Description
The Cunning Craft: A Tortuous Path of the Wise Art by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold is a paperback book published by Crossed Crow Books, focused on the deeper symbolism, history, and practice of the cunning arts. This is a title for readers drawn to traditional witchcraft, sorcery, folk practice, esoteric history, and the more difficult questions around power, wisdom, opposition, and liminal places.
Frisvold approaches the wise arts in a hermeneutic way, looking closely at the layers of meaning behind the craft rather than presenting it as a simple set of techniques. A particular focus is placed on the opposer, more commonly named as the devil, alongside the mysteries of the night, the Moon, Venus, and the crossroads as places where knowledge, danger, and transformation meet. These themes are presented as part of the book’s esoteric and historical framework, making it especially suited to experienced readers who are comfortable with complex material and symbolic language.
In practical use, The Cunning Craft is best treated as a study text rather than a light introductory guide. It may be read alongside a journal, used for deeper reflection on personal practice, or kept with books on witchcraft, folk magick, spirit work, crossroads symbolism, and occult philosophy. Readers exploring cunning craft traditions may find it useful when considering how older ideas of healer, sorcerer, saint, devil, witch, and cunning person overlap or conflict across different cultures and periods.
The book also references wider currents of esoteric knowledge, including Picatrix, Giordano Bruno, Master Cain, ritual material concerned with both poison and healing, and the role of spirit allies or denizens from beyond.
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