Product Description

Witchcraft is a complete history of witches in the West, from their early origins, persecution in the 16th century to the pagan witches of modern times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #126324 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

The Independent on Sunday
‘combines scholarly rigour with literary flair.’

3rd Stone
‘popular and credible… top marks for cutting to the quick with a concise and lively study.’

From the Back Cover
A COMPLETE HISTORY OF WITCHES IN THE WEST, FROM THEIR EARLIEST ORIGINS THROUGH THEIR PERSECUTION AS HERETICS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY TO THE PAGAN WITCHES OF THE TWENTIETH.

Witches, like the poor, are always with us. From ancient times to the present the aged, ugly crone has worked her evil magic and been burned at the stake by an outraged authority, or cured her neighbours and their animals with the help of gentle herbs and beneficent spells. Such, at any rate, is the popular picture.

But not much of that picture is true. At the very least, it is misleading. Many witches were young; many witches were men; many witches came to court and were acquitted. There was no clear distinction between so-called white magic and black. Witches were not universally persecuted or tortured, it is not true that millions died and the time they were most at risk covered less than a hundred years.

So much more interesting than the cartoon stereotype, the real witch was a complex figure whose genuine story is only now starting to be unraveled; this book offers the reader a fresh prospect of that intriguing narrative.