Magic and witchcraft

George Moir’s discussion surveys historical ideas about magical practice and witchcraft, reflecting the 19th-century scholarly interest in distinguishing folklore, superstition, and early modern belief. Readers will find a compact treatment of how such practices were interpreted across different periods, along with commentary on their cultural and legal significance.

George Moir (1800–1870) was a Scottish lawyer, poet, and writer associated with Romantic-era literary and philosophical interests. He is not primarily known as an esoteric author, though his work belongs to the wider nineteenth-century milieu in which metaphysical and spiritual speculation often intersected with literature.