Description
Initiating readers in the fascinating and complex history of witchcraft, from the goddess mythologies of ancient cultures to the recent embrace of the craft by brand new 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 since, 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 writer, scholar, and practitioner Pam Grossman, this enthralling visual chronicle is the first of its kind, a deep dive into the complex symbologies in the back of witchcraft traditions, as explored through the history of art itself. The witch has played muse to great artists all through time, from the dark seductions of Francisco José de Goya and Albrecht Dürer to the elegant paean to the magickal feminine as re-imagined by the Surrealist circle of Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, and Leonor Fini. The witch has spellbound through folktales and dramatic literature as well, from the poison apples of The Brothers Grimm, to 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 empowerment, a recent symbol of bold defiance and potent nonconformity. Featuring enlightening essays by brand new practitioners 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 magick as spiritual exploration and creative catharsis.
About the series
The Library of Esoterica explores how centuries of artists have given form to mysticism, translating the arcane and the difficult to understand into enduring, visionary artworks. Every subject is showcased through both brand new and archival imagery culled from private collectors, libraries, and museums around the world. The result forms an inclusive visual history, a study of our primal pull to dream and nightmare, and the creative ways we strive to connect with the divine.
