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The Black Toad: West Country Witchcraft and Magic
Discover the magical practices of Devon and the author's homeland of Cornwall. Within the West Country, the charms, magical practices, and traditions of witchcraft survived long after they had faded in other parts of the British Isles. This book explores the region's fascinating practices of working with spirit forces of the land, the faerie, and animal and plant energies.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 20, 2013
Cornwall, Devon and West Country are the more isolated parts of Great Britain. Christianity arrived to these parts much later then it did in the rest of the county. This isolation has caused many customs and traditions to be well preserved in practive and form. When you see the craft performed here you are looking at very unadulterated ways of old.
West Country witchcraft has been altered by outside influences. Practitioners of the craft were quite eager to adopt practices from Ceremonial Magick. The cunning folk read the grimoires, used Ceremonial tools like Athames and adopted the planetary hours. They cast circles and do their spell craft.
The Old ways of Cornwall bear very little resemblance to Wicca. Through out the book I found no mention of "The Lord and Lady". However, there were invocation and incantations to Jesus, Mother Mary and the Holy Ghost. Some of the spells involve saying psalms and biblical verses. Practices of the old way have a lot in common with Hoodoo. The use of biblical verses is used in both practices. Spell crafts that involve the use of wood, animals parts and stones are also used. Bags sewn with material, which in Hoodoo is called gris gris bags are used as well.
There is mention to the Horned god who is sometime called "Old Nick", "Deevil" and Bucca Dhu.He can be called on to curse and to bless. To get in initiated into some branches of the craft one must run 9 times around a "logging stone" and then a toad will appear and breathe on the initiate and they will have great powers. Another initiation is to run around a church 9 times saying the Lords Prayer backwards. After which the Devil will appear in the form of a toad.
Witches deems toads a blessing and will try to keep many of them in their garden, if they can. Toads are well fed and looked after. Non witches are paranoid of toads and they seem to feel that a witch can take the form of a toad. Which is why if a toad appears on your doorstep you may be cursed. This caused many people to kill toads. Some stories say that after the toad dies so does the witch.
Spell crafts are used for health, healing, love,protection, counter cursing and cursing people. There is no "harm ye none" if you can heal then you can curse. Beside herbs, woods and animal parts the craft makes use of magic squares, sigils and inscribed prayers. If you want an authentic look into the craft of old then this is a great book to get.
West Country witchcraft has been altered by outside influences. Practitioners of the craft were quite eager to adopt practices from Ceremonial Magick. The cunning folk read the grimoires, used Ceremonial tools like Athames and adopted the planetary hours. They cast circles and do their spell craft.
The Old ways of Cornwall bear very little resemblance to Wicca. Through out the book I found no mention of "The Lord and Lady". However, there were invocation and incantations to Jesus, Mother Mary and the Holy Ghost. Some of the spells involve saying psalms and biblical verses. Practices of the old way have a lot in common with Hoodoo. The use of biblical verses is used in both practices. Spell crafts that involve the use of wood, animals parts and stones are also used. Bags sewn with material, which in Hoodoo is called gris gris bags are used as well.
There is mention to the Horned god who is sometime called "Old Nick", "Deevil" and Bucca Dhu.He can be called on to curse and to bless. To get in initiated into some branches of the craft one must run 9 times around a "logging stone" and then a toad will appear and breathe on the initiate and they will have great powers. Another initiation is to run around a church 9 times saying the Lords Prayer backwards. After which the Devil will appear in the form of a toad.
Witches deems toads a blessing and will try to keep many of them in their garden, if they can. Toads are well fed and looked after. Non witches are paranoid of toads and they seem to feel that a witch can take the form of a toad. Which is why if a toad appears on your doorstep you may be cursed. This caused many people to kill toads. Some stories say that after the toad dies so does the witch.
Spell crafts are used for health, healing, love,protection, counter cursing and cursing people. There is no "harm ye none" if you can heal then you can curse. Beside herbs, woods and animal parts the craft makes use of magic squares, sigils and inscribed prayers. If you want an authentic look into the craft of old then this is a great book to get.
April 24, 2016
It seems incredible that books claiming to be ye olde witchcraft fool so many people.This one is yet another attempt to create a Cornish witchcraft that has in fact never existed in the county.More so,the whole Traditional brand of witchcraft was invented in the 1960s.while the supposed Cornish variant was unheard of before 1995.The majority of books on the subject have attempted to copy the style of Andrew Chumbley whose Azoetia and,more fittingly here,The Grimoire of the Golden Toad,started the whole genre.It is of note how,since Chumbleys death,we find the sudden appearance of books and websites laying claim to some form of witchcraft guising under the vague 'Tradition'.This term is used in attempt to fool the non-Initiated into believing the writings are not part of modern Wicca.It is here well to remember that the founder of Traditional Witchcraft-Robert Cochrane was a member of a coven ran by the inventor of Wicca itself.
Gary has stated that her works contain the type of witchcraft recorded by the antiquarians Hunt,Bottrell and William Paynter.The problem here is that those recordings were at best folkloric or worse,complete fabrications.There is no evidence of any Cornish witchcraft in history though the charms,folk remedies and superstitions of the county are found in tourist books throughout the area.This must suggest anything other than that must be modern invention with words from the Cornish language being used to give an old feel to the claims.For example,the Bucca-claimed to be synonymous with a pagan Horned God was in fact commonly used by parents to frighten children into good behaviour equivalent to the Bogey man of other regions.
As a compendium of folklore remedies,maledictions and charms Gary's books are fine.For those who wish to actually practice witchcraft they are worthless but harmless.
Gary has stated that her works contain the type of witchcraft recorded by the antiquarians Hunt,Bottrell and William Paynter.The problem here is that those recordings were at best folkloric or worse,complete fabrications.There is no evidence of any Cornish witchcraft in history though the charms,folk remedies and superstitions of the county are found in tourist books throughout the area.This must suggest anything other than that must be modern invention with words from the Cornish language being used to give an old feel to the claims.For example,the Bucca-claimed to be synonymous with a pagan Horned God was in fact commonly used by parents to frighten children into good behaviour equivalent to the Bogey man of other regions.
As a compendium of folklore remedies,maledictions and charms Gary's books are fine.For those who wish to actually practice witchcraft they are worthless but harmless.
May 1, 2024
This book is... Strange. I don't really understand why it has such good reviews.
A lot of assertions with not many sources. And the writing style is... Unique. If you prefer a conversational tone, this is not for you. Really difficult to read in some instances where sentence structure is grammatically unsound, convoluted and just plain weird. It almost sounds like someone trying to write in an academic style but was never taught how.
The premise of the book seems confused too. Is it an academic history book or is it a source for practise? If it's the latter you're looking for, I would skip this book. Though it has some good examples one could incorporate, these are few, hard to find in the mish-mash of paragraph structure used, and don't really dig into the how or why in any satisfactory manner.
If I wasn't already interested in this topic and the history (but again, what are the sources? The bibliography seems lacking and footnotes are nowhere to be seen), this wouldn't get 3 stars. But because it does have some good examples and parts are interesting in a "wtf" way, it managed to keep me reading. Though I must say, the last 10% was hard to get through.
An overly hyped successful marketing campaign.
A lot of assertions with not many sources. And the writing style is... Unique. If you prefer a conversational tone, this is not for you. Really difficult to read in some instances where sentence structure is grammatically unsound, convoluted and just plain weird. It almost sounds like someone trying to write in an academic style but was never taught how.
The premise of the book seems confused too. Is it an academic history book or is it a source for practise? If it's the latter you're looking for, I would skip this book. Though it has some good examples one could incorporate, these are few, hard to find in the mish-mash of paragraph structure used, and don't really dig into the how or why in any satisfactory manner.
If I wasn't already interested in this topic and the history (but again, what are the sources? The bibliography seems lacking and footnotes are nowhere to be seen), this wouldn't get 3 stars. But because it does have some good examples and parts are interesting in a "wtf" way, it managed to keep me reading. Though I must say, the last 10% was hard to get through.
An overly hyped successful marketing campaign.
September 4, 2022
The narrow focus of this book makes it incredibly short. I would love to read something like this, but that offers additional historical and anthropological context, as well as compares and contrasts some of the traditions to more modern practices.
For what it wants to be, though, I can't give anything to it but praise. Very interesting. I crave more writing about the "why!"
For what it wants to be, though, I can't give anything to it but praise. Very interesting. I crave more writing about the "why!"
August 9, 2017
To preface, the traditional witchcraft that I'm familiar with is very different in nature than the West Country witchcraft Gemma Gary speaks of, likely this is why I haven't read any of her work before.
Regarding solely the organization, the way she intersperses her discussions of folk remedies with the history relating to that folk remedy and the reasons for its use is nice. I also appreciate the separation into sections, Old Mother Red Cap, Green Cap, and Black Cap.
Up until the end I wasn't too enthusiastic about the contents, I feel as though it could include a lot more of the history behind the Cornish practices and their origins, but the end, with the final anecdote about the black toad and the witch, really brought it all together for me. The reflection on the witch's nature as a liminal element, the way we're drawn from the underworld and from the overworld to be at once one with each, and how it relates to the toad in practice, made me appreciate the symbolism of the black toad.
Overall, I think it was a good work for someone specifically interested in Cornish witchcraft and the history of witchcraft in that particular area of England, as well as for someone looking for many different folk practices in one book.
Regarding solely the organization, the way she intersperses her discussions of folk remedies with the history relating to that folk remedy and the reasons for its use is nice. I also appreciate the separation into sections, Old Mother Red Cap, Green Cap, and Black Cap.
Up until the end I wasn't too enthusiastic about the contents, I feel as though it could include a lot more of the history behind the Cornish practices and their origins, but the end, with the final anecdote about the black toad and the witch, really brought it all together for me. The reflection on the witch's nature as a liminal element, the way we're drawn from the underworld and from the overworld to be at once one with each, and how it relates to the toad in practice, made me appreciate the symbolism of the black toad.
Overall, I think it was a good work for someone specifically interested in Cornish witchcraft and the history of witchcraft in that particular area of England, as well as for someone looking for many different folk practices in one book.
August 17, 2021
3.5 stars. A lot of the information was interesting. I liked the balance of healing and baneful magick. I like how she explained things, the rationale for doing things a certain way or why certain ingredients were used etc. However, I wasn't a fan of her style of writing, needlessly wordy in some parts. It would be nice to cross reference this work with other books written by other authors on Cornish & West Country magick.
August 18, 2021
I found some very interesting things about this book, I enjoyed that it gave a list of herbs and their usage. I would've also enjoyed more about the weather folk magic.
The things I just didn't vibe with was the gendered language that was paired with most of the writing. Also the writing right up till the end was very tedious and confusing at some parts.
The things I just didn't vibe with was the gendered language that was paired with most of the writing. Also the writing right up till the end was very tedious and confusing at some parts.
November 16, 2022
Some great insight into Cornish Traditions but in many instances lacking in detail. To either give instruction into the rite, or to make a point of not makes sense, but the author often starts describing rituals or spells in great detail (even providing diagrams) and then seems to get bored and her instructions become vague.
July 25, 2024
A very interesting book, especially for teaching us about specific old Cornish ways. I enjoyed the fact that there are some photographs in the book. I found all the intrications with Christianity fascinating too. However, I thought it could be kind of a practical guide but the use of animal parts without any suggestion to replace them nor specification on the choice of the use of this animal and this part more than another. It's also a bit short for all the topics that there were to tackle.
July 22, 2017
There are many books on Witchcraft and all are important in their own right, (only for a template because true magick comes from your true will or heart.). The Black Toad, in my opinion, has to be one of the most important because it covers magick on all sides of the spectrum. Gemma Gary did a awesome job bringing English Witchcraft across the pond. A must have in your library.
September 27, 2024
Gemma Gary’s The Black Toad offers readers a rare glimpse into the rich magical heritage of the West Country of England, particularly Devon and Cornwall, where belief in witchcraft has endured long past its decline in other regions. This book is a love letter to the old ways—the folk magic, cunning craft, and witch lore that have been preserved and passed down through generations. For anyone interested in the living traditions of British witchcraft, The Black Toad is an invaluable resource that blends historical insight with practical magic.
Gary has a remarkable ability to distill the essence of West Country magic, revealing the unique practices that define this region’s cunning folk and witches. The book explores a variety of magical techniques, from charms and curses to healing practices, all rooted in the land and spirit of the West Country. What sets this work apart is its focus on both the historical context and the contemporary application of these ancient practices, showing how the traditions have evolved yet remained true to their core principles.
One of the book’s strengths is its deep connection to the land. Gary makes it clear that West Country magic is not abstract—it is intertwined with the spirits of place, the faerie lore, and the natural world of the region. The working relationship with these spirits is central to the craft, and The Black Toad presents a vivid picture of how witches and cunning folk in the area have drawn upon the energies of plants, animals, and the land itself for their workings. This connection to nature imbues the book with a grounded, earthy quality that resonates with the practices described.
The inclusion of Christian elements—such as the use of Psalms for both healing and cursing, and the invocation of Christ and the Holy Trinity—offers a fascinating look at how folk witchcraft in the West Country blended with the dominant religious beliefs of the time. Gary handles this integration with sensitivity, acknowledging the complex relationship between witchcraft and Christianity without losing sight of the magical power that these practices hold. This blending of faith and magic is a key aspect of the cunning craft, and The Black Toad captures it authentically.
What makes The Black Toad stand out is its practical nature. Gary isn’t just recounting history; she’s providing a guide for modern practitioners who wish to engage with these traditional forms of magic. The book is filled with spells, charms, and rituals, many of which are straightforward and accessible, while others invite deeper exploration of the West Country’s unique magical landscape. This practical element ensures that The Black Toad is not just a book to read, but one to work with, making it a hands-on resource for witches and magical practitioners looking to incorporate the old ways into their own craft.
Gary has a remarkable ability to distill the essence of West Country magic, revealing the unique practices that define this region’s cunning folk and witches. The book explores a variety of magical techniques, from charms and curses to healing practices, all rooted in the land and spirit of the West Country. What sets this work apart is its focus on both the historical context and the contemporary application of these ancient practices, showing how the traditions have evolved yet remained true to their core principles.
One of the book’s strengths is its deep connection to the land. Gary makes it clear that West Country magic is not abstract—it is intertwined with the spirits of place, the faerie lore, and the natural world of the region. The working relationship with these spirits is central to the craft, and The Black Toad presents a vivid picture of how witches and cunning folk in the area have drawn upon the energies of plants, animals, and the land itself for their workings. This connection to nature imbues the book with a grounded, earthy quality that resonates with the practices described.
The inclusion of Christian elements—such as the use of Psalms for both healing and cursing, and the invocation of Christ and the Holy Trinity—offers a fascinating look at how folk witchcraft in the West Country blended with the dominant religious beliefs of the time. Gary handles this integration with sensitivity, acknowledging the complex relationship between witchcraft and Christianity without losing sight of the magical power that these practices hold. This blending of faith and magic is a key aspect of the cunning craft, and The Black Toad captures it authentically.
What makes The Black Toad stand out is its practical nature. Gary isn’t just recounting history; she’s providing a guide for modern practitioners who wish to engage with these traditional forms of magic. The book is filled with spells, charms, and rituals, many of which are straightforward and accessible, while others invite deeper exploration of the West Country’s unique magical landscape. This practical element ensures that The Black Toad is not just a book to read, but one to work with, making it a hands-on resource for witches and magical practitioners looking to incorporate the old ways into their own craft.
February 27, 2023
I love Gary's writing style, and her knowledge is extremely evident in her work. Having read another of her books, A Cornish Book of Ways, I was really surprised at how different some of the information in this book was. I still greatly enjoyed the book and learned a lot, but she definitely leans more heavily into the Christian influences on Cornish witchcraft, which I had not gotten a sense of at all in her other, more in-depth, book. I still took a lot of information away from reading this book and would recommend it, but as someone with a lot of religious trauma who was not expecting so much Christian influence I was a little bit put-off while reading the Psalms peppered throughout the book.
October 31, 2023
The Black Toad by Gemma Gary
This was a quick audio book that was a lot of fun. I don’t know anything about Cornish witchcraft but I enjoyed learning. There was no mention of the lord or the lady but there were references to incarceration to Jesus. What I did recognized was the references to the witch ladder and witch bottles. The book was informative but just gave an overview. I would have liked the author to have gone a little more in depth.
This was a quick audio book that was a lot of fun. I don’t know anything about Cornish witchcraft but I enjoyed learning. There was no mention of the lord or the lady but there were references to incarceration to Jesus. What I did recognized was the references to the witch ladder and witch bottles. The book was informative but just gave an overview. I would have liked the author to have gone a little more in depth.
February 4, 2023
A book that gave words to my thoughts on curses there is no harm none nonsense in traditional witchcraft but it's not a fun afternoon ethier and I agree but the witch wore many hats and has many skills this book is one of my favorites
February 4, 2018
The folklore is great for historical and contemporary reading. The pictures from the museum are perfect compliment to the content.
September 21, 2018
Absolutely delicious. Ripe with legit, O.G. witchcraft folklore sure to satisfy anyone with the traditional persuasion.
June 29, 2024
3.5⭐️
Another very interesting book by Gemma Gary!
Another very interesting book by Gemma Gary!
January 7, 2025
A beginner guide to European folk magic traditions. Really enjoyed this one. A quick read
February 9, 2025
Un maravilla de la brujería tradicional.
March 17, 2025
A great read for those wanting to learn more about traditional English magic. Beautifully illustrated too.
June 9, 2025
This was another lovely read from Gemma Gary talking about the old customs and folk practices of Cornwall
September 11, 2025
Fun info but kinda hard to read sometimes
October 17, 2015
The Black Toad Where do I even start with this book review? It's an absolute must read for any true practitioner. I loved the way she delivers the book content, it just flows. A pleasant read, chuck full of amazing information. This is definitely one of those books that if you claim to be a traditional witch, and you don't have this book...I may give you a suspicious eye. ;) It's an absolute must have (or at the very least "must read") for any traditional witch (or any witch/practitioner in general to be honest). Keep up the amazing work Ms Gemma Gary, and I'll keep buying it all up!
August 26, 2025
A very interesting view on witchcraft, i just really miss footnotes, more detailed sources and references and something more substantial as a guideline through the book. It reads as a random collection of cures, curses and blessings without any guidance to them. Not to mention the random multiple pages long foto drop without sources in the middle of a sentence?
As a reference work it kind of works, but i must say the book has been kind of a let down for me; partly bc its impossible to buy where i’m from so my partner bought it in england.
Really hope her other work will speak to me more.
As a reference work it kind of works, but i must say the book has been kind of a let down for me; partly bc its impossible to buy where i’m from so my partner bought it in england.
Really hope her other work will speak to me more.
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February 12, 2016nothing
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