H.C. Erik Midelfort has carved out a reputation for innovative work on early modern German history, with a particular focus on the social history of ideas and religion. This collection pulls together some of his best work on the related subjects of witchcraft, the history of madness and psychology, demonology, exorcism, and the social history of religious change in early modern Europe. Several of the pieces reprinted here constitute reviews of recent scholarly literature on their topics, while others offer sharp departures from conventional wisdom. A critique of Michel Foucault's view of the history of madness proved both stimulating but irritating to Foucault's most faithful readers, so it is reprinted here along with a short retrospective comment by the author. Another focus of this collection is the social history of the Holy Roman Empire, where towns, peasants, and noble families developed different perceptions of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations and of the options the religious revolutions of the sixteenth century offered. Finally, this collection also brings together articles which show how Freudian psychoanalysis and academic sociology have filtered and interpreted the history of early modern Germany.

Between the years of 1898 and 1926, Edward Westermarck spent a total of seven years in Morocco, visiting towns and tribes in different parts of the country, meeting local people and learning about their language and culture; his findings are noted in this two-volume set, first published in 1926. Alongside extensive reference material, including Westermarck's system of transliteration and a comprehensive list of the tribes and districts mentioned in the text, the chapters discuss such areas as the influences on and relationship between religion and magic in Morocco, the origins of beliefs and practices, curses and witchcraft. This is the first volume of two dealing with the same subject, and will fascinate any student or researcher of anthropology with an interest in the history of ritual, culture and religion in Morocco.

Modern day witches are a culmination of the old and new-they travel to the grocery store, work nine to fives, and teach in our classrooms. They carry black tourmaline and quartz, and wave bay and rosemary bundles over their doorways. Within an ancient sacred practice, a new generation of witches are rising; those who understand the power of action paired with energy and intent, who fight for the best versions of themselves through whispered chants and candlelight and match their activism with manifestation. The modern witch creates change within the hearth, the heart, and the world, one spell at a time. Frankie Castanea is at the centre of a thriving community of modern practitioners who use witchcraft to enrich their lives day-to-day and improve the world around them. In Spells for Change, Frankie demonstrates how witchcraft has both personal and worldwide applications, whether it's protecting the home or self from negative energies through boundaries and charms or binding a harmful person to help a friend. Each brings you closer to creating change within yourself, the environment around you, and the society we live in, and closer to a greater awareness of the Universe and the energies that exist within it. Including studies of meditation, grounding, manifestation, cleansing, protection, banishing and binding, this book will teach you how to enact personal and global change. From justice spells and banishing unwanted energy to spells to help you on the journey to self-love and self-prioritization, Frankie shows that, at its heart, witchcraft is a force for good that is ultimately about refining your identity and reclaiming your power.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Containing ten essays by anthropologists on the beliefs and practices associated with witches and sorcerers in Eastern Africa, the chapters in this book are all based on field research and new information which is studied within its wider social context. First published in 1963.

Magic has been an important term in Western history and continues to be an essential topic in the modern academic study of religion, anthropology, sociology, and cultural history. Defining Magic is the first volume to assemble key texts that aim at determining the nature of magic, establish its boundaries and key features, and explain its working. The reader brings together seminal writings from antiquity to today. The texts have been selected on the strength of their success in defining magic as a category, their impact on future scholarship, and their originality. The writings are divided into chronological sections and each essay is separately introduced for student readers. Together, these texts - from Philosophy, Theology, Religious Studies, and Anthropology - reveal the breadth of critical approaches and responses to defining what is magic. CONTRIBUTORS: Aquinas, Augustine, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Dennis Diderot, Emile Durkheim, Edward Evans-Pritchard, James Frazer, Susan Greenwood, Robin Horton, Edmund Leach, Gerardus van der Leeuw, Christopher Lehrich, Bronislaw Malinowski, Marcel Mauss, Agrippa von Nettesheim, Plato, Pliny, Plotin, Isidore of Sevilla, Jesper Sorensen, Kimberley Stratton, Randall Styers, Edward Tylor

Are we either good or bad, and do we really know the difference? Why do we want what we cannot have, and even to be what we're not? Can we desire others without wanting to possess them? Can we open to others and not risk possession ourselves? And where, in these cases, do we draw the line? Ewan Fernie argues that the demonic tradition in literature offers a key to our most agonised and intimate experiences. The Demonic ranges across the breadth of Western culture, engaging with writers as central and various as Luther, Shakespeare, Hegel, Dostoevsky, Melville and Mann. A powerful foreword by Jonathan Dollimore brings out its implications as an intellectual and stylistic breakthrough into new ways of writing criticism. Fernie unfolds an intense and personal vision, not just of Western modernity, but of identity, morality and sex. As much as it's concerned with the great works, this is a book about life.

Astrology and Magic from the Medieval Latin and Islamic World to Renaissance Europe brings together ten of Paola Zambelli's papers on the subject, four of which are published in English for the first time. The papers in Part I of this volume deal with theories: the ideas of astrology and magic held by Renaissance thinkers; astrologers' ideas on universal history and its cycles; i.e. catastrophes and rebirths, theories; and myths regarding the spontaneous generation of man himself. Part II focuses on the role of astrologers in Renaissance society. As political counsellors, courtiers, and academics, their ideas were diffused and appreciated in both popular and high culture. Part III looks at the Great Conjunction of 1524 and on the long and extended debate surrounding it, which would not have been possible prior to Gutenberg, since astrologers printed numberless booklets (full of religious and political innuendo) predicting the catastrophe - flood, as well as earthquake or fire - foreseen for February 1524 (which, in the event, proved to be a month of extraordinary mild weather). Part IV reprints some review-articles of twentieth century scholars whose writing has contributed to our understanding of the historical problems concerning magic and other connected debates.

This edition provides an insight into the dark areas between Victorian science, medicine and religion. The rare reset source material in this collection is organized thematically and spans the period from initial mesmeric experiments at the beginning of the nineteenth century to the decline of the Society for Psychical Research in the 1920s.

Histories you can trust. This history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic. Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch. The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

A dazzlingly inventive tale of troubled legacies, desire and unsung power, inspired by The Scarlet Letter. Glasgow, 1829: Isobel, a young seamstress, and her husband Edward set sail for New England, in flight from his mounting debts and addictions. But, arriving in Salem, Massachusetts, Edward soon takes off again, and Isobel finds herself penniless and alone. Then she meets Nathaniel, a fledgling writer, and the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows during the Salem witch trials - while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. Nathaniel and Isobel grow ever closer. Together, they are dark storyteller and muse; enchanter and enchanted. But which is which?

The fifteenth century is more than any other the century of the persecution of witches. So wrote Johan Huizinga more than eighty years ago in his classic Autumn of the Middle Ages. Although Huizinga was correct in his observation, modern readers have tended to focus on the more spectacular witch-hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Nevertheless, it was during the late Middle Ages that the full stereotype of demonic witchcraft developed in Europe, and this is the subject of Battling Demons.

At the heart of the story is Johannes Nider (d. 1438), a Dominican theologian and reformer who alternately persecuted heretics and negotiated with them--a man who was by far the most important church authority to write on witchcraft in the early fifteenth century. Nider was a major source for the infamous Malleus maleficarum, or Hammer of Witches (1486), the manual of choice for witch-hunters in late medieval Europe. Today Nider's reputation rests squarely on his witchcraft writings, but in his own day he was better known as a leader of the reform movement within the Dominican order and as a writer of important tracts on numerous other aspects of late medieval religiosity, including heresy and lay piety. Battling Demons places Nider in this wider context, showing that for late medieval thinkers, witchcraft was one facet of a much larger crisis plaguing Christian society.

As the only English-language study to focus exclusively on the rise of witchcraft in the early fifteenth century, Battling Demons will be important to students and scholars of the history of magic and witchcraft and medieval religious history.

Routledge Library Editions: Witchcraft re-issues eight volumes originally published between 1929 and 1977 and sheds fascinating light on the history, anthropological, religious and mythological contexts of witchcraft in the UK and Europe, including several volumes which focus specifically on the witch-hunts and trials of Early Modern Europe.

This collection of Stephen Clucas's articles addresses the complex interactions between religion, natural philosophy and magic in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. The essays on the Elizabethan mathematician and magus John Dee show that the angelic conversations of John Dee owed a significant debt to medieval magical traditions and how Dee's attempts to communicate with spirits were used to serve specific religious agendas in the mid-seventeenth century. The essays devoted to Giordano Bruno offer a reappraisal of the magical orientation of the Italian philosopher's mnemotechnical and Lullist writings of the 1580s and 90s and show his influence on early seventeenth-century English understandings of memory and intellection. Next come three studies on the atomistic or corpuscularian natural philosophy of the Northumberland and Cavendish circles, arguing that there was a distinct English corpuscularian tradition prior to the Gassendian influence in the 1640s and 50s. Finally, two essays on the seventeenth-century Intelligencer Samuel Hartlib and his correspondents shows how religion alchemy and natural philosophy interacted during the 'Puritan Revolution'.

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!

"Witches and Neighbours "is a highly original and unconventional analysis of a fascinating historical phenomenon. Unlike other studies of the subject which focus on the mechanisms of persecution, this book presents a rich picture of witchcraft as an all-pervasive aspect of life in early modern Europe.

Robin Briggs combines recent research with his own investigations to produce a brilliant and compelling account of the central role of witchcraft in the past. Although the history of witchcraft can only be studied through records of persecutions, these reveal that trials were unusual in everyday life and that witchcraft can be viewed as a form of therapy. Witchcraft was also an outlet and expression of many fundamental anxieties of society and individuals in a time when life was precarious. The book argues that witchcraft - its belief and persecutions - cannot be explained by general causes but was as complex and changing as the society of which it formed a vital part.

Since its original publication in 1996, this book has become the standard work on the subject of witchcraft. It now appears in a revised edition with an updated bibliography.

This book is not available from Blackwell in the United States and the Philippines.

Witch, Slut, Feminist: these contested identities are informing millennial women as they counter a tortuous history of misogyny with empowerment. This innovative primer highlights sexual liberation as it traces the lineage of "witch feminism" through art, film, music, fashion, literature, technology, religion, pop culture, and politics. Juxtaposing scholarly research on the demonization of women and female sexuality that has continued since the witch hunts of the early modern era with pop occulture analyses and interviews with activists, artists, scholars, and practitioners of witchcraft, this book addresses and illuminates contemporary conversations about reproductive rights, sexual pleasure, queer identity, pornography, sex work, and more. Author Kristen J. Sollee elucidates the ways in which women have been persecuted for their perceived connection with witchcraft, and how they have fought back, harnessing the legacy of the witch for revolutionary means. Kristen J. Sollee is an instructor at The New School and founding editrix of Slutist, an award-winning sex positive feminist website.

Reveals changing perceptions of ghosts at different social levels from the Reformation through to the twentieth century in Britain and America. This five-volume set focuses on the key published debates that emerged in each century, and illustrates the range of literary formats that reported or discussed ghosts.

The essays in this Handbook, written by leading scholars working in the rapidly developing field of witchcraft studies, explore the historical literature regarding witch beliefs and witch trials in Europe and colonial America between the early fifteenth and early eighteenth centuries. During these years witches were thought to be evil people who used magical power to inflict physical harm or misfortune on their neighbours. Witches were also believed to have made pacts with the devil and sometimes to have worshipped him at nocturnal assemblies known as sabbaths. These beliefs provided the basis for defining witchcraft as a secular and ecclesiastical crime and prosecuting tens of thousands of women and men for this offence. The trials resulted in as many as fifty thousand executions.
These essays study the rise and fall of witchcraft prosecutions in the various kingdoms and territories of Europe and in English, Spanish, and Portuguese colonies in the Americas. They also relate these prosecutions to the Catholic and Protestant reformations, the introduction of new forms of criminal procedure, medical and scientific thought, the process of state-building, profound social and economic change, early modern patterns of gender relations, and the wave of demonic possessions that occurred in Europe at the same time. The essays survey the current state of knowledge in the field, explore the academic controversies that have arisen regarding witch beliefs and witch trials, propose new ways of studying the subject, and identify areas for future research.

This book discusses two moral panics that appeared in the media in late apartheid South Africa: the Satanism scare and the so-called epidemic of white family murder. The analysis of these symptoms of social and political change reveals important truths about whiteness, gender, violence, history, nationalism and injustice in South Africa and beyond.

"[An] important work"
--"Philadelphia Inquirer"

"Excellent book provides a lucid and often chilling guide."--"Journal of European Studies"

"Goodrick-Clarke writes with exceptional clarity, adroitly steeting his reader through the maze of changes and overlappings in the multifarious groups which he describes."
--"Quadrant"

"Given the extraordinarily dense amount of detail provided in such a wide-ranging series of chapters, Goodrick-Clarke writes with exceptional clarity, adroitly steering his reader through the maze of changes and overlappings in the multifarious groups which he describes."
--"Quadrant"

"Presents a troubling picture of the mindset of the modern Far Right."
--"Library Journal"

"Anyone who remembers the devastation wrought by Nazi fanaticism can only be astonished and dismayed by this book. Who could have foreseen that half a century after the defeat of the Third Reich the Jews would once again be perceived as a demonic power intent on destroying the 'Aryan race', or that Hitler would be imagined as a divine being who is about to return to earth to complete the Holocaust? For the matter, who could have foreseen that the preposterous 'pagan' cult developed by Heinrich Himmler would ever be revived? Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke shows not only that these things have indeed happened but how and why they have happened. He also suggests what dangers they may portend. Black Sun is both an enthralling and a deeply disturbing work. It deserves the most serious attention--and a wide readership."
--Norman Cohn, author of "The Pursuit of the Millennium and Warrant for Genocide"

"Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke has done pioneering work in the field of theoccult roots of Nazism. In the present volume he performs the same invaluable service with regard to the ideological fantasies of post war neo-fascism."
--Walter Laqueur

"This book is a thorough examination of neo-Nazi extremist group development in the United States through the twentieth century."
--"Multicultural Review"

.,."It is undeniably important and is sure to open your mind to shadowy worlds you never new existed."--"Fortean Times"

More than half a century after the defeat of Nazism and fascism, the far right is again challenging the liberal order of Western democracies. Radical movements are feeding on anxiety about economic globalization, affirmative action, and third-world immigration, flashpoint issues to many traditional groups in multicultural societies. A curious mixture of Aristocratic paganism, anti-Semitic demonology, Eastern philosophies and the occult is influencing populist antigovernment sentiment and helping to exploit the widespread fear that invisible elites are shaping world events.

Black Sun examines the new neofascist ideology, showing how hate groups, militias and conspiracy cults attempt to gain influence. Based on interviews and extensive research into underground groups, Black Sun documents the new Nazi and fascist sects that have sprung up from the 1970s through the 1990s and examines the mentality and motivation of these far-right extremists. The result is a detailed, grounded portrait of the mythical and devotional aspects of Hitler cults among Aryan mystics, racist skinheads and Nazi satanists, Heavy Metal music fans, and in occult literature.

Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke offers a unique perspective on far right neo-Nazism viewing itas a new form of Western religious heresy. He paints a frightening picture of a religion with its own relics, rituals, prophecies and an international sectarian following that could, under the proper conditions, gain political power and attempt to realize its dangerous millenarian fantasies.

Personifications of evil in the form of demons, devils, spirits, vampires, and other malign entities can be found across the popular cultural spectrum. One only has to peruse the shelves of music and bookstores or view the content of some of the most successful films and television series to discover evidence for the phenomenal popular fascination with the demonic other. However, rather surprisingly, this is not an area in which much research has been done. The aim of this volume is to examine the demonic foil within popular culture. Moreover, it will bring together an international team of some of most important and creative scholars in the areas of Biblical Studies, Religious Studies, and Christian Theology currently exploring the religious significance of popular culture.