Category Archives: Witchcraft and Magic

A Ceredigion witch

Posted on March 20, 2013 by richard

The following story of a Ceredigion witch comes from ‘Coelion Cymru’ (‘Welsh Superstitions’) by Evan Isaac, published in 1938. The book is in Welsh and I am grateful to my friend Rose Smith for the translation. I’ve often wanted to … Continue reading →

Posted in Witchcraft and Magic | 1 Comment

Curing a bug – white witchcraft in Wales

Posted on May 1, 2012 by richard

Years ago I wrote a book called Bye-gones, a collection of quirky history and folklore from an old Welsh borderland periodical of that name. That little book only scratched the surface of the extraordinary and abstruse information contained in its … Continue reading →

The magical art of corpse medicine

Posted on September 4, 2011 by richard

MARK GREENER continues his examination of ‘corpse medicine’, the historic trade in body parts believed at one time to have had magical and healing properties. Treatments made from corpses are among the most remarkable and most neglected chapters in medical … Continue reading →

Posted in Witchcraft and Magic | Tagged body parts in magic, corpse magic, corpse medicine, corpses witchcraft, Dr Toope West Kennett, medicine from corpses, mumia, treatments from corpses, Wiltshire witchcraft, Witchcraft in Britain | Leave a comment

Mumia: ‘medicine’ made from mummified corpses

Posted on August 28, 2011 by richard

MARK GREENER explains how a mistranslation probably led to the bizarre use of ground-up mummies in early medicine, in this, the first of a two-part examination into the uses of corpses and body parts in magical practice. Consuming powdered Egyptian … Continue reading →

Posted in Witchcraft and Magic | Tagged black magic, corpse medicine, corpses used in magic, corpses used in witchcraft, folk medicine, mumia, mummies, Witchcraft | 1 Comment

Getting high – ingredients of the Witches’ Ointment

Posted on June 3, 2011 by richard

It’s well-known that a traditional view of witches in the Middle Ages was that they had a magic potion that enabled them to fly to their sabbats. It’s more likely, however, that this was an outsiders’ misinterpretation of an hallucinogenic … Continue reading →

Posted in Witchcraft and Magic | Tagged witch beliefs, witchcraft beliefs, witches flying ointment, witches flying potion, Witches' Ointment | Leave a comment

Soles to save our souls

Posted on January 28, 2011 by admin

Jason Karl discusses one of the most frequently employed forms of ‘wards’: domestic magic used to protect a household from malign influences.
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