THE GOD OF THE WITCHES
Book Details + Condition: Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd. (London). First Edition (undated), 1933. Hardcover. 214 pages. Includes References and Index. Illustrated. Margaret Alice Murray's celebrated and seminal study of paganism and witchcraft in Europe traces the worship of the pre-Christian and prehistoric Horned God from paleolithic times to the medieval period. Murray, the first to turn a scholarly eye on the mysteries of witchcraft, views witchcraft not as an isolated and terrifying phenomenon, but as the survival of an ancient religion, whose devotees held passionately to a view of life threatened by an alien creed. The findings she sets forth, once thought of as provocative and implausible, are now regarded as irrefutable by folklorists and scholars. Exploring the rites and ceremonies associated with witchcraft, Murray establishes the concept of the "dying god" — the priest-king who was ritually killed to ensure the country and its people a continuity of fertility and strength. Chapters include:
- The Horned God
- The Worshippers
- The Priesthood
- The Rites
- Religious and Magical Ceremonies
- The Divine Victim
In very good condition, with firm binding; minor shelf wear to boards; foxing to text block, which only appears on the inside pages as intermittent light foxing; interior is otherwise clean and free of markings. All books are carefully packed, and shipped in boxes.
