Witchcraft, magic and unstable words
90 minSeparate accusation, ritual practice, learned magic, healing and later identity.
Foundations of Witchcraft and Folk Magic
Learn the unstable vocabulary and source methods needed to study magical practice without repeating accusation or stereotype.
The syllabus.
Six 90-minute guided modules account for approximately nine hours. Source work, the field notebook capstone, revision and final assessment add approximately three hours.
Charms, amulets and protection
90 minStudy small objects and spoken formulas used to manage illness, danger and uncertainty.
Healing, cursing and the moral boundary
90 minExamine how the same claimed power could be praised as help or feared as harm.
Learned ritual and books of power
90 minEnter the manuscript world of conjurations, astrology, prayers and attributed authorities.
The household as magical landscape
90 minRead thresholds, hearths, roofs and concealed deposits as places where risk was managed.
How to read a witchcraft archive
90 minLearn to handle examinations, pamphlets, laws and objects without recreating an accusation.
Timed project route
Three-hour capstone studio
Turn the six notebook checkpoints into a coherent beginner-level inquiry. The result should demonstrate how to build a reliable vocabulary and learn to separate source observation from interpretation, not merely repeat lesson summaries.
- 01Frame and plan20 min
Rewrite the capstone as one bounded research question. List the six notebook components you will reuse, identify the intended audience and state what the finished work will not claim.
- 02Audit the evidence40 min
Select at least four authoritative public resources and build a citation ledger. For every source, record the item or page, institution, date, access date, direct evidence, interpretive use and one limitation.
- 03Build the synthesis55 min
Draft the required exhibition, dossier, protocol, atlas or case study. Connect each claim to a source or notebook observation, preserve local terminology and keep observation separate from interpretation.
- 04Challenge the argument30 min
Write the strongest reasonable rival interpretation. Test it against the same evidence, retain one unresolved disagreement and revise any sentence that carries more certainty than its source.
- 05Edit and document25 min
Finish the 200-word evidence-limit statement, standardise citations, add useful headings and check that a reader can distinguish fact, historical claim, interpretation and reflection without assistance.
- 06Revise for assessment10 min
Review the six module explanations and your corrected knowledge checks. Note three reasoning rules you will apply in the final assessment and one area that requires another source check.
Completion checklist
- A bounded question and clearly identified audience
- Evidence from all six notebook checkpoints
- At least four complete public-source citations
- A rival interpretation and unresolved disagreement
- A 200-word evidence-limit statement
- A conclusion that respects this pathway boundary: a confession or indictment proves that words entered a legal process; it does not transparently report an event or private belief
Research foundations.
Lessons are independently written and source-led. These starting collections support the pathway; individual modules explain interpretation limits.
Charms in the Wellcome Collection
British Library collections relating to magic and witchcraft
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Foundations of Witchcraft and Folk Magic
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