Magic, alchemy and hermetic thought Books

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisExamines legal documents and magic texts relevant to two cases where authorities in Tudor England confronted practicing magicians. Explores how magicians thought about the world, where they got their ideas, and how their magic was supposed to work.Trade Review“This short scholarly study has two key virtues: it teases apart two muddled-up historiographies and unites two unnecessarily distanced ones. First, it clears a distinct space in the historical record for practitioners of magic, who as religious and legal deviants too often get absorbed into the academic discussion of witches and witch-trials. Secondly, it exploits the fact that 16th-century magical texts tell us little about the people who used them, while legal records of prosecution — magic was first criminalised under the 1542 Witchcraft Act — tell us a lot about the magicians but frustratingly little about the technicalities of their offences.”—Malcolm Gaskill Fortean Times“Klaassen and Wright deftly lay bare the mechanics of both the prosecution and the practice of the most transgressive forms of magic on the eve of the Reformation. The Magic of Rogues will be essential reading for anyone interested in the social or legal history of supernatural belief in the early modern world.”—Francis Young Journal of British Studies“With its innovative combination of magical texts and legal documents, this is an important research contribution and offers an excellent set of annotated sources for teaching not just about magic but also about power, belief, and ambition in Tudor England.”—Jonathan Barry,author of Witchcraft and Demonology in South-West England, 1640–1789“The Magic of Rogues undoubtedly enhances our understanding of early Tudor magic, reinforced by a general introduction to the nature of magic in the period and its relationship with the authorities.”—Ronald Hutton,author of The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present“This book is a fascinating contribution to historical scholarship on European magic.”—Patricia Sophie Mayer Religious Studies Review

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Book SynopsisExplores the unified science-religion of early humanity and the impact of Hermetic philosophy on religion and spirituality • Investigates the Jewish and Egyptian origins of Josephus’s famous story that Seth’s descendants inscribed knowledge on two pillars to save it from global catastrophe • Reveals how this original knowledge has influenced civilization through Hermetic, Gnostic, Kabbalistic, Masonic, Hindu, and Islamic mystical knowledge • Examines how “Enoch’s Pillars” relate to the origins of Hermeticism, Freemasonry, Newtonian science, William Blake, and Theosophy Esoteric tradition has long maintained that at the dawn of human civilization there existed a unified science-religion, a spiritual grasp of the universe and our place in it. The biblical Enoch--also known as Hermes Trismegistus, Thoth, or Idris--was seen as the guardian of this sacred knowledge, which was inscribed on pillars known as Enoch’s or Seth’s pillars. Examining the idea of the lost pillars of pure knowledge, the sacred science behind Hermetic philosophy, Tobias Churton investigates the controversial Jewish and Egyptian origins of Josephus’s famous story that Seth’s descendants inscribed knowledge on two pillars to save it from global catastrophe. He traces the fragments of this sacred knowledge as it descended through the ages into initiated circles, influencing civilization through Hermetic, Gnostic, Kabbalistic, Masonic, Hindu, and Islamic mystical knowledge. He follows the path of the pillars’ fragments through Egyptian alchemy and the Gnostic Sethites, the Kabbalah, and medieval mystic Ramon Llull. He explores the arrival of the Hermetic manuscripts in Renaissance Florence, the philosophy of Copernicus, Pico della Mirandola, Giordano Bruno, and the origins of Freemasonry, including the “revival” of Enoch in Masonry’s Scottish Rite. He reveals the centrality of primal knowledge to Isaac Newton, William Stukeley, John Dee, and William Blake, resurfacing as the tradition of Martinism, Theosophy, and Thelema. Churton also unravels what Josephus meant when he asserted one Sethite pillar still stood in the “Seiriadic” land: land of Sirius worshippers. Showing how the lost pillars stand as a twenty-first century symbol for reattaining our heritage, Churton ultimately reveals how the esoteric strands of all religions unite in a gnosis that could offer a basis for reuniting religion and science.Trade Review“Highly informative, eye-opening, and uplifting, this book takes you on a provocative journey to discover the roots of human knowledge and fills you with hope that we may one day reattain our lost ancient heritage. Since my first encounter with Tobias Churton’s work twenty years ago, I am still amazed by his ability to expertly untangle the complex threads of history.” * Joanna Gillian, chief editor of Ancient Origins magazine *“Churton revisits the history of mankind and approaches its attempts to deal with the invisible since the dawn of times with a unique mastery. This book is not only of great erudition but could also be the start of a future global spiritual movement of the digital age.” * Thomas Jamet, author, lecturer, and communication specialist *“Humanity’s near-manic obsession with lost and rediscovered wisdom is the basis for nearly all esoteric philosophy and practice. Taking the ancient myths and histories as his guide, Churton provides us not only with an interpretation of Enoch and the various ideas around the ‘known-and-lost-wisdom dichotomy’ as they have shaped our views across history, he also gives us a means of shaping and entering the future. It is a future quickly coming upon us, wherein the Pillars of Enoch once again are a depository of the collective wisdom of the past and the guide for a humanity seeking to understand itself and, like Enoch, ‘walk with God.’” * Mark Stavish, author of Egregores *“This ambitious book traces the antediluvian origin of the spiritual wisdom hymned in the Book of Enoch. Churton explores the path of this unifying truth through the teachings of the mystery traditions that have served to initiate humanity ever since. Of central concern to this thesis is that the dichotomy between science and spirit is false. Truth is the unifying bond that excludes only error. The breach between science and religion is an artificial construct that serves to hinder understanding. I highly recommend this book.” * James Wasserman, author of The Templars and the Assassins and The Mystery Traditions *“Churton leads us on a challenging and thought-provoking journey…Churton details traces of what he describes as fragments of this knowledge to be found in such initiated circles as Hermetic, Gnostic, Kabbalistic, Masonic, Hindu and Islamic backgrounds. Furthermore, Churton also strives to show how the esoteric strands of all religions can unite us in a gnosis that could ultimately provide us an opportunity to reunite religion and science as it is meant to be.” * Brent Raynes, Alternate Perceptions Archival Newsletter *"Overall, I enjoyed The Lost Pillars of Enoch very much. The author presented a large amount of historical information in a balanced and insightful way, along with an occasional dose of humor that lightened the otherwise heavy subject matter. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in esoteric history and hermeticism. I’ve gained insight into how many of our current day ideas about spirituality, prophecy, and science have developed over time, and I’m encouraged that many of the myths we hold dear still have an important message for us." * Cindie Chavez, Musing Mystical *Table of ContentsProvenance A Note about the Timing of This Book PART ONE The Lost Pillars in Antiquity ONE Saving Knowledge from Catastrophe: The World’s First Archaeological Story The NephilimWhere Could Josephus’s Surviving Pillar Be Found? TWO “Sethites” in Egypt?THREEEnoch and Hermes: Guardians of Truth Tracing the Myth The Emerald Tablet FOURA Sense of Loss Pervades The Fallen Gnostics: Return of the Sethites FIVE How Ancient Is the Ancient Theology? SIX A Concise History of Religion SEVEN From Apocalyptic to Gnosis--and Back to Religion PART TWO Hermetic Philosophy Seeking Concordance, or Reuniting the Fragments EIGHTThe Unitive Vision Kabbalah Ramon Llull (1232-ca. 1316) 100The Alembic of Florence: Hermetic Philosophy Reborn NINE Restoring Harmony: From the Sun to Infinity Francesco Giorgi: Cosmic HarmonyCopernicusGiordano Bruno (1548-1600) TEN The Lost Pillars of Freemasonry Late Medieval Evidence for Antediluvian Pillars Antediluvian Masonry ELEVEN Esoteric Masonry and the Mystery of the “Acception”John Dee and Primal Mathematics TWELVE The Return of Enoch “Out of Egypt I Have Called My Son” THIRTEENEnter Isaac Newton FOURTEEN“A History of the Corruption of the Soul of Man” The Temple of Wisdom The Ancients Knew Already Newton and the “Daimon” FIFTEEN Antiquarianism: Stukeley and Blake Stukeley, Freemasonry, and the Prisca Sapientia SIXTEENBlake and the Original Religion All Religions Are OneSEVENTEENFrom the Enlightenment to Theosophy: Persistence of Antediluvian Unity of Science and Religion The Tradition Saint-Yves d’Alveydre The Secret Doctrine Problems with Theosophical Influence EIGHTEEN The Aim of Religion, the Method of Science: Aleister Crowley and Thelema Science and Antediluvian MythologyPART THREE Paradise Regained? NINETEEN Back to the OneEssential Communion in Esoteric Systems Religion for the Future TWENTY Return of the Lost Pillar NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book SynopsisEvery culture makes a distinction between what it perceives as `true religion' and `magic'. These essays explore the history of this tradition in Judaism and Christianity.Trade ReviewThis book is both interesting and a valuable contribution to the study of magic in its relationship to learning. * The Heythrop Journal *

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Book SynopsisSince the emergence of religious studies and the social sciences as academic disciplines, the idea of magic has played a major role in defining religion and in mediating the relation of religion to science. Across these disciplines, magic has regularly been configured as a definitively non-modern phenomenon, juxtaposed to the distinctly modern models of religion and science. As a category, however, magic has remained stubbornly amorphous. In Making Magic, Randall Styers seeks to account for the extraordinary vitality of scholarly discourse purporting to define and explain magic despite its failure to do just that. He argues that it can best be explained in light of the European and Euro-American drive to establish and secure their own identity as normative: rational-scientific, judicial-ethical, industrious, productive, and heterosexual. Magic has served to designate a form of alterity or deviance against which dominant Western notions of appropriate religious piety, legitimate scientiTrade ReviewMagic has always been a marginal, umbrageous subject. Despite numerous attempts, no philosopher, scientific observer, or cultural theoretician has managed to describe its essential nature or to circumscribe its proper boundaries-and no wonder. The virtue of Randall Styers compelling study is not that it finally succeeds in defining magic with clarity-an impossible and patently misguided objective. Instead, through a meticulous and incisive examination of the major and minor writers on the subject, Styers shows that the highly pliable, always shifty, devious, and problematic category of magic has been an extremely effective device with which to define and to empower that which it is not: religion proper, (real) science, rationality, modernity. The result, then, is far from marginal. * Tomoko Masuzawa, University of Michigan *

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Book SynopsisDaughters of Hecate unites for the first time research on the problem of gender and magic in three ancient Mediterranean societies: early Judaism, Christianity, and Graeco-Roman culture. The book illuminates the gendering of ancient magic by approaching the topic from three distinct disciplinary perspectives: literary stereotyping, the social application of magic discourse, and material culture. The authors probe the foundations of, processes, and motivations behind gendered stereotypes, beginning with Western culture''s earliest associations of women and magic in the Bible and Homer''s Odyssey. Daughters of Hecate provides a nuanced exploration of the topic while avoiding reductive approaches. In fact, the essays in this volume uncover complexities and counter-discourses that challenge, rather than reaffirm, many gendered stereotypes taken for granted and reified by most modern scholarship. By combining critical theoretical methods with research into literary and material evidence, DaTrade ReviewThis impressive collection challenges the seemingly common-sense association between women and magic. Drawing on literary and material evidence from across the ancient Mediterranean world, it powerfully demonstrates that the gendering of magic is neither natural nor universal, but is conditioned by the dynamics of local conflict and given form by historically specific taxonomies of knowledge. * Ra'anan Boustan, author of From Martyr to Mystic *Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. Interrogating the Magic-Gender Connection - Kimberly B. Stratton ; Part I. Fiction and Fantasy: Gendering Magic in Literature ; 2. From Goddess to Hag: The Greek and the Roman Witch in Classical Literature - Barbette Stanley Spaeth ; 3. "The Most Worthy of Women is a Mistress of Magic": Women as Witches and Ritual Practitioners in 1 Enoch and Rabbinic Sources - Rebecca Lesses ; 4. Gendering Heavenly Secrets? Women, Angels, and the Problem of Misogyny and "Magic" - Annette Yoshiko Reed ; 5. Magic, Abjection, and Gender in Roman Literature - Kimberly B. Stratton ; Part II. Gender and Magic Discourse in Practice ; 6. Magic Accusations Against Women in Tacitus's Annals - Elizabeth Ann Pollard ; 7. Drunken Hags with Amulets and Prostitutes with Erotic Spells: The Re-Feminization of Magic in Late Antique Christian Homilies - Dayna S. Kalleres ; 8. The Bishop, the Pope, and the Prophetess: Rival Ritual Experts in Third-Century Cappadocia - Ayse Tuzlak ; 9. Living Images of the Divine: Female Theurgists in Late Antiquity - Nicola Denzey Lewis ; 10. Sorceresses and Sorcerers in Early Christian Tours of Hell - Kirsti Barrett Copeland ; Part III. Gender, Magic, and the Material Record ; 11. The Social Context of Women's Erotic Magic in Antiquity - David Frankfurter ; 12. Cheating Women: Curse Tablets and Roman Wives - Pauline Ripat ; 13. Saffron, Spices, and Sorceresses: Magic Bowls and the Bavli - Yaakov Elman ; 14. Victimology or: How to Deal With Untimely Death - Fritz Graf ; 15. A Gospel Amulet for Joannia (P.Oxy. VIII 1151) - AnneMarie Luijendijk

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Book SynopsisThis is a work of fundamental importance for our understanding of the intellectual and cultural history of early modern Europe. Stuart Clark offers a new interpretation of the witchcraft beliefs of European intellectuals based on their publications in the field of demonology, and shows how these beliefs fitted rationally with many other views current in Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries.Professor Clark is the first to explore the appeal of demonology to early modern intellectuals by looking at the books they published on the subject during this period. After examining the linguistic foundations of their writings, the author shows how the writers'' ideas about witchcraft (and about magic) complemented their other intellectual commitments--in particular, their conceptions of nature, history, religion, and politics. The result is much more than a history of demonology. It is a survey of wider intellectual and ideological purposes, and underlines just how far the natureTrade ReviewThis massive and rich book is brimming with suggestions for future researchers. Clark's bibliography is itself a contribution to witchcraft scholarship. Thinking with Demons will become a classic. * Richard M Golden, Religious Studies Review, Vol 27, No 2, April 2001 *This is intellectual history at its best. Clark reads and understands the demonological writings between the late fifteenth and early eighteenth centuries on their own terms * Richard M Golden, Religious Studies Review, Vol 27, No 2, April 2001 *Clarke is showing something of a break with the historiographical trends which have prevailed in witchcraft studies over the last twenty years. * J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies Vol.14, No.3. *This is a subtle exposition, informed but not distorted by an awareness of linguistic theory. J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies Vol.14, No.3.a formidable intellectual achievement ... it is doubtful if any current witchcraft scholar could equal the breadth of Clark's acquaintance with both works of demonology and more recent publications. He displays deep erudition with a light touch: the book, for all its length and the profundity of its scholarship, is a pleasure to read. * J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies Vol.14, No.3. *rich and exciting exposition of a belief system. * J.A. harpe, Renaissance Studies Vol.14, No.3. *Anybody who still believes that witchcraft was a marginal or unimportant aspect of European history should spend a weekend reading this book. They will emerge from the exercise with a clearer notion of what first rate intellectual history is like. * J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies Vol.14, No.3. *deeply considered and weighty arguments based on dauntingly wide reading. * Ian Maclean, Stud. Hist.Phil.Sci. Vol.31, No.2. *this is an ambitious and thematically broad book which constitutes a formidable intellectual achivement. * J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies, Vol.14, No.2, *Clarke is showing something of a break with the historiographical trends which have prevailed in witchcraft studies over the last twenty years. * J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies, Vol.14, No.2, *Thinking with Demons, which offers a lot more than the basics, will intimidate many undergraduates, but will provide them with conclusive proof that witchcraft was not just a matter of village squabbles. It will also remind their teachers of the sheer complexity and pervasiveness of demonological thought. * J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies, Vol.14, No.2, *this is an ambitious and thematically broad book which constitutes a formidable intellectual achivement. * J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies, Vol.14, No.2, *it is doubtful if any current witchcraft scholar could equal the breadth of Clark's acquaintance with both works of demonology and more recent publications. He displays deep erudition with a light touch: the book, for all its length and the profondity of its scholarship, is a pleasure to read. * J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies, Vol.14, No.2, *Anybody who still believes that witchcraft was a marginal or unimportant aspect of European history should spend a weekend reading this book. They will emerge from the exercise with a clearer notion of what first rate intellectual history is like. * J.A. Sharpe, Renaissance Studies, Vol.14, No.2, *This book offers a distillation of ... research, within a cogently constructed and copiously documented overall argument ... This is a book for the specialist ... Mastering such a vast body of material as early modern demonology is a huge enterprise, and Dr Clark has performed a most valuable service by his heroic struggle to make its structures and thought-patterns comprehensible. * Euan Cameron, Continuity and Change Vol 14:2 1999 *a tour de force * David Wootton, LRB 11/11/99 *It is a major accumulation of information about western European writings on witchcraft ... It will be a text consulted and cited by many subsequent scholars on witchcraft. * T. O. Beidelman, Anthropos *' ... an important book ... in every sense a magisterial work of a historian of consummate skill. Carefully researched and documented, supported by a mountainous bibliography, this is a book that should be carefully read, and re-read, by every historian of the early modern period.' * Seventeenth-Century News *This is a massive work. It covers far more ground than its title indicates...It is good, in these days of soundbites, "dumbing-down" and widespread intellectual sloth, to come upon such a monument of scholarship. The time, determination and care that must have gone into creating it are most impressive--and so is the result. The hopes and fears, doubts and certainties of the early modern intelligentsia come powerfully alive. Anyone who wishes to enter imaginatively into that mental world might well start by reading this remarkable book. * The Obsever review section *of all the books on the subject which have recently appeared, this is perhaps the most remarkable, raising our understanding of ideas about witchcraft to a new level of sophistication. It is based on massive research in teh learned literature of demonology in the period.../ ... Clark's erudition is combined with intense methodological sophistication.../ ... there is no doubt that IThinking With DemonsI will force us to reconsider the place of witchcraft in early modern ideas, and thus to think more deeply about the nature of those ideas in themselves./ Michael Hunter, Birkbeck College, London, Eighteenth Century Life, vol 22, no 2, May 1998.Important and provocative. A magisterial survey of European demonological thought from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Clark's mastery of the sources, his effective use of linguistic theory, and the originality of his interpretations make the reading of this massive, complex, and skilfully constructed book an immensely rewarding experience, one that easily repays the time and effort that one must invest in it. The most comprehensive and thorough study of early modern witchcraft beliefs in any language. * Brian P. Levack, Albion *

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Book SynopsisThis is a study of magic in western Europe in the early Middle Ages. Valerie Flint explores its practice and belief in Christian society, and examines the problems raised by so-called `pagan survivals'' and superstition''. She unravels the complex processes at work in the early medieval Christian church to show how the rejection of non-Christian magic came to be tempered by a more accommodating attitude: confrontation was replaced by negotiation, and certain practices previously condemned were not merely accepted, but actively encouraged. The forms of magic which were retained, as well as those the church set out to obliterate, are carefully analysed. The `superstitions'' condemned at the Reformation are shown to be, in origin, rational and intelligent concessions intended to reconcile coexisting cultures.Dr Flint explores the sophisticated cultural and religious compromise achieved by the church in this period. This is a scholarly and challenging book, which makes a major contributionTrade ReviewFlint's thesis is both significant and provocative ... a big, beautifully written, and wonderfully learned book. * The Higher *Table of ContentsPART I. INTRODUCTION: THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY ; PART II. THE MAGIC OF THE HEAVENS ; PART III. THE MAGIC OF THE EARTH ; PART IV. THE MAGUS

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Book SynopsisDefining ''magic'' is a maddening task. Over the last century numerous philosophers, anthropologists, historians, and theologians have attempted to pin down its essential meaning, sometimes analysing it in such complex and abstruse depth that it all but loses its sense altogether. For this reason, many people often shy away from providing a detailed definition, assuming it is generally understood as the human control of supernatural forces. ''Magic'' continues to pervade the popular imagination and idiom. People feel comfortable with its contemporary multiple meanings, unaware of the controversy, conflict, and debate its definition has caused over two and a half millennia. In common usage today ''magic'' is uttered in reference to the supernatural, superstition, illusion, trickery, religious miracles, fantasies, and as a simple superlative. The literary confection known as ''magical realism'' has considerable appeal and many modern scientists have ironically incorporated the word into their vocabulary, with their ''magic acid'', ''magic bullets'' and ''magic angles''.Since the so-called European Enlightenment magic has often been seen as a marker of primitivism, of a benighted earlier stage of human development. Yet across the modern globalized world hundreds of millions continue to resort to magic - and also to fear it. Magic provides explanations and remedies for those living in extreme poverty and without access to alternatives. In the industrial West, with its state welfare systems, religious fundamentalists decry the continued moral threat posed by magic. Under the guise of neo-Paganism, its practice has become a religion in itself. Magic continues to be a truly global issue.This Very Short Introduction does not attempt to provide a concluding definition of magic: it is beyond simple definition. Instead it explores the many ways in which magic, as an idea and a practice, has been understood and employed over the millennia. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewDavies explores an impressive range of topics including the basic terminology of magic, major theoretical approaches to the subject, the tradition of written magic, its use as a strategy for excluding others and defining ones own group, and the revival of magic in the context of contemporary paganism. ... The book is interspersed with a selection of photographs and illustrations, and it is well worth such a modest outlay. * Juliette Wood, Folklore *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Anthropologies of magic ; 2. Historical perspectives ; 3. All in the mind? ; 4. Writing magic ; 5. Practising magic ; 6. Magic and the modern world ; Conclusion

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Book SynopsisDespite the dramatic expansion of modern technology, which defines and dominates many aspects of contemporary life and thought, the Western magical traditions are currently undergoing an international resurgence. How can we account for this widespread interest in ancient magical belief systems? In historical terms, Gnosticism and the Hermetica, the medieval Kabbalah, Tarot and Alchemy, and more recently, Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, collectively laid the basis for the modern magical revival, which first began to gather momentum in Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. Modern Western magic has since become increasingly eclectic, drawing on such diverse sources as classical Greco-Roman mythology, Celtic cosmology, Kundalini yoga and Tantra, shamanism, chaos theory, and the various spiritual traditions associated in many different cultures with the Universal Goddess.In this overview of the modern occult revival, Nevill Drury traces the rise of various forms of magical belief andTrade ReviewDrury is a skilled word craftsman, making his prose a pleasure to read. The many years he has spent researching this field are reflected in his masterly analysis, with information presented in a flowing, yet systematic fashion. I expect Stealing Fire from Heaven will immediately be recognized as filling an important gap in the literature. * James R. Lewis, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tromso, Norway *Table of ContentsPREFACE; INTRODUCTION; NOTES; BIBLIOGRAPHY; INDEX

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Book SynopsisHenrik Bogdan and Martin P. Starr offer the first comprehensive examination of one of the twentieth century''s most distinctive occult iconoclasts. Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) was a study in contradictions. He was born into a Fundamentalist Christian family, then educated at Cambridge where he experienced both an intellectual liberation from his religious upbringing and a psychic awakening that led him into the study of magic. He was a stock figure in the tabloid press of his day, vilified during his life as a traitor, drug addict and debaucher; yet he became known as the perhaps most influential thinker in contemporary esotericism. The practice of the occult arts was understood in the light of contemporary developments in psychology, and its advocates, such as William Butler Yeats, were among the intellectual avant-garde of the modernist project. Crowley took a more drastic step and declared himself the revelator of a new age of individualism. Crowley''s occult bricolage, Magick, wasTrade ReviewIt is a balanced collection of well-selected essays by scholars and researchers who know their subjects, all of which are stimulating, and which succeed in showing why Crowley should be taken seriously [...] Not just recommended but essential reading! * Magonia Review of Books *Table of ContentsContributors ; List of Figures ; List of Tables ; Foreword - Wouter J. Hanegraaff ; 1. Introduction - Henrik Bogdan and Martin P. Starr ; 2. The Sorcerer and His Apprentice: Aleister Crowley and the Magical Exploration of Edwardian Subjectivity - Alex Owen ; 3. Varieties of Magical Experience: Aleister Crowley's Views on Occult Practice - Marco Pasi ; 4. Envisioning the Birth of a New Aeon: Dispensationalism and Millenarianism in the Thelemic Tradition - Henrik Bogdan ; 5. The Great Beast as a Tantric hero: The Role of Yoga and Tantra in Aleister Crowley's Magick - Gordan Djurdjevic ; 6. Continuing Knowledge from Generation unto Generation: The Social and Literary Background of Aleister Crowley's Magick - Richard Kaczynski ; 7. Aleister Crowley and the Yezidis - Tobias Churton ; 8. The Frenzied Beast: The Phaedran Furores in the Rites and Writings of Aleister Crowley - Matthew D. Rogers ; 9. Aleister Crowley: Freemason! - Martin P. Starr ; 10. "The One Thought that was not Untrue": Aleister Crowley and A. E. Waite - Robert R. Gilbert ; 11. The Beast and the Prophet: Aleister Crowley's Fascination with Joseph Smith - Massimo Introvigne ; 12. Crowley and Wicca - Ronald Hutton ; 13. Through the Witch's Looking Glass: The Magick of Aleister Crowley and the Witchcraft of Rosaleen Norton - Keith Richmond ; 14. The Occult Roots of Scientology? L. Ron Hubbard, Aleister Crowley and the Origins of the World's Most Controversial New Religion - Hugh Urban ; 15. Satan and the Beast. The Influence of Aleister Crowley on Modern Satanism - Asbjorn Dyrendal ; Index

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Book SynopsisUsing the previously misunderstood interactions between Robert Boyle, widely known as "the father of chemistry," and George Starkey, an alchemist and the most prominent American scientific writer before Benjamin Franklin, as their guide, William R. Newman and Lawrence M.Trade Review"This is the history of science at its best: erudite, wide-ranging, and convincingly iconoclastic." - Anthony Grafton; "This book will be read by historians of chemistry, but it ought to be read much more widely, by historians of science more generally, of course, but also by anyone interested in the processes of intellectual change and in the problem of understanding practice." - Pamela H. Smith, American Historical Review"

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Alchemy and Authority makes a significant contribution to the history of early modern science, and also provides some valuable material for the study of early modern state-building and court culture. . . . This extremely readable and enjoyable book has much to offer historians and literary scholars of a variety of backgrounds."--Paul Brand "German History " "Nummedal's Alchemy and Authority should be read not just by historians of science but also by historians interested in court culture. Her work offers a new look at the dynamic relationship between the construction of natural knowledge and political authority that many historians will benefit from reading."--Darin Hayton "Renaissance Quarterly " "This is a terrific study, accessible, based in concrete archival research, and well connected to contemporary discussions. It gives new direction to thinking about the role of alchemy in the social and cultural life of early modern Europe. By diffracting the light usually focused on prominent alchemical figures in the history of science and medicine, Nummedal adds a much needed cultural dimension to the understanding of how alchemical identities were shaped in early modern Europe and to how they in turn influenced the social and intellectual world around them."--Bruce T. Moran "Bulletin of the History of Medicine " "Alchemy and Authority does for the history of alchemy what the literature on quacks has done for the history of medicine: it approaches the blurry boundaries that define an individual's success or downfall in a profession and in society. By asking, reconsidering, and answering the questions posed here, Nummedal speaks to historians of alchemy and science as well as to anyone intrigued by history and the mechanisms of economic systems, power, and authority. . . . . Her style is refreshingly concise and engaging. She is one of only a few academic authors who manage to confine and cionsistently pursue their argument . . . and yet manage to write beautiful, effortless prose."--Anke Timmerman "Chemical Heritage "

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Book SynopsisAccording to the people of the Mueda plateau in northern Mozambique, sorcerers remake the world by asserting the authority of their own imaginative visions of it. This work explores the issues provoked by this equation. A key theme of the author's research into sorcery is that one sorcerer's claims can be challenged or reversed by other sorcerers.Trade Review"At its core, this very significant book is a meditation on how to understand discourses on and around sorcery on the Mueda plateau in Mozambique. Here, Harry West is concerned with the question of how Muedans use sorcery discourse, both 'to speak about the world and to act within it.' I found this book consistently fascinating, subtle, and deeply grounded in local understandings of a complex and ambiguous world and in anthropological theory." - Donald Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz"

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Book SynopsisDavid Gordon White excavates and seeks to centre within its broader Indian context the lost tradition of the medieval Siddhas.

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Book SynopsisA bold new reconsideration of Hoodoo belief and practiceTrade Review"Mojo Workin' is a key contribution to the study of Hoodoo in America, with some energizing new ideas about its origins, early expression, and broader religious aspects."--Journal of American Folklore"Hazzard-Donald set out to demonstrate the need to include African American Hoodoo in the study of African American religion in the New World. The search she presents in her work clearly validates the belief that there is a strong connection between African American Hoodoo and African American religion. . . . The author provides a great deal of research and analysis that is sure to aid scholars, students, and enthusiasts."--Journal of Folklore Research "Hazzard-Donald's formulation of Hoodoo's evolution represents a new chronology for its study and transformation over time. It's a valuable contribution to the growing number of volumes concerned with African-based traditional spiritual beliefs in the New World."--American Studies"A powerful reinterpretation of African American Hoodoo. This comprehensive volume will be an important tool for anyone interested in African American folk belief and the supernatural."--Jerrilyn McGregory, author of Downhome Gospel: African American Spiritual Activism in Wiregrass Country"This tradition has been little studied especially within the fields of religious studies. Instead it has been left to anthropologists, sociologists, and certain popular cultural reports to present what have been incomplete and often offensive materials. This work has done an exemplary job of correcting that lacuna… A significant contribution to the literature of African-based traditions in the United States." --Religious Studies Review"The book presents possibilities for reassessing some misunderstood aspects of the African American religious experience. It is with a profound respect for Hoodoo as a living practice that Hazzard-Donald brings a kind of moral authority to her scholarship. In so doing she also distills many of the polarizing dynamics present in Hoodoo-Conjure communities today."--Nova Religio

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2021 American Board & Academy of Psychoanalysis Annual Book Prize for Best Theoretical Book in Psychoanalysis!Stanton Marlan brings together writings which span the course of his career, examining Jungian psychology and the alchemical imagination as an opening to the mysteries of psyche and soul. Several chapters describe a telos that aims at the mysterious goal of the Philosophers' Stone, a move replete with classical and postmodern ideas catalysed by prompts from the unconscious: dreams, images, fantasies, and paradoxical conundrums. Psyche and matter are seen with regards to soul, light and darkness in terms of illumination, and order and chaos as linked in the image of chaosmos. Marlan explores the richness of the alchemical ideas of Carl Jung, James Hillman, and others and their value for a revisioning of psychology. In doing so, this volume challenges any tendency to literalism and essentialism, and contributes to an integratTrade ReviewStanton Marlan’s essays movingly mirror the steadily burning passion of the alchemists for their opus. With these critical ventures into alchemical psychology Marlan has forged an opus of his own that is more than an amalgam of other thinkers’ insights. It is a singular work of creative scholarship and imagination and is thus another link in the golden chain of engagement with the mysteries of the human psyche.Murray Stein, Ph.D., author of Jung’s Map of the SoulTo use an alchemical metaphor, in this collection of his writings, we find Stan Marlan having "taken another round in the container." That is, he works his material again and again, with it each time becoming more refined, sophisticated, and qualitatively transformed. The result is a series of deep insights and psychological wisdom, richly evolved and well worth the reader’s time. I highly recommend this intellectually clarifying and emotionally satisfying book!Pat Berry, Ph.D., Jungian AnalystOver the years my own understanding of Jung has been deepened by Stan Marlan’s own original and insightful essays on the pivotal place of alchemy in Jung’s psychology. What a joy now to have the fifteen essays gathered in this volume. For the reader the book itself becomes an alchemical vessel whose fire attests to the radical depths and reveals the expansive reach of Jung’s Alchemical Psychology beyond the narrow confines of what his psychology has become. Marlan’s scholarship and elegant writing display Jung’s alchemical imagination as a necessary and much needed recovery of the erotic coupling between psyche and nature, that dark desire of spirit to matter and for matter to be inspired. Read Marlan’s book and learn to trust and to love the brilliance of the soul’s dark light that illuminated the alchemists of old and beckons us to be with them today. Robert D. Romanyshyn, Ph.D., author of Victor Frankenstein, the Monster and the Shadows of Technology: The Frankenstein PropheciesTable of Contents1. Jung’s Discovery of Alchemy and Its Development in the Jungian Tradition 2. Jung and Alchemy: A Daimonic Reading 3. Fire in the Stone: An Inquiry into the Alchemy of Soul Making 4. Salt and the Alchemical Soul: Freudian, Jungian, and Archetypal Perspectives 5. The Metaphor of Light and Renewal in Taoist Alchemy and Jungian Psychology 6. The Metaphor of Light and Its Deconstruction in Jung’s Alchemical Vision 7. Facing the Shadow: Turning toward the Darkness of the Nigredo 8. The Black Sun 9. From the Black Sun to the Philosophers’ Stone 10. A Critique of Wolfgang Giegerich’s Move from Imagination to the Logical Life of the Soul 11. What’s the Matter with Alchemical Recipes: Philosophy and Filth in the Forging of Jung’s Alchemical Psychology 12. The Philosophers’ Stone as Chaosmos: The Self and the Dilemma of Diversity 13. The Azure Vault: Alchemy and the Cosmological Imagination 14. Divine Darkness and Divine Light: Alchemical Illumination and the Mystical Play Between Knowing and Unknowing

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Book SynopsisWhy spiritual and supernatural yearnings, even investigations into the occult, flourished in the era of rationalist philosophy.Trade Review"John Fleming has written a fascinating, compulsively readable account of the shadowy world that lay just beyond the clear, clean, well-ordered boundaries of the Age of Reason. His protagonists, vividly brought to life, are a motley collection of miracle workers, charlatans, confidence men, and half-crazed visionaries, caught up in a frenzied pursuit of occult truths, secret powers, and illicit pleasures. Never has the Enlightenment seemed stranger." -- Stephen Greenblatt, author of The Swerve "Fleming's book is about two cultural commonplaces, the so-called darkness of the Middle Ages and the reputed brightness of the later age that called them dark. In nine greatly informative and entertaining chapters, Fleming turns the tables by showing that the enlightenment had a dark side that was an integral part of it. Hence, its dark side must be understood as co-Enlightenment, not as what is often called the Counter-Enlightenment. This, in a deep sense, is an important book in the cultural study of history." -- Hans Aarsleff, author of From Locke to Saussure "This is a book that sparkles with wit and learning and mischief. In place of a pale age of reason, John Fleming guides us through the witching hour of the Enlightenment, a time haunted by visions of magic, mystery, and the occult-enchanted and enchanting." -- Lawrence Lipking, Chester D. Tripp Professor of Humanities, Northwestern University

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Book SynopsisA lively volume exploring the use and abuse of the word 'magic' in late antique texts.Trade Review'This is an entertaining and scholarly introduction to magical beliefs and practices in the early centuries of the Christian era ... This book will be required reading for students and researchers of ancient magic.' - R.J.Clare University of Leeds'[Janowitz's] book will help serve as an introduction to the fascinating study of ancient magic for the non-specialist ...' - Journal of Roman StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction; Chapter 1 Greco-Roman, Christian and Jewish Concepts of “Magic”; Chapter 2 Daimons and Angels and the World of Exorcism; Chapter 3 Ancient Rites for Gaining Lovers; Chapter 4 Using Natural Forces for Divine Goals; Chapter 5 Divine Power, Human Hands; Chapter 6 “Even the Decent Women Practice Witchcraft”; Chapter 7 Concluding Note;

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Book SynopsisFirst Published in 2004. Uncertainty is an aspect of existence among the Maasai in East Africa. They take ritual precautions against mystical misfortune, especially at their ceremonial gatherings, which exude displays of confidence, and generate a sense of time, space, community, and being. Yet their performances are undermined by a concern for clandestine psychopaths who are thought to create havoc through sorcery. Normally elders seek moral explanations for erratic encounters with misfortune, viewing God as the Supreme and unknowable figure of Providence. However, sorcery lies beyond their collective wisdom, and they look for guidance from their Prophet, as a more powerful sorcerer to whom they are bound for protection. This work examines the variation of this pattern, associated with different profiles of social life and tension across the Maasai federation.Table of ContentsPaul Spencer is Emeritus Professor of African Anthropology at SOAS and Honorary Director of the International African Institute. He has published extensively on age systems and pastoralism in East Africa; and the present work follows from his earlier books on The Samburu (1965) and The Maasai of Matapato (1988) both now reissued by Routledge.

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Book SynopsisExplores the complex interconnection of scent and magic in the Greco-Roman world between 800 BCE and CE 600, drawing on ancient literature and the modern study of the senses to examine the sensory depth and richness of ancient magic.

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Book SynopsisIn this major re-evaluation of Isaac Newton's intellectual life, Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs shows how his pioneering work in mathematics, physics, and cosmology was intertwined with his study of alchemy. Directing attention to the religious ambience of the alchemical enterprise of early modern Europe, Dobbs argues that Newton understood alchemy - and the divine activity in micromatter to which it spoke - to be a much needed corrective to the overly mechanized system of Descartes. The same religious basis underlay the rest of his work. To Newton it seemed possible to obtain partial truths from many different approaches to knowledge, be it textual work aimed at the interpretation of prophecy, the study of ancient theology and philosophy, creative mathematics, or experiments with prisms, pendulums, vegetating minerals, light, or electricity. Newton's work was a constant attempt to bring these partial truths together, with the larger goal of restoring true natural philosophy and true religion.Trade Review"Dobbs is always in complete control of the highly diverse strands of her argument. A splendid achievement." R. Palter, Choice"...provides many interesting insights into Newton's way of working. It is clearly written." J.S. Joel, Mathematical Reviews"...detailed and convincing..." William R. Shea"In this outstanding book Dobbs has raised the understanding of Newton to a new level of sophistication. No superlative I have used overstates my estimate of the value of The Janus Faces of Genius." Richard Westfall, The Times Higher Education Supplement"...tracks, more thoroughly than any single work previously has done, the constant recalibrations of Newton's efforts to synthesize all human knowledge so that history, theology, and science become reflexive confirmations of a mysterious order of the universe....its appeal should extend beyond historians of science. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the intellectual development of early modern history." Robert Markley, Configurations"This is an important and stimulating book. The fruit of long and patient research, it offers a full account of Newton's varied intellectual interests and of the unity that links and shapes the diverse expressions of his quest for truth. Professor Dobbs builds skillfully upon the firm foundations of contemporary scholarship to forge a masterly account of Newton's vision, and to examine the cultural and individual imperatives that impelled his search for an ultimate understanding of the way things are. Dobb's study can be read with profit by specialist and nonspecialist alike." J.E. McGuire, American Journal of Physics"Dobbs's achievement is to make the unity of Newton's many different studies, when viewed within the integrating framework of alchemy, not only evident but obvious; I know of no more thorough or learned treatment of her subject." Tracy Fessenden, History of ReligionsTable of ContentsList of illustrations; Acknowledgments; 1. Isaac Newton, philosopher by fire; 2. Vegetability and providence; 3. Cosmology and history; 4. Modes of divine activity in the world: before the Principia; 5. Modes of divine activity in the world: the Principia period; 6. Modes of divine activity in the world: after the Principia, 1687–1713; 7. Modes of divine activity in the world: after the Principia, 1713–1727; 8. Epilogue; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe Alchemy Reader is a collection of primary source readings on alchemy and hermeticism, which offers readers an informed introduction and background to a complex field through the works of important ancient, medieval and early modern alchemical authors. Including selections from the legendary Hermes Trimegistus to Robert Boyle and Isaac Newton, the book illustrates basic definitions, conceptions, and varied interests and emphases; and it also illustrates the highly interdisciplinary character of alchemical thought and its links with science and medicine, philosophical and religious currents, the visual arts and iconography and, especially, literary discourse. Like the notable anthologies of alchemical writings published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it seeks to counter the problem of an acute lack of reliable primary texts and to provide a convenient and accessible point of entry to the field.Trade Review'Linden's introduction to the collection and the headnotes accompanying each selection, which testify to Linden's long experience and wide reading in the history and texts of alchemy, will help make this a much-used volume.' British Society for the History of ScienceTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Ancient Texts: 1. Hermes Trismegistus: The Emerald Table (Tabula smaragdina); 2. Plato: from the Timaeus; 3. Aristotle: from the Meteorology; 4. Pseudo-Democritus: from the Treatise of Democritus on Things Natural and Mystical; 5. Anonymous: Dialogue of Cleopatra and the Philosophers; 6. Anonymous: from Leiden Papyrus X and the Stockholm Papyrus; 7. Zosimos of Panopolis: Of Virtue, Lesson 1-3; 8. Stephanos of Alexandria: from The Great and Sacred Art of the Making of Gold; 9. Anonymous: The Poem of the Philosopher Theophrastos upon the Sacred Art; Part II. Islamic and Medieval Texts: 10. Khalid ibn Yazid: from Secreta Alchymiae; 11. Pseudo-Geber: from Of the Investigation or Search of Perfection; Of the Sum of Perfection; and His Book of Furnaces; 12. Avicenna: De Congelatione et Conglutinatione Lapidum; 13. Albertus Magnus: from the Libellus de Alchimia; 14. Roger Bacon: from the Radix Mundi; 15. Nicolas Flamel: from His Exposition of the Hieroglyphical Figures; 16. Bernard, Earl of Trevisan: A Treatise of the Philosophers Stone; 17. George Ripley: The Epistle of George Ripley written to King Edward the 4; Part III. Renaissance and Seventeenth Century Texts: 18. Paracelsus: from Of the Nature of Things and Paracelsus His Aurora; 19. Francis Anthony: Aurum-Potabile: or the Receit of Dr. Fr. Antonie; 20. Michael Sendivogius: from A New Light of Alchymie and A Dialogue between Mercury, the Alchymist and Nature; 21. Robert Fludd: from Mosaicall Philosophy; 22. Gabriel Plattes: A Caveat for Alchymists; 23. John French: preface to The Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trimegistus in XVII Books; 24. George Starkey/Eirenaeus Philalethes: The Admirable Efficacy, and almost incredible Virtue of true Oyl; from An Exposition Upon Sir George Ripley's Epistle to King Edward IV; 25. Elias Ashmole: Prolegomena to the Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum; 26. Robert Boyle: from An Historical Account of a Degradation of Gold Made by an Anti-Elixir: A Strange Chymical Narrative; 27. Isaac Newton: The Key (Keynes MS 18); The Commentary on the Emerald Tablet (Keynes MS 28), King's College, Cambridge; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisAncient Greeks and Romans often turned to magic to achieve personal goals. Magical rites were seen as a route for direct access to the gods, for material gain and for spiritual satisfaction. In this fascinating survey of magical beliefs and practices from the sixth century BCE through late antiquity, Fritz Graf sheds new light on ancient religion.Trade ReviewFritz Graf…is well known for his work on Greek religion. His book on magic in the ancient world…contains a great deal of very interesting material, ably discussed; it is a substantial and controversial contribution to the study of a fascinating and controversial subject. -- Jasper Griffin * New York Review of Books *A very good book, full of insights. -- David Graeber * The Nation *[Graf’s] combination of scholarly knowledge, caution and a willingness to test the boundaries of his arguments (this third is rarely combined with the first two) makes this the most successful general introduction to the problems and scope of Greco-Roman magical practices… He provides much intelligent solidity where the subject has often prompted an over-sympathetic obsessiveness and wildness. -- Simon Goldhill * London Review of Books *[Fritz Graf] draws upon a wide range of evidence, including papyri recipes, curse tablets, ‘voodoo dolls,’ trials of alleged magicians, and observations made by ancient authors, to reconsider, as a ‘historian of religion,’ the changing forms and functions of magic in Greece and Rome. Clearly written, scholarly, and at times stimulatingly controversial, the book should appeal to a variety of readers, from those approaching the subject for the first time to experts in the field. -- Hugh Parry * Phoenix *Fritz Graf’s imaginative contributions to the study of myth and ritual are deservedly well known; in this work, Graf brings his own scholarship, and that of participants in a series of seminars…to bear on the hitherto rather neglected field of magic in antiquity. The result is an accessible, clear and well-annotated guide to the complex world of the ancient magician, which serves both as a valuable introduction to the field and as an invaluable resource for further research and debate. -- Michael Lambert * Scholia Reviews *This will be a very helpful introduction to the subject. * Society for Old Testament Study *A comprehensive and fascinating introduction to ancient magic. It gives direct access to the sources but selects the important, characteristic examples. The author is well versed in the scholarly literature and in modern theories and presents a vivid and original account. -- Walter BurkertTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Naming the Sorcerer Portrait of the Magician. Seen from the Outside How to Become a Magician: The Rites of Initiation Curse Tablets and Voodoo Dolls Literary Representation of Magic Words and Acts Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn accessible guide to Thelema, including a brief biography of Aleister Crowley, an overview of his most important ideas, and instructions for performing Thelemic rituals and magick

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Book SynopsisMake Your Magic Come Alive with Color Featuring more than seventy spells, this book shows you how to connect with color for powerful magic. Ileana Abrev teaches you how to align with every color of the rainbow and beyond, tying them to the days of the week and the planetary bodies. All colors have an important place in magic, and this handy book provides simple, color-based ways to enrich your practice. You'll learn how to set up your sacred space, select the best color for your purpose, and use crystals, candles, spray essences, and bath mixtures to strengthen your workings. This beautiful book paves the way to manifesting your deepest thoughts and desires.

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Book SynopsisYour Hands-on, Back-to-Basics Guide to Building a Magical Practice As if you're having face-to-face lessons on her porch, H. Byron Ballard introduces you to the ways of magic, answering vital questions about what it is, why it matters, and how to do it. She teaches the mechanics and foundational skills of practice, offering no-nonsense techniques that practitioners of any skill level or tradition can use. Drawing from her many years as a practicing witch, Ballard demonstrates how to engage daily with the energy around you. She encourages you to experience magic with fresh eyeswhether you're a beginner or need to regain a beginner's mind. This book provides grounding exercises, shielding methods, healing magic, insight on witchcraft tools, and more. Ballard offers everything you need to live a full, enchanted life in our deliciously magical world.

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Book SynopsisThis book is about Black girl magick, queer girl magick, straight girl magick, trans magick, bisexual magick. It''s about giving yourself the power to be fierce...Black women are Hierophants, Magicians, Empresses, and High Priestesses.?Mawiyah Kai El-Jamah Bomani Authentic and unapologetic, this guide to magical spirituality empowers you to take back the power to heal and shine under your own strength. Written by an accomplished Hoodoo practitioner, Conjuring the Calabash features spells, recipes, and rituals that help you rise out of the constrictions around you.Mawiyah Kai El-Jamah Bomani shows you how to bless your calabash (sacred womb) with love and reawaken your fullest potential through folk traditions, personal stories, and her favorite songs and pop stars. An inclusive and intersectional voice in contemporary Hoodoo, Mawiyah will help you become your fiercest self.

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Book SynopsisCreate Sustainable, Positive Change and Stay Motivated in the Long Term Meaningful experiences don''t come without commitment; you need slow magic for profound and enduring work. Featuring more than fifty hands-on exercises alongside theoretical discussions of magic, this book supports you in making big changes without getting burned out. Whether you''re a Wiccan, ceremonial magician, or practice any other Western tradition, Anthony Rella provides the tools and techniques you need to stay engaged with your goal over days, months, and years. He also helps you evaluate today''s magical outcomes so you can make future workings better. With Anthony''s guidance, you will connect to the universe on a deeper level and confidently manifest what you need when you need it.

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Book SynopsisAn insider''s guide for beginner mystics, How to Study Magic is your ultimate introduction to the main areas of magicfrom witchcraft to grimoireswhat it means to practice them, and, most of all, how to get started.Have you ever wanted to dive into the world of magic, but weren''t sure where to begin? You''re not alone! Knowing where to start can be mystifying, but it doesn''t have to be. In How to Study Magic, author, educator, and seasoned witch Sarah Lyons guides you through an introductory course of study, and an enchanted entry point to the wide world of magical paths.Drawing on Sarah''s own experience practicing and teaching magic for more than a decade, this interactive exploration takes novice witches through basic tools they can use in their studiesfrom divination and meditation to cleansing and protectionbefore diving into the history, lore, and modern incarnations of a wide range of magical practices. With chapters on Witchcraft, Chaos Magic, Spellbooks and Grimoires, Gods an

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Book SynopsisA witch's essential guide to all things cannabis, pairing two major trends: modern magic and widespread recreational use of marijuana, from practicing witch and cannabis writer Sophie Saint Thomas.

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Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling author of the princess saves herself in this onecomes an accessible guide to incorporating magic into your life completely from scratch, welcoming beginner witches with arms wide open. As witchcraft grows ever more popular, there are countless introductions to magical practice to choose from?so many that you might not know where to begin. When you''re just getting started, it''s easy to be intimidated by even entry-level magic books, or you simply may not have timeto read such heavy texts, leaving you discouraged. Your Magical Lifeaims to change that, showing that magic doesn?t have to be fancy, time-consuming, or one-size-fits-all. Drawing from years of practical experience, this is an interactive beginner''s guide that introduces the tenets of witchcraft so that you can develop your own practice in whatever way works for you. amanda lovelace offers simple explanations, inspiring poetry, words of encouragement, magical journaling prompts, and the tools needed to begin building a strong, long-lasting practice focused on self-love.

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Book SynopsisNo matter where you live, natural resources are all around you. These pieces of nature hold inherent properties-and inherent magic-that could be useful to you, and they are often hiding in plain sight. In this book, divided into chapters by season, you''ll find:* Tips for foraging correctly, mindfully, and sustainably* Instructions for teas, balms, decoctions, and other herbal remedies made out of foraged ingredients and materials* Wildcrafts for rituals that usher in the new season, inspired by mystical folk practices around the world And more!With practical advice for novice foragers and sidebars on how different cultures have connected with the greatest mystic of all, Mother Earth, Enchanted Foraging explores plants and their various uses not just for consumption but for their intrinsic value. Readers will come away with a more complete knowledge of, and appreciation for, the world that lies just beyond their doors--its abundance, hidde

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Book SynopsisFrom Arthurian legend to tales of ancient China, horses have traversed the world alongside humans for centuries, and their heroic adventures are gathered here in this one-of-a-kind little encyclopedia . . . Beloved for their grace, strength, and untamed beauty, horses have always loomed large in our imaginations, featuring in mythologies across cultures and throughout history. This little encyclopedia rounds up more than 50 mythical horses from around the world, including: - Bai Long Ma, part dragon and part horse, of the Chinese classic Journey to the West- Balius and Xanthus, Achilles''s horses who fought in the Trojan War- Pegasus, a winged stallion and child of the Greek god Poseidon - Sleipnir, a war horse belonging to great Norse god Odin And so many more! With detailed illustrations throughout, this book pays tribute to some of our most formidable equine friends.

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Book SynopsisThis beautifully designed, boxed oracle set and 160-page history is ideal for anyone seeking guidance and inspiration from some of history’s most powerful witches and their craft.Written and illustrated by a practicing witch, this dramatic oracle set features a beautifully illustrated book and card deck inspired by the magical and mysterious tales of the witches, familiars, deities, and items within the pages of this striking guide.Witches through History includes archetypes, profiles, and true accounts of women who were thought to have spoken with spirits or made bargains with the Devil—and how they used their midnight powers to help or harm members of their community—the instruments and methods of the craft, the use of familiar spirits, and various methods of witch-finding and hunting. Popular tropes and folklore dealing with witches offer readers a deeper understanding of this mysterious, magical, and sometimes tragic part of hist

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