People across the broad history of humanity have sought out the shades and souls of the dead for many reasons: to venerate ancestors, to learn secrets, to aright injustices, and to empower necromancers and their sorceries.

In this class contemporary cunning-man and historian of necromancy Dr Alexander Cummins presents a brief overview of the principle tools and techniques of pre-modern European necromancy – from (renditions of) the Homeric nigromancy of Odysseus calling up the shade of Tiresias; to various early modern grimoiric operations, sorcerous experiments, and folk charms for waking, alluring, stirring, directing and making deals with the dead, as well as warding and laying restless ghosts, incubating tutelary dreams of magical empowerment, and much more.

Along the way, we will consider: black-handled knives and their preparation; circles of chalk, parchment, and animal pelt; hazel rods of detection and conjuration; powders and suffumigations for drawing and sending forth haunting spirits; the many many uses of graveyard dirt; and traditional materia for protecting against the incursions and ill influence of revenants.

This class-bundle includes:

An illustrated lecture of two hours duration
Lecture slide-deck
Primary source documents on early modern astrological magic
Bibliography of further reading

A full table of contents of the lecture itself runs:

•       On Necromancy’s Tools
•       Circles
•       Rods, Wands, & Staffs
•       Blades
•       Garments
•       Books
•       Powders & Perfumes
•       Graveyard Dirts
•       Tools of Divination
•       A Haunted Pillow of Dream Incubation
•       Vessels