Book picks similar to
America Bewitched: The Story of Witchcraft After Salem by Owen Davies
history
non-fiction
witchcraft
pagan
The Book of Candle Magic: Candle Spell Secrets to Change Your Life
Madame Pamita - 2020
Renowned practitioner Madame Pamita guides you every step of the way as you perform spells and gain the confidence to create your own. The Book of Candle Magic empowers you to manifest more happiness, love, prosperity, and fulfillment. Learn to make candles from scratch, do candle readings, start your personal grimoire, add some pizzazz to your rituals, and much more. It's time to reclaim your birthright of using fire to reach your magical goals--this irresistible book shows you how.Includes a foreword by Judika Illes, author of Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells
Witchcraft in the Western Tradition
Jennifer McNabb
10 lectures on European and American witchcraft trials and history.
Psycho USA: Famous American Killers You Never Heard Of
Harold Schechter - 2012
But for every celebrity psychopath who’s gotten ink for spilling blood, there’s a bevy of all-but-forgotten homicidal fiends studding the bloody margins of U.S. history. The law gave them their just desserts, but now the hugely acclaimed author of The Serial Killer Files and The Whole Death Catalog gives them their dark due in this absolutely riveting true-crime treasury. Among America’s most cold-blooded you’ll meet • Robert Irwin, “The Mad Sculptor”: He longed to use his carving skills on the woman he loved—but had to settle for making short work of her mother and sister instead. • Peter Robinson, “The Tell-Tale Heart Killer”: It took two days and four tries for him to finish off his victim, but no time at all for keen-eyed cops to spot the fatal flaw in his floor plan. • Anton Probst, “The Monster in the Shape of a Man”: The ax-murdering immigrant’s systematic slaughter of all eight members of a Pennsylvania farm family matched the savagery of the Manson murders a century later. • Edward H. Ruloff, “The Man of Two Lives”: A genuine Jekyll and Hyde, his brilliant scholarship disguised his bloodthirsty brutality, and his oversized brain gave new meaning to “mastermind.” Spurred by profit, passion, paranoia, or perverse pleasure, these killers—the Witch of Staten Island, the Smutty Nose Butcher, the Bluebeard of Quiet Dell, and many others—span three centuries and a host of harrowing murder methods. Dramatized in the pages of penny dreadfuls, sensationalized in tabloid headlines, and immortalized in “murder ballads” and classic fiction by Edgar Allan Poe and Theodore Dreiser, the demonic denizens of Psycho USA may be long gone to the gallows—but this insidiously irresistible slice of gothic Americana will ensure that they’ll no longer be forgotten.
Witchcraft: A Secret History
Michael Streeter - 2002
Here's the book that explains how Wicca, the religion of witchcraft, came into existence. A detailed discussion of witchcraft's origins begins with accounts from ancient civilizations, then progresses forward to describe present-day manifestations of the art. Although witches and witchcraft are a part of popular culture and favorite subjects in film and TV, this spiritual movement's true history should not be confused with tales of wart-nosed hags who fly through the night on broomsticks. This history of witchcraft includes: Witchcraft in Judea during the reign of King Solomon . . . Medea and Circe, legendary witches of ancient Greece . . . The place of witchcraft among barbarian tribes in ancient northern Europe . . . The seventeenth-century New England trials of the witches of Salem . . . Gerald Gardner and the birth of modern Wicca as a nature religion . . . Witchcraft as it is taught and practiced today. This book points out how modern witchcraft has evolved into a benevolent religion, a spiritual expression of feminism, and a practice that encourages reverence toward nature. More than 200 full-color illustrations enhance an intensely readable text.
The Witch of Lime Street: Séance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World
David Jaher - 2015
A desperate search for reunion with dead loved ones precipitated a tidal wave of self-proclaimed psychics—and, as reputable media sought stories on occult phenomena, mediums became celebrities. Against this backdrop, in 1924, the pretty wife of a distinguished Boston surgeon came to embody the raging national debate over Spiritualism, a movement devoted to communication with the dead. Reporters dubbed her the blonde Witch of Lime Street, but she was known to her followers simply as Margery. Her most vocal advocate was none other than Sherlock Holmes' creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who believed so thoroughly in Margery's powers that he urged her to enter a controversial contest, sponsored by Scientific American and offering a large cash prize to the first medium declared authentic by its impressive five-man investigative committee. Admired for both her exceptional charm and her dazzling effects, Margery was the best hope for the psychic practice to be empirically verified. Her supernatural gifts beguiled four of the judges. There was only one left to convince...the acclaimed escape artist, Harry Houdini.David Jaher's extraordinary debut culminates in the showdown between Houdini, a relentless unmasker of charlatans, and Margery, the nation's most credible spirit medium. The Witch of Lime Street, the first book to capture their electric public rivalry and the competition that brought them into each other’s orbit, returns us to an oft-mythologized era to deepen our understanding of its history, all while igniting our imagination and engaging with the timeless question: Is there life after death?
Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation
Mat Auryn - 2020
Featuring over ninety exercises, this groundbreaking book helps your magick and your senses reach their full potential.Witchcraft and psychism are two sides of the same coin--they complement and strengthen one another. Psychic Witch provides everything you need to not only master the perception and manipulation of energy, but also to perform magick anywhere and at any time. This ingenious book teaches you how to use subtle energy in new ways and manifest your perceptions into instant magickal results.
The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living
Joseph M. Marshall III - 2001
Marshall’s thoughtful, illuminating account of how the spiritual beliefs of the Lakota people can help us all lead more meaningful, ethical lives.Rich with storytelling, history, and folklore, The Lakota Way expresses the heart of Native American philosophy and reveals the path to a fulfilling and meaningful life. Joseph Marshall is a member of the Sicunga Lakota Sioux and has dedicated his entire life to the wisdom he learned from his elders. Here he focuses on the twelve core qualities that are crucial to the Lakota way of life--bravery, fortitude, generosity, wisdom, respect, honor, perseverance, love, humility, sacrifice, truth, and compassion. Whether teaching a lesson on respect imparted by the mythical Deer Woman or the humility embodied by the legendary Lakota leader Crazy Horse, The Lakota Way offers a fresh outlook on spirituality and ethical living.
Orishas, Goddesses, and Voodoo Queens: The Divine Feminine in the African Religious Traditions
Lilith Dorsey - 2020
The power of these goddesses and spirit beings has taken root in the West. New Orleans, for example, is the home of Marie Laveau, who used her magical powers to become the “Voodoo Queen” of New Orleans.Orishas, Goddesses, and Voodoo Queens shows you how to celebrate and cultivate the traits of these goddesses, drawing upon their strengths to empower your own life. In addition to offering a guided tour of the key goddesses of the African religious traditions, the book offers magical spells, rituals, potions, astrological correspondences, sacred offerings, and much more to help guide you on your own transformational journey.
The Book of Crystal Spells: Magical Uses for Stones, Crystals, Minerals... and Even Sand
Ember Grant - 2013
With hands-on spells, rituals, grids, and other magical methods, The Book of Crystal Spells is a practical and in-depth guide to using stones in creative ways.Find tips on cleansing and charging your stones Learn to craft magical jewelry, amulets, and talismans Incorporate numerology, meditations, elixirs, and crystal grids in your spellwork Expand your magic practice by using glass, sand, metals, quartz crystal points, and more Increase your knowledge of crystal spells with accessible exercises and extensive appendices and correspondences. Whether a beginner or an expert, take your magic to a higher level with the magic of stones, which gives you access to the energetic connection between you and the universe.
Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore & Herb Craft
Ann Moura - 1996
Positive, practical, and easy to use, Green Witchcraft brings together the best of both modern Wicca and the author's family heritage of herb craft and folk magic.Green Witchcraft explores the fundamentals of the Wiccan religion, providing magical training for the independent thinker. Step-by-step instructions on a wide variety of magical techniques as well as basic rules of conduct make this the ideal book to get you started. Green rituals for self-initiation, rites of passage, seasonal celebrations and activities provide an excellent foundation for your own magical tradition.Discover the fine art of spellcasting, the magical uses of herbs, divination with the tarot and more. Explore the Sabbats, Esbats, and other rituals attuned to the cycles of nature and the universal powers. Find out for yourself what this organic approach to Witchcraft is all about.
Real Magic: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Science, and a Guide to the Secret Power of the Universe
Dean Radin - 2018
Are such powers really possible? Science says yes.According to noted scientist and bestselling author of The Conscious Universe, Dean Radin, magic is a natural aspect of reality, and each of us can tap into this power with diligent practice.But wait, aren't things like ESP and telepathy just wishful thinking and flights of the imagination? Not according to the author, who worked on the US government's top secret psychic espionage program known as Stargate. Radin has spent the last forty years conducting controlled experiments that demonstrate that thoughts are things, that we can sense others' emotions and intentions from a distance, that intuition is more powerful than we thought, and that we can tap into the power of intention (think The Secret, only on a more realistic and scientific level). These dormant powers can help us to lead more interesting and fulfilling lives.Beginning with a brief history of magic over the centuries (what was called magic two thousand years ago is turning out to be scientific fact today), a review of the scientific evidence for magic, a series of simple but effective magical techniques (the key is mental focus, something elite athletes know a lot about), Radin then offers a vision of a scientifically-informed magic and explains why magic will play a key role in frontiers of science.
History of Magic and the Occult
Kurt Seligmann - 1948
Spanning 5,000 years of world history it covers every major civilization and includes sections on alchemy, the Devil, witchcraft, the cabala, astrology, the tarot, the Rosicrucians, Nostradamus, and vampires. Profusely illustrated with nearly 170 black-and-white illustrations.
1861: The Civil War Awakening
Adam Goodheart - 2011
Early in that fateful year, a second American revolution unfolded, inspiring a new generation to reject their parents’ faith in compromise and appeasement, to do the unthinkable in the name of an ideal. It set Abraham Lincoln on the path to greatness and millions of slaves on the road to freedom.The book introduces us to a heretofore little-known cast of Civil War heroes—among them an acrobatic militia colonel, an explorer’s wife, an idealistic band of German immigrants, a regiment of New York City firemen, a community of Virginia slaves, and a young college professor who would one day become president. Adam Goodheart takes us from the corridors of the White House to the slums of Manhattan, from the mouth of the Chesapeake to the deserts of Nevada, from Boston Common to Alcatraz Island, vividly evoking the Union at this moment of ultimate crisis and decision.
Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War
Nathaniel Philbrick - 2006
As Philbrick reveals in this electrifying new book, the story of the Pilgrims does not end with the First Thanksgiving; instead, it is a fifty-five-year epic that is at once tragic and heroic, and still carries meaning for us today.
The Hearth Witch's Compendium: Magical and Natural Living for Every Day
Anna Franklin - 2017
Utilize natural ingredients for the well-being of your community, home, and body. This comprehensive sourcebook shares old-world wisdom and contemporary approaches to living the hearth witch way, where spirituality nurtures an ecologically balanced life.More than 200 food and drink recipes: soups, breads, puddings, cakes, salads, wines, meads, ciders, beers, ales, jams, jellies, curds, cheeses, chutneys, ketchup, sauces, dried foods, nonalcoholic cordialsMore than 100 bath and beauty recipes: bath salts, bubble baths, soaps, shampoos, hair rinses, lotions, powders, oral hygiene, skin products, facial scrubs, cleansers, skin toners, moisturizers, lip salvesMore than 35 home goods recipes: polishes, bathroom and kitchen cleaners, dishwasher detergent, stain remover, laundry soaps, dryer sheets, potpourris, air fresheners, deodorizers, floor wash, carpet cleanersNearly 200 essential oil blends and home remedies: anxiety, arthritis, blocked sinuses, burns, cellulitis, coughs, eczema, headaches, indigestion, insect bites, muscle cramps, nausea, rash, sprains, swelling, varicose veinsPlus magical wisdom and practical tips: incense recipes, magical virtues of plants, magical oil recipes, detailed descriptions of seventy essential oils, herbal magic, charms, talismans, potions, inks, color correspondences, planetary influences, herbal beauty aids, gardening tips, vegetable dyesPraise: "In this glorious compendium Anna Franklin invites you to sit at her hearth and to share in her many years of magical living. In a high speed world, Anna asks us to pause, to slow down and actually get our hands dirty with nature, and to craft magical items and products that really work."--Kristoffer Hughes, head of the Anglesey Druid Order and author of The Book of Celtic Magic"Packed full of information on sabbats, deities, lotions, potions, household, cooking, cleaning, and personal care recipes. This is a 'must have' book for every witch"--Soraya, bestselling author of Book of Spells and The Kitchen Witch