The Book of English Magic

Carr-Gomm, Philip & Richard Heygate. The Book of English Magic. New York: The Overlook Press, 2010. Cloth with printed boards. 6⅜" x 9¼". xiii + 562pp. Incl. Appendix. Notes. Acknowledgements. Index. Maps.

[Philip Carr-Gomm, a leader in The Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, joins Sir Richard Heygate, a documentarian and author who studies “alternative worlds”, to offer this accessible history, guidebook, and compendium of practical applications. Twelve illustrated and annotated chapters, each of which is appended with Things to Do, Resources (reading lists), and Websites. Each chapter includes contributions by relevant scholars and practitioners, some of whom have chosen to remain anonymous. The contents are arranged in chronological order: 1. Ancient Roots and Magic Wands: Caves and Hidden Treasure of the Land. 2. The Magicians Organise Themselves: The World of the Ancient Druid. 3. Star-Cunning and Wyrd-Craft: The World of the Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer.

4. The Matter of Britain: Merlin, King Arthur and the Search for the Holy Grail. 5. Skin-Turning and Spellcraft: The World of Witches and Warlocks. 6. Transmutation and Transformation: The World of the Alchemists and Puffers. 7. The Queen’s Astrologer: The Man Who Conversed with Angels. 8. The Shag-Hair’d Wizard of Pepper Alley: Cunning Folk, Girdle-Measurers and the Fairy Faith. 9. ‘The English Mercury Lover’: Freemasonry and the Power of Numbers. 10. The Spirits of Dead Magicians: Secret Chiefs, Hidden Masters and Adepts of the Rosy Cross. 11. Opening Pandora’s Box: The Great Beast and the Princess of the Sea. 12. The Wizards’ Return: The Renaissance of English Magic in the Twenty-First Century. Includes an overview of musical tastes according to magical persuasion: “Freemasons prefer classical music and opera, pagans folk rock, Wiccans Gothic music, with Chaos magicians and Thelemites preferring Heavy Metal and Punk.” Genesis P. Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV), with his own movement The Temple ov Psychic Youth and his involvement in Chaos Magic, epitomizes the gender-bending, utterly non-conformist models.]

Condition VG Except for slightly bumped bottom corners