Initiating readers in the fascinating and complex history of
witchcraft, from the goddess mythologies of ancient cultures to the
contemporary embrace of the craft by modern artists and activists,
this expansive tome conjures up a breathtaking overview of an
age-old tradition. Rooted in legend, folklore, and myth, the
archetype of the witch has evolved from the tales of Odysseus and
Circe, the Celtic seductress Cerridwen, and the myth of Hecate,
fierce ruler of the moonlit night. In Witchcraft we survey her many
incarnations since, as she shape-shifts through the centuries,
alternately transforming into mother, nymph, and crone-seductress
and destroyer. Edited by Jessica Hundley, and co-edited by author,
scholar, and practitioner Pam Grossman, this enthralling visual
chronicle is the first of its kind, a deep dive into the complex
symbologies behind witchcraft traditions, as explored through the
history of art itself. The witch has played muse to great artists
throughout time, from the dark seductions of Francisco Jose de Goya
and Albrecht Durer to the elegant paean to the magickal feminine as
re-imagined by the Surrealist circle of Remedios Varo, Leonora
Carrington, and Leonor Fini. The witch has spellbound through
folktales and dramatic literature as well, from the poison apples
of The Brothers Grimm, to the Weird Sisters gathered at their black
cauldron in Shakespeare's Macbeth, to L. Frank Baum's iconic Wicked
Witch of the West, cackling over the fate of Dorothy. Throughout
this entrancing visual voyage, we'll also bear witness to the witch
as she endures persecution and evolves into empowerment, a
contemporary symbol of bold defiance and potent nonconformity.
Featuring enlightening essays by modern practitioners like Kristen
J. Sollee and Judika Illes, as well interviews with authors and
scholars such as Madeline Miller and Juliet Diaz, Witchcraft
includes a vast range of cultural traditions that embrace magick as
spiritual exploration and creative catharsis. About the series The
Library of Esoterica explores how centuries of artists have given
form to mysticism, translating the arcane and the obscure into
enduring, visionary works of art. Each subject is showcased through
both modern and archival imagery culled from private collectors,
libraries, and museums around the globe. The result forms an
inclusive visual history, a study of our primal pull to dream and
nightmare, and the creative ways we strive to connect to the
divine.
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