The Cunning Man’s Handbook
The Cunning Man’s Handbook:
The Practice of English Folk Magic 1550-1900
By Jim Baker
“The desire to understand magic in any specific cultural context is an intellectual puzzle not only for scholars but believers.”
Large format paperback, 555 pages.
RRP £29.99.
Order your copy now, with free P&P.
The Cunning Man’s Handbook is a monumental work of phenomenal scope and scholarship, a comprehensive and challenging exploration of the practices and beliefs of Cunning Folk in Britain and America during their heyday from 1550-1900. Exploring the social and theological milieu of the period, the author demonstrates the essentially Christian nature of Cunning practices, and presents an illuminating discourse on the concept of magic and how it was perceived as working.
Operating at the boundaries of the law and society, between medicine and magic, Cunning Men and Women occupied a liminal role as healers, charmers and magicians. Drawing from a huge range of sources, the range of services offered by Cunning Folk is thoroughly expounded, from divination through astrology and geomancy to dream interpretation, from charms, spells and curses to conjurations and treasure hunting. As Jim Baker states, “The focus here is on the practice of folk magic and divination for access to the preternatural”.
The evolution of Cunning practices as a living tradition over the three hundred fifty year span is explored in depth, illustrating their practical and contemporary nature. The analogous practices of African-American conjure and root work are also discussed to offer insights into oral fragments of Cunning practices lost to history and present another example of how modernity modifies tradition. Referring to dozens of Cunning Men and Women and their practices, this work offers a unique glimpse into magical history, and the opportunity to reclaim the essence of Cunning Magic.
RRP £29.99, large format paperback, 555 pages.
Order your copy now, with free P&P.
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Romancing The Spiritus Mundi – Practical Magic In English Culture
Section One: How Could Magic Be Supposed To Work?
Magic In The Cosmic Plan
The Function Of Astral Impellations
The Magical Act
Section Two: On Souls, Spirits And Phantasms
Section Three: Magical Evolution – How Magnetism Challenged The World Soul.
Understanding The Cunning Folk
The Cunning Folk And Their World
Who Were The Cunning Folk?
Visiting the cunning folk.
Divination, Part I
Divination, Part II
Geomancy
Dreams Natural, Demonic And Divine
Charms I -– Charms, Spells, And Curses
Charms II – Protection, Counter-Witchery, Theft And Love
Folk Or Non-Computational Astrology
Astrology In Magic And Theory
Judicial Astrology
Conjuration, Part I
Conjuration, Part II
Treasure Hunting
Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix I: Laws Pertaining To Magic And Witchcraft
Appendix II: “White Witches: An Apology To Louise Huebner”
Bibliography
Endnotes
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Extracts from reviews
This is truly an amazing book! As someone who is very interested in ‘folk magic’ and Folklore I found Baker’s compilation of the such information both fascinating and invaluable in increasing our understand of this important, yet rather neglected, area of British history. – Ayon707, Amazon reviewer
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Below: Sample page from The Cunning Man’s Handbook, showing geomantic figures::
The Cunning Man’s Handbook
By Jim Baker
Large format paperback, 555 pages.
RRP £29.99.
Order your copy now, with free P&P.