Why read The Bathhouse at Midnight?

Book cover of The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in Russia

Book description

The title of this book refers to the classic time and place for magic, witchcraft, and divination in Russia. The Bathhouse at Midnight, by one of the world's foremost experts on the subject, surveys all forms of magic, both learned and popular, in Russia from the fifth to the eighteenth…

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Bathhouse at Midnight as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Elizabeth Wayland Barber

Author

I chose this book because it is such a wide-ranging compendium of Russian folk beliefs in general (in English!) as well as of Russian customs involved in trying to ensure the fertility and health of crops, farm animals, and women, all desperately needed for the survival of the community. It is these fascinating and picturesque customs that so often get incorporated into dances. Furthermore, the Dancing Goddesses were often pressed into service for divination of the future, especially by young girls worrying about whom they would marry and how many children they would have, or if they would die first.…

From Elizabeth's list on European dance in female fertility and health.