Book Finds: The Witches Are Coming, The Witches Are Coming!

Happy Spring and Equinox! It’s been a while since we’ve perused our shelves and reviewed what we’re reading at the moment. And there’s some really good stuff there.

I’ve taken a big interest in Traditional Witchcraft of late. Stacked in there with attachment parenting, some Japanese Cyberpunk (the Akira comics) and conscious uncoupling, my bookshelf is a mish-mash as usual. What can I say? I’m part magpie, part renaissance woman - all insatiable appetite.

But in light of this season of renewal and growing things, for this particular post we’ll just focus on the witches shall we? Yay the witches!

Witches and Neighbours is a highly original and unconventional analysis of a fascinating historical phenomenon (the Inquisition). Unlike other studies of the subject which focus on the mechanisms of persecution, this book presents a rich picture of witchcraft as an all-pervasive aspect of life in early modern Europe.

It’s interesting to read this book, written by a man, and compare it to Anne Barstow’s Witchcraze. One says 50,000 witches were hung or burned, and the other goes up into the hundreds and hundreds of thousands. One says it was 60/40 % women to men, the other says 80/20. Both say there was a myriad reasons and layers of causes for this phenom, but Barstow def believes that it was a persecution of women at the heart of it.

So - which is true? It’s frustrating that we will probably never know, because we are all human and no matter much study or how educated or self-realised we are, it escaping our biases is always problematic.

Watched from the window of a moving train - near where the rail embankment slid away
to free, unshaven scrub, then rose again,
to make a sort of ring, walled wirth spray
of willow-herb and birch - my first real hare.
A ragged batch of old-man’s clothes on bent hangers, a high-strung eye; it smelt the air
for death, sieving it’s well-stocked streams for scent

of fox or dog, then kicked it’s rebec legs.
leant into the wind and went. My first real hare.
Sometimes - rarely - some weird thing unpegs
our playhouse scenery. Watching it there
through the smeared glass was like glimpsing my face

in the gold pages of a book of days.

~‘Hare’ by Ross Cogan

The Leaping Hare is a rare and remarkable book about every aspect of the life and legend of the wild hare, exploring nature, poetry, folklore, history and art. A frequent feature in the mythology of many cultures, the hare has been linked with mystery and witchcraft throughout civilisation, and still today retains an air of enchantment.

An initiate of both Traditional and Modern Witchcraft, the author of A Ring Around the Moon gives here the actual rites and rituals of a working Coven, from an insider’s point of view. These rites were developed by the Coven themselves over a period of nearly a quarter of a century and give a fascinating insight into the actual workings of an initiate-only Coven. As the Coven itself has ceased practice and is no longer in existence, and a significant period of time has elapsed, the secrecy surrounding these rites may now be lifted and they are here offered as working examples, which other Covens may benefit from.

There are many books around these days, dealing with the rites of modern Witchcraft, but very few are written from an initiated insider’s point of view. The author has 40 years of practical experience in working the Craft and, for many of those years, was the Priest of the Coven whose rites are discussed here. He helped to craft and write a great many of them and was instrumental in formulating others with the rest of the Coven. Get it here.

Oh. My. Goddess. Have you seen this book yet? Seriously? It’s like a vegan salad bar on Sunday morning. It’s like the Garden of Eden. It’s like sundaes with aaaall the caramel and sprinkles and chocolate at midnight. It’s, it’s … what else can I say? I bought it in a tiny small-town bookstore for my birthday this year. Thank you Self.

Best book ever for bibliomancy! Just think of your question and flip to a random page.

Tarot from the Library of Esoterica explores the symbolic meaning behind more than 500 cards and works of original art, two thirds of which have never been published outside of the decks themselves. It's the first ever visual compendium of its kind, spanning from Medieval to modern, and artfully arranged according to the sequencing of the 78 cards of the Major and Minor Arcana. It explores the powerful influence of Tarot as muse to artists like Salvador Dalí and Niki de Saint Phalle and includes the decks of nearly 100 diverse contemporary artists from around the world, all of whom have embraced the medium for its capacity to push cultural identity forward. Rounding out the volume are excerpts from thinkers such as Éliphas Lévi, Carl Jung, and Joseph Campbell; a foreword by artist Penny Slinger; a guide to reading the cards by Johannes Fiebig; and an essay on oracle decks by Marcella Kroll.

Being one of my teachers, I must share! This is just one in a series and they are all lovely and enchanted.

If you want the real-deal witchcraft, always go to the source-Europe, where it originated (Traditional Witchcraft that is).

For the witch whose career confines them to an urban environment, regular Craft practice may often seem like a futile gesture, especially if home is a small, gardenless-flat. Even the suburbs can be magically incapacitating, if there is constant noise from traffic and neighbours. People work long hour without having the opportunity to notice the subtle changing of the seasons. Weekends are a constant battle with family, domestic chores and socialising. It’s no wonder that the urban witch has little time left for magical and spiritual development.

Traditional Witchcraft for Urban Living deals with the constant barrage of psychic problems that confront the urban witch on a daily basis. Based on the teachings of a traditional Craft background, the author successfully manages to blend the Old Ways with practical contemporary practice.

So in love with this huge bible of a book!

In magic and shamanism/animism, it’s essential to know the spirits of place in which you are working. I live in Canada so I cultivate relationships with my land, my garden, the woods around me. But - I also love to reach out to commune with the land where my ancestors lived and died, in a different era. This books helps me to get to know that land.

Also studying with UK teachers right now! This is recommended reading.

Fauna Britannica: Natural History - Myths & Legend - Folklore - Tales & Traditions Enter the fascinating world of animal life in the British Isles with this most comprehensive testament to date. An internationally renowned plant expert dedicated over four years of wide-ranging research to produce an authoritative reference work that outlines not only the evolution and history of Great Britain's wildlife, but also its abiding influence on deep-rooted customs, beliefs, traditions, and folklore. Over 3,000 entries range from the common snail and earthworm to the deer and golden eagle, and are now preserved forever.