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The Witches Almanac

Sorcerers, Witches and Magic from Ancient Rome to the Digital Age
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( 28 ratings, 5 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Witches Almanac by Charles Christian offers a magical journey through the lives of 359 influential sorcerers, witches, and magical figures from Ancient Rome to the present day. It explores the evolution of witchcraft and Wicca, from misunderstood ancient practices to thriving modern spiritual movements. The book delves into historical figures including Circe, Merlin, Joan of Arc, and Aleister Crowley, as well as key events like the Salem witch trials and the rise of esoteric rituals in the 19th and 20th centuries.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$4499
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers fascinated by the history of magic, witchcraft, and spiritual movements, including students, historians, and those curious about occult traditions from ancient to modern times.

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"The Witches Almanac covers the history, persecutions, conjurings, and magic of some of history's most consequential witches, sorcerers, wizards, and mavericks. The lives and times of 360 of history's most important witches are explored and explained,"--

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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 witches
  • Merlin, Morgana le Fey, Nimue, the 10 Queens of Avalon, and sorcery and witchcraft in the Arthurian legends
  • San Cipriano, the obscure 4th century bishop whose influence today still plays an important role in folk magic and Hoodoo practices
  • Baba Yaga, Joan of Arc, Gilles de Rais, Alice Kyteller, Lord Soulis, Michael Scott, the Golem of Prague, and medieval witchcraft
  • King Henry VI, Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII, Catherine de Medici, John Dee, Queen Elizabeth, and witchcraft in the British royal court
  • Isobel Gowdie, illusive Scottish witch whose voluntary confessions provided the template for traditional witchcraft beliefs
  • Isaac Newton, Friar Roger Bacon, Nicholas Flamel, Paracelsus, Cornelius Agrippa, Robert Boyle, and other alchemists
  • The Burning Times of the late 16th to early 18th centuries
  • The Berwick witch trial
  • The Salem witch trial
  • Aleister 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 centuries
  • Jack Parsons, described as the "Jet-Propelled Antichrist" whose life of sex, rockets, and magic ended prematurely in a mysterious explosion
  • Gerald Gardner, Old Dorothy Clutterbuck, Alex Sanders, Robert Cochrane, Raymond Buckland, Lady Sheba, Marjorie Cameron, and others in the modern Wicca and witchcraft movement
  • And 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.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Library Journal praised it as a "starred review" title, calling it a "true compendium" and an "extremely thorough and engagingly written" reference for students and readers of the occult. The Magical Buffet commended it as a "fantastic biographical dictionary" of magic practitioners with an excellent index, making it a not-to-be-missed resource for those interested in the history of witchcraft.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781578597604

Publisher: Visible Ink Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 13 April 2023

Country: United States

Imprint: Visible Ink Press

Illustration: Illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 181.0mm

Height: 235.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 336

About the Author

Charles Christian is an English lawyer and a Reuters correspondent-turned-writer, editor, award-winning tech journalist, and sometime werewolf hunter. Charles was born a chime-child with a caul and grew up in a haunted medieval house by the harbor in the Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough. According to folklore, a caul-shrouded chime-child can’t drown at sea but can see and talk to faerie folk and also has protection against spells cast by malevolent witches and sorcerers. His father’s side of the family was related to Fletcher Christian, the leader of the infamous 18th-century mutiny on HMS Bounty, while his mother’s side was descended from Anne Hunnam (or Marchant) the “Witch of Scarborough,” who was acquitted of casting a fatal spell on a child in 1652. And “yes,” an English newspaper once really did commission Charles to take part in a werewolf hunt on the night of a full moon. Spoiler alert: he didn’t find one. He lives in Waveney Valley, England.

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