lot's of feelings about this one. it is an older book, so some info and opinions are DEF outdated!
overall, still really enjoyed this one, would have been 3 stars, but bumped up to 4 because the illustrations ARE BEAUUUUTIFUL!
i love witches, bye.

Prachtige tekeningen.

This is a book not about witchcraft or witches merely, but about the archetype of the too powerful female figure and how that figure is villianized by patriarchal societies. It is also a commentary on the historical tendency of the Catholic church to ensure that the symbols and gods worshipped by the pagan faiths existent in the middle ages and ancient time were reduced to the anti-gods of the new Christian faith. The poetry is not particularly good, the art is much better. As a whole it is a very thought provoking book about the nature of the female identity in society, art, literature and religion. It deeply urged me to question the entire concept of the archetype of a "witch", why she is considered dangerous, evil and worthy of destruction, and how this archetype has manifested itself again and again in societies throughout history.

This book was given to me by someone special and I'm glad they found it. Its a great overview of witches throughout history and the many beliefs that were associated with witches. Though there's a good amount of humor, it's a lot heavier than I thought it would be. There's a lot to consider about why people believe in witches, why people gravitate towards them, and the lessons we can learn from it. It could easily be the first witch book you read, or the last one. The artwork is also amazing.

This book was a gift from a friend many years ago. Considering the fact that this topic tends to either be overly dry and academic or overly "twee", I found it to be well balanced. I enjoyed the artwork, which enhanced the content as well as the poetry. "For All Those Who Died" has become a favorite of mine, often recited on Samhain.

I liked this a lot, it's a combo of art book and historical information about witches. Quite an interesting journey.

I want really expecting this book to be so good, I finished it in a day. It's filled with beautiful artwork and writings based on folklore and historic witchcraft. Includes lesser talked about (amongst modern pagans and wiccans) herbs, such as the Solanaceae family, that I was especially happy to see here. Not a manual by far, but an excellent collection of poetry and information that any witch should check out and perhaps even keep as a beautiful coffee table book after reading it.

Funny enough I also think the book looks nicer without the white dust jacket on it as pictured. It's bound in marbled blue with gold writing and a gold symbol. Sitting the dust jacket aside to keep it from getting torn only enhances this one.

My copy was used as I wanted hardcover, but it came in excellent condition!

Despite being from the 1980s, this book contains riveting poetry and images exploring the archetype of the witch. I expected some interesting poetry, but I am thrilled that I picked this up on a whim.

This book focuses on the witch as a archetype of female sexuality and expression in a spiritual sense. Kind of what you would expect from Erica Jong. This book takes many aspects of the craft and looks at why they may have been developed and how they fit into feminine spirituality. It shows the witch as the female rebel against male patriarchal religious practices. Beautifully illustrated book.

I read this because that guy who is the showrunner on Motherland: Fort Salem read this and Motherland: Fort Salem has ruined my life. I am pleased to report that this book, however, did not ruin my life. Parts of it were interesting, parts of it made me go "uhhhh", I love witches, the end.

A beautifully illustrated book about Witches past and present.

I have been trying to read this for two years and honestly I’m a bit disappointed. I guess I expected poetry and free writing about the idea of witches, taking many forms and covering many ideas. But this is more of a rewriting of the idea of the witch as a feminist figure, which is not a big bold claim in 2024. Maybe in 1981, when this was released, it was bold and dramatic, but it feels pretty lacklustre now. The art by Jos. A. Smith is lovely and I liked the imagery he provides for this. But I find Jong’s ideas just a bit tired. They might be tired because she came up with them, I don’t know, all I know is that I wasn’t as wowed as I wanted to be. The poetry is lovely and I think it was my favourite part of the text itself and while the concepts behind them are tired (to me) the way they are used is wonderful. However, a couple of them read like a student’s project after learning new terminology- you learned the term love poppet, now write a poem about it! Overall, this is a decent text if you’re looking for information on witches and witch culture, but I wanted something deeper and it’s just not there