Foundations in the Study of Magic, Part 5: Low Magic

Explore medical astrology as a facet of natural magic, tracing its medieval roots in astrology and the body's associations with zodiac signs to early modern shifts toward scientific explanations.

Trace how natural magic informed herbal medicine through the four elements, humours, and the doctrine of signatures, from ancient herbals to Culpeper’s reforms and early modern florals.

Explore British folklore from Anglo-Saxon paganism to later folk traditions, uncovering metrical charms like the nine herbs charm, household spirits such as brownies and Robin Goodfellow, and the black dog.

Explore the fairy in English and global folklore, from seelie and unseelie courts to changelings, and examine theories linking fairies to pagan afterlife, prehistoric peoples, and cross-cultural beings.

Explore Isabel Gowdy's 1662 witchcraft confessions in 17th-century Scotland, detailing coven rituals, demonology, and fairy lore, and assess their influence on witch trials.