Would this be a good idea for a book/website?

[Sybil Unrest]

I've been thinking for a while about this, partly prompted by a couple of threads in the past few months on Christian witchcraft and such.

What I'm wondering is whether it would be a good idea for a website or (maybe) a book to collect together the charms and spells from primarily English/British folklore and the witch craze trial material, and put it together in one place? So that would be things like the peel of an apple thrown over the shoulder revealing the name of your husband, to the charms written in the Carmina Gadelica and the "White Paternoster" of Agnes Sampson and the North Berwick witches.

Does that sound like a good idea? Can you think of any problems with it?

The only problem I can think of off-hand is to do with using the Carmina Gadelica, as I have no Gaelic (though I could learn).

What do you think?

EDIT: I forgot: if you know of someone who has already done this on a site/book then please let me know!  

[TeaDidikai]

Where would you draw the line between witchcraft and sensationalist fantasy leveled at supposed witches?  

[Sybil Unrest]

Ah, that would be a problem, especially if I rely on the witch trial reports. I was rather thinking of being deliberately credulous and taking everything, and adding a caveat lector to the whole thing.  

[TeaDidikai]

I know of a few Christian Witch traditions and I know of a few non-religious folk tradition sites that include what we'd count as spells and charms.

I guess I'm having a hard time understanding the actual scope of the piece. Is it intended to be a collection of CoE Meso-paganism? If so- what eras would one address?  

[Sybil Unrest]

Ah, sorry Tea, I didn't define well enough smile

I was thinking of using witch trial records and folklore from England/Britain only. So from the early modern period to...lets say 1947. and not as a specifically Christian thing, I had that in my head because I know a few of these charms - or many - will have Christian imagery, of course. I'm not intending it to be a specifically "follow this path", religious-type thing but more, out of interest, to show the different ways people wrote, spoke or used charms which could be of interest to more than just me, I hope.

Is that clearer? Or still muddy?  

[Sybil Unrest]

Oh and not necessarily CofE either, I have it in my head from way back when..that a lot of the charms/spells mentioned in the witch trial material were Catholic influenced/in origin. I was going to write a paper on that, once sad  

[TeaDidikai]

That is clearer. It's just a lot of information. I mean- a LOT of information because of the time frame being covered.
If I am understanding this correctly, it would include accounts of bewitchment from the different witch trials of the UK over the last five hundred years as well as any of the stuff that was brought into UK folk magic traditions with the rise of the Victorian era to say nothing of the influence the turn of the century Spiritualist tradition had on such practices.

I think I'm in deer in headlights mode. Five hundred years of actual and fictitious witchcraft... pretty much ending at Wica... eek  

[Sybil Unrest]

I have a tendency to go a bit mad when I choose stuff. No half measures for me! Which probably explains the number of half finished projects I have lying around.

I think I will start with the witch trial material. One of my local libraries has some primary (ish..I haven't looked at it yet) source material on that in its reference library.

This is a hobby thing really. I need something to occupy my mind, and I've grown too stupid for proper theology.  

[TeaDidikai]

If I was a publisher I would break it up into at least three groups, possibly more based either on the style (such as witch trial accusations, objective folk culture of the ages and the Christian influence thereof and Victorian Era mysticism/spirituality).

Or do it by century and divide it by "accounts" and actual cultural traditions.