A Witch's Natural History

A Witch's Natural History, originally published as a series of essays in The Cauldron, is a meditation on the relationship between folklore and nature ... Giles Watson explores the lore, legends and life-histories of a selection of animals which are commonly employed as motifs in the history of witchcraft: culturally maligned creatures such as reptiles, amphibians, crows and rats. He also casts light on the magical significance of more commonly neglected birds, spiders, insects and snails, before turning his attention to plants, and whole ecosystems which have cultural associations with witchcraft.