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Margaret Alice Murray's acclaimed history of European witchcraft is
accompanied by descriptions of the rituals performed and
concoctions made by witches centuries ago. The author's burgeoning
knowledge is a service to the subject; what might otherwise be
overly dry or arcane is revealed in a manner both exciting and
thought-provoking. We are offered historical observations of the
witchcraft tradition, with the life and times of the women accused
of its practice examined in the context of the era. Readers will be
left in no doubt about the traditions, ceremonies and magical rites
practiced by witches. Although Murray was later found to be
overstating the influence and magnitude of the witchcraft tradition
- she considered it to be a popular successor to paganism - she
explains its origins, growth and persecution of witches with astute
narration. Murray posits that witches were thought to be worshiping
the devil; a grave crime in the fervently Christian Europe of yore.
Margaret Alice Murray's acclaimed history of European witchcraft is
accompanied by descriptions of the rituals performed and
concoctions made by witches centuries ago. The author's burgeoning
knowledge is a service to the subject; what might otherwise be
overly dry or arcane is revealed in a manner both exciting and
thought-provoking. We are offered historical observations of the
witchcraft tradition, with the life and times of the women accused
of its practice examined in the context of the era. Readers will be
left in no doubt about the traditions, ceremonies and magical rites
practiced by witches. Although Murray was later found to be
overstating the influence and magnitude of the witchcraft tradition
- she considered it to be a popular successor to paganism - she
explains its origins, growth and persecution of witches with astute
narration. Murray posits that witches were thought to be worshiping
the devil; a grave crime in the fervently Christian Europe of yore.
This Is A New Release Of The Original 1921 Edition.
This Is A New Release Of The Original 1921 Edition.
Margaret Murray was an anthropologist who upset the comfortable
consensus of her day with the idea that Western Europe did not
convert 'en masse' to Christianity. Using contemporary accounts she
was able to show that, while European rulers and nobles were
successfully targeted by Christian missionaries, the majority of
the population held tenaciously to the Old Religion. These far
older beliefs centred upon the worship of Cernunnos, the figure of
a male, horned god. The result was centuries of conflict between
Christianity and 'Paganism' in which the adherents of the Cross
gradually gained the ascendant. And following the general principle
that 'the God of the old religion becomes the Devil of the new',
the Christian 'Evil One' was given the characteristics of the pagan
deity - horns and all. Those who stubbornly held to the Old Ways
were seen as devil-worshippers, witches, followers of the left-hand
path who fully deserved the stake and death by purging fire.
Margaret Murray gives a convincing account of this God of the
witches, and shows how many famous characters in European history -
among them William Rufus, Joan of Arc and Thomas a Beckett - must
be counted as members of The Old Religion. A book for all those
interested in the roots of Wicca and neo-paganism.
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