The Witches Almanac: Sorcerers, Witches and Magic from Ancient Rome to the Digital Age
★ Starred Review. … a true compendium of who’s who in the world of witchcraft throughout Western civilization. … Each chapter defines an era of how magic and witches were perceived, defined, accepted, or persecuted in Europe and North America. The book provides numerous known details about the lives of practitioners of magic, witches, and alchemists, from the Middle Ages to the age of TikTok. … Extremely thorough and engagingly written, this title is an excellent historical reference for readers and students of the occult and witchcraft.
-Library Journal
... profiles about 360 witches and sorcerers from antiquity to the present, focusing on the Western/English-speaking world. He organizes individuals by theme or chronological era, such as the Middle Ages, witches at the royal courts of Europe, the Salem Witch Trials, feminism, witchcraft in postwar Germany, witch-hunts and black magic in modern times, and witchcraft in the digital age, with introductory information on the historical context and issues, followed by biographical entries. He does not include fictional characters or Satanism, Devil worship, Wicca, or other variants of Neopagan religion.
Book News
… truly an engaging must-read that will give insight to the witchcraft that has been seen in history such as witch trials, popes accused of sorcery, and even Henry VII’s accusations of Anne Boleyn. … riveting biographies in a well-organized format with some that date back to Apollonius of Tyana (c. 3 B.C.E-97 C.E.) and going to modern witches such as Starhawk and Zsuzsanna Budapest. There hasn’t been another book like this that contains this vast of an assortment pertaining to witches. An incredible resource that touches upon the history of witches in an almanac that is perfect for readers interested in witches and history, those studying wicca, students, and teachers.
Manhattan Book Review
… a pretty solid text on the history of magic. … And as far as operating as a “biographical dictionary” of magicians, “The Witches Almanac” does a fantastic job. I was hard pressed to think of any practitioners that may have been missed. Also, rest assured, “The Witches Almanac” has an excellent index, just in case you want to find a specific person. If you’re looking for a rough history of magic that has the main focus on the practitioners that shaped it, “The Witches Almanac” by Charles Christian is not to be missed!
The Magical Buffet
Real Witches.
Real Lives. Real Magic. Real History. Take a magical tour through the lives and times of 359 of the most important sorcerers and witches throughout history.For millennia there’s been a fascination and a fear of people possibly wielding magical powers and a stigma surrounding practitioners of ancient rituals and practices. Yet, in the last 70 years, witchcraft, as well as Wicca, have gone from taboo beliefs pursued by a handful of eccentrics and misfits to major global, spiritual movements. Meet the troublemakers and rebels who pushed for change in The Witches Almanac: Sorcerers, Witches, and Magic from Ancient Rome to the Digital Age.
Covering real, suspected, and self-proclaimed witches, their persecution, conjurings, magic, and the history of some of the most consequential witches, sorcerers, wizards, and mavericks, this rich resource looks at dozens of history-making events and the lives and times of 360 of the most important witches, sorcerers, and wizards of all time, including ...
You’ll get a deeper understanding of the obscure history of witches with this enchanting and bewitching tome! The Witches Almanac brings you their rich histories and extraordinary lives!
About Charles Christian
Charles Christian was an English lawyer and a Reuters correspondent-turned-writer, editor, and award-winning tech journalist. Charles had a life-long fascination with witches. His father’s family was related to Fletcher Christian, the leader of the infamous 18th-century mutiny on the HMS Bounty, and his mother descended from Anne Hunnam (or Marchant), the “Witch of Scarborough,” who was acquitted of casting a fatal spell on a child in 1652! He lived in Waveney Valley, England, and he will be dearly missed by his wife.
Hometown: Waveney Valley, England
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