The Witch-Cult in Western Europe

Margaret Murray’s 1921 study presents the theory that the people accused of witchcraft in Britain were members of an organised, pre-Christian religion. Rather than surveying every European tradition, it concentrates on British records and attempts to reconstruct the beliefs and practices of this supposed witch-cult.

The book considers the witch-god in human, divine and animal forms, alongside admission ceremonies, vows, covenants, marks and ritual gatherings. Separate chapters examine sabbaths and esbats, with accounts of homage, dancing, music, feasting, candles, sacraments and sacrifices. Murray draws on witch-trial material and other historical sources, although her interpretation of the evidence has since been rejected by historians.