World, The Flesh, The Devil: A Biographical Dictionary of Witches, The

Although there are many books on witchcraft, there are remarkably few on the witches themselves as people in the context of their time. This unique biographical dictionary will help correct that imbalance. Before the advent of Christianity, the Horned God and the Great Goddess were worshipped in various forms throughout Europe. Although the Christian Church both adopted and adapted many of the original sites and rituals, setting up the Horned God as the Devil incarnate, a large proportion of the population, especially those in rural areas, held to their old beliefs and were persecuted for their 'sins', as were those who deviated in any way from the prescribed manner of Christian worship. All of the witches covered in this book were people whose beliefs and lifestyles did not conform to the religious, social - and sexual - conventions of their time: people such as Aleister Crowley, Gilles de Rais, Joan of Arc, Jayne Mansfield, and Sir Francis Dashwood. As an illuminating and sometimes surprising reference work, this magical book will appeal to anyone, layman or scholar, who is interested in this fundamental and often misrepresented subject. This gorgeous hardcover book is in previously loved, very good condition.