Includes bibliographical references (pages 294-302) and index.
Contents
A harsh and enchanted world -- Cunning folk and witches -- The magical use of spirits -- Human and spirit : the meeting -- The working relationship -- Renunciation and pact -- Demon and fairy : the interface -- The shaman's calling -- Spirit worlds and high gods -- Phantasticks and phantasms -- Psychosis or spirituality? -- The unrecognised mystics -- Greedigut and the Angel Gabriel -- The freedom of magic.
Summary
"This book examines the folkloric roots of familiar lore in early modern Britain from historical, anthropological and comparative religious perspectives. It argues that beliefs about witches' families were rooted in beliefs surrounding the use of fairy familiars by beneficent magical practitioners or 'cunning folk', and corroborates this through a comparative analysis of familiar beliefs found in traditional Native American and Siberian shamanism. The author then explores the experiential dimension of familiar lore, drawing parallels between early modern familiar encounters and visionary mysticism as it appears in both tribal shamanism and medieval European contemplative traditions. The conclusions drawn challenge the reductionist view of popular magic in early modern Britain often presented by historians."--BOOK JACKET.