Customer Reviews

Devils, Demons, and Witchcraft: 244 Illustrations for Artists

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This review has nothing to do with how the book treats Wicca or witchcraft. The only question I want to answer here is how good a collection of illustrations on this historical/mythological subject it is, and the answer is: not very good at all. The quality of the illustrations is terrible for the most part. While there are some decent reproductions, most look like someone put a sheet of onion-skin paper up to a wall in some medieval church and hastily traced the picture underneath, all the while looking over his shoulder to make sure the caretaker wasn't approaching. And if you are looking for some good explanatory text, don't hold your breath. Aside from captions below each illustration identifying artist and source, there are no more than two or three introductory sentences PER CHAPTER. Better quality reproductions and some good research and interpretive text could have made this a scholarly tome. As it stands, it seems more like an attempt to make money off a collection of old tracings that were lying around in someone's grandmother's attic.

Its great to see history about witchcraft and deamons and so on. Some of the pictures are somewhat disturbing and yet understandable where and how the ignorance of the 16th century began. Please remember, that this book barely has words; its just pictures and nothing else, so, buy it if your a history buff in witchcraft and the occult.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting but when I got the book and viewed the pictures I only found a little more than a dozen that were useful or interesting for my purpose. However, if you are an art student or just interested in the occult or demonology then this book will provide some unique and intriguing pictures.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting but when I got the book and viewed the pictures I only found a little more than a dozen that were useful or interesting for my purpose. However, if you are an art student or just interested in the occult or demonology then this book will provide some unique and intriguing pictures.

Not only does this book not say anything particully bad about Wicca or witchcraft, the first sentence of the chapter of Witches and Warlocks explicitly states:

"The true practicing witches of the late Middle Ages,Renaissance and later periods were most likely stubborn adherents of pre-Christian pagan religious beliefs in which the deity or deities partook of animal forms."

The reviewer who stated that it's books like these that promote religious intolerance against neopaganism obviously just took one look at the title without ever even opening the book. The pictures provide us with a great insight into the mentality of the Christian church throughout history. The favorite works are the ones depicting the four horsemen of the appocolypse. Anyone who is interested paganism, demonology, Christian history or religion in general should pick this book up. It delongs on the shelf of every neopagan for the same reason as Malleus Malificarum and Compendium Malificarum.

I will go along with the two people below me and say that to say this book is an asset to anti-paganism is a generic complaint, and is a real destraction from what this book is about, artwork. Amoung my huge collection of books concerning European paganism and shamanism, I have several that deal with demonology. And this is one of the best that I have. The fact that this is primarily a picture book is actually a testament to Wicca, because it shows us how demonology and Satanism are mostly products of what happens when the imagination runs loose.

A wonderfull book of woodcuts on a facinating subject, with short and to-the-point commentary. Unlike one of the reveiwers, I have found nothing in the book that spreads falsehoods or encorages hatred of the Wiccan religion.

It's books like this that are the root of all problems we pagans must put up with. Yes, there are those out there who worship Satan and call Demons from hell, but many witches/pagans aren't these types. True witches and pagans follow the Wiccan rede, which is "An it harm none, Do what thou wilt." As long as it doesn't harm someone (emotionally, physically, spiritually, finacially, or mentally) you an do wahtever you want to do. This book however casts a bad light on those of us who would never hurt someone. I strongly urge against purchasing this book.