The Library of Esoterica - Witchcraft (English)

Season of the Witch

A bewitching history of a magickal practice

Initiating readers in the fascinating and complex history of witchcraft, from the goddess mythologies of ancient cultures to the contemporary embrace of the craft by modern artists and activists, this expansive volume conjures an overview of an age-old tradition.

Rooted in legend, folklore, and myth, the archetype of the witch has evolved through the tales of Odysseus and Circe, the Celtic seductress Cerridwen, and Hecate, fierce ruler of the moonlit night. Witchcraft surveys her many incarnations as she shape-shifts through the centuries, alternately transforming into mother, nymph, and crone, seductress and destroyer.

Edited by Jessica Hundley and co-edited by author, scholar, and practitioner Pam Grossman, this visual chronicle explores the complex symbologies behind witchcraft traditions through the history of art. The witch has played muse to artists from the dark seductions of Francisco José de Goya and Albrecht Dürer to the magickal feminine reimagined by the Surrealist circle of Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, and Leonor Fini.

The witch has also held a place in folktales and dramatic literature, from the poison apples of the Brothers Grimm to the Weird Sisters gathered at their black cauldron in Shakespeare's Macbeth and L. Frank Baum's iconic Wicked Witch of the West, cackling over Dorothy's fate.

Throughout this visual voyage, the witch endures persecution and evolves into empowerment, becoming a contemporary symbol of bold defiance and potent nonconformity. Essays by modern practitioners including Kristen J. Sollée and Judika Illes, together with interviews with authors and scholars such as Madeline Miller and Juliet Diaz, explore a wide range of cultural traditions that embrace magick as spiritual exploration and creative catharsis.

The editors

Jessica Hundley is an author, filmmaker, and journalist who has written for Vogue, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. She has authored books on artists including Dennis Hopper, David Lynch, and Gram Parsons. Hundley often explores counterculture in her work, with a focus on metaphysics, psychedelia, and magic.

Pam Grossman is a writer, curator, and teacher of magickal practice and history. She hosts the podcast The Witch Wave and is the author of Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Artforum.

About the series

The Library of Esoterica explores how centuries of artists have given form to mysticism, translating the arcane and the obscure into enduring, visionary works of art. Each subject is showcased through modern and archival imagery drawn from private collectors, libraries, and museums around the globe. The result is an inclusive visual history, a study of our primal pull toward dream and nightmare, and the creative ways we strive to connect to the divine.

Series: The Library of Esoterica, Vol. 3

Format: Hardcover, quarter-bound

Edition: English

Dimensions: 6.7 × 9.4 in.

Weight: 3.91 lb

Page count: 520 pages

ISBN: 978-3-8365-8560-6