Kelden - The Witches Sabbath: An Exploration of History, Folklore & Modern Practice

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

The Witches Sabbath: An Exploration of History, Folklore & Modern Practice 2022 by Kelden.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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First e-book edition 2022

E-book ISBN: 9780738767178

Cover design by Kevin R. Brown

Cover illustration by Tim Foley

Figure illustration by Wen Hsu, all other art by Llewellyn Art Department

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kelden, author.

Title: The Witches Sabbath : an exploration of history, folklore & modern

practice / Kelden.

Description: Woodbury, Minnesota : Llewellyn Publications, 2022. | Includes

bibliographical references. | Summary: History, lore, and traditions of

the Witches Sabbath, a gathering described in confessions of accused

Witches throughout their historical persecution and attended today by

modern practitioners in physical or astral form Provided by

publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021041680 (print) | LCCN 2021041681 (ebook) | ISBN

9780738767116 (paperback) | ISBN 9780738767178 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Walpurgis Night. | Witchcraft. | Wicca.

Classification: LCC BF1572.W35 K45 2022 (print) | LCC BF1572.W35 (ebook)

| DDC 133.4/3dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021041680

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021041681

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

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Llewellyn Publications

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2143 Wooddale Drive

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Manufactured in the United States of America

To my sister, Breanna.

Thank you for teaching me the magic of writing.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, much thanks and gratitude to the team at Llewellyn for believing in me and my writing. Thank you especially to my fabulous editors. Heather, thank you for taking on this project and for helping me to refine my mad mind rambles. Lauryn, as always, you have gone above and beyond helping me with grammar and citationsthank you so much for going down so many research rabbit holes with me!

Of course, none of this would ever be possible without the love and encouragement from my familyDad, Mom, Breanna, and Colton. A special thanks to my grandma Pearl for fostering a family legacy of book lovers. Hail the traveler! Thank you to my dear friends Veles, Thorn, Marina, Sara, Jane, and Philip for always lending a sympathetic ear and talking me through the plights of imposter syndrome. Thank you to the magical baristas at Coffee TalkDavid, Luke, and Stevenfor keeping me sufficiently caffeinated during the writing process. A huge thank you to the force of nature that is Jason Mankey, someone who I have always viewed as an incredible writer and a personal inspirationthank you so much for providing the foreword for this book and for being a fellow Witchcraft history nerd.

Finally, as always, thank you to the black spirits of the north, the red spirits of the east, the green spirits of the south, and the blue spirits of the west. Thank you to the spirits above and the spirits below, the spirits of the land, and the Fair Folk. Thank you to the Witch Father and Witch Mother, my ancestors, and my familiar spirit.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this book derives from historical and folkloric sources as well as from personal experience. It is no way meant to replace qualified medical care, including that provided by mental health professionals. The author and publisher are not liable for any injury or ill-effect caused by the application of information provided in this book. Do not ingest poisonous or unfamiliar plants, and take care when handling them. Please use your common sense when utilizing any of the practices discussed, and consult the advice of a trained medical practitioner when necessary.

Trigger Warning

The following book contains historical and folkloric references to several topics that may be upsetting to some readers, including mentions of infanticide, cannibalism, and incest. If you are someone who may be triggered by such topics, unfortunately this book will not be for you.

Contents

by Jason W. Mankey

: Stoking the Sabbath Fire

: A Resurrection of the Sabbath

: Sabbath Haunts, Times, and Travels

: Over the Hedge and Through the Air

: A Strange and Sinister Company

: The Sabbath Circle

: Wicked Rites and Debauched Revelries

: Dancing the Devils Ground

: Accused Witches

FOREWORD

My first-ever Witch ritual with other people or entities occurred on a Midsummer night in the backseat of my fathers car. I had gone with my dad and some of his friends to an out-of-town concert on the summer solstice. On the ride home I closed my eyes and found myself somewhere else . That somewhere else wasnt like the Sabbat (seasonal celebration) rituals Id read about in Wiccan Witchcraft booksit was a place full of Otherworldly Witches and spirits. That elsewhere I visited felt as if it were outside of known time and space and that the visitors there could have been from any time period or place. Without thinking about it, or really trying to get there, I had visited the legendary Witches Sabbath, a Witchcraft experience like no other. Years later as I began making friends in the greater Witchcraft community, I would bring up my experiences in this other world. Some of those Witches looked at me in bewilderment, while others nodded along and began finishing my sentences for me. I was surprised to find that other Witches had visited the same place I had and that our experiences were similar.

The Witches Sabbath is a topic that comes up a lot in Witchcraft books, but its rarely elaborated upon. Over the last fifty years, its become fashionable to write about Witchcraft in a way that makes it feel safe and wholesome to outsiders. Such descriptions dull the sharp edges of Witchcraft down to rounded corners and exclude anything that might make the neighbors uncomfortable. During the era of Satanic Panic (from the mid-1970s through the early 1990s), perhaps that was an advisable strategy in public spaces, but it makes for a much more boring and less vibrant Witchcraft.