Overview
More than five hundred years after the first witch poked her skeletal hand out of the shadows, she and her descendants retain full authority as embodiments of female rage and rebellion. This is the first book to fully trace their wild ride across the centuries. In addition, sumptuous paintings, intricate woodcuts, and enchanting drawings portray the witch in all her guises, from the powerful to the horrific to the glamorous and even to the ridiculous.The witch has always been a figure electric with possibility and, sometimes, with menace. A legendary shapeshifter, she has recast her image to fulfill the dreams and nightmares of each passing century. She is the devouring mother, the vengeful wife, the "possessed" devil worshipper, the resentful old hag, the high priestess. Yet throughout her proud and painful history, she has remained shrouded in mystery.
In this intelligent, richly layered, and witty text, Candace Savage reveals the many faces of the witch and the changes in her image over the passing centuries. Fascinating, unsettling, and unexpectedly hopeful, Witch: The Wild Ride from Wicked to Wicca conjures up a horde of intransigent and unforgettable women, who against all odds have worked their marvels of resistance and survival.
Synopsis
Fascinating, unsettling and unexpectedly hopeful, Witch: The Wild Ride from Wicked to Wicca conjures up a horde of intransigent and unforgettable women, who against all odds have worked their marvels of resistance and survival.
Publishers Weekly
Since the beginning of recorded history, people have feared black magic and instituted harsh penalties against anyone who "troubled the atmosphere, excited tempests... or tormented their fellow-creatures with sores and diseases." It wasn't until the 15th century that women, the "defective" gender formed from Adam's crooked rib, became the target of fertile imaginations and wrongful accusations, however. Candace Savage (Beauty Queens) in Witch: The Wild Ride from Wicked to Wicca unravels the mystery surrounding one of history's most fantastic figures. Detailing the evolution of the witch from her original incarnation as a young woman to the comical old hag of popular culture today, Savage spins an irresistible tale for feminists and fans of the occult. The recent revival of interest in black magic will help this colorful, illustrated volume appeal to younger readers as well. (Greystone [Sterling, dist.], $21.95 144p ISBN 1-55054-801-8) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.