"Serpent Songs"

edited by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold

This Walpurgis night I decided to revisit a volume released by Scarlet Imprint a few years ago that is an exceptional look at the state of contemporary witchcraft practices.

Edited and curated by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold, Serpent Songs collects together a group of 16 authors who are each at the heart of a particular path of craft praxis. The essays cover a range of concepts and approaches to writing, from the prosaic to the practical.

The central theme of the work is that forking tree we call 'traditional witchcraft', a contemporary rethinking of the various threads of pre 20th century folk craft practices, the range of approaches and inspirations in the various roots of this praxis are complex, rooted in specific geographic and cultural paradigms, and yet share a commonality that centers on nature and the witch's relationship within the landscape.

What tempted this volume back into my hands is the beautiful green cloth binding. Scarlet Imprint are known for there exceptional binding and design, sparing no effort in bringing out works that are meticulously wrought both in content and in object.

The Sylvan edition comes with wave patterned gold and black endpapers and a two tone gold and black design to the text throughout. With headbands and a extra nice quality of paper the book feels substantial and lures one toward it even after several reads. Tempting you across the library to pull it down and revisit its pages.

The list of contributors is a who's who of contemporary occult literature including - Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold; Gemma Gary; Shani Oates; Arkaitz Urbeltz; Stuart Inman & Jane Sparkes; Tony MacLeod; Xabier Bakaikoa Urbeltz; Steve Patterson; Richard Parkinson; Francis Ashwood; Johannes Gårdbäck; Radomir Ristic; Anne Morris; Jesse Hathaway Diaz; and Sarah Anne Lawless.

Of the essays included I am particularly struck by the works of Stuart Inman, Gemma Gary, and Radomir Ristic. Stuart Inman's piece about the 1734 tradition is something that I find particularly intriguing. Gemma Gary looks deeply into the traditions of Cornish Witch practices. Ristic's piece is a great introduction to his work "Witchcraft and the Sorcery of the Balkans" on Three Hands press, which is an exceptional text I intend to review at some point in the future.

On the whole Frisvold has done an exceptional job at cultivating a selection of authors who represent those ideas most relevant to the contemporary praxis of traditional witchcraft. Given the explosion of the field since Serpent Songs publication a second volume expanding on the authors and ideas would be something I would very much welcome to my bookshelves.

"Serpent Songs" is an incredible anthology of work that is a must read for those who seek the path of the traditional craft.

  Get your copy from Scarlet Imprint here:

"Serpent Songs"