you knew again.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“There's no match for the sweetness independence brings.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“While it might be fashionable for a lady to attend a publuc lecture on the afterlife, or participate in a seance from time to time, claiming to have seen a ghost yourself does not go down well in polite circles.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“Ne laissez aucun mal à s’abattre sur nous. Let no evil befall us.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“The Known World is filled with mystical messages. Signs, portents, and foretellings come in many guises: smoke on the wind, sparks from a fire, ripples on the water, lines in the sand. If you wish to master magic, pay attention. If you wish to master love, do the same.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“You men of science, you possibilitists, as my dear husband would say, can engage yourselves in the pursuit of the unknown around the clock and no one bats an eye. If a woman of social standing dares to speak of what can be felt but not seen, or unwittingly mutters to herself under her breath, why, it’s off to the doctor to have her head examined! I suppose by confessing my experiences to you I’ve given you my trust, dear doctor. I hope you’re the man I think you to be.” “What sort of man is that?” Dr. Brody asked. “A man who believes women.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“The wall between the men’s and women’s rooms was built like a fortress, and solid bars covered the windows—they’d been put there by the proprietors to protect the girls’ honour. Instead they’d served as a death sentence. Isn’t that always the way, Mrs. Fisher had thought, man’s fears causing him to do things that lead to far greater sins.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“Religious folk could be so deliciously predictable. He could set his watch by their hypocrisy.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“When do I get to say whatever I wish?” “When it pains you not to,” her mother had replied. “What if I’m too scared?” “All the more reason to speak your mind.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“Someday what’s easy might not be enough,”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“After she’d collected all she wanted, the Bird Lady would sit on a bench with needle and thread and sew her precious scraps into paper stars and give them away to any passerby who bothered to approach her. To most, the shabby tokens were nothing more than trash, but Eleanor had kept every star the Bird Lady had ever given her. She planned to string them in a garland and hang them in the shop window come Christmas. Every fold, every stitch the woman made, was filled with care and thought; somehow the Bird Lady found meaning in what the rest of the world tossed away.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“May my mind be free from worry, my eyes clear of tears. May my heart be filled with calm instead of fear. In times of darkest turmoil, may the light of hope shine bright, Fueled by the knowledge that all will soon be right.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York: A Novel

“Where there are witches, there are ghosts.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York: A Novel

“Ray Bradbury once wrote, “A Witch is born out of the true hungers of her time.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“Fixed and faithful, Io was closest, then Europa and Ganymede fell into line, and this night, at this moment, poor Callisto was far on the opposite side,”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“New York had become a city of astonishments. Wonders and marvels came so frequent and fast, a day without spectacle was cause for concern.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“The church degraded woman by destroying her self-respect and teaching her to feel consciousness of guilt in the very fact of her existence. To this day, an open, confident look upon a woman’s face is deprecated as evil. Death by torture was the method of the church for the repression of woman’s intellect, knowledge being held as evil and dangerous in her hands.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York

“Earth, air, water, fire, In a circle we conspire, To make ourselves dumb so we might see, Across the veil to summon thee. As we are, so you once were. As you are, so we shall be. So may it be, So may it be, So may it be.”
― Ami McKay, The Witches of New York