Magical House Protection: The Archaeology of Counter-Witchcraft

People have used various methods to protect themselves from harmful magic, such as witch-bottles, dried cats, horse skulls, written charms, protection marks, and concealed shoes, since the fourteenth century. These practices and symbols are found worldwide, indicating the universal nature of efforts to protect against witchcraft. The most popular locations to conceal objects are at portals, suggesting that people believed dark forces could travel through the landscape and attack them. Ghosts, fairies, and demons were also considered sources of danger.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 01 January 2021
Publisher: Berghahn Books

Belief in magic and particularly the power of witchcraft was once a deep and enduring presence in popular culture. Throughout history, people have created and concealed many objects to protect themselves from harmful magic. This article explores the principal forms of magical house protection in Britain and beyond from the fourteenth century to the present day.

Witch-bottles, dried cats, horse skulls, written charms, protection marks, and concealed shoes were all widely used as methods of repelling, diverting, or trapping negative energies. These practices and symbols can be found around the globe, demonstrating the universal nature of efforts by people to protect themselves from witchcraft.

The most popular locations to conceal objects within buildings are usually at portals such as the hearth, the threshold, and also voids or dead spaces. This suggests that people believed it was possible for dark forces to travel through the landscape and attack them in their homes. Whether these forces were emanations from a witch in the form of a spell, a witch's familiar pestering their property, an actual witch flying in spirit, or a combination of all of those is difficult to tell.

Additional sources of danger could be ghosts, fairies, and demons. People went to great lengths to ensure their homes and property were protected, highlighting the fact that these beliefs and fears were visceral and, as far as they were concerned, literally terrifying.

In conclusion, belief in magic and particularly the power of witchcraft was once a deep and enduring presence in popular culture. People created and concealed many objects to protect themselves from harmful magic, and these practices and symbols can be found around the globe. The most popular locations to conceal objects within buildings are usually at portals such as the hearth, the threshold, and voids or dead spaces, suggesting that people believed it was possible for dark forces to travel through the landscape and attack them in their homes. Whether these forces were emanations from a witch, a witch's familiar, an actual witch flying in spirit, or a combination of all of those is difficult to tell. Additionally, additional sources of danger could be ghosts, fairies, and demons, and people went to great lengths to ensure their homes and property were protected, highlighting the fact that these beliefs and fears were visceral and, as far as they were concerned, literally terrifying.

Weight: 518g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800730212