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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies > Witchcraft
Demonology - the intellectual study of demons and their powers -
contributed to the prosecution of thousands of witches. But how
exactly did intellectual ideas relate to prosecutions? Recent
scholarship has shown that some of the demonologists' concerns
remained at an abstract intellectual level, while some of the
judges' concerns reflected popular culture. This book brings
demonology and witch-hunting back together, while placing both
topics in their specific regional cultures. The book's chapters,
each written by a leading scholar, cover most regions of Europe,
from Scandinavia and Britain through to Germany, France and
Switzerland, and Italy and Spain. By focusing on various
intellectual levels of demonology, from sophisticated demonological
thought to the development of specific demonological ideas and
ideas within the witch trial environment, the book offers a
thorough examination of the relationship between demonology and
witch-hunting. Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe
is essential reading for all students and researchers of the
history of demonology, witch-hunting and early modern Europe.
A perfect entry point for anyone interested in green magick, this
all-in-one guide explains everything you need to know before
beginning your own nature-inspired practice. Author Annabel
Margaret runs the popular YouTube channel, The Green Witch, where
she teaches everyday tools and techniques for leading a more
magickal life. In this must-have handbook, she'll guide your on
your green witchcraft journey from embracing intent and intuition
to creating and casting spells, all utilizing easy-to-find items
and simple methods. Ward the home with protective herbs; bake love,
abundance or luck into tasty treats; create purpose-infused spell
bags or craft soothing salves, energizing sprays and cleansing
infusions. With clear instruction, straightforward information on
foundational principles and tons of witchy wisdom, the magickal
opportunities are endless.
See the history of witchcraft, magic and superstition come to life
with this spectacular supernatural book! From alchemy and modern
Wicca to paganism and shamanism, this enchanting book takes you on
a mystical journey that will leave you spellbound. This is the
perfect introduction to magic and the occult! This reference book
on witchcraft is packed with: - Informative, engaging, and
accessible text and lavish illustrations - Special features on
aspects of magic, such as oracle bones of ancient China, the
Knights Templar, and magic at the movies, and "plants and potions",
such as mandrake and belladonna examine topics in great detail -
Quick-fact panels that explore magic origins, key figures, key
deities, use in spells, structures of religions, and more This
indispensable witchcraft book explores the common human fascination
with spells, superstition, and the supernatural. It provides you
with a balanced and unbiased account of everything from Japanese
folklore and Indian witchcraft to the differences between black and
white magic and dispelling myths such as those surrounding the
voodoo doll and Ouija. Expect the unexpected with A History Of
Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult. It will open your eyes to other
worlds. Discover forms of divination from astrology and palmistry
to the Tarot and runestones. Explore the presence of witchcraft in
literature from Shakespeare's Macbeth to the Harry Potter series,
and the ways in which magic has interacted with religion. Whether
you're a believer or a sceptic, this richly illustrated history
book provides a fresh approach to the extensive and complex story
of witchcraft, magic and the occult.
By bringing together in one place specific objects, materials, and
features indicating ritual, religious, or magical belief used by
people around the world and through time, this tool will assist
archaeologists in identifying evidence of belief-related behaviors
and broadening their understanding of how those behaviors may also
be seen through less obvious evidential lines. Instruction and
templates for recording, typologizing, classifying, and analyzing
ritual or magico-religious material culture are also provided to
guide researchers in the survey, collection, and cataloging
processes. The bulleted formatting and topical range make this a
highly accessible work, while providing an incredible wealth of
information in a single volume.
Black magic, occult practices and witchcraft still evoke huge
curiosity, interest and amazement in the minds of people. Although
witchcraft in Europe has been a widely studied phenomenon, black
magic and occult are not yet a popular theme of academic research
in India, even though India is known as a land of magic, tantra and
occult. The Indian State of Assam was historically feared as the
land of Kamrup-Kamakhya, black magic, witch craft and occultic
practices. It was where different Tantric cults as well as other
occult practices thrived. This book is one of the rare collections
where such practices are recorded and academically analyzed. It
combines studies of all three practices of Black Magic, Witchcraft
and Occult into a single book. Print edition not for sale in South
Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan)
"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.
Phyllis Curott’s first book, Book of Shadows, was an inspirational, spiritual memoir that chronicled her journey from Ivy League-educated, New York City attorney to Wiccan High Priestess. By inviting readers of all faiths to share in her own personal transformation, Phyllis debunked many of the myths surrounding Wicca and revealed it for what it really is: a spiritual movement whose tenets of Goddess worship and reverence for Nature were a great deal more accessible and familiar than she’d ever expected. In Witch Crafting, Phyllis digs deep into the practices and principles of Witchcraft to provide a comprehensive guidebook that anyone "novices and seasoned practitioners alike" can use to incorporate the beauty and power of Wicca into their own daily lives. Far from being just another mechanical spell book, Witch Crafting is the first book to offer readers not only the how-to of Witchcraft, but also the why-to, explaining the profound spiritual tenets behind Wiccan techniques. Filled with both traditional and innovative shamanic practices, Phyllis also provides an empowering new definition of magic and reexamines the ethics under which Witchcraft is practiced, offering a groundbreaking alternative to the Threefold Law. With enchanting stories from Curott’s own experiences, Witch Crafting will also teach you how to: • Master the secret arts of effective spellcasting
• Create sacred space and personal rituals
• Perform divinations for spiritual insight and earthly success
• Tap into the power of altered states, such as dreaming, meditation, prayer, and trance
• Keep a magical journal and create your own Book of Shadows ·Keep a magical
Rich with detailed advice for making magic, working with Nature, and finding the Divine within, as well as thought-provoking evaluations of this remarkable spirituality, Witch Crafting is the special volume that you’ve been searching for. Whether you are a beginner or have been practicing Witchcraft for years, whether you worship in a coven or on your own, Witch Crafting is the ideal handbook for you, or anyone seeking to unlock the divine power that makes real magic happen and experience the ecstasy, energy, and gifts of the Universe more fully.
From the Hardcover edition.
Imagine yourself sitting on the cool damp earth, surrounded by deep
night sky and fields full of fireflies, anticipating the ritual of
initiation that you are about to undergo. Suddenly you hear the
sounds of far-off singing and chanting, drums booming, rattles
"snaking," voices raised in harmony. The casting of the Circle is
complete. You are led to the edge of the Circle, where Death, your
challenge, is waiting for you. With the passwords of "perfect love"
and "perfect trust" you enter Death's realm. The Guardians of the
four quarters purify you, and you are finally reborn into the
Circle as a newly made Witch.
Coming to the Edge of the Circle offers an ethnographic study of
the initiation ritual practiced by one coven of Witches located in
Ohio. As a High Priestess within the coven as well as a scholar of
religion, Nikki Bado-Fralick is in a unique position to contribute
to our understanding of this ceremony and the tradition to which it
belongs. Bado-Fralick's analysis of this coven's initiation
ceremony offers an important challenge to the commonly accepted
model of "rites of passage." Rather than a single linear event,
initiation is deeply embedded within a total process of becoming a
Witch in practice and in community with others.
Coming to the Edge of the Circle expands our concept of initiation
while giving us insight into one coven's practice of Wicca. An
important addition to Ritual Studies, it also introduces readers to
the contemporary nature religion variously called Wicca,
Witchcraft, the Old Religion, or the Craft.
• This volume provides a combination of the major schools of
thought on the Salem witch trials and incorporates the current
scholarship on the subject. Events are presented in a narrative
format that delivers the drama of the trials and leaves instructors
free to explore specific topics of their choosing in greater depth.
An analysis of key issues is provided at the end of each chapter.
• The third edition has been significantly updated to include an
expanded section on the European origins of witch hunts and an
update and expand epilogue which discusses the witch hunts – real
and imagined, historical and cultural – since 1692. Allowing
students new to the phenomenon of the witch-hunts and trials to
better understand their origins and impact upon the national
psyche. • The bibliography has been substantially updated, an
extensive list of internet resources, sources of primary documents,
documentaries, movies, artwork, and resources to assist lecturers
with using this book in their classrooms and students to further
their studies.
• This volume provides a combination of the major schools of
thought on the Salem witch trials and incorporates the current
scholarship on the subject. Events are presented in a narrative
format that delivers the drama of the trials and leaves instructors
free to explore specific topics of their choosing in greater depth.
An analysis of key issues is provided at the end of each chapter.
• The third edition has been significantly updated to include an
expanded section on the European origins of witch hunts and an
update and expand epilogue which discusses the witch hunts – real
and imagined, historical and cultural – since 1692. Allowing
students new to the phenomenon of the witch-hunts and trials to
better understand their origins and impact upon the national
psyche. • The bibliography has been substantially updated, an
extensive list of internet resources, sources of primary documents,
documentaries, movies, artwork, and resources to assist lecturers
with using this book in their classrooms and students to further
their studies.
This book explores the relationships between ancient witchcraft and
its modern incarnation, and by doing so fills an important gap in
the historiography. It is often noted that stories of witchcraft
circulated in Greek and Latin classical texts, and that treatises
dealing with witch-beliefs referenced them. Still, the role of
humanistic culture and classical revival in the developing of the
witch-hunts has not yet been fully researched. Marina Montesano
examines Greek and Latin literature, revealing how particular
features of ancient striges were carried into the Late Middle Ages,
through the Renaissance and into the fifteenth century, when early
Italian trials recall the myth of the strix common in ancient Latin
sources and in popular memory. The final chapter also serves as a
conclusion, to show how in Renaissance Italy and beyond, classical
accounts of witchcraft ceased to be just stories, as they had
formerly been, and were instead used to attest to the reality of
witches' powers.
This 12-month perpetual planner for good witches provides a place
to plan and track everything from daily tasks and key rituals to
the sacred holidays and solstices on the Wheel of the Year. It's
chock-full of notes on holistic Wiccan magickal tips, spells, lore
and recipes distilled from the popular `The Good Witch's Guide' by
Shawn Robbins and Charity Bedell. And because it is perpetual you
can jump in at any time of the year.
The Malleus Maleficarum is one of the best-known treatises dealing
with the problem of what to do with witches. It was written in 1487
by a Dominican inquisitor, Heinrich Institoris, following his
failure to prosecute a number of women for witchcraft, it is in
many ways a highly personal document, full of frustration at
official complacency in the face of a spiritual threat, as well as
being a practical guide for law-officers who have to deal with a
cunning, dangerous enemy. Combining theological discussion,
illustrative anecdotes, and useful advice for those involved in
suppressing witchcraft, its influence on witchcraft studies has
been extensive. The only previous translation into English, that by
Montague Summers produced in 1928, is full of inaccuracies. It is
written in a style almost unreadable nowadays, and is unfortunately
coloured by his personal agenda. This new edited translation, with
an introductory essay setting witchcraft, Institoris, and the
Malleus into clear, readable English, corrects Summers' mistakes
and offers a lean, unvarnished version of what Institoris actually
wrote. It will undoubtedly become the standard translation of this
important and controversial late-medieval text. -- .
This volume investigates the physical evidence for magic in
medieval and modern Britain, including ritual mark, concealed
objects, amulets, and magical equipment. The contributors are the
current experts in each area of the subject, and show between them
how ample the evidence is and how important it is for an
understanding of history.
This is a work of fundamental importance for our understanding of
the intellectual and cultural history of early modern Europe.
Stuart Clark offers a new interpretation of the witchcraft beliefs
of European intellectuals based on their publications in the field
of demonology, and shows how these beliefs fitted rationally with
many other views current in Europe between the fifteenth and
eighteenth centuries. Professor Clark is the first to explore the
appeal of demonology to early modern intellectuals by looking at
the books they published on the subject during this period. After
examining the linguistic foundations of their writings, the author
shows how the writers' ideas about witchcraft (and about magic)
complemented their other intellectual commitments-in particular,
their conceptions of nature, history, religion, and politics. The
result is much more than a history of demonology. It is a survey of
wider intellectual and ideological purposes, and underlines just
how far the nature of rationality is dependent on its historical
context.
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