Witchcraft. The Library of Esoterica

9783836585606

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A spellbinding journey through the global history of witchcraft, from its ancient roots to its modern incarnations. Through more than 400 artworks, and revelatory essays and interviews with modern practitioners, Witchcraft chronicles a cathartic evolution, from the craft’s emergence in ancient goddess worship to the embrace by today’s diverse communities.

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Data sheet

Author Jessica Hundley; Pam Grossman
Publisher Taschen
Binding Hardcover
Number of pages 520
Height (cm) 24
Width (cm) 17
Thickness (cm) 4
Weight (kg) 1,775
Language English
Released date 2021
ISBN 978-3-8365-8560-6

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Season of the Witch

A bewitching history of a magickal practice

Initiating readers into the fascinating and complex history of witchcraft, from the goddess mythologies of ancient cultures to the contemporary embrace of the craft by modern artists and activists, this expansive tome conjures up a breathtaking overview of an age-old tradition. Rooted in legend, folklore, and myth, the archetype of the witch has evolved from the tales of Odysseus and Circe, the Celtic seductress Cerridwen, and the myth of Hecate, fierce ruler of the moonlit night. In Witchcraft we survey her many incarnations as she shape-shifts through the centuries, alternately transforming into mother, nymph, and crone—seductress and destroyer.

Edited by Jessica Hundley, and co-edited by author, scholar, and witch-expert Pam Grossman, this enthralling visual chronicle is the first of its kind, a deep dive into the complex symbology behind witchcraft traditions, explored through the history of art itself. The witch has played muse to great artists throughout time, from the dark seductions of Francisco José de Goya and Albrecht Dürer, to the elegant paean to the magical feminine as re-imagined by the Surrealist circle of Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, and Leonor Fini. The witch has kept audiences spellbound through folktales and dramatic literature as well, from the poison apples of The Brothers Grimm,  the Weird Sisters gathered at their black cauldron in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, to L. Frank Baum’s iconic Wicked Witch of the West, cackling over the fate of Dorothy.

Throughout this entrancing visual voyage, we’ll also bear witness to the witch as she endures persecution and evolves into a state of empowerment, a contemporary symbol of bold defiance and potent nonconformityFeaturing enlightening essays by modern experts like Kristen J. Sollée and Judika Illes, as well interviews with authors and scholars such as Madeline Miller and Juliet Diaz, Witchcraft includes a vast range of cultural traditions that embrace magic as a spiritual exploration and creative catharsis.


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