by Michael Howard (Author)
The mid-twentieth century saw a resurgence of popular occultism in Europe and North America, including an interest in witchcraft. Chief among these was Wicca, a recension of ceremonial magic and nature worship advanced by Gerald Gardner and Alex Sanders, now widely regarded as a religion. However, lesser-known traditions of the witch-current thrived the shadows, having older historical roots, and linked to a body of practices - witch-bottles, knotted cord spells, curses, exorcisms, sexual magic, and charms ranging from the conjuration of angels to protection for livestock and hearth. These formed a body of practices loosely called Traditional Witchcraft, whose origin in part lies with the sorcery of the cunning-folk of Britain, Europe and Colonial America. Eschewing the popular occult limelight, its perpetuation as a mystery-cult continues as a largely closed group of initiates. Now revised and expanded, the second edition of CHILDREN OF CAIN is the definitive history of Traditional Witchcraft and its key operatives in Britain and the United States, and is based on over forty years of research and private collaboration with practitioners of this mysterious form of folk magic.