This book is an analysis of witchcraft and witch hunting as they appeared in southwestern Germany in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Starting from a short analysis of some basic problems in the interpretation of European witchcraft, it proceeds to a study of the shifting denominational views regarding witches and the growth of Catholic orthodoxy. That theoretical vantage yields insight into the patterns in time, space, and confession that characterized all witch hunts in the German Southwest. There follows a narrative analysis of the largest witch hunts and the general crisis of confidence they produced. Analysis is complemented by a summary of what is known about the people accused of witchcraft, as well as an examination of the popular suspicion directed toward old women at the start of most panics and the breakdown of this stereotype as the panics progressed.

The 'Grimoire of Pope Honorius' is the first and most important of the French 'black magic' grimoires which proliferated across Europe in the 17th-19th centuries. Combining a grimoire of conjurations to demons of the four directions and seven days of the week with a Book of Secrets full of simple charms, the 'Grimoire of Pope Honorius' was second only to the Key of Solomon in the influence it exerted on magicians, charmers and cunning-folk in both rural and urban France. 'The Complete Grimoire of Pope Honorius' contains material translated from all four of the different French editions of the 'Grimoire of Pope Honorius'.

Perfect for Hallowe'en: haunting accounts of real-life exorcisms through the centuries, from ancient Egypt and the biblical Middle East to colonial America and twentieth-century South Africa Levitation. Feats of superhuman strength. Speaking in tongues. A hateful, glowing stare. The signs of spirit possession have been documented for thousands of years and across religions and cultures, even into our own time. Unsettling and chilling, The Penguin Book of Exorcisms brings together the most astonishing accounts: Saint Anthony set upon by demons in the form of a lion, a bull and a panther, who are no match for his devotion and prayer; the Prophet Muhammad casting an enemy of God out of a young boy; fox spirits in medieval China and Japan; a headless bear assaulting a woman in sixteenth-century England; the possession of an entire convent of Ursuline nuns in a French town; a Zulu woman who daily floated to a height of five feet; the exorcism in Earling, Iowa, in 1928 that inspired the film The Exorcist; a Filipina girl 'bitten by devils'; and a rare example of a priest's letter requesting permission of a bishop to perform an exorcism - after witnessing a boy walk backwards up a wall. . .

'I really enjoyed this read. It was well written with a captivating storyline and well developed characters . . . [An] evocative and tender book . . . everyone who reads it will be enchanted like I was' reader review 'Propulsive and poignant, Black Candle Women concocts an intoxicating potion of warmth, wisdom, and wonder. This gorgeous debut novel is a sweepingly fashioned love story where romance and rebellion intertwine with fear and family. And the stakes are epic. I was completely and gladly under Ms. Brown's spell' AVA DUVERNAY 'A big-hearted debut, with complex, flawed, and compelling characters I was rooting for every step of the way' E.M. TRAN 'Richly imagined and elegantly told, with plenty of satisfying secrets, heartaches, and twists' SADEQA JOHNSON 'A spellbinding romp. The Montrose women will have you clutching your pearls on this rollercoaster of a debut' CAROLYN HUYNH 'Written with warmth and an eye for detail, Diane Marie Brown's Black Candle Women explores the bonds of family and the magical power of belief to transform our lives' SHAUNA J. EDWARDS & ALYSON RICHMAN 'Black Candle Women is a compassionate novel about motherhood, sisterhood, independence, and the reflection and forgiveness required to break generational curses' DE'SHAWN CHARLES WINSLOW 'Brown deftly portrays an insular family of women in all of its complicated glory . . . The spiritual angle gives this powerful family drama a magical twist that will delight readers' BOOKLIST (starred review) 'Black Candle Women is a bold and tender story about three generations of women each attempting to find their way amidst the gifts and curses they've inherited . . . This novel is a wondrous celebration of womanhood' CLEYVIS NATERA ************************************* 'All of you are cursed, you hear me? An ugly death for the ones with whom you fall in love' For generations, the Montrose women have lived alone with their secrets, their delicate peace depending on the unspoken bond that underpins their family life - Voodoo and hoodoo magic, and a decades-old curse that will kill anyone they fall for. When seventeen-year-old Nickie Montrose brings home a boy for the first time, this careful balance is thrown into disarray. For the other women have been keeping the curse from Nickie, and revealing it means that they must reckon with their own choices and mistakes. As new truths emerge, the Montrose women are set on a collision course that echoes back to New Orleans' French Quarter, where a crumbling book of spells may hold the answers that all of them have been looking for... Rich in its sense of character and place, Black Candle Women is a haunting and magical debut from a talented new storyteller. ************************************* Early readers are LOVING Black Candle Women! 'I LOVED IT SO SO MUCH. Magic? A cursed family tree? Badass women? This was an adventure from start to finish and it was my pleasure to read' 'What a fascinating story about some amazing women. I was caught on page one and stayed captivated until the very end. Bravo!!' 'This book was amazing from start to finish. I was so captivated by each of the characters' 'I was invested from the first page and really loved these characters and their story'

"A pioneer work in . . . the sexual structuring of society. This is not just another book about witchcraft."--Edmund S. Morgan, Yale University

Confessing to "Familiarity with the Devils," Mary Johnson, a servant, was executed by Connecticut officials in 1648. A wealthy Boston widow, Ann Hibbens, was hanged in 1656 for casting spells on her neighbors. In 1662, Ann Cole was "taken with very strange Fits" and fueled an outbreak of witchcraft accusations in Hartford a generation before the notorious events in Salem took place.

More than three hundred years later the question still haunts us: Why were these and other women likely witches? Why were they vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft? In this work Carol Karlsen reveals the social construction of witchcraft in seventeenth-century New England and illuminates the larger contours of gender relations in that society.

"A remarkable achievement. The 'witches' come alive in this book, not as stereotypes, but as real women living in a society that suspected and feared their independence and combativeness."--Mary Beth Norton, Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History, Cornell University

By the spring of 1645, civil war had exacted a terrible toll upon England. Disease was rife, apocalyptic omens appeared in the skies, and idolators detected in every shire. In a remote corner of Essex, two obscure gentlemen began interrogating women suspected of witchcraft, triggering the most brutal witch-hunt in English history. Witchfinders is a spellbinding study of how Matthew Hopkins, 'the Witchfinder General', and John Stearne extended their campaign across East Anglia, driven by godly zeal. Exploiting the anxiety and lawlessness of the times, and cheered on by ordinary folk, they extracted confessions of satanic pacts resulting in scores of executions.

Immediately following Britain's declaration of war in 1939, Dion Fortune began a series of regular letters to members of her magical order, the Fraternity of the Inner Light, who were unable to hold meetings due to wartime travel restrictions. With enemy planes rumbling overhead, she organised a series of visualisations to formulate "seed ideas in the group mind of the race," archetypal visions to invoke angelic protection and uphold British morale under fire. "The war has to be fought and won on the physical plane," she wrote, "before physical manifestation can be given to the archetypal ideals. What was sown will grow and bear seed." As the war developed, this was consolidated with further work for the renewal of national and international accord. For the first time the Fraternity's doors were opened to anyone who wanted to join in and learn the previously secret methods of esoteric mind-working. With unswerving optimism she guided her fraternity through the dark days of the London Blitz, continuing her weekly letters even when the bombs came through her own roof. Introduction and commentary by Gareth Knight.

Suppose you could ask God the most puzzling questions about existence--questions about love and faith, life and death, good and evil.

Supose God provided clear, understandable answers.

It happened to Neale Donald Walsch. It can happen to you.

You are about to have a conversation.


Walsch's fascinating three-year conversation with God about every aspect of life and living began in 1992, Walsch says, when he was struggling financially and his health and relationships were suffering. Out of frustration, he composed an angry, passionate letter to God demanding to know why his life was in such turmoil. To his amazement, when he was finished, he was moved to continue writing as God answered back. The book that grew from that first experience addresses the real life issues we all face at work, at home, and out in the world, as well as the larger questions of the nature of God and his relationship to man.

How does Walsch know that God was actually talking to him? "The book contains concepts and information beyond anything I've ever thought of," says Walsch. "But more importantly, I've found out through other readers that there are hundreds of people that have had this same experience. This book has allowed them to speak out."

Walsch claims that God speaks to everyone all the time, that we're just not listening. "Have you ever been struck by a song lyric or the cover story of a magazine you suddenly pass on a newsstand that seems to answer a question you've had? Have you ever met someone for the first time and had that person mention something out of the blue that's been on your mind? Have you ever gone to church and thought the minister must have read your mail, because he seems to be talking directly to you? We often write things off to coincidence that we should give God credit for."

In the middle of the fourteenth century, the Franciscan friar John of Rupescissa sent a dramatic warning to his followers: the last days were coming; the apocalypse was near. Deemed insane by the Christian church, Rupescissa had spent more than a decade confined to prisons--in one case wrapped in chains and locked under a staircase--yet ill treatment could not silence the friar's apocalyptic message. Religious figures who preached the end times were hardly rare in the late Middle Ages, but Rupescissa's teachings were unique. He claimed that knowledge of the natural world, and alchemy in particular, could act as a defense against the plagues and wars of the last days. His melding of apocalyptic prophecy and quasi-scientific inquiry gave rise to a new genre of alchemical writing and a novel cosmology of heaven and earth. Most important, the friar's research represented a remarkable convergence between science and religion. In order to understand scientific knowledge today, Leah DeVun asks that we revisit Rupescissa's life and the critical events of his age--the Black Death, the Hundred Years' War, the Avignon Papacy--through his eyes. Rupescissa treated alchemy as medicine (his work was the conceptual forerunner of pharmacology) and represented the emerging technologies and views that sought to combat famine, plague, religious persecution, and war. The advances he pioneered, along with the exciting strides made by his contemporaries, shed critical light on later developments in medicine, pharmacology, and chemistry.

This book analyzes the gendered transformation of magical figures occurring in Arthurian romance in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. In the earlier texts, magic is predominantly a masculine pursuit, garnering its user prestige and power, but in the later texts, magic becomes a primarily feminine activity, one that marks its user as wicked and heretical. This project explores both the literary and the social motivations for this transformation, seeking an answer to the question, 'why did the witch become wicked?' Heidi Breuer traverses both the medieval and early modern periods and considers the way in which the representation of literary witches interacted with the culture at large, ultimately arguing that a series of economic crises in the fourteenth century created a labour shortage met by women. As women moved into the previously male-dominated economy, literary backlash came in the form of the witch, and social backlash followed soon after in the form of Renaissance witch-hunting. The witch figure serves a similar function in modern American culture because late-industrial capitalism challenges gender conventions in similar ways as the economic crises of the medieval period.

The remarkable discussions in this volume took place between Rudolf Steiner and workers at the Goetheanum, Switzerland. The varied subject-matter was chosen by his audience at Rudolf Steiner's instigation. Steiner took their questions and usually gave immediate answers. The astonishing nature of these responses - their insight, knowledge and spiritual depth - is testimony to his outstanding ability as a spiritual initiate and profound thinker. Accessible, entertaining and stimulating, the records of these sessions will be a delight to anybody with an open mind. In this particular collection, Rudolf Steiner deals with topics ranging from limestone to Lucifer! He discusses, among other things, technology; the living earth; natural healing powers; colour and sickness; rainbows; whooping cough and pleurisy; seances; sleep and sleeplessness; dreams; reincarnation; life after death; the physical, ether and astral bodies and the 'I'; the two Jesus children; Ahriman and Lucifer; the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ; Dante and Copernicus.

Discover the art of spell casting to add some magick to your daily life. Whatever your hopes and dreams, learn how to successfully set your intentions, raise and direct energy, and manifest your desires with 150 simple rituals. From protection and banishment spells, to empowering incantations and folk charms for good fortune - each page offers steps to enhance a different aspect of your life, allowing you to take the practice into your own hands and connect to the magick within. Each spell is set out in simple, easy-to-follow steps, ideal for those beginning their witchcraft journey. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this book includes an introduction into witchcraft, the tools you may want to include, and an extensive correspondence of herbs and crystals, as well as a simple guide to create your own unique spells and rituals. Dive straight in to discover: -150 different spells, recipes, and practices to create change, connect with, and call magick into your life -Powerful rituals inspired by folk magick and contemporary witchcraft, including meditations, rune and sigil crafting, protection and banishment, and more -Structured into sections, making it easy to find the best magical solution for every modern-world situation or problem The Book of Spells is fully illustrated in colour. The striking illustration style and special finishes make it a perfect high-end gift purchase for the wonderful witch-lover in your life!

Hekate Her Sacred Fires is an exceptional book for an extraordinary, eternal and universal Goddess. It brings together essays, prose and artwork from more than fifty remarkable contributors from all over the world. Their stories and revelations are challenging, their visions and determination in exploring the mysteries are inspirational, and their enthusiasm for the Goddess of the Crossroads is truly entrancing and sometimes highly infectious. Hekate is a Goddess of great antiquity. She is primordial, powerful and sometimes animalistic - and yet, she is also sophisticated, modern and capable of adapting to different cultures. She is the Torchbearer, the Cosmic World Soul, the Guide and Companion. She is Mistress of the Restless Dead, who rules over the Heavens Earth and Sea. She is the Keybearer and so much more. Her devotees today, as throughout the ages, include philosophers, poets, sorcerers, theurgists, witches, root-cutters, enchantresses and ordinary people. In her introduction, the author and priestess Sorita d'Este brings together an exciting wealth of material on the history and development of how the goddess Hekate has been seen through the ages. As well as a fascinating discussion of her possible origins and mythological connections, the introduction also includes a timeline providing glimpses into her portrayal through the ages, with extracts from literature and examples of amulets, coins and art. The spectrum of material covered in this anthology is as diverse as the forms of Hekate herself, emphasising her role as lightbearer, keybearer, initiatrix, world soul, child's nurse, mistress of crossroads and serpent mysteries. Her devotees describe her role in traditional witchcraft and initiatory Wicca, healing and paganism, her approachability through her angels and trance oracles, her assistance in overcoming traumas and helping the dead continue their journeys. From the reestablishment of the ancient worship of the great mother goddess as Hekate in Thrace (Bulgaria) to meteorites and pilgrimages, Hekate's presence around the world and beyond is vividly described and illustrated by her torchbearers.

Most scholarship on sorcery and witch-craft has narrowly focused on specific times and places, particularly early modern Europe and twentieth-century Africa. And much of that research interprets sorcery as merely a remnant of premodern traditions. Boldly challenging these views, "Sorcery in the Black Atlantic" takes a longer historical and broader geographical perspective, contending that sorcery is best understood as an Atlantic phenomenon that has significant connections to modernity and globalization. A distinguished group of contributors here examine sorcery in Brazil, Cuba, South Africa, Cameroon, and Angola. Their insightful essays reveal the way practices and accusations of witchcraft spread throughout the Atlantic world from the age of discovery up to the present, creating an indelible link between sorcery and the rise of global capitalism. Shedding new light on a topic of perennial interest, "Sorcery in the Black Atlantic" will be provocative, compelling reading for historians and anthropologists working in this growing field.

"The Qabalah gives understanding and wisdom through knowledge, strength and mercy through beauty, and a foundation of victory and splendour, crowning the seeker within their own kingdom and raising them to the heights of their own genius." The Qabalah is a uniquely lucid and practical path of magical practice and spiritual philosophy. The essence of this ancient wisdom is a spectrum of simple and effective techniques for transforming yourself and your life. Qabalistic practices focus around the glyph called the Tree of Life which weaves together the magick and symbolism of the four elements, the seven classical planets, and the zodiac into a single perfect whole. In Practical Qabalah Magick, the most effective Qabalistic practices created by the great Qabalists of the past are united in one place with techniques developed by the authors drawing on their own research, and inspired by the rich heritage of the Western Mystery Tradition. The wealth of techniques within this unique and ground-breaking work include how to use your voice to project your intent through the Vibratory Formula and so effectively draw on the power of the Divine Names and other words of power, Unification of the Divine Names to rise up the Tree of Life, the power of effective prayer and how to develop the power of prophecy (Ruach HaQadosh), the temples of the Sephiroth, working with the archangels and angels (including the zodiacal archangels), the powers of the 22 Paths and how to use them, how to draw on the 231 Gates; the Lightning Flash exercise, a new Qabalistic method for consecrating talismans and the Kerubic Prayer Formula, being made publicly available for the first time. Using the practices contained within this book to explore the beautiful and insightful philosophies of the Qabalah, you may journey through all of the Four Worlds. Practical Qabalah Magick provides the tools to grow with the magick of the Tree of Life and enhance your spiritual, mental, emotional and material lives. ---

With their dramatic descriptions of black masses and cannibalistic feasts, the records generated by the Basque witch-craze of 160914 provide us with arguably the most demonologically-stereotypical accounts of the witches sabbath or akelarre to have emerged from early modern Europe. While the trials have attracted scholarly attention, the most substantial monograph on the subject was written nearly forty years ago and most works have focused on the ways in which interrogators shaped the pattern of prosecutions and the testimonies of defendants. Invoking the Akelarre diverts from this norm by employing more recent historiographical paradigms to analyze the contributions of the accused. Through interdisciplinary analyses of both French- and Spanish-Basque records, it argues that suspects were not passive recipients of elite demonological stereotypes but animated these received templates with their own belief and experience, from the dark exoticism of magical conjuration, liturgical cursing and theatrical misrule to the sharp pragmatism of domestic medical practice and everyday religious observance. In highlighting the range of raw materials available to the suspects, the book helps us to understand how the fiction of the witches sabbath emerged to such prominence in contemporary mentalities, whilst also restoring some agency to the defendants and nuancing the historical thesis that stereotypical content points to interrogatorial opinion and folkloric content to the voices of the accused. In its local context, this study provides an intimate portrait of peasant communities as they flourished in the Basque region in this period and leaves us with the irony that Europes most sensationally-demonological accounts of the witches sabbath may have evolved out of a particularly ardent commitment, on the part of ordinary Basques, to the social and devotional structures of popular Catholicism.

Timothy d'Arch Smith is a well-known bibliographer, reviewer and antiquarian bookseller with a special interest in the by-ways of literature, notably the occult and the curious. For Aleister Crowley a book was a talisman and their every part right down to colour, dimension, and price was symbolic. He also used magical techniques to gain literary success--thus new editions of Crowley's writing multiply daily, tantalizing the bibliographer. All the more indispensable is this authoritative guide to his magical first editions. Timothy d'Arch Smith, widely acknowledged as a leading expert on Crowley and on underground literature, offers several shorter articles on: *Oxford's demonologist Montague Summers; *R A Caton and his Fortune Press; *Sexual prophet Ralph Chubb; *Florence Farr; *The British Library Private Case; *and Timothy d'Arch Smith. *For this new edition, he also adds an extra chapter on Crowley. ''...one could hardly wish for a more stimulating guide...'' -The London Magazine ''One of the more immediately striking things about the book is its gentle humour.'' - Time Out

If you want to know how hypnosis really works (and, no, it has nothing to do with waving of hands or other similar nonsense), you will want to read this book. If you want to know the "magic" behind Ericksonian techniques and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, you have to read this book. From one of the true masters of hypnotherapy, this is one book that can really change your life!!