Embracing the darkness : a cultural history of witchcraft / John Callow.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Callow, John, Ph. D., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Magic--Europe--History.

Magic.

Witchcraft--Europe--History.

Witchcraft.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

First edition.

Distribution:

[London, England] : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.

Place of Publication:

London, England : I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2019.

Summary:

Witchcraft has profoundly shaped the western imagination, and endures in the forms of modern-day Wicca and paganism. 'Embracing the Darkness' is an enthralling account of this fascinating aspect of the western cultural experience. A belief in the supernatural, and in black magic, has been central to western cultural life for 3000 years. From the Salem witch trials and the macabre novels of Dennis Wheatley, to the seductive sorceresses of Warner Brother's Charmed, and Derek Jarman's punk film 'Jubilee', witchcraft has profoundly shaped the western imagination. In this fascinating study, John Callow brings the twilight world of the witch, mage and necromancer vividly to life.

Contents:

Introduction

The Figure of the Witch

Out of the Shadows

From Delusion to Demonic Pact

Patterns of Belief 1: The Hedge-witch, the Healer and the Cunning Man

Patterns of Belief 2: The Alchemist, the Necromancer and the Mage

The Witch Hunters

Women and Witchcraft

The Nightmare Given Form

'A Thing Grown Most Common': Crisis and Conformity

The Decline of Belief?

The Witch and the Children

The Witch as Muse

Old Magic in the New World

Conclusion: The Freedom to Dream

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

ISBN:

9781350986213

1350986216

9781786722614

1786722615

9781786732613

1786732610

OCLC:

1128159901