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Death's Head: Animal Skulls in Witchcraft and Spirit Work
This book contains a unique blend of folklore and hands-on Witchcraft, all centered around the use of animal skulls. Contained herein are the manifestations of the author's own personal style of Witchcraft as well as methods for magically finding a skull, ways of purifying the skull, and instructions on how to imbue the skull with spirit presence for the purpose of divination, insight, and other acts of magic. Also included are rituals for the physical manifestation of the spirit and instructions for petitioning magical favors by way of spirit intervention. The Witch seeking a stronger, more intense connection with the spirit world will find good use of the rituals and methods given.
- GenresWitchcraft
122 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 18, 2026
Death's Head is an unusual little book, and I mean that as a compliment. Blake Malliway takes something that appears constantly in the visual language of witchcraft, the animal skull, and asks what it might actually mean to incorporate one into a working magical practice. That alone made this considerably more interesting to me than another collection of generalized spells and correspondences.
The strongest aspect of the book is its focus. Malliway doesn't try to turn animal remains into an excuse for writing about every possible form of necromancy or spirit work. The skull remains at the center: finding one, preparing it, purifying it, establishing a spiritual presence through it, using it for divination, and eventually incorporating it into more involved magical workings. That narrowness allows the material to develop rather than constantly moving on to another subject.
I especially enjoyed the idea of the skull as more than a symbolic object. In a lot of modern witchcraft, bones are used primarily because they signify death, ancestors, mortality, or the spirit world. Here, the skull can become a locus of spirit presence and an active component of the work. Whether someone interprets that presence literally, animistically, or through another magical framework, it creates a very different relationship with the object than simply putting a skull on an altar because it looks appropriately witchy.
The divinatory applications were particularly interesting to me. There's something compelling about using an object so strongly associated with perception, identity, and the former physical home of the senses as a means of gaining information from the unseen. The symbolism almost writes itself, but Malliway takes it beyond symbolism and gives the practitioner methods for actually experimenting with it.
I also appreciated that this is clearly personal witchcraft. Malliway isn't presenting every technique as an ancient secret handed down unchanged for centuries. You're encountering a practitioner's developed methods alongside the folklore that helped inform them. I generally prefer that kind of transparency in contemporary occult writing. Tradition can inspire new practice without every new practice needing an invented ancient pedigree.
Where the book lost a star for me is that I wanted more depth in places. The premise is fascinating enough that certain sections could have supported much more exploration, particularly around the nature of the spirit being contacted through a skull. Is the practitioner working with the spirit of the individual animal, the broader spirit of the species, another spirit invited to inhabit the vessel, or some combination of these possibilities? Those distinctions can become extremely important in spirit work, and I would have enjoyed seeing the metaphysics explored more extensively.
I also would have welcomed more discussion of ethical acquisition and stewardship. Working with animal remains inevitably raises questions about sourcing, legality, respect for the animal, endangered or protected species, and what responsibilities accompany turning part of a once-living creature into a magical object. Those considerations can be just as important as the ritual preparation itself.
Still, there's something refreshing about how unapologetically specific Death's Head is. This isn't a book pretending to teach you everything about witchcraft. It's about one strange, old, evocative magical object and the possibilities that open when you stop treating it as decoration.
I came away with ideas I hadn't encountered elsewhere, which matters a great deal to me after reading so many books on witchcraft.
Death's Head may be relatively specialized, but that's exactly why it's worth reading. I would have liked it to go further into some of the questions it raises, but what is here is imaginative, practical, and genuinely different.
The strongest aspect of the book is its focus. Malliway doesn't try to turn animal remains into an excuse for writing about every possible form of necromancy or spirit work. The skull remains at the center: finding one, preparing it, purifying it, establishing a spiritual presence through it, using it for divination, and eventually incorporating it into more involved magical workings. That narrowness allows the material to develop rather than constantly moving on to another subject.
I especially enjoyed the idea of the skull as more than a symbolic object. In a lot of modern witchcraft, bones are used primarily because they signify death, ancestors, mortality, or the spirit world. Here, the skull can become a locus of spirit presence and an active component of the work. Whether someone interprets that presence literally, animistically, or through another magical framework, it creates a very different relationship with the object than simply putting a skull on an altar because it looks appropriately witchy.
The divinatory applications were particularly interesting to me. There's something compelling about using an object so strongly associated with perception, identity, and the former physical home of the senses as a means of gaining information from the unseen. The symbolism almost writes itself, but Malliway takes it beyond symbolism and gives the practitioner methods for actually experimenting with it.
I also appreciated that this is clearly personal witchcraft. Malliway isn't presenting every technique as an ancient secret handed down unchanged for centuries. You're encountering a practitioner's developed methods alongside the folklore that helped inform them. I generally prefer that kind of transparency in contemporary occult writing. Tradition can inspire new practice without every new practice needing an invented ancient pedigree.
Where the book lost a star for me is that I wanted more depth in places. The premise is fascinating enough that certain sections could have supported much more exploration, particularly around the nature of the spirit being contacted through a skull. Is the practitioner working with the spirit of the individual animal, the broader spirit of the species, another spirit invited to inhabit the vessel, or some combination of these possibilities? Those distinctions can become extremely important in spirit work, and I would have enjoyed seeing the metaphysics explored more extensively.
I also would have welcomed more discussion of ethical acquisition and stewardship. Working with animal remains inevitably raises questions about sourcing, legality, respect for the animal, endangered or protected species, and what responsibilities accompany turning part of a once-living creature into a magical object. Those considerations can be just as important as the ritual preparation itself.
Still, there's something refreshing about how unapologetically specific Death's Head is. This isn't a book pretending to teach you everything about witchcraft. It's about one strange, old, evocative magical object and the possibilities that open when you stop treating it as decoration.
I came away with ideas I hadn't encountered elsewhere, which matters a great deal to me after reading so many books on witchcraft.
Death's Head may be relatively specialized, but that's exactly why it's worth reading. I would have liked it to go further into some of the questions it raises, but what is here is imaginative, practical, and genuinely different.
January 31, 2025
A one-of-a-kind book. It is ideal for traditional/folkloric witches with some experience on their path. This book is not for beginners or those just taking their first steps in Traditional Witchcraft. However, for those who have been practicing for a while and want to go further, this book is perfect.
It focuses on necromantic workings, with an essential tool—the skull of an animal. The author teaches how to find a skull in nature with the help of local spirits, how to consecrate it, and how to invite a spirit to reside within it. The book then explains how to communicate with the spirit and perform powerful sorcery.
It is an extremely practical book. Simply spectacular.
It focuses on necromantic workings, with an essential tool—the skull of an animal. The author teaches how to find a skull in nature with the help of local spirits, how to consecrate it, and how to invite a spirit to reside within it. The book then explains how to communicate with the spirit and perform powerful sorcery.
It is an extremely practical book. Simply spectacular.
May 4, 2022
pensaba que todo iba a quedar en el reino animal, pero eso no impidió que la idea fuera similar
October 22, 2023
Good quick read. Not for beginners. An expansion of spirit work.
Very enjoyable. Very insightful.
Very enjoyable. Very insightful.
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January 20, 2026The scull book of sculls.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews