Witchcraft: A Secret History

by Michael Streeter

Overview

Witchcraft unravels the myth from the mystery, the facts from the legends, in this bewitching introduction to witchcraft’s lesser-known history.

Spanning several centuries and comprising unbelievable facts and little-known legends, meet all the witches of your imagination and learn why, where and how it all began.

• Uncover the meanings of their rituals and rites, their lore, and their craft
• Discover the significance of their sabbats and covens, their chalices and wands, their robes and their religion.
• Unlock the secrets of the legendary witches of mythology and folk talesand find out how these early stories influenced the persecutions and witch hunts of the Middle Ages.
• Learn about the people who inspired the pagan revival and how their work in literature and magic rekindled the fires of the sabbats across Europe and the New World today.
• Features spell-binding historic and contemporary pictures that perfectly capture the key characters, events and wonders of this captivating, colourful and controversial history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780711252257
Publisher:	White Lion Publishing
Publication date:	03/03/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	36 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Michael Streeter is a British writer and TV researcher with over 30 years‘ experience in national newspaper journalism. A former editor for the Scottish Daily Express, he has written and researched books and documentaries on subjects as diverse as the weather, medieval crime, and the occult.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
 
1 THE ANCIENT WORLD
The Dawn of Witchcraft
Powerful Goddesses, Powerful Witches
Origins of Witchcraft
Magic and the Birth of Christianity
European and Northern Witchcraft
The Wheel of the Year
 
2 THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
The Rise of Christianity
The Burning Time
Witches’ Tools
New World, Old Horrors
Salem: A Town Possessed
The Magic Circle and Pentagram
 
3 THE MODERN WORLD
The Survival of Witchcraft
The Birth of Wicca
Covens
Wicca Goes West
Witchcraft Now and in the Future
What Witches Believe
 
GLOSSARY
INDEX
PICTURE CREDITS

Editorial Reviews

02/03/2020

In this reference for the modern witch and the witchcraft-curious, British journalist Streeter (Behind Closed Doors) guides readers through the history of prejudices, religious fervor, and bad publicity surrounding witchcraft to reveal the spiritual and practical core of the craft. Each historical event and spiritual influence, including the rise of Christianity, the Salem witch trials, and the foundation of Wicca in the 20th century, is presented in brief, easily digestible sections. By tracing ancient practices, beliefs, and deities such as Lilitu, a female winged demon in early Sumerian mythology, who becomes the Hebrew demon Lilith—and later a modern feminist icon—Streeter shows how concepts have evolved to form what is today an ever-changing, pluralistic practice that emphasizes “each individual’s own relationship with the divine” as its only truly centralizing principle. The book focuses primarily on the development of witchcraft within the Western world with little focus on the rise of witchcraft in popular culture through the Internet age. However, Streeter’s analysis will be an insightful introduction for those interested in how modern witchcraft came to be. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"An impressively informative, profusely detailed, and exceptionally well organized and presented history that is especially and unreservedly recommended."—Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

03/27/2020

British journalist and researcher Streeter (Psychic Pets) takes readers on a brief journey of the evolution of the witch through the ages, from the Druids to modern-day Wicca. The author compares essential figures in witchcraft to mainstay icons in both pagan and religious doctrines; for example, how Diana and even Mary resemble witchcraft's main deity, the Goddess, and Pan from Greek mythology is thought to have developed into the Horned God, the Goddess's consort. He also points out that from the beginning of human existence there was witchcraft, or those who practiced magic, and details how in each time period there was punishment of witches, and this culminated in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The work provides illustrations of tortuous practices and estimates how many men and women accused of witchcraft were put to death by hanging. These images, argues Streeter, have impacted how people see witches as dark and evil today. The book concludes with a succinct depiction of the birth of the modern-day witch. VERDICT A highly entertaining and educational, albeit condensed witchcraft 101 text, that unfortunately lacks the depth needed for readers seeking serious witchcraft studies.—Debbie Haupt, St. Charles City-Cty. Lib. Dist., St Peters, MO

Library Journal