#toad magic

Available for Hallowe'en from our recently discovered old stock, slightly bumped at the top of the spine, this long out of print edition is available in 16 copies for one day only!

“Die Kröte, or, The Toad:

An analysis from the perspective of the occult and the history of culture.”

by Ernst Hentges

Hentges’ “Die Kröte” is a fascinating look at the historic folk beliefs surrounding the toad in central Europe. A bounty of primary literary and mythological sources not often quoted in English writers originally published as a serialized article over five issues of the German occult publication “Zentralblat für Okultismus” from 1917 to 1918. Here translated to English for the first time.

“The role of the toad in the course of the history of magic is complex, interwoven into the fabric of world cultures. From the shores of the Mediterranean to the cold forests of the north the toad is found again and again in European documents of witches, alchemists, wizards, and their practices. This is a tale of a misbegotten creature, whose presumed unattractiveness casts it as an outsider, companion of the devil and his ilk. The toad dances with the witch at the Sabbat, wearing finery, and provides its milk for the witch’s ointments to obtain forbidden secrets.”

Limited to just 100 copies Die Kröte is a 50 page chapbook style publication that is the premiere edition of Alkahest Press!

50 pages, black & white, illustrated. Paperbound in a green embossed cardstock. Just £13 plus shipping!

"For a witch the toad was the irreplaceable confederate in the fight against the god-fearing humanity, a never failing factotum, which was able to bring to life the evil intentions as well as protect his mistress from unfamiliar evil actions. De Lancre talks about various manipulations which should protect from evil magic and names amongst other 'remedia praservativa': “Mole’s bones, bat’s wings, toad’s stones, menstrual blood etc.” “In regards to the stone that is found in the toad’s head” reports Collin de Plancy, “Most authors are of the opinion, that such a rare object exists, but a few disbelieve the existence of this stone. To Thomas Brown (Essai sur les erreurs populaires, volume I, book III, 13, p.312) the stone’s existence doesn’t appear to be impossible because, he says, various rocklike substance are found every day in the heads of various fish. Some think that these stones are the mineral concrements that toads secrete to harm people. To get this stone one has to allow it to be devoured. One source promised the toad as having wound healing properties and being able to indicate poison through sweating. Interestingly “the toad’s ring” was not mentioned, which is still today preserved and displayed in the castle in Dessau and about which there is a legend that it was gifted to the Dutchess of Anhalt by the creatures of the ‘underground’." - from Ernst Hentges, “Die Kröte” translated from the German by E.H. Wormwood

It would seem that my endeavors involving publishing are somehow haunted with delays. Usually it is in the delivery end, where the printer has an issue of some sort or the courier has lost its way. But in this instance I must apologize for the delay of the rollout of preorders for the upcoming release of Ernst Hentges' "Die Kröte".

In launching Alkahest Press our goal is to offer the public the most affordable access to the materials we publish. Our intention of launching the preorders on the Solstice was held back by the printer being off sick, and thus unable to send us a quote for the cost of printing that will allow us to calculate the lowest price we can. Now that the holidays are finishing up I am hoping to have the preorder site up and running as soon as she has returned to her post and sent said quote. With luck before the New Year.

As well, work has begun in earnest on another, even more spectacular German text related to the toad. While I am not yet at liberty to speak its name, it is an incredibly rare text, packed with information on the history of the toad in medicine and the occult. I stumbled upon it via an obscure German bookseller while doing research on the Hentges and am excited to say it something rather special. Likely to be out in the coming summer.

Alkahest Press is not intended to become a full time publishing concern. I am more interested in producing a short selection of otherwise unavailable texts to bring them to the public eye in limited print runs. We intend a series of translations, a few compilations of historic and contemporary texts, and possibly an original full length work. We may dabble in a bit of fiction, photo essay, poetry or otherwise strange and ridiculous volumes along the way.

Please bear with this old curmudgeon as I attempt to sort out the variables of websites, printers, binders, and shipping. There may be a few bumps in the road along the path, but I promise that if you come along for the ride things will never cease to be interesting.

As the season of the northern wind marches onward the time for making the Norns flying ointment draws near. My harvest of henbane was more than sufficient this year, and while I didn't do as well with my nightshades, too much rain and not enough sun I suspect, they have provided both fresh root and previous year's dried leaf for the measure. The mandrake, that tempestuous shrew that lives in my front window, deemed it only necessary to wake from her hidden root slumber, sprout a crown of leaves, and then drop them as fast as she could. This year I managed to just take everything before they started to turn. I fear the lazy Mediterranean witch doesn't fare well in these mostly grey damp seasons of Britannia.

Soon I will gather all of these things, and a touch of this or that besides, and make the solstice flying ointment for the new year. The batch from last year was still quiet strong going into last Walpurgisnacht sabbat, the quality of beeswax I think really gives it longevity.

As well, I am very pleased to announce a new endeavor that I have previously hinted at, the launch of a new publishing imprint with which I am to be associated. Alkahest Press will publish as its first release an edition of Ernst Hentges' "Die Kröte, or, the Toad: An analysis from the perspective of the occult and the history of culture". Translated from the original German by yours truly, with a considerably amount of assistance from various unnamed entities; goblins, wights, bukka, and suchlike. To whom I am greatly indebted. Preorders of Die Kröte open on the solstice, 21 December, and with the first run limited to just 100 copies, it is sure to go quickly.

This year has been a rather tumultuous one, with many moments of great satisfaction, singular moments of pure joy. As well it has been one of resigned heartbreak and loss. Many of those I have come to know through my work in Portugal were affected by the wildfires that recently swept through the mountains, scarring those endless vistas with a blackness that will leave a mark for years. In general the world seems hell bent toward a new dark age, and I fear that many will not be able to stand the calamity that is soon to come.

Yet the new year marches on, and soon after New Year's eve I will announce the date of release of the third issue of the Skeptical Occultist Journal. For now I have a pot of oil on a very low heat, soon to steep the various herbs of the Norns charm. A vegetable fat conjuration for the entheogenic spirit of the true hex herbs.

I am pleased to announce that preorders for the Alkahest Press release of my translation of Ernst Hentges' "Die Kröte" or "The Toad: The perspective of the occult and the history of culture" are now open!

This text, drawn from an obscure late 19th/early 20th century German occult publication, represents a fascinating look into the German cultural traditions, as well as those of neighboring European countries, surrounding the toad and its role in magic and the occult.

Limited to just 100 copies in its first printing "Die Kröte" is a 50 page chapbook style publication that is the premiere edition of Alkahest Press, a new publishing endeavor with which I am involved.

It is our hope that Alkahest Press will become a conduit through which we will publish various obscure and difficult to find texts. As well we will strive to keep the prices of our publications as low as possible in order to provide affordable access for all.

Die Kröte - 50 pages, black & white, illustrated. Paperbound in a green ragstock. £13