The Black Toad cover art

The Black Toad

West Country Witchcraft and Magic

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The Black Toad

By: Gemma Gary
Narrated by: Tracey Norman
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About this listen

The Black Toad explores potent examples of the folk-ceremonial magical practices and witchcraft of the south-west of England; dealing especially with Devon and the author's homeland of Cornwall. Within the West Country, the popular belief in witchcraft and its attendant charms, magical practices and traditions continued to be observed and survived long after such ways had faded in most other parts of the British Isles. Described within The Black Toad is a collection of some of the fascinating magical practices and lore of the West Country's cunning folk and early modern witches; ways that have survived and evolved within the rarefied Craft of the area's modern day witchcraft practitioners of the old persuasion. As this book affirms, these ways of the Old Craft and Cunning Arte include a belief in and working relationship with the spirit forces of the land, the Faerie, animal and plant lore, as well as the magical use of Psalms to cure or curse, the invocation of Christ and the power of the Holy Trinity. For all those who are interested in learning about the Old Path as it is taught and practised today by West Country witches this book of practical magic and sorcery will be a revelation. As the late Cecil Williamson, founder of the witchcraft museum in Boscastle, North Cornwall and a modern cunning man himself, said and Gemma Gary's excellent book proves - It still goes on today.

©2016 Gemma Gary (P)2017 Circle of Spears Productions
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Most relevant
This book starts off well but then the author tries to be clever with language and thus becomes a bit... Well, fake. It's a real shame as it's content and potential for a really good read is lost. Some of the terminology is like someone has gone through the thesaurus and changed the simp!e words for something more complicated and as a result the writing comes across as insincere. Shame as I was enjoying it.

Hmmm starts off well

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