The Cultus Sabbati's Three Hands Press has announced the imminent publication of a new title: Witchcraft and Sorcery of the Balkans by Radomir Ristic this month. Their announcement explains: "With its geographic diversity of rocky edifices, deep river valleys and dense forests, Europe's Balkan mountain region has been characterized as a natural fortress. This natural multiformity is mirrored by an ancient admixture of magical beliefs and practices present in the region for thousands of years. Among the many specialist types of Balkan magic is Vesticarstvo, a sorcery drawing its power from Balkan folk belief, relict shamanism, and medieval heresy. This traditional magic, which has also been referred to as The Balkan Craft, is present today in many forms, and uses of thousands of charms, rites, and spells in the rural communities where it survives. A quintessential embodiment of this power is the zmajevit covek or ‘dragon-man’. Part human, part serpent, he possessed supernatural heredity and the power to curse, cure, and traffic with supernatural beings. Often incorporating the ancient powers of the pre-Roman Gods, the Queen of the Fairies, elemental spirits, and the ancestral retinue, the vital corpus of Vesticarstvo lore is a little-explored area of occult study. Drawing from both historical sources and present survivals, the present volume examines its history, beliefs, and rituals, including a complete English translation of De Intorkatura, an age-old rite of magical combat, as well as several other Balkan witchcraft rituals never before translated into English."
RADOMIR RISTIC is a Serbian author specializing in the magic and ethnology of southeast European traditions. He is the author of Balkan Traditional Witchcraft, and his articles have appeared in The Cauldron journal and the Serbian esoteric periodicals Zona and Mistika. Most recently his work has appeared in Hands of Apostasy
152 pages, with color and black and white illustrations, available for pre-order in three editions: trade paperbound $18.50 hardcover edition with dust jacket, limited to 300 copies $44.50 special edition in full red boarskin with slipcase, limited to 41 copies (limit one per customer while supplies last) $385.00 Please send payment via Paypal to books@threehandspress.com.
