Hi pornies! I hope you are all well. Today I want to talk about an awesome book that got me thinking into the (real for me) meaning of being a witch a couple of months ago. This was a challenging reading because of how thick in content and details it was, and I'm not going to deny it hurt, but I enjoyed all of it. I'm speaking about A History of Magic and Witchcraft: Sabbats, Satan and Superstitions in the West, by Frances Timbers. Thanks a lot to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
We've heard several assumptions about witches and witchract, like pre-Christian times were ruled by women, that it was a more pacific, mystical time, that the Christian Church burned millions of women just because they were more easily manipulated by Satan... Well, the history behind these ideas may surprise you. Hint: None of them are 100% real.
The books explores and explains several of the preconceptions we have about our own path trough a historical lense, and allows us to see that thery're not what we think they are. Frances Timbers goes to the root of each idea, examines how it evolved as time passed, and gives us a complete picture of the European world and how it reacted at the image of the witch.
It certainly took a time to be done with this book becuase of the level of detail and how in-depth it is, but I totally recomend it to any witch and Pagan who wants to explore our history, the meaning behind those two words and reevaluate what they are sure to know about witchcraft. A History of Magic and Witchcraft debunks the many myths that surround the witch trials, the burning times, the relationships and the differences between ceremonial magicians, cunning folk and witches, to name a few. You will want to take your time while reading, but I'm sure you will enjoy it. Fated to be a classic book, this is the definition of excellence!
About Frances Timbers:
Frances Timbers holds a PhD in British History from the University of Toronto and has published two books on witchcraft and magic: Magic and Masculinity: Ritual Magic and Gender in the Early Modern Era and The Magical Adventures of Mary Parish: The Occult World of Seventeenth-Century London. She has also published a number of peer-reviewed journal articles. She is currently an adjunct professor at Trent University in Canada.
Have you read this book? Would you recommend it or not? Let me know in the comments! Kinky regards, K!
- Print Length: 224 pages
- Publisher: Pen and Sword History (April 26, 2020)
- Publication Date: April 26, 2020
- ISBN-10: 152675763X
- ISBN-13: 978-1526757630
Broomsticks and cauldrons, familiars and spells: magic and witchcraft conjures a vivid picture in our modern-day imagination. While much of our understanding is rooted in superstition and myth, the history of magic and witchcraft offers a window into the past. It illuminates the lives of ordinary people in the past and shines a light on the fascinating pop culture of the premodern world. Blowing away folkloric cobwebs, this enlightening new history dispels many of the misconceptions surrounding witchcraft and magic that we still hold today. From Ancient Greece and Rome through to the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era, historian Frances Timbers shines a light on the impact of Christianity and popular culture in the construction of the figure of the 'witch'. The development of demonology and ceremonial magic is brought together with the West's troubled past with magic and witchcraft to chart the birth of modern Wiccan and Neopagan movements in England and North America. Witchcraft is a metaphor for oppression in an age in which persecution is an everyday occurrence somewhere in the world. Fanaticism, intolerance, prejudice, authoritarianism, and religious and political ideologies are never attractive. Beware the witch hunter!
We've heard several assumptions about witches and witchract, like pre-Christian times were ruled by women, that it was a more pacific, mystical time, that the Christian Church burned millions of women just because they were more easily manipulated by Satan... Well, the history behind these ideas may surprise you. Hint: None of them are 100% real.
The books explores and explains several of the preconceptions we have about our own path trough a historical lense, and allows us to see that thery're not what we think they are. Frances Timbers goes to the root of each idea, examines how it evolved as time passed, and gives us a complete picture of the European world and how it reacted at the image of the witch.
It certainly took a time to be done with this book becuase of the level of detail and how in-depth it is, but I totally recomend it to any witch and Pagan who wants to explore our history, the meaning behind those two words and reevaluate what they are sure to know about witchcraft. A History of Magic and Witchcraft debunks the many myths that surround the witch trials, the burning times, the relationships and the differences between ceremonial magicians, cunning folk and witches, to name a few. You will want to take your time while reading, but I'm sure you will enjoy it. Fated to be a classic book, this is the definition of excellence!
About Frances Timbers:
Frances Timbers holds a PhD in British History from the University of Toronto and has published two books on witchcraft and magic: Magic and Masculinity: Ritual Magic and Gender in the Early Modern Era and The Magical Adventures of Mary Parish: The Occult World of Seventeenth-Century London. She has also published a number of peer-reviewed journal articles. She is currently an adjunct professor at Trent University in Canada.
Have you read this book? Would you recommend it or not? Let me know in the comments! Kinky regards, K!
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