[PDF] Popular Magic Cunning Folk In English History eBook

Author : Owen Davies
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 263 pages
File Size : 49,77 MB
Release : 2007-06-01
Category : History
ISBN : 082644279X

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Cunning-folk were local practitioners of magic, providing small-scale but valued service to the community. They were far more representative of magical practice than the arcane delvings of astrologers and necromancers. Mostly unsensational in their approach, cunning-folk helped people with everyday problems: how to find lost objects; how to escape from bad luck or a suspected spell; and how to attract a lover or keep the love of a husband or wife. While cunning-folk sometimes fell foul of the authorities, both church and state often turned a blind eye to their existence and practices, distinguishing what they did from the rare and sensational cases of malvolent witchcraft. In a world of uncertainty, before insurance and modern science, cunning-folk played an important role that has previously been ignored.

Author : Owen Davies
Publisher : Burns & Oates
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 16,44 MB
Release : 2003
Category : History
ISBN :

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Local practitioners of magic, providing small-scale but valued services to the community, cunning-folk were far more representative of magical practice than the arcane delvings of astrologers and necromancers. Mostly unsensational in their approach, cunning-folk helped people with everyday problems: how to find lost objects; how to escape from bad luck or a suspected spell; and how to attract a lover or keep the love of a husband or wife. While cunning-folk sometimes fell foul of the authorities, both church and state often turned a blind eye to their existence and practices, distinguishing what they did from the rare and sensational cases of malevolent witchcraft. In a world of uncertainty, before insurance and modern science, cunning-folk played an important role that has previously been ignored.

Author : Emma Wilby
Publisher :
Page : 344 pages
File Size : 11,89 MB
Release : 2005
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN :

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In the hundreds of confessions relating to witchcraft and sorcery trials from early modern Britain we frequently find detailed descriptions of intimate working relationships between popular magical practitioners and familiar spirits of either human or animal form. Until recently historians often dismissed these descriptions as elaborate fictions created by judicial interrogators eager to find evidence of stereotypical pacts with the Devil. Although this paradigm is now routinely questioned, and most historians acknowledge that there was a folkloric component to familiar lore in the period, these beliefs and the experiences reportedly associated with them, remain substantially unexamined. Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits examines the folkloric roots of familiar lore from historical, anthropological and comparative religious perspectives. It argues that beliefs about witches' familiars were rooted in beliefs surrounding the use of fairy familiars by beneficent magical practitioners or 'cunning folk', and corroborates this through a comparative analysis of familiar beliefs found in traditional native American and Siberian shamanism. The author explores the experiential dimension of familiar lore by drawing parallels between early modern familiar encounters and visionary mysticism as it appears in both tribal shamanism and medieval European contemplative traditions. These perspectives challenge the reductionist view of popular magic in early modern British often presented by historians.

Author : Philip Carr-Gomm
Publisher : Abrams
Page : 550 pages
File Size : 22,56 MB
Release : 2010-10-14
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 1590207602

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A guide to England’s rich history of magical lore and practice “for readers of works like Harry Potter who have grown up a bit into wanting to know more” (The Hermetic Library). Through experiments to try and places to visit, as well as a historical exploration of magic and interviews with leading magicians, The Book of English Magic will introduce you to the extraordinary world that lies beneath the surface. Magic runs through the veins of English history, part of daily life from the earliest Arthurian legends to Aleister Crowley to the novels of Tolkien and Philip Pullman, and from the Druids to Freemasonry and beyond. Richly illustrated and deeply knowledgeable, this book is an invaluable source for anyone curious about magic and wizardry, or for sophisticated practitioners seeking to expand their knowledge. “Playful and serious, respectful and amused . . . this will remain the standard work for years to come.” —The Sunday Telegraph “A magical mystery tour.” —The Times “Fabulous.” —Daily Express “Lucid and wonderfully easy to read . . . While it is indeed a perfect book for the ‘intelligent novice’ it’s far more than that—it’s a serious, in-depth survey of a massive topic.” —WitchVox “An accessible and immensely readable book . . . A fascinating insight into a hidden world.” —Booksquawk

Author : Owen Davies
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 24,31 MB
Release : 2010-09-23
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 0191509248

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What is a grimoire? The word has a familiar ring to many people, particularly as a consequence of such popular television dramas as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed. But few people are sure exactly what it means. Put simply, grimoires are books of spells that were first recorded in the Ancient Middle East and which have developed and spread across much of the Western Hemisphere and beyond over the ensuing millennia. At their most benign, they contain charms and remedies for natural and supernatural ailments and advice on contacting spirits to help find treasures and protect from evil. But at their most sinister they provide instructions on how to manipulate people for corrupt purposes and, worst of all, to call up and make a pact with the Devil. Both types have proven remarkably resilient and adaptable and retain much of their relevance and fascination to this day. But the grimoire represents much more than just magic. To understand the history of grimoires is to understand the spread of Christianity, the development of early science, the cultural influence of the print revolution, the growth of literacy, the impact of colonialism, and the expansion of western cultures across the oceans. As this book richly demonstrates, the history of grimoires illuminates many of the most important developments in European history over the last two thousand years.

Author : Jim Baker
Publisher :
Page : 568 pages
File Size : 26,96 MB
Release : 2014-07-11
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 9781905297689

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"The desire to understand magic in any specific cultural context is an intellectual puzzle not only for scholars but believers." - Jim Baker

Author : David J. Collins, S. J.
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 897 pages
File Size : 48,3 MB
Release : 2015-03-02
Category : History
ISBN : 1316239497

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This book presents twenty chapters by experts in their fields, providing a thorough and interdisciplinary overview of the theory and practice of magic in the West. Its chronological scope extends from the Ancient Near East to twenty-first-century North America; its objects of analysis range from Persian curse tablets to US neo-paganism. For comparative purposes, the volume includes chapters on developments in the Jewish and Muslim worlds, evaluated not simply for what they contributed at various points to European notions of magic, but also as models of alternative development in ancient Mediterranean legacy. Similarly, the volume highlights the transformative and challenging encounters of Europeans with non-Europeans, regarding the practice of magic in both early modern colonization and more recent decolonization.

Author : Éva Pócs
Publisher : Central European University Press
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 47,54 MB
Release : 1998-01-01
Category : History
ISBN : 6155225303

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Éva Pócs, one of the most highly respected scholars of historical anthropology, has undertaken extensive research on the history of folk beliefs connected with communication and the supernatural sphere. In this book, she examines the relics of European shamanism in early modern sources, and the techniques and belief-systems of mediators found in the records of witchcraft trials from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. The book explores the various communication systems known to early modern Hungarians, describes the role of these systems in everyday village life, and shows how they were connected to contemporary European systems, as well as new types of mediators and systems which function right up to the twentieth century. Representing a major contribution to the most up-to-date international research, Eva Pócs draws on significant East European material and literature not previously co-ordinated with that from the West.

Author : Owen Davies
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 153 pages
File Size : 14,28 MB
Release : 2012-01-26
Category : History
ISBN : 0199588023

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A wide-ranging overview of how magic has been defined, understood and practiced over the millennia introduces it in today's world as a real force that helps people overcome misfortune, poverty and illness. By the author of Grimoires: A History of Magic Books. Original.

Author : Thomas Waters
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 375 pages
File Size : 17,5 MB
Release : 2019-10-07
Category : History
ISBN : 0300249454

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The definitive history of how witchcraft and black magic have survived, through the modern era and into the present dayCursed Britain unveils the enduring power of witchcraft, curses and black magic in modern times. Few topics are so secretive or controversial. Yet, whether in the 1800s or the early 2000s, when disasters struck or personal misfortunes mounted, many Britons found themselves believing in things they had previously dismissed – dark supernatural forces.Historian Thomas Waters here explores the lives of cursed or bewitched people, along with the witches and witch-busters who helped and harmed them. Waters takes us on a fascinating journey from Scottish islands to the folklore-rich West Country, from the immense territories of the British Empire to metropolitan London. We learn why magic caters to deep-seated human needs but see how it can also be abused, and discover how witchcraft survives by evolving and changing. Along the way, we examine an array of remarkable beliefs and rituals, from traditional folk magic to diverse spiritualities originating in Africa and Asia.This is a tale of cynical quacks and sincere magical healers, depressed people and furious vigilantes, innocent victims and rogues who claimed to possess evil abilities. Their spellbinding stories raise important questions about the state’s role in regulating radical spiritualities, the fragility of secularism and the true nature of magic.