A person living in the area of ancient Babylon (modern Iraq) associated with the Sumerian city of Ur, which was eventually ruled by the Chaldees (the biblical “Ur of the Chaldees”). Chaldea was associated with magic, and by the seventeenth century in Europe, any person who was an astrologer, diviner, or magician was generically known as a “Chaldean.”
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sandra Kynes, author of several books, including The Herb Gardener's Essential Guide, Plant Magic, and the new Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, among many others.
Although a few old books...