The Origins Of Wizards Witches And Fairies

“Webb takes what we know about these magical beings via pop culture and explores their origins and how their respective images have changed over time.” —The Portalist This book tells the fascinating story of the origin of our ideas about wizards, witches, and fairies. We all have a clear mental image of the pointed hats worn by such individuals, which are based upon actual headgear dating back 3,000 years to the Bronze Age. Carefully sifting through old legends, archaeological evidence, and modern research in genetics, Simon Webb shows us how our notions about fairies and elves, together with human workers of magic, have evolved over the centuries. This exploration of folklore, backed by the latest scientific findings, will present readers with the image of a lost world; the one used as the archetype for fantasy adventures from The Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones. In the process, the real nature of wizards will be revealed, and their connection with the earliest European cultures thoroughly documented. After reading this book, nobody will ever be able to view Gandalf the wizard in the same light and even old fairy tales such as “Beauty and the Beast” will take on a richer and deeper meaning. In short, our perception of wizards, witches and fairies will be altered forever.

A collection of exciting stories to carry you away to a land of Magic and Enchantment.

Tells the stories of witches, enchanters, and sorcerers, and discusses legends and folklore concerning Merlin, Nostradamus, and magic

A human is accidently transported back to an enchanted world where fairies live, and he begins to acquire magical powers, eventually becoming a wizard. At the same time, a fairy egg is hatched using a special technique by unicorns. They take the newborn with them, raising her to be a humble lady and a fierce warrior. The Lady of the Lake brings them together to challenge the evil witch queen and her minions.

Experience the Magic! From Myths and legends of ancient times to the present, the wonders of magic have kept us enthralled! Journey through this book of magic and find out about the origins of magic and how it affected people's lives. Learn about alchemy, snake charming and fortune-telling. Were charms, amulets and spells really magical? Discover mysterious creatures like Yeti, the Thunderbird and sea serpents. Want to have students learn magic? It's in the book. What do Merlin, Houdini, Walt Disney and David Copperfield hall have in common? It's MAGIC! MAGIC! MAGIC! You could blame Harry Potter, but kids have always been enthralled and enchanted with Make-Believe and Magic. It's OK! Now is the time for them to explore the silly spells, tongue-twirling secret passwords, and all that 'open sesame!' stuff. It's fun, fascinating, and great for their imaginative writing skills.

Throughout the recorded history of Britain, belief in earthbound spirits presiding over nature, the home and human destiny has been a feature of successive cultures. From the localised deities of Britannia to the Anglo-Saxons' elves and the fairies of late medieval England, Britain's godlings have populated a shadowy, secretive realm of ritual and belief running parallel to authorised religion. Twilight of the Godlings delves deep into the elusive history of these supernatural beings, tracing their evolution from the pre-Roman Iron Age to the end of the Middle Ages. Arguing that accreted cultural assumptions must be cast aside in order to understand the godlings – including the cherished idea that these folkloric creatures are the decayed remnants of pagan gods and goddesses – this bold, revisionist book traces Britain's 'small gods' to a popular religiosity influenced by classical learning. It offers an exciting new way of grasping the island's most mysterious mythical inhabitants.

Twenty four original fairy tales that draw upon the witches, wizards, spells, satanic pacts, dwarfs, dragons, and trickery used in traditional tales.

This book is a journey through the fairy-tale wardrobe, explaining how the mercurial nature of fashion has shaped and transformed the Western fairy-tale tradition. Many of fairy tale’s most iconic images are items of dress: the glass slippers, the red capes, the gowns shining like the sun, and the red shoes. The material cultures from which these items have been conjured reveal the histories of patronage, political intrigue, class privilege, and sexual politics behind the most famous fairy tales. The book not only reveals the sartorial truths behind Cinderella’s lost slippers, but reveals the networks of female power woven into fairy tale itself.