Author & Researcher
Exploring the real history behind British folk magic, medieval charms, and the traditions we thought we knew.
Sophie Buchanan
Author · Researcher
Sophie Buchanan is a researcher and writer with a deep interest in the documented history of British folk tradition — the Anglo-Saxon charms, herbal remedies, and cunning folk practices that survive in manuscript rather than modern imagination.
Her work takes seriously the gap between what medieval and early modern people actually believed and practised, and the reconstructed spirituality that often gets sold as ancient inheritance. She draws on primary sources, archaeological evidence, and academic scholarship to explore what we genuinely know — and to be honest about what we don't.
She lives in Somerset, in the landscape that much of this history inhabits.
She has completed Ritual and Religion in Prehistory through the University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education — a course examining the archaeological and anthropological evidence for prehistoric belief, burial practice, and sacred tradition across the ancient world.
Her writing is not designed to tell readers what they want to hear. It is designed to be accurate.
Each book approaches British folk tradition from the ground up — beginning with what the sources actually say.
Vol. I
Volume I: Heritage and Tradition
Prehistoric and ancient British magical practice traced through the academic record, with full citations. Based entirely on historical sources from the British Isles — not modern invention dressed as antiquity.
Find on Amazon →Vol. II
Volume II: Folk Magic and Practice
Apotropaic marks, ritual protection symbols, folk remedies, and cunning folk traditions — drawn from primary sources and presented for scholarly understanding. The real thing, not the romanticised version.
Find on Amazon →Vol. III
Tracing Modern Magical Practices to Their Historical Roots
Not a fan of medieval history? This one's for you. Takes the practices all over TikTok — cinnamon doorways, bay leaf manifestation, moon water, salt in corners — traces where they actually came from, and finds what British folk tradition used instead. Accessible, honest, and occasionally surprising.
Find on Amazon →Coming
New work forthcoming
Further publications are in preparation. Use the contact form below to be notified when new books are available.
Get notified →Corrections, additions, and considered disagreements are welcome. If you've found an error, a better source, or a tradition this work has missed — please say so.
Correspondence is read, though a reply is not always possible.
Please note: this is not a forum for debate about the validity of personal spiritual practice. Questions about the historical record are always welcome.