Real Witches. Real Lives. Real Magic. Real History. Take a magical tour through the lives and times of 359 of the most important sorcerers and witches throughout history.
For millennia there's been a fascination and a fear of people possibly wielding magical powers and a stigma surrounding practitioners of ancient rituals and practices. Yet, in the last 70 years, witchcraft, as well as Wicca, have gone from taboo beliefs pursued by a handful of eccentrics and misfits to major global, spiritual movements. Meet the troublemakers and rebels who pushed for change in The Witches Almanac: Sorcerers, Witches, and Magic from Ancient Rome to the Digital Age . You'll be introduced to the history, persecutions, conjurings, and magic of some of history's most consequential witches, sorcerers, wizards, and mavericks, including ...
Circe , Medea , Hermes Trismegistus , the Chaldean Magi , and other Ancient Roman and Classical Greek witchesMerlin , Morgana le Fey , Nimue , the 10 Queens of Avalon , and sorcery and witchcraft in the Arthurian legendsSan Cipriano , the obscure 4th century bishop whose influence today still plays an important role in folk magic and Hoodoo practicesBaba Yaga , Joan of Arc , Gilles de Rais , Alice Kyteller , Lord Soulis , Michael Scott , the Golem of Prague , and medieval witchcraftKing Henry VI , Anne Boleyn , King Henry VIII , Catherine de Medici , John Dee , Queen Elizabeth , and witchcraft in the British royal courtIsobel Gowdie , illusive Scottish witch whose voluntary confessions provided the template for traditional witchcraft beliefsIsaac Newton , Friar Roger Bacon , Nicholas Flamel , Paracelsus , Cornelius Agrippa , Robert Boyle , and other alchemistsThe Burning Times of the late 16th to early 18th centuriesThe Berwick witch trialThe Salem witch trialAleister Crowley , W. B. Yeats , MacGregor Mathers , Eliphas Levi , the Golden Dawn, Thelema and ritual magic, and the rise of esoteric movements of the 19th and early 20th centuriesJack Parsons , described as the "Jet-Propelled Antichrist" whose life of sex, rockets, and magic ended prematurely in a mysterious explosionGerald Gardner , Old Dorothy Clutterbuck , Alex Sanders , Robert Cochrane , Raymond Buckland , Lady Sheba , Marjorie Cameron , and others in the modern Wicca and witchcraft movementAnd much more!!
You'll get a deeper understanding of the obscure history of witches with this enchanting and bewitching tome! The Witches Almanac brings you their rich histories and extraordinary biographies, plus it includes a helpful bibliography, an extensive index, and numerous photos, adding to its usefulness.