Encyclopedia Of Witchcraft

The author of the popular Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells and Encyclopedia of Spirits now explores the exciting magic and power of the mystical world of witches in Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, a comprehensive reference book that covers everything you ever wanted to know about this fascinating topic. Folklore expert Judika Illes introduces readers to mythic witches, modern witches, sacred goddess witches, even demon witches, male and female witches, witches from all over the globe. She takes readers on an enchanting tour through witchcraft’s history, mythology, and folklore, where they will discover a miscellany of facts including magic spells, rituals, potions, recipes, celebrations, traditions, and much more.

Following on from the hugely successful Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, comes the next bumper encyclopedia celebrating all facets of witchcraft. This definite book is the most comprehensive, authoritative and entertaining guide you'll ever find on the mythology, folklore and traditions of magic.

With research sourced by the world's greatest libraries, Robbins has compiled a rational, balanced history of 300 years of horror concentrated primarily in Western Europe. Spanning from the 15th century through the 18th century, the witch-hunt frenzy marks a period of suppressed rational thought; never before have so many been so wrong. To better understand this phenomenon, Robbins examines how the meaning of "witch" has evolved and exposes the true nature of witchcraft—a topic widely discussed in popular culture, though remarkably misunderstood. First published in 1959, Robbins' encyclopedia remains the most authoritative and comprehensive body of information about witchcraft and demonology ever compiled in a single volume. Lavishly acclaimed in academic and popular reviews, this full-scale compendium of fact, history, and legend covers about every phase of this fascinating subject from its origins in the medieval times to its last eruptions in the 18th century. Accompanying the text are 250 illustrations from rare books, contemporary prints, and old manuscripts, many of which have been published here for the first time.

Witchcraft practices around the world and from many periods in history are defined and explained.

Following on from the hugely successful Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, comes the next bumper encyclopedia celebrating all facets of witchcraft. This definite book is the most comprehensive, authoritative and entertaining guide you'll ever find on the mythology, folklore and traditions of magic - updated for 2014!

Grimassi has written extensively about Wicca, and Llewellyn specializes in books sympathetic to occult ways, so the combination is pretty predictable. He describes not only the usual magic practices, but also the religious and spiritual aspects of what believers say is inherited ancient European wisdom and scoffers say is made-up, new-age nonsense. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR