Includes brief account of two recent incidences of Australian Aboriginal witchcraft.

This book is a guide to the most magical tool in your possession--your body. Not just your physical flesh and blood body, but also your symbolic Witch body, the conduit for bringing the material and metaphysical worlds together. Within these pages, you will explore hands-on magical practices and exercises related to your lungs, heart, bones, mind, and the serpent. Explore the profound correspondences between your body, the mythos of tarot, and the five elements. Practice rituals and activities designed to put you in touch with the rhythms and energies of your material and spiritual being. Anatomy of a Witch is all about embracing the body and tapping into your personal power, despite the limiting beliefs that society foists upon us. Through dozens of activities, writing prompts, spells, and rituals, you will connect with the seen and unseen worlds, your ancestors, and your living community. Magic flows most freely when you are in tune with your intuition and your capable, present, and powerful true self.

This in-depth guide discusses the history, traditions, and principles of witchcraft, followed by thirteen lessons that start with basic meditation techniques and culminate in a self-initiation ceremony equivalent to the first-degree level of traditional coven-based witchcraft.

"This complete self-study course in modern Wicca is a treasured classic - an essential and trusted guide that belongs in every witch's library."---Back cover

Ukrainian Witchcraft Trials is an analysis of early modern witchcraft trials and legal procedures in Ukrainian lands, along with an examination of quantitative data drawn from the different trials. Kateryna Dysa first describes the ideological background of the tribunals based on works written by priests and theologians that reflect attitudes towards the devil and witches. The main focus of her work, however, is the process leading to witchcraft accusations. From the stories of participants of the trials she shows what led people to enunciate first suspicions then accusations of witchcraft. Finally, she presents a microhistory from one Volhynian village, comparing attitudes towards two "female crimes" in the Ukrainian courts. The study is based on archival research together with previously published witch trials transcripts. Dysa approaches the trials as indications of belief and practice, attempting to understand the actors involved rather than dismiss or condemn them. She takes care to situate Ukrainian witchcraft and its accompanying trials in a broader European context, with comparisons to some African cases as well.

Much has been written on witchcraft by historians, theologians, philosophers, and anthropologists, but nothing by scientists. This book aims to reappraise witchcraft by applying to it the advances in cognitive sciences. The book is divided into four parts. Part I ("Deep History") deals with human emotions and the drive to represent witches as evil female agents. Part II ("Historical Times") focuses on those rare state and church repressions of malefice, which, surprisingly, did not feature in Islamic lands. Modern urbanization dealt a blow to the rural civilizations where accusations of witchcraft were rife. Part III ("In the Laboratory") applies neuroscience to specific case studies to investigate the personification of misfortune, the millenary stereotype witch = woman, the reality of evil, and the phenomenon of treasure hunting. Part IV ("Millenials") wonders whether intentional malefic hatred in a closed chapter in the history of humanity. An Anatomy of Witchcraft is ideal reading for students and scholars. Given its interdisciplinary nature, the book will be of interest to scholars from many fields including evolutionary psychology, anthropology, women’s history, and cognitive sciences.