Unlock Supernatural Power"This is definitely a fun read and shows small ways you can try and change your life for the better." Nerdy Girl Express #1 Best Seller in Crystals Practice Practical Magic. Did you know that wearing an amulet of green jade during an interview will help you get the job? Have you heard that an amethyst ring can help break bad habits and even encourage sobriety? Anyone looking for love can place two pink quartz crystals in the bedroom; you'll not be alone for long! These are just a few of the hundreds of secrets shared in The Magic of Crystals and Gems. Semi-precious stones and gems have long been known for their magic as well as their beauty. In this book of charms, readers learn everything there is to know about the powers of crystals from birthstone magic to gem divination to jewelry spells. This is a fun, entertaining, and enlightening book that will appeal to everyone who's ever worn a birthstone, kissed the ring of a lover for luck, or bought a crystal for good energy. Learn Amazing Things About Crystals. The Magic of Crystals and Gems is a treasure chest filled with the ancient wisdom of crystals. It is also a handy how-to filled with little-known lore along with the myth, meanings and specific magical qualities of hundreds of crystals, both common and very rare, including many meteorites. Author Cerridwen Greenleaf shares secrets to how and why crystal balls work, scrying with obsidian, crystal astrology, divination, healing, psychism and connections between the stars in the sky and gems of the earth. This one-of-a-kind work on the power of crystals belongs on the bookshelf of everyone interested in the magical gifts of Mother Nature. Learn: Which crystals are right for you How to unlock the mystery of sacred stones Ways to improve your life with changes as simple as putting new crystals in your room If you like The Crystal Bible or Crystals for Healing, you'll love The Magic of Crystals and Gems

Make your sabbat celebrations more meaningful and enjoyable with this exceptional book full of unique rituals designed to perfectly fit your needs, whether you re a solitary practitioner or part of a group. Jason Mankey provides three all-new rituals for every sabbat one for solitaries, one for covens, and one for large gatherings. Each ritual is flexible enough for you to pick and choose the components that best suit your intentions. Explore the history and traditions of all eight sabbats and discover why and how rituals became such an important part of Witchcraft. Learn the ins and outs of ritual practice, including guidance on planning, decorating, presenting, and adapting. Witch s Wheel of the Year is incredibly versatile for any Witch looking to enhance their craft and their connection to the sacred sabbats.

Published to coincide with the Pagan holiday Samhain on October 31st, this new title by a renowned author and Witch will appeal to spiritualists and environmentalists alike as it celebrates the eight holidays in the Pagan tradition.  The Pagan origins of many of our everyday traditions, including the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, are celebrated here as holidays that spring from the seasons of the earth. Wit its practical suggestions for enjoying seasonal renewal, Celebrate The Earth blends all the richness and ancient lore of Witchcraft with how-to advice to create a modern-day celebration of nature.  For each holiday, it offers instructions on: Earth magic--sample rituals, preparation, garb, herbcraft, spellcraft, and magical stones, for promoting love, romance, and healing. Holiday fare--recipes and menus to prepare. Ancient activities--crafts and games passed down through generations. Also included is a list of sources--an extensive bibliography, plus lists of specialty shops and mail order catalogs.

As the author notes, `The early-modern European witch-hunts were neither orchestrated massacres nor spontaneous pogroms. Alleged witches were not rounded up at night and summarily killed extra-judicially or lynched as the victims of mob justice. They were executed after trial and conviction with full legal process'. In this concise but highly-informed account of the persecution of witches, Gregory Durston demonstrates what a largely ordered process was the singling-out or hunting-down of perceived offenders. How a mix of superstition, fear, belief and ready explanations for ailments, misfortune or disasters caused law, politics and religion to indulge in criminalisation and the appearance of justice. Bearing echoes of modern-day `othering' and marginalisation of outsiders he shows how witchcraft became akin to treason (with its special rules), how evidentially speaking storms, sickness or coincidence might be attributed to conjuring, magic, curses and spells. All this reinforced by examples and detailed references to the law and practice through which a desired outcome was achieved. In another resonance with modern-times the author shows how decisions were often diverted into the hands of witch-hunters, witch-finders (including self-appointed Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins), witch-prickers and other experts as well as the quaintly titled `cunning-folk' consulted by prosecutors and `victims'. Crimen Exceptum (crimes apart). A straightforward and authoritative guide. Shows the rise and fall of prosecutions. Backed by a wealth of learning and research.

'A wonderful book by a fabulous author, very highly recommended.' Louise DouglasA tale as old as time. A spirit that has never rested.Present day As a love affair comes to an end, and with it her dreams for her future, artist Selena needs a retreat. The picture-postcard Sloe Cottage in the Somerset village of Ashcombe promises to be the perfect place to forget her problems, and Selena settles into her new home as spring arrives. But it isn't long before Selena hears the past whispering to her. Sloe Cottage is keeping secrets which refuse to stay hidden. 1682 Grace Cotter longs for nothing more than a husband and family of her own. Content enough with her work on the farm, looking after her father, and learning the secrets of her grandmother Bett's healing hands, nevertheless Grace still hopes for love. But these are dangerous times for dreamers, and rumours and gossip can be deadly. One mis-move and Grace's fate looks set... Separated by three hundred years, two women are drawn together by a home bathed in blood and magic. Grace Cotter's spirit needs to rest, and only Selena can help her now. USA Today bestselling author Judy Leigh writing as Elena Collins, brings you this unforgettable, heart-breaking, gripping timeslip novel set in a world when women were hung as witches, and fates could be sealed by a wrong word. Perfect for fans of Barbara Erskine, Diana Gabaldon and Louise Douglas. Praise for Elena Collins: 'A profoundly moving, beautifully written and emotional story that skilfully combines two time frames into one unputdownable book. I was completely immersed in Grace's story from the beginning: despite it taking place 400 years ago. The modern day storyline was also delightful with some wonderful characters. In short a wonderful book by a fabulous author, very highly recommended.' Louise Douglas

Kimberly B. Stratton investigates the cultural and ideological motivations behind early imaginings of the magician, the sorceress, and the witch in the ancient world. Accusations of magic could carry the death penalty or, at the very least, marginalize the person or group they targeted. But Stratton moves beyond the popular view of these accusations as mere slander. In her view, representations and accusations of sorcery mirror the complex struggle of ancient societies to define authority, legitimacy, and Otherness.

Stratton argues that the concept "magic" first emerged as a discourse in ancient Athens where it operated part and parcel of the struggle to define Greek identity in opposition to the uncivilized "barbarian" following the Persian Wars. The idea of magic then spread throughout the Hellenized world and Rome, reflecting and adapting to political forces, values, and social concerns in each society. Stratton considers the portrayal of witches and magicians in the literature of four related periods and cultures: classical Athens, early imperial Rome, pre-Constantine Christianity, and rabbinic Judaism. She compares patterns in their representations of magic and analyzes the relationship between these stereotypes and the social factors that shaped them.

Stratton's comparative approach illuminates the degree to which magic was (and still is) a cultural construct that depended upon and reflected particular social contexts. Unlike most previous studies of magic, which treated the classical world separately from antique Judaism, "Naming the Witch" highlights the degree to which these ancient cultures shared ideas about power and legitimate authority, even while constructing and deploying those ideas in different ways. The book also interrogates the common association of women with magic, denaturalizing the gendered stereotype in the process. Drawing on Michel Foucault's notion of discourse as well as the work of other contemporary theorists, such as Homi K. Bhabha and Bruce Lincoln, Stratton's bewitching study presents a more nuanced, ideologically sensitive approach to understanding the witch in Western history.

From Wren Maple, the Thrifty Witch, comes an introduction to witchcraft with a variety of spells, tips, and tricks to get the most out of your practice. There's nothing wrong with simple and straightforward. Easy spells are not less worthy spells. These ideas are central to the practice of the Thrifty Witch. Sick of not being able to easily source (or afford) what she needed for spells, Wren Maple dedicated herself to collecting and optimizing spells that could work for all witches-no matter where they were on their journey and no matter their personal resources. Now The Thrifty Witch is sharing her research and bringing her collection to the page for the first time. The Thrifty Witch's Book of Simple Spells is part primer, part spellbook. It includes: Getting started/witch basics: Witchcraft as self-care, how to establish a practice, and a handful of super-easy spells to get casting today. Key ingredients for spells: Starter stones and herbs, how to source, what to buy first, and more questions answered! Simple spells for every witch: Just like the spells Wren is known for online, nearly every spell in the book requires five items or fewer, and all ingredients are easy to source. Specific spells: Organized by purpose (e.g. love spells, protection spells), these spells are sure to cover what you're looking to cast. Tips and Tricks for Casting: When to cast for best results, where to cast and why it matters...make your spells count! The beauty of these spells is that they are easy enough and affordable enough to practice daily. Since practice and process are so important, this book provides an invaluable resource-unlocking the ability to try new spells and refine casting methods multiple times per week-even daily.

Naming the Witch explores the recent series of witchcraft accusations and killings in East Java, which spread as the Suharto regime slipped into crisis and then fell. After many years of ethnographic work focusing on the origins and nature of violence in Indonesia, Siegel came to the conclusion that previous anthropological explanations of witchcraft and magic, mostly based on sociological conceptions but also including the work of E.E. Evans-Pritchard and Claude Levi-strauss, were simply inadequate to the task of providing a full understanding of the phenomena associated with sorcery, and particularly with the ideas of power connected with it. Previous explanations have tended to see witchcraft in simple opposition to modernism and modernity (enchantment vs. disenchantment). The author sees witchcraft as an effect of culture, when the latter is incapable of dealing with accident, death, and the fear of the disintegration of social and political relations. He shows how and why modernization and witchcraft can often be companiens, as people strive to name what has hitherto been unnameable.

This book reflects on Western humanity's efforts to escape from history and its terrors--from the existential condition and natural disasters to the endless succession of wars and other man-made catastrophes. Drawing on historical episodes ranging from antiquity to the recent past, and combining them with literary examples and personal reflections, Teofilo Ruiz explores the embrace of religious experiences, the pursuit of worldly success and pleasures, and the quest for beauty and knowledge as three primary responses to the individual and collective nightmares of history. The result is a profound meditation on how men and women in Western society sought (and still seek) to make meaning of the world and its disturbing history.

In chapters that range widely across Western history and culture, "The Terror of History" takes up religion, the material world, and the world of art and knowledge. "Religion and the World to Come" examines orthodox and heterodox forms of spirituality, apocalyptic movements, mysticism, supernatural beliefs, and many forms of esotericism, including magic, alchemy, astrology, and witchcraft. "The World of Matter and the Senses" considers material riches, festivals and carnivals, sports, sex, and utopian communities. Finally, "The Lure of Beauty and Knowledge" looks at cultural productions of all sorts, from art to scholarship.

Combining astonishing historical breadth with a personal and accessible narrative style, "The Terror of History" is a moving testimony to the incredibly diverse ways humans have sought to cope with their frightening history.

This book reflects on Western humanity's efforts to escape from history and its terrors--from the existential condition and natural disasters to the endless succession of wars and other man-made catastrophes. Drawing on historical episodes ranging from antiquity to the recent past, and combining them with literary examples and personal reflections, Teofilo Ruiz explores the embrace of religious experiences, the pursuit of worldly success and pleasures, and the quest for beauty and knowledge as three primary responses to the individual and collective nightmares of history. The result is a profound meditation on how men and women in Western society sought (and still seek) to make meaning of the world and its disturbing history.

In chapters that range widely across Western history and culture, "The Terror of History" takes up religion, the material world, and the world of art and knowledge. "Religion and the World to Come" examines orthodox and heterodox forms of spirituality, apocalyptic movements, mysticism, supernatural beliefs, and many forms of esotericism, including magic, alchemy, astrology, and witchcraft. "The World of Matter and the Senses" considers material riches, festivals and carnivals, sports, sex, and utopian communities. Finally, "The Lure of Beauty and Knowledge" looks at cultural productions of all sorts, from art to scholarship.

Combining astonishing historical breadth with a personal and accessible narrative style, "The Terror of History" is a moving testimony to the incredibly diverse ways humans have sought to cope with their frightening history.

They flew through the air, consorted with animals, and made pacts with the devil. Witches were as unquestioned as alchemy or astrology in medieval England; yet it wasn't until the midsixteenth century that laws were passed against them. Now a leading historian of crime and society in early modern England offers the first scholarly overview of witchcraft in that country in over eighty years, examining how tensions between church, state, and society produced widespread distrust among fearful people.
"Instruments of Darkness" takes readers back to a time when witchcraft was accepted as reality at all levels of society. James Sharpe draws on legal records and other sources to reveal the interplay between witchcraft beliefs in different partts in the social hierarchy. Along the way, he offers disturbing accounts of witch-hunts, such as the East Anglian trials of 1645-47 that sent more than 100 people to the gallows. He tells how poor, elderly women were most often accused of witchcraft and challenges feminist claims that witch-hunts represented male persecution by showing that many accusers were themselves women.
Prosecution of witches gradually declined with increasing skepticism among jurists, new religious attitudes, and scientific advances that explained away magic. But for two hundred years, thousands participated in one of history's most notorious persecutions. "Instruments of Darkness" is a fascinating case study that deepens our understanding of this age-old cultural phenomenon and sheds new light on one society in which it occurred.

These days, development inspires scant trust in the West. For critics who condemn centralized efforts to plan African societies as latter day imperialism, such plans too closely reflect their roots in colonial rule and neoliberal economics. But proponents of this pessimistic view often ignore how significant this concept has become for Africans themselves. In "Bewitching Development," James Howard Smith presents a close ethnographic account of how people in the Taita Hills of Kenya have appropriated and made sense of development thought and practice, focusing on the complex ways that development connects with changing understandings of witchcraft.
Similar to magic, development's promise of a better world elicits both hope and suspicion from Wataita. Smith shows that the unforeseen changes wrought by development--greater wealth for some, dashed hopes for many more--foster moral debates that Taita people express in occult terms. By carefully chronicling the beliefs and actions of this diverse community--from frustrated youths to nostalgic seniors, duplicitous preachers to thought-provoking witch doctors--"Bewitching" "Development" vividly depicts the social life of formerly foreign ideas and practices in postcolonial Africa.

Now available with an updated cover, The Truth About Witchcraft provides a wonderful introduction to Witchcraft and Wicca for those new to the craft. Exploring the history of folk magic and the contemporary practices of Witchcraft and Wicca, this highly accessible book shares simple rituals for love, prosperity, raising energy, and more. You will also discover helpful tips and techniques for utilizing crystals, herbs, candles, cauldrons, and wands. Dispelling the many myths and misunderstandings that surround Witchcraft, this convenient guide shows how to work with timeless rituals and natural energies in order to create positive changes in your life. Whether you want to learn about the Goddess and the God or the special holidays known as sabbats and esbats, you will discover the answers you seek.

In this sensitive and personal investigation into Benin's occult world, Douglas J. Falen wrestles with the challenges of encountering a reality in which magic, science, and the Vodun religion converge into a single universal force. He takes seriously his Beninese interlocutors' insistence that the indigenous phenomenon known as aze ("witchcraft") is an African science, credited with fantastic and productive deeds, such as teleportation and supernatural healing. Although the Beninese understanding of aze reflects positive scientific properties in its use of specialized knowledge to harness nature's energy and realize economic success, its boundless power is inherently ambivalent because it can corrupt its users, who dispense death and destruction. Witches and healers are equivalent to supervillains and superheroes, locked in epic battles over malevolent and benevolent human desires. Beninese people's discourse about such mystical confrontations expresses a philosophy of moral duality and cosmic balance. Falen demonstrates how a deep engagement with another lived reality opens our minds and contributes to understanding across cultural difference.

The Italian folklore tradition is one of the most ancient unbroken chains of wisdom on earth. Discover the previously unwritten secrets of an Italian American family's magical tradition passed down from generation to generation. This spellbook provides easy, step-by-step introductions to the basics of authentic Italian American magical practice. Discover how to: Run a magical household, including creating a family altar and connecting with your ancestors Enhance your wellbeing for self and family through Buona Fortuna Perform transformative candle magic Diagnose, cure and ward away malocchio Learn time-tested health remedies from relieving symptoms of viruses to maintaining healthy skin and sleep routines Develop your most important magical tool - your mind Master divination through cartomancy, dreams, pendulums and more With Tarot and folk Italian magic expert Dee Norman as your guide, build your magical toolkit and discover one of humanity's longest-lasting traditions for good fortune, a happy home and self-care.

On September 20, 1587, Walpurga Hausmannin of Dillingen in southern Germany was burned at the stake as a witch. Although she had confessed to committing a long list of "maleficia" (deeds of harmful magic), including killing forty--one infants and two mothers in labor, her evil career allegedly began with just one heinous act--sex with a demon. Fornication with demons was a major theme of her trial record, which detailed an almost continuous orgy of sexual excess with her diabolical paramour Federlin "in many divers places, . . . even in the street by night."
As Walter Stephens demonstrates in "Demon Lovers," it was not Hausmannin or other so-called witches who were obsessive about sex with demons--instead, a number of devout Christians, including trained theologians, displayed an uncanny preoccupation with the topic during the centuries of the "witch craze." Why? To find out, Stephens conducts a detailed investigation of the first and most influential treatises on witchcraft (written between 1430 and 1530), including the infamous "Malleus Maleficarum" ("Hammer of Witches").
Far from being credulous fools or mindless misogynists, early writers on witchcraft emerge in Stephens's account as rational but reluctant skeptics, trying desperately to resolve contradictions in Christian thought on God, spirits, and sacraments that had bedeviled theologians for centuries. Proof of the physical existence of demons--for instance, through evidence of their intercourse with mortal witches--would provide strong evidence for the reality of the supernatural, the truth of the Bible, and the existence of God. Early modern witchcraft theory reflected a crisis of belief--a crisis that continues tobe expressed today in popular debates over angels, Satanic ritual child abuse, and alien abduction.

America Bewitched is the first major history of witchcraft in America - from the Salem witch trials of 1692 to the present day. The infamous Salem trials are etched into the consciousness of modern America, the human toll a reminder of the dangers of intolerance and persecution. The refrain 'Remember Salem!' was invoked frequently over the ensuing centuries. As time passed, the trials became a milepost measuring the distance America had progressed from its colonial past, its victims now the righteous and their persecutors the shamed. Yet the story of witchcraft did not end as the American Enlightenment dawned - a new, long, and chilling chapter was about to begin. Witchcraft after Salem was not just a story of fire-side tales, legends, and superstitions: it continued to be a matter of life and death, souring the American dream for many. We know of more people killed as witches between 1692 and the 1950s than were executed before it. Witches were part of the story of the decimation of the Native Americans, the experience of slavery and emancipation, and the immigrant experience; they were embedded in the religious and social history of the country. Yet the history of American witchcraft between the eighteenth and the twentieth century also tells a less traumatic story, one that shows how different cultures interacted and shaped each other's languages and beliefs. This is therefore much more than the tale of one persecuted community: it opens a fascinating window on the fears, prejudices, hopes, and dreams of the American people as their country rose from colony to superpower.