Behind-the-scenes description of what witches really do. It describes the ancient rituals in a candid and comprehensive way as seen through the eyes of a practicing witch and member of an active coven. In this account, the author explores the fundamental beliefs and symbology of Witchcraft, presenting the time-honored texts of its rituals and invocations, and describing exactly what happens as his own coven's esbats (meetings), sabbats (festivals), and handfasting (marriage) ceremonies. Stewart Farrar also outlines the way witches raise and apply psychic power to release the forces of healing and protection, etc.

"Witches are gathering." When most people hear the word "witches," they think of horror films and Halloween, but to the nearly one million Americans who practice Paganism today, witchcraft is a nature-worshipping, polytheistic, and very real religion. So Alex Mar discovers when she sets out to film a documentary and finds herself drawn deep into the world of present-day magic. Witches of America follows Mar on her immersive five-year trip into the occult, charting modern Paganism from its roots in 1950s England to its current American mecca in the San Francisco Bay Area; from a gathering of more than a thousand witches in the Illinois woods to the New Orleans branch of one of the world's most influential magical societies. Along the way she takes part in dozens of rituals and becomes involved with a wild array of characters: a government employee who founds a California priesthood dedicated to a Celtic goddess of war; American disciples of Aleister Crowley, whose elaborate ceremonies turn the Catholic mass on its head; second-wave feminist Wiccans who practice a radical separatist witchcraft; a growing "mystery cult" whose initiates trace their rites back to a blind shaman in rural Oregon. This sprawling magical community compels Mar to confront what she believes is possible-or hopes might be. With keen intelligence and wit, Mar illuminates the world of witchcraft while grappling in fresh and unexpected ways with the question underlying every faith: Why do we choose to believe in anything at all? Whether evangelical Christian, Pagan priestess, or atheist, each of us craves a system of meaning to give structure to our lives. Sometimes we just find it in unexpected places.

"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

An eyewitness account of a modern coven and an overview of Wiccan history in a book that “sweep[s] clean the ‘old image of witchcraft’” (Kirkus Reviews). What do witches really do? What is it like to be a witch? Experience the process through the eyes of Stewart Farrar, author, journalist, and witch, as he describes in detail the activities and practices of modern-day witches. When Stewart first started writing What Witches Do, he was “an interested agnostic” writing from an objective viewpoint. But by the time the book was finished, he had been initiated into the mysteries of Wicca and was destined to become internationally known as one of the world’s leading writers on the subject. What Witches Do is part of The Paranormal, a series that resurrects rare titles, classic publications, and out-of-print texts, as well as publishes new supernatural and otherworldly ebooks for the digital age. The series includes a range of paranormal subjects from angels, fairies, and UFOs to near-death experiences, vampires, ghosts, and witchcraft.

In this original study of witchcraft, Gibson explores the stories told by and about witches and their 'victims' through trial records, early news books, pamphlets and fascinating personal accounts. The author discusses the issues surrounding the interpretation of original historical sources and demonstrates that their representations of witchcraft are far from straight forward or reliable. Innovative and thought-provoking, this book sheds new light on early modern people's responses to witches and on the sometimes bizarre flexibility of the human imagination.

This introduction to contemporary witchcraft and neopaganism shows you what witches themselves say they believe, what the Bible says about witchcraft, and philosophical holes in the worldview of witches.

“A great reference that explains the ins and outs of one of the oldest recognized traditions in Wicca . . . a marvelous find” (Hermetic Library). Everything is here in this most comprehensive and revealing work on the principles, rituals and beliefs of modern witchcraft, including: The Sabbats, Casting & Banishing the Magic Circle, The Complete Book of Shadows, The Great Rite, Initiation Rites, Consecration Rites, Spells, Witches’ Tools, Witchcraft & Sex, Running a Coven, Clairvoyance, and Astral Projection. A Witches’ Bible is part of The Paranormal, a series that resurrects rare titles, classic publications, and out-of-print texts, as well as publishes new supernatural and otherworldly ebooks for the digital age. The series includes a range of paranormal subjects from angels, fairies, and UFOs to near-death experiences, vampires, ghosts, and witchcraft. “A very good overview and outline of how formal covens work, the structure behind them and a basic framework for these Rites within Gardnerian Wicca . . . this book alone can help those interested in this Path in completely avoiding the mass produced, watered down dreck that passes for mainstream witchcraft books.” —ombre-portee.com