Witchcraft and Sorcery of the Balkans

Ristic, Radomir

ISBN 10: 1945147059 / ISBN 13: 9781945147050

Published by Three Hands Press, 2015

About this Item

178 pp., illustrations, glossary, index.
"With its geographic diversity of rocky edifices, deep river valleys and dense forests, Europe's Balkan mountain region has been characterized as a natural fortress. This natural multiformity is mirrored by an ancient admixture of magical beliefs and practices present in the region for thousands of years. Among the many specialist types of Balkan magic is 'Vesticarstvo', a sorcery drawing its power from Balkan folk belief, relict shamanism, and medieval heresy. This traditional magic, which has also been referred to as The Balkan Craft, is present today in many forms, and uses of thousands of charms, rites, and spells in the rural communities where it survives. A quintessential embodiment of this power is the zmajevit covek or ?dragon-man?. Part human, part serpent, he possessed supernatural heredity and the power to curse, cure, and traffic with supernatural beings. Often incorporating the ancient powers of the pre-Roman Gods, the Queen of the Fairies, elemental spirits, and the ancestral retinue, the vital corpus of Vesticarstvo lore is a little-explored area of occult study. Drawing from both historical sources and present survivals, the present volume examines its history, beliefs, and rituals, including a complete English translation of DE INTORKATURA, an age-old rite of magical combat".

Seller Inventory # 1945147059AMA081426

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Witchcraft and Sorcery of the Balkans
• Publisher: Three Hands Press
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1945147059
• ISBN 13: 9781945147050
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dimensions: 5.25W x 7.5H x 0.75D inches 5.25 inches width by 7.5 inches height by 0.75 inches depth
• Weight: 8.642 ounces
• Seller catalogs:
  • Yugoslavia and ex-Yugoslavia

About this title

Synopsis

With its geographic diversity of rocky edifices, deep river valleys and dense forests, Europe's Balkan mountain region has been characterized as a natural fortress. This natural multiformity is mirrored by an ancient admixture of magical beliefs and practices present in the region for thousands of years. Among the many specialist types of Balkan magic is 'Vesticarstvo', a sorcery drawing its power from Balkan folk belief, relict shamanism, and medieval heresy. This traditional magic, which has also been referred to as The Balkan Craft, is present today in many forms, and uses of thousands of charms, rites, and spells in the rural communities where it survives. A quintessential embodiment of this power is the zmajevit covek or ‘dragon-man’. Part human, part serpent, he possessed supernatural heredity and the power to curse, cure, and traffic with supernatural beings. Often incorporating the ancient powers of the pre-Roman Gods, the Queen of the Fairies, elemental spirits, and the ancestral retinue, the vital corpus of Vesticarstvo lore is a little-explored area of occult study. Drawing from both historical sources and present survivals, the present volume examines its history, beliefs, and rituals, including a complete English translation of DE INTORKATURA, an age-old rite of magical combat, as well as several other Balkan witchcraft rituals never before translated into English. -- Publisher

About the Author

Radomir Ristic is a Serbian author specializing in the magic and ethnology of southeast European traditions. He is the author of Balkan Traditional Witchcraft, and his articles have appeared in The Cauldron journal and the Serbian esoteric periodicals Zona and Mistika. Most recently his work has appeared in Hands of Apostasy, an anthology on witchcraft from Three Hands Press, (2014).