Nonfiction about rituals and magic and so on

May 20, 2013 7:58 PM

I want to read nonfiction about ritualistic/magical/occult/religious practices or events in a historical/cultural context that will learn me real good without sacrificing the fun factor. More interested in things like druid sacrifice or the Salem witch trials than modern-day ghostbusters or psychics, but all cultures are welcome.
posted by goosechasing to Media & Arts (21 answers total)

It has a bit of "Look at this primitive...here is what they believe in..." but I found The Golden Bough (1922) pretty interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Bough
posted by Wink Ricketts at 8:10 PM on May 20, 2013

Magic in the Middle Ages is a fine introductory treatment of the subject.
posted by Paragon at 8:12 PM on May 20, 2013

Not historical, but I found this book pretty entertaining: Not In Kansas Anymore: Dark Arts, Sex Spells, Money Magic, and Other Things Your Neighbors Aren't Telling You
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 8:13 PM on May 20, 2013

Magia Sexualis was pretty fun, as I recall.
posted by WidgetAlley at 8:13 PM on May 20, 2013

Tell My Horse is Zora Neale Hurston's anthropological account of her time in Haiti, where she participated in and documented voodoo practices and rituals. Full disclosure: I've never read it, but it comes highly recommended and is on my summer reading list.
posted by a.steele at 8:27 PM on May 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

This was interesting, despite it being an academic text.
posted by oflinkey at 8:33 PM on May 20, 2013

I second Serene Empress Dork's rec: Not in Kansas Anymore is terrific. It is from a modern day perspective but the author interviews many participants of old traditions and provides historical context. Zora Neale Hurston's grave plays an important role in one of the chapters.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:36 PM on May 20, 2013

If you'll pardon the self-plug, I found the New England Vampire Panics fascinating.

Ozark Magic and Folklore also looks like what you're looking for. Haven't gotten to it yet but I'm told it's good.

Witchcraft in Europe came highly recommended to me along with Magic in the Middle Ages when I asked a similar question.

(A lot of these lean academic rather than popular).
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 8:38 PM on May 20, 2013

I enjoy Grillot de Givry's Witchcraft, Magic, and Alchemy. It has a humor that's so dry as to be almost undetectable at times, but I find it pretty hilarious, especially near the end. Covers everything in synopsis, nothing in depth.

Also, if you happen to be interested specifically in New England vampire lore, Food for the Dead is pretty good.
posted by brianconn at 8:41 PM on May 20, 2013

Grimoires by Owen Davies has been on my to read list for a while now.
posted by scodger at 8:51 PM on May 20, 2013

Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton is an excellent book on British holidays and rituals, organized by the calendar and the tracing the history of each holiday from the earliest known evidence (usually Roman).

He also has several other books on festivals and rituals, like The fall of Merry England (which seems to be out of print), as well as books on modern neopaganism (aka modern witchcraft). I can't remember if he's written anything on medieval or early modern magic or witchcraft trials.

Carlo Ginzburg also has a fascinating book on an apparent cult of witch-fighters in 16th century Italy, called The Night Battles. Some of what Ginzberg says about the survival of pagan beliefs in Christian Europe should be taken with salt (he occasionally stretches his evidence to the point of breaking), but his main research is excellent. His The Cheese and the Worms is also great, though it has less on magic and more on the creation theories of a 16th century miller.

Both authors are academic, but very readable.
posted by jb at 8:57 PM on May 20, 2013

Carlo Ginzburg also has a fascinating book on an apparent cult of witch-fighters in 16th century Italy, called The Night Battles. Some of what Ginzberg says about the survival of pagan beliefs in Christian Europe should be taken with salt (he occasionally stretches his evidence to the point of breaking), but his main research is excellent. His The Cheese and the Worms is also great, though it has less on magic and more on the creation theories of a 16th century miller.


I heard about that through the bibliography for the very well researched tabletop RPG Ars Magica, so you can probably find more there.
posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 9:33 PM on May 20, 2013

Seconding a.steele, Tell My Horse is really interesting. She actually became a trained voudoun priestess if I recall correctly.
posted by orrnyereg at 11:41 PM on May 20, 2013

This book is one of my favourites, it covers spells/rituals from all over the world. Its well researched and very informative.
posted by missmagenta at 1:57 AM on May 21, 2013

This is not a book but a lecture series for a class, however it is awesome and lot of what you are looking for
posted by Blasdelb at 3:26 AM on May 21, 2013

As one of the reviewers here notes, Wilson has a tendency to be a bit naive about his subject matter but I remember this being a fairly fun read.
posted by Decani at 4:33 AM on May 21, 2013

This book is interesting.

Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer's Manual of the Fifteenth Century (Magic in History) Richard Kieckhefer (Author)

The other books in this series are good, too.
posted by ServSci at 6:20 AM on May 21, 2013

It's pretty heavy going, but you might be interested in reading about Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition by Frances Yates, which goes into some of the historic and theoretic underpinnings of some of the more major Western magical traditions.
posted by Drexen at 7:09 AM on May 21, 2013

I recently read A History of Pagan Europe, which was extremely informative.
posted by General Tonic at 7:10 AM on May 21, 2013

Oh, oh, oh, thought of another one. Maya Deren's Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti. Excellent book on voodou.
posted by WidgetAlley at 8:29 AM on May 21, 2013

Seconding Frances Yates, in particular The Occult Philosophy In The Elizabethan Age.

Also, Carlo Ginzburg, documentor of weird and wonderful corners of Italian occult history. In particular: The Night Battles, about the benandanti; and The Cheese And the Worms, which is not about magic but about heresy. Specifically, how one working-class man's strange ideas got him into major trouble with the Italian Inquisition. It's a great read.
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:44 PM on May 21, 2013