Although it cannot be hoped that any work be truly comprehensive, “Witchlore” seeks to bring together a large and eclectic mix of fascinating works upon the subject of witches and witchcraft. Some of the works included are sympathetic to witchcraft, some keep a scholarly distance, whilst one, namely, that of Matthew Hopkins, is murderously opposed. This first book opens with the classic “Aradia, or The Gospel of Witches” by C.G. Leland, followed by a large number of spells and incantations collected by that same author and published originally in the second part of his “Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition.” (Therein one finds such wonders as The Spell of the Boiling Clothes, The Spell of the Falling Star, The Spell of the Lamp, as well as information on ring sorcery, divination, omens, amulets, etc.) Other works included are by Walter Gregor, Oliver Madox Hueffer, M.A. Murray, J.A. MacCulloch, and Wallace Notestein. With such a diverse range of perspectives, it is hoped that this book will afford the reader with a rounded view of witchlore.
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The contents to Book I are as follows:
Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches
by Charles Godfrey Leland.
Spells, Incantations, &c
by Charles Godfrey Leland.
I. La Stalla Di Maiale—Dreaming in a Pigsty and Swine Lore
❖The Spell of the Ivy and the Statue
❖The Spell of the Hare
❖The Spell of the Spider
❖The Spell of the Green Lizard
II. Birds and Treasures
❖The Spell of the Falling Star
❖The Spell of the Acorns
❖The Spell of the Swallow
Minor Cures from Marcellus
Le Quattro Cose Della Buona Fortuna
La Formicola. The Ant
Verbena
The Three Wise Men of the East and the Witch Medals
III. The Exorcism of Death
❖The Spell of the Cradle
Divination with Lead
Divination by Oil
Pyromancy and Incense
Flame
Grain on Coals
Incense on Coals
❖The Spell of the Lamp
IV. Evil Incantations
❖The Spell of the Holy Stone and the Salagrana
❖The Spell of the Shell and the Tone of the Stone
❖The Spell of the Snail
Il Canto del Gallo
Divination with Ashes
V. The Amethyst
❖The Spell of the Black Hen
❖The Spell of the Bell
❖The Spell of the Boiling Clothes
Ring Sorcery
Amulets, Omens and Small Sorceries
Lead and Antimony
Miscellanea
I. The Witch
by Walter Gregor.
II. The Witch’s Attributes
by Oliver Madox Hueffer.
III. Organisations of Witches in Great Britain
by M.A. Murray.
IV. Witches and the Number Thirteen
by M.A. Murray.
V. The Mingling of Fairy and Witch Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Scotland
by J.A. MacCulloch.
Appendices
A. The Discovery of Witches
by Matthew Hopkins.
B. List of Cases of Witchcraft, 1558-1718, With References to Sources and Literature
by Wallace Notestein.
C. List of Persons Sentenced to Death for Witchcraft During the Reign of James I
by Wallace Notestein.
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