Wise Ones

Wise Ones: Legends of Witches, Magicians, and Cunning Folk of England and Wales follows the folklore of over 220 individual witches, cunning folk, and magicians of England and Wales. Meticulously cited so readers can enter the folklore record, this place by place guide explores the evolution of some of the classic witch and cunning folk legends. So often witchlore is dominated by the witch trials, but in this volume readers will be introduced to the mostly forgotten traditions of the cunning-folk. You will meet the village wisemen and women who helped find lost cows and protect against the evil of witches, those who plied their trade for centuries mixing the high occult practices of the grimoire traditions, astrology, and natural magic. You will also meet the witches, men and women who cast evil eyes and could stop carts dead in their tracks, who fed consecrated hosts to the Devil and stole milk in the form of hares. We will also meet the legendary magicians of old who in their towers and groves conjured spirits and ancient gods. Traversing the magical landscape of England, Wales, and Cornwall readers will also meet historical figures who took on legendary status, and whose stories stare out at us from the folklore collections of the nineteenth century. Readers prepare... readers beware...