Just came across this book review in the New York Times from last year (yep, I’m behind in my reading), CUNNING FOLK: Life in the Era of Practical Magic, by Tabitha Stanmore about how mainstream thaumaturgy for hire was in Europe a couple centuries back. One of the fascinating points made is the differential between Cunning Folk who did white magick and “Witches” who’d do malevolent work. As the author points out – the line between the two is sorta fuzzy as as the type of work done was down to the customer first and foremost and the judgement of the work being good or evil was down to its efficacy and effect (if a love spell worked, the person who wanted their lover to fall hard for them considered it a boon, the one enchanted might feel controlled). An excerpt from the review says:
“In her spirited and richly detailed ‘Cunning Folk,’ Tabitha Stanmore, a specialist in medieval and early modern magic, writes that between the 14th and 17th centuries, ‘a whole host of magical practitioners’ pervaded villages, cities and royal courts — diviners, astrologers, charm makers, healers. Their customers were commoners and courtiers, peasants and merchants, housewives and queens.”
Read the whole review: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/books/review/cunning-folk-tabitha-stanmore.html
