A comprehensive look at the history and practices of rural English witchcraft
• Explores witch’s familiars and fetches, animal magic, and the forms of witchcraft practiced by rural tradespeople, such as blacksmiths, herbalists, and artisans
• Offers practical insight into spells, charms, folk incantations, herbal medicine practices, amulets, sigils, and tools of the craft
• Details the evolution of public perception of witchcraft throughout England’s history, including the laws against witchcraft in place until the 1950s and witchcraft’s contentious relationship with the Christian church
In this practical guide, Nigel Pennick takes the reader on a journey through the practice of operative witchcraft in the British Isles from the Middle Ages and the Elizabethan era to the decriminalization of witchcraft in the 1950s and its practice today.
Highlighting uniquely English traditions, Pennick explores
