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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies > Witchcraft
After the execution of the Samuels family - known as the Witches of
Warboys - on charges of witchcraft in 1593, Sir Henry Cromwell
(grandfather of Oliver Cromwell) used their confiscated property to
fund an annual sermon against witchcraft to be given in Huntingdon
(Cambridgeshire) by a divinity scholar from Queens' College,
Cambridge. Although beliefs about witchery had changed by the
eighteenth century, the tradition persisted. Martin J. Naylor
(c.1762-1843), a Fellow of Queens' College and the holder of
incumbencies in Yorkshire, gave four of the sermons, on 25 March
each year from 1792 to 1795. Although he called the subject
'antiquated', he hoped his 'feeble effort, levelled against the
gloomy gothic mansion of superstition, may not be entirely without
a beneficial effect'. This collection of the four sermons was
published in 1795, and appended with an account of the original
events in Warboys.
This is the first ethnography of the Uganda Martyrs Guild [UMG], a
lay movement of the Catholic Church, and its organized witch-hunts
in the kingdom of Tooro, Western Uganda. This book explores
cannibalism, food, eating and being eaten in its many variations.
It deals with people who feel threatened by cannibals, churches who
combat cannibals and anthropologists who find themselves suspected
of being cannibals. It describes how different African and European
images of the cannibal intersected and influenced each other in
Tooro, Western Uganda, where the figure of the resurrecting
cannibal draws on both pre-Christian ideas andchurch dogma of the
bodily resurrection and the ritual of Holy Communion. In Tooro
cannibals are witches: they bewitch people so that they die only to
be resurrected and eaten. This is how they were perceived in the
1990s when a lay movement of the Catholic Church, the Uganda
Martyrs Guild [UMG] organized witch-hunts to cleanse the country.
The UMG was responding to an extended crisis: growing poverty, the
retreat and corruption of the local government, a guerrilla war, a
high death rate through AIDS, accompanied by an upsurge of occult
forces in the form of cannibal witches. By trying to deal, explain
and "heal" the situation of "internal terror", the UMG reinforced
the perception of the reality of witches and cannibals while at the
same time containing violence and regaining power for the Catholic
Church in competition for "lost souls" with other Pentecostal
churches and movements. This volumeincludes the DVD of a video film
by Armin Linke and Heike Behrend showing a "crusade" to identify
and cleanse witches and cannibals organized by the UMG in the rural
area of Kyamiaga in 2002. With a heightened awareness and
reflective use of the medium, UMG members created a domesticated
version of their crusade for Western (and local) consumption as
part of a "shared ethnography". Heike Behrend is Professor of
Anthropology and African Studies at the University of Cologne,
Germany, the author of Alice Lakwena and the Holy Spirits [James
Currey, 1999], and co-editor of Spirit Possession, Modernity and
Power in Africa[James Currey, 1999]
Sir Walter Scott (1771 1832) is best known for his poetry and for
historical novels such as Ivanhoe and Rob Roy, but he also had a
lifelong fascination with witchcraft and the occult. Following a
spell of ill-health, Scott was encouraged by his son-in-law,
publisher J. G. Lockhart, to put together a volume examining the
causes of paranormal phenomena. This collection of letters, first
published in 1830, is notable for both its scope (examining social,
cultural, medical and psychological factors in peoples' paranormal
experiences) and its clear, rational standpoint. Scott explores the
influence of Christianity on evolving views of what is classified
as 'witchcraft' or 'evil', and he explains the many (often
innocuous) meanings of the word 'witch'. Written with palpable
enthusiasm and from a strikingly modern perspective, this volume
explores a range of topics including fairies, elves and
fortune-telling as well as inquisitions and witch trials.
Selected by "Choice" magazine as an Outstanding Academic Book
for 2001The highly-acclaimed first edition of this book chronicled
the rise and fall of witchcraft in Europe between the twelfth and
the end of the seventeenth centuries. Now greatly expanded, the
classic anthology of contemporary texts reexamines the phenomenon
of witchcraft, taking into account the remarkable scholarship since
the book's publication almost thirty years ago.Spanning the period
from 400 to 1700, the second edition of "Witchcraft in Europe"
assembles nearly twice as many primary documents as the first, many
newly translated, along with new illustrations that trace the
development of witch-beliefs from late Mediterranean antiquity
through the Enlightenment. Trial records, inquisitors' reports,
eyewitness statements, and witches' confessions, along with
striking contemporary illustrations depicting the career of the
Devil and his works, testify to the hundreds of years of terror
that enslaved an entire continent.Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther,
Thomas Hobbes, and other thinkers are quoted at length in order to
determine the intellectual, perceptual, and legal processes by
which "folklore" was transformed into systematic demonology and
persecution. Together with explanatory notes, introductory
essays--which have been revised to reflect current research--and a
new bibliography, the documents gathered in "Witchcraft in Europe"
vividly illumine the dark side of the European mind.
An initiation signals a beginning: a door opens and you step
through Amanda Yates Garcia's mother initiated her into the
goddess-worshipping practice of witchcraft when she was thirteen
years old, but Amanda's true life as a witch only began when she
underwent a series of spontaneous initiations of her own.
Descending into the underworlds of poverty, sex work and misogyny,
Initiated describes Amanda's journey to return to her body, harness
her natural power, and finally reclaim her witchcraft to create the
magical world she envisioned. Peppered with mythology, tales of the
goddesses and magical women throughout history, Initiated stands
squarely at the intersection of witchcraft and feminism. Amanda
shows that practising magic is about more than spells and potions;
magic is nothing less than claiming power for oneself and taking
back our planet in the name of Love. Initiated is both memoir and
manifesto, calling the magical people of the world to take up their
wands, be brave, and create the enchanted world they long to live
in. 'Godesses, ecstasies, fairy tales: Initiated is full of my
favourite things, told with savage grace. This book will change
your life.' FRANCESCA LIA BLOCK
While the evolution of contemporary Witchcraft has produced many
powerful variations, traditional Wicca can offer unique experiences
for spiritual seekers. This book explores structured, coven-based
styles of Wicca, in which the practitioners typically trace
initiatory lineages back to Wicca s early founders. Exploring
covens, initiations, lineages, practices, ethics, and more,
Traditional Wicca shares tips and ideas on how to get the most from
this profound approach to Witchcraft. Discover how to recognize
healthy, reputable covens. Learn how to navigate the process of
asking for training and succeeding in an outer court. This book
also includes contributions from several practitioners, providing
first-person perspectives on what it s like to be on the
traditional Wiccan path.
This book represents the first comprehensive record of all legal
documents pertaining to the Salem witch trials, in chronological
order. Numerous newly discovered manuscripts, as well as records
published in earlier books that were overlooked in other editions,
offer a comprehensive narrative account of the events of 1692-93,
with supplementary materials stretching as far as the mid - 18th
century. The book may be used as a reference book or read as an
unfolding narrative. All legal records are newly transcribed, and
errors in previous editions have been corrected. Included in this
edition is a historical introduction, a legal introduction, and a
linguistic introduction. Manuscripts are accompanied by notes that,
in many cases, identify the person who wrote the record. This has
never been attempted, and much is revealed by seeing who wrote
what, when.
Publication made possible with generous support by the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission.
http: //www.archives.gov/nhprc/index.html
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The Witch of Edmonton
(Paperback)
Thomas Dekker, John Ford, William Rowley; Edited by Shelby Richardson
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R638
R542
Discovery Miles 5 420
Save R96 (15%)
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At the center of this remarkable 1621 play is the story of
Elizabeth Sawyer, the titular "Witch of Edmonton," a woman who had
in fact been executed for the crime of witchcraft mere months
before the play's first performance. Yet hers is only one of
several plots that animate The Witch of Edmonton. Blending
sensational drama with domestic tragedy and comic farce, this
complex and multi-layered play by Dekker, Ford, and Rowley
emphasizes the mundane realities and interpersonal conflicts that
are so often at the heart of sensational occurrences. This edition
of their work offers a compelling and informative introduction,
thorough annotation, and a selection of contextual materials that
helps set the play in the context of the "witch-craze" of Jacobean
England.
Based on perhaps the richest surviving archive of witchcraft trials
to be found in Europe, The Witches of Lorraine reveals the
extraordinary stories held within those documents. They paint a
vivid picture of life amongst the ordinary people of a small duchy
on the borders of France and the Holy Roman Empire, and allow a
very close analysis of the beliefs, social tensions, and behavior
patterns underlying popular attitudes to witchcraft.
Intense persecution occurred in the period 1570-1630, but the
focus of this book is more on how suspects interacted with their
neighbors over the years preceding their trials. One of the
mysteries is why people were so slow to use the law to eliminate
these supposedly vicious and dangerous figures. Perhaps the most
striking and unexpected conclusion is that witchcraft was actually
perceived as having strong therapeutic possibilities; once a person
was identified as the cause of a sickness, they could be induced to
take it off again. Other aspects studied include the more fantastic
beliefs in sabbats, shapeshifting, and werewolves, the role of the
devins or cunning-folk, and the characteristics attributed to the
significant proportion of male witches. This regional study makes a
vital contribution to historical understanding of one of the most
dramatic phenomena in early modern Europe, and to witchcraft
studies as a whole, as well as illuminating related topics in
social and religious history.
A landmark contribution to women's history that sheds new light on
the Salem witch trials and one of its most crucial participants,
Tituba of The Crucible In this important book, Elaine Breslaw
claims to have rediscovered Tituba, the elusive, mysterious, and
often mythologized Indian woman accused of witchcraft in Salem in
1692 and immortalized in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
Reconstructing the life of the slave woman at the center of the
notorious Salem witch trials, the book follows Tituba from her
likely origins in South America to Barbados, forcefully dispelling
the commonly-held belief that Tituba was African. The uniquely
multicultural nature of life on a seventeenth-century Barbadan
sugar plantation—defined by a mixture of English, American
Indian, and African ways and folklore—indelibly shaped the young
Tituba's world and the mental images she brought with her to
Massachusetts. Breslaw divides Tituba’s story into two parts. The
first focuses on Tituba's roots in Barbados, the second on her life
in the New World. The author emphasizes the inextricably linked
worlds of the Caribbean and the North American colonies,
illustrating how the Puritan worldview was influenced by its
perception of possessed Indians. Breslaw argues that Tituba’s
confession to practicing witchcraft clearly reveals her savvy and
determined efforts to protect herself by actively manipulating
Puritan fears. This confession, perceived as evidence of a
diabolical conspiracy, was the central agent in the cataclysmic
series of events that saw 19 people executed and over 150
imprisoned, including a young girl of 5. A landmark contribution to
women's history and early American history, Tituba, Reluctant Witch
of Salem sheds new light on one of the most painful episodes in
American history, through the eyes of its most crucial participant.
The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe, now in its fourth edition,
is the perfect resource for both students and scholars of the
witch-hunts written by one of the leading names in the field. For
those starting out in their studies of witch-beliefs and witchcraft
trials, Brian Levack provides a concise survey of this complex and
fascinating topic, while for more seasoned scholars the scholarship
is brought right up to date. This new edition includes the most
recent research on children, gender, male witches and demonic
possession as well as broadening the exploration of the
geographical distribution of witch prosecutions to include recent
work on regions, cities and kingdoms enabling students to identify
comparisons between countries. Now fully integrated with Brian
Levack's The Witchcraft Sourcebook, there are links to the
sourcebook throughout the text, pointing students towards key
primary sources to aid them in their studies. The two books are
drawn together on a new companion website with supplementary
materials for those wishing to advance their studies, including an
extensive guide to further reading, a chronology of the history of
witchcraft and an interactive map to show the geographical spread
of witch-hunts and witch trials across Europe and North America. A
long-standing favourite with students and lecturers alike, this new
edition of The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe will be essential
reading for those embarking on or looking to advance their studies
of the history of witchcraft
Early Iranians believed evil had to have a source outside of God,
which led to the concept of an entity as powerful and utterly evil
as God is potent and good. These two forces, good and evil, which
have always vied for superiority, needed helpers in this struggle.
According to the Zoroastrians, every entity had to take sides, from
the cosmic level to the microcosmic self. One of the results of
this battle was that certain humans were thought to side with evil.
Who were these allies of that great Evil Spirit? Women were
inordinately singled out. Male healers were forbidden to deal with
female health disorders because of the fear of the polluting power
of feminine blood. Female healers, midwives, and shamans were among
those who were accused of collaborating with the Evil Spirit,
because they healed women. Men who worked to prepare the dead were
also suspected of secret evil. Evil even showed up as animals such
as frogs, snakes, and bugs of all sorts, which scuttled to the
command of their wicked masters. This first comprehensive study of
the concept of evil in early Iran uncovers details of the Iranian
struggle against witchcraft, sorcery, and other "evils," beginning
with their earliest texts.
Many of the herbal and magical practices of the Scots are echoed in
traditional Norwegian folk medicine and magic. This is a valuable
resource book not only for the serious folklorist, but also for a
wider audience interested in a deeper look at rural Scottish
practices. Ms. Hopman has done an amazing amount of research, and
her Scottish herbalism section is far more detailed than I've seen
elsewhere. A "must have" for the northern European folklorist's
library.
Jane T. Sibley, Ph.D., author of "The Hammer of the Smith" and "The
Divine Thunderbolt: Missile of the Gods."
Through her books, Ellen Evert Hopman lifts the veil between worlds
of the present and the past. She guides the reader on a fascinating
journey to our ancient Celtic history, simultaneously restoring
lost knowledge and entertaining the reader. Be prepared to be
educated and delighted.
Wendy Farley, Clan McKleod
The first things is WOW Ellen Hopman has given us a volume that
belongs in Harry Potter's library. This wonderful collection of
enchantments, faery lore and herbal potions, is presented by a
practicing herbalist and (I suspect) magician. It is a useful
manual of magic, an unusual tourist guide to Scotland, certainly a
delightful read, and at the very least, a comprehensive and
thoroughly footnoted collection of folk lore for humorless
librarians and scholars.
Matthew Wood MS (Scottish School of Herbal Medicine) Registered
Herbalist (American Herbalists Guild)
Every now and again, a book emerges from the waves of occult and
magical authorship that delves into the deep and ancestral waters
of old magic This book is one of those rare occasions. From the
lore of herbs to the blessing of stones; from avioding the
elf-blast to healing through Faerie blessing - Ellen guides the
reader through ancient groves of oral lore to discover a power and
spirit that connects the reader to the oldest of magics, the earth
and her elements. I am confident that the Scottish Ancestral Wise
Ones, are renewed through this book and the old ways live once
again
Orion Foxwood, Traditional Witch Elder, Conjurer in Southern
Root-Doctoring and Faery Seer (www.orionfoxwood.com), author of
"The Faery Teachings" (R.J. Stewart Books) and "The Tree of
Enchantment" (Weiser Books).
In a culture where the supernatural possessed an immediacy now
strange to us, magic was of great importance both in the literary
and mythic tradition and in ritual practice. Recently, ancient
magic has hit a high in popularity, both as an area of scholarly
inquiry and as one of general, popular interest. In Magic,
Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds Daniel Ogden
presents three hundred texts in new translations, along with brief
but explicit commentaries. This is the first book in the field to
unite extensive selections from both literary and documentary
sources. Alongside descriptions of sorcerers, witches, and ghosts
in the works of ancient writers, it reproduces curse tablets,
spells from ancient magical recipe books, and inscriptions from
magical amulets. Each translation is followed by a commentary that
puts it in context within ancient culture and connects the passage
to related passages in this volume. Authors include the well known
(Sophocles, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Pliny) and the
less familiar, and extend across the whole of Greco-Roman
antiquity.
The second edition includes a new preface, an updated
bibliography, and new source-passages, such as the earliest use of
the word "mage" in Greek" (fr. Aeschylus' Persians ), a werewolf
tale (Aesop's Fables), and excerpts from the most systematic
account of ancient legislation against magic (Theodosian Code).
It was not so long ago that the belief in witchcraft was shared by
members of all levels of society. In the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, diseases were feared by all, the infant mortality rate
was high, and around one in six harvests was likely to fail. In the
small rural communities in which most people lived, affection and
enmity could build over long periods. When misfortune befell a
family, they looked to their neighbours for support - and for the
cause. During the sixteenth century, Europe was subject to a
fevered and pious wave of witch hunts and trials. As the bodies of
accused women burnt right across the Continent, the flames of a
nationwide witch hunt were kindled in England. In 1612 nine women
were hanged in the Pendle witch trials, the prosecution of the
Chelmsford witches in 1645 resulted in the biggest mass execution
in England, and in the mid-1640s the Witch finder General
instigated a reign of terror in the Puritan counties of East
Anglia. Hundreds of women were accused and hanged. It wasn't until
the latter half of the seventeenth century that witch-hunting went
into decline.In this book, Andrew and David Pickering present a
comprehensive catalogue of witch hunts, arranged chronologically
within geographical regions. The tales of persecution within these
pages are testimony to the horror of witch-hunting that occurred
throughout England in the hundred years after the passing of the
Elizabethan Witchcraft Act of 1563.
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