Witchcraft Today by Gerald B. Gardner - 1960

Pedigree Books, London, 1960. First Paperback Edition. Softcover. Very Good Condition/No Dust Jacket. Introduction by Dr. Margaret Murray, Egyptologist. The true first paperback edition of this book by Gerald B. Gardner, member of one of the ancient covens of the Witch Cult still surviving in England with an unbroken oral tradition that goes back to pre-Christian days. For the first time secrets of the cult are revealed by a practising devotee, and they differ significantly from testimony obtained by torture. The cult worship a Horned God, representing death, and a Moon Goddess, hitherto unknown in books on witchcraft, representing fertility and rebirth. The male priest in the role of the Horned God presides at Hallowe'en and February Eve Sabbaths, while the priestess acting as the Moon Goddess conducts the May and August Eve Sabbaths. We also learn of the origin of the broomstick in witchcraft rites, of the reason for using ointment when the rites take place in the open air in the night in the nude, of the charge to the young witch when he or she first enters the circle, and many other details of great interest. For instance, one of the reasons why membership of the covens is restricted to thirteen is that this is the maximum number of people you can get into a nine-foot circle with the necessary freedom of movement, i.e. to produce a whirling dervish effect - if the circle is larger "you cannot get giddy so easily". Revelations like these make sense for the first time of much that is reported in the witchcraft trials. The author tells how two witch covens joined together to "raise the cone of power" against Hitler in an attempt to stop the invasion, as their great-grandparents did to stop Napoleon and (as their oral tradition has it) their covens had done to stop the Armada.  Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. 191 pages. Light wear to spine edges;. Blue titles spine. Includes bibliography & notes. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 250 grams. Category: Magic, Paranormal & Occult; Witchcraft; Wicca; History; England; Myths, Legends & Folklore. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 3524. . This book is very light, and may be shipped for less than the standard book cost quoted at this site..