Reddit reviews Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic

Not sure if you're looking for something more New-Agey, but this is a great book that was recommended to me about faery tradition: http://www.amazon.com/Cunning-Folk-Familiar-Spirits-Shamanistic-Traditions/dp/1845190793/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458325340&sr=1-1&keywords=cunning+folk+and+familiar+spirits

Wilby examines specific recorded accounts of interactions between humans and the Good People, draws comparisons in connection to kinds of witchcraft (cunning folk specifically working as benevolent mediators), and then also relates these workings to the shamanistic tradition in Europe and the New World.


Another great book is R.J. Stewart's translation and commentary on Robert Kirk's "The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, & Fairies": http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Kirk-Walker-Between-Worlds/dp/0979140242/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1458326038&sr=1-7&keywords=r.j.stewart

This provides Kirk's relatively short manuscript of studies and theories on the Good People, which he skated a thin line of heresy on as a minister of the church. He worked to collect word of mouth instances and stories and applied them to what he knew regarding science and the church's world outlook. Stewart provides commentary and helps to round out the text, as well as speaks about Kirk's mysterious death and the possibility that he was actually taken to the Otherworld.

Can't recommend these enough:

Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0812217519/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_seDXDb5367ERH

Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic https://www.amazon.com/dp/1845190793/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nfDXDbZWXFQX8

The Visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, Witchcraft and Dark Shamanism in Seventeenth-Century Scotland https://www.amazon.com/dp/1845191803/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NfDXDbBKC83F0