Claude Lecouteux (1943–2025)

I requested this book as someone with Roma heritage coming from the Greek and Moroccan tribes. Culturally, since the Roma are a wide and diverse group, I think it would be categorically impossible to really get all the symbolism, all the mythology, etc. etc. into one book, but this tome does a good job.

Lots of this mythology however, is as relevant to modern Roma as ancient Greek mythology is to modern Greeks, so it shouldn't be read as "this is what they believe now," because they mostly show more don't. It is, however, a fascinating study of a people who are often marginalized, ignored, and until recently, often killed and relocated with impunity. Books like this help to see these people as more than just obscure traveling groups and more as humans with a rich culture.

My one complaint stands with the title of this book. While I do not personally believe that the word is as offensive as say, the N-word, it is still offensive and probably would be best suited to being changed to avoid controversy so that readers can focus on the book instead of the terminology. show less

"This book has no other ambition than to provide examples of what the ancient grimoires looked like, which should allow everyone to form their own opinions about their contents."

The book does what it says it does, and has a very nice detailed explanatory introductory chapter and introductions to each chapter that discusses magicians, sorcerers, origin of grimoires, names, signs and signatures etc. This book provides a historical account of the subject and is rather scholarly - not for light show more entertainment but for research purposes. show less

An exhaustive (and that's an understatement) study of the Wild Hunt in the folklore of Europe, in all of it's forms and guises. It uncovers the pagan roots of a lot of the Christian legendarium, but does not draw hard and fast conclusions on the meaning or origin of the whole. Lot's of fascinating stuff in here, but it's a slog to get through. Read it, but be warned.

Well written, well researched, very informative book about the origin and significance of pagan beliefs in the Double, and follows its transforming features (witches, werewolves and fairies) through the ages. The author analyses Germanic-Scandinavian and other European legends, to uncovered an almost forgotten religious concept: that every individual owns three souls and that one of these souls, the Double, can leave the physical body while in sleep or a trance, journey where it chooses, show more then reenter its physical body.

I wish the book was fatter. ;) show less