Magic, alchemy and hermetic thought Books

Book SynopsisThis book explores philosophical theories which in the Renaissance provided an interpretation of nature, of its laws and exceptions and, lastly, of man's capacity to dominate the cosmos by way of natural magic or by magical ceremonies. It does not concentrate on the Hermetic and Neoplatonic philosophers (Ficino, Pico, Della Porta), or on the relationship between magic and the scientific revolution, but rather upon the interference of the ideas and practices of learned magicians with popular rites and also with witchcraft, a most important question for social and religious history. New definitions of magic put forward by certain unorthodox and "wandering scholastics" (Trithemius, Agrippa, Paracelsus, Bruno) will interest readers of Renaissance and Reformation texts and history.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments List of Illustrations Introduction: Must We Really Re-Appopriate Magic? PART I. I.1. Continuity in the Definition of Natural Magic from Pico to Della Porta. Astrology and Magic in Italy and North of the Alps I.2. Scholastic and Humanist Views of Hermeticism. Witchcraft, "Natural Magic", Trithemius' Magic and the First Signs of a Critical Turn of Mind in Agrippa I.3. Magic, Pseudepigraphy, Prophecies and Forgeries in Trithemius' Manuscripts. From Cusanus to Bovelles? Appendix I. Trithemius' Bibliography for Necromancers PART II. AGRIPPA AS AN AUTHOR OF PROHIBITED BOOKS II.1. Agrippa of Nettesheim as a Critical Magus II.2. Magic and Radical Reformation in Agrippa of Nettesheim Appendix II. Recent Studies on Agrippa PART III. BRUNO AS A READER OF PROHIBITED BOOKS III.1. The Initiates and the Idiot. Conjectures on Some Brunian Sources III.2. Hermetism and Magic in Giordano Bruno. Some Interpretations from Tocco to Corsano, from Yates to Ciliberto Appendix III. A Nolan before Bruno, Momus and Socratism in the Renaissance Indices Index of Names Subject Index Index of Places

Read more less

Book SynopsisL’ouvrage présente la première édition critique, traduction annotée et étude du Kitāb dā’irat al-aḥruf al-abjadiyya attribué à Hermès, texte de magie pratique basée sur la science des lettres (‘ilm al-ḥurūf). This book provides a critical edition and translation of the Kitāb dā’irat al-aḥruf al-abjadiyya, a treatise of practical letter magic attributed to Hermes, giving anyone interested in magical traditions a way to understand the intricacies of the science of letters (‘ilm al-ḥurūf).Table of ContentsIntroduction A. Découverte du traité B. Le Kitāb dā’irat al-aḥruf al-abjadiyya B. 1. L’attribution et l’origine forgée du traité B. 1. a. Hermès B. 1. b. Khwārizmī B. 2. Composition, datation et localisation C. Doctrine du Dā’irat al-aḥruf C. 1. La science des lettres C. 2. La doctrine du Dā’irat al-aḥruf C. 2. a. Contexte doctrinal C. 2. b. Principes magiques C. 2. c. L’officiant C. 2. d. Les êtres invoqués et leurs noms C. 2. e. But et typologie des recettes C. 2. f. Les moyens d’invocation Le pouvoir de l’écrit Les lettres et le cercle des lettres Les noms : les anges, les hommes, les entités spirituelles Les arcanes (iḍmār) Le shu‘bād Encres et supports d’écriture L’écriture inversée Le pouvoir de la parole Les anges et les arcanes Les incantations et l’invocation universelle (al-qasam al-jāmi‘) Les neuf premières lettres et les noms de l’alliance Le pouvoir des fumigations Le pouvoir des manipulations C. 2. g. Le moment de l’invocation C. 2. h. Un cas particulier : les quatre éléments C. 2. i. Les références et citations D. Introduction à l’édition D. 1. Description des témoins D. 1. a. A et B = Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 2357, ff. 175r-204v et ff. 207r-213v (223 ff.) D. 1. b. C = Ankara, Milli Kütüphane, Ankara Adnan Ötüken İl Halk Kütüphanesi, ms. 968, ff. 63v-66v (67 ff.) D. 1. c. D = Sharḥ al-Jaljalūtiyya al-kubrā, in Būnī, Manba‘ uṣūl al-ḥikma, pp. 222-230 (texte complet pp. 91-322) D. 2. Tradition textuelle D. 3. Méthode d’édition et de traduction Texte et traduction Annexes A. Prologue de la version B et C B. Tableau des lettres et de leurs propriétés C. Tableau des anges des lettres D. Tableau des arcanes des lettres E. Tableaux des encres et des supports F. Tableau des fumigations G. Comparaison des figures G. 1. Figure 1 G. 2. Figure 2 G. 3. Figure 3 G. 4. Figure 4 G. 5. Figure 5 Bibliographie Index Table des matières

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Personal Religion and Magic in Mamasa, West Sulawesi, Kees Buijs describes the traditional culture of the Toraja’s, which is rapidly vanishing. The focus is on personal religion as it has its centre in the kitchen of each house. In the kitchen and also by the use of magical words and stones the gods are sought for their powers of blessing. This book adds important information to Buijs’ earlier Powers of Blessing from the Wilderness and from Heaven (Brill, 2006).Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter I Religion and magic Chapter II Headlines of the religion of the Toraja’s in West Sulawesi Chapter III Pairan, individual religious responsibility Chapter IV Stones and incantations, vestiges from the other world of the gods Chapter V Pairan and magic, personal religion in daily life Glossary Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTo what extent were practitioners of magic inspired by fictional accounts of their art? In how far did the daunting narratives surrounding legendary magicians such as Theophilus of Adana, Cyprianus of Antioch, Johann Georg Faust or Agrippa of Nettesheim rely on real-world events or practices? Fourteen original case studies present material from late antiquity to the twenty-first century and explore these questions in a systematic manner. By coining the notion of ‘fictional practice’, the editors discuss the emergence of novel, imaginative types of magic from the nineteenth century onwards when fiction and practice came to be more and more intertwined or even fully amalgamated. This is the first comparative study that systematically relates fiction and practice in the history of magic.Table of ContentsList of Figures Notes on Contributors Introduction   Bernd-Christian Otto and Dirk Johannsen 1 Magic as Pollution: Fictional Blasphemies and Ritual Realities in the Roman Period (1st cen. BCE–4th cen. C)   Kyle Fraser 2 The Medieval Anti-Faust: Stories, Rituals, and Self-Representations in the Flowers of Heavenly Teaching   Claire Fanger 3 Enchantment and Anger in Medieval Icelandic Literature and Later Folklore   Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir 4 Narratives of the Witch, the Magician, and the Devil in Early Modern Grimoires   Owen Davies 5 When Ritual Texts Become Legendary Practice and Fiction in Nordic Folklore   Ane Ohrvik 6 Magic and Literary Imagination in H. P. Blavatsky’s Theosophy   Marco Frenschkowski 7 The Emergence of Fictional Practice in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn: W.B. Yeats’ Talismanic Poetry   Dirk Johannsen 8 “My Life in a Love Cult”: Tantra, Orientalism, and Sex Magic in Early Twentieth-Century Fiction   Hugh B. Urban 9 Drawing Down the Moon: From Classical Greece to Modern Wicca?   Ethan Doyle White 10 Drinking from Hecate’s Fountain: Kenneth Grant’s Typhonian Trilogies and the Fusion Between Literature and Practiced Magic   Christian Giudice 11 If One Knows Where to Look, Fiction is Magic: Reading Fictional Texts as Manuals of Magic in Post-Soviet Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus   Kateryna Zorya 12 “Cthulhu Gnosis” Monstrosity, Selfhood, and Secular Re-Enchantment in Lovecraftian Occultural Practice   Justin Woodman 13 A Magickal School in the Twenty-First Century: The Grey School of Wizardry and Its Prehistory   Carole M. Cusack 14 Fictional Practice from Antiquity to Today   Bernd-Christian Otto Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe study of the Syriac magical traditions has largely been marginalised within Syriac studies, with the earliest treatments displaying a disparaging attitude towards both the culture and its magical practices. Despite significant progress in more recent scholarship in respect of the culture, its magical practices and their associated literatures remain on the margins of the scholarly imagination. This volume aims to open a discussion on the history of the field, to evaluate how things have progressed, and to suggest a fruitful way forward. In doing so, this volume demonstrates the incredible riches contained within the Syriac magical traditions, and the necessity of their study.Table of ContentsPreface List of Figures Notes on Contributors 1 Syriac Studies and Magic: An Introduction  Siam Bhayro and Marco Moriggi 2 Syriac Magic: An Overview of Previous Approaches and Prospects for the Future  Abigail Pearson 3 Syriac Magic and Medicine: A Near-Eastern Paradigm of Priestcraft  Siam Bhayro 4 Syriac Incantation Bowls and the Mesopotamian Context: A Glimpse into Christian-Jewish Cultural Interactions  Marco Moriggi 5 More on the ‘Book of Protection’ and the Syriac ‘Charms’: New Texts and Perspectives for the Study of Magic and Religion  Michael Zellmann-Rohrer 6 Traces of a Storied Universe: Biblical Figures and Motifs in Late-Antique Syriac Amulets  Nils H. Korsvoll 7 Soundings in the Textual History of Syriac Amulets  David Calabro 8 Syriac Magic and the Contemporary Christian Milieu: Continuity or Discontinuity?  Gaby Abousamra 9 A Mandaean Lamella and Its Parallels: BM 132957 + BM 132947 + BM 132954  Matthew Morgenstern and Ohad Abudraham Index of Subjects Index of Texts

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book offers an integrated study of the texts and images of illustrated Malay manuscripts on magic and divination from private and public collections in Malaysia, the UK and Indonesia. Containing some of the rare examples of Malay painting, these manuscripts provide direct evidence for the intercultural connections between the Malay region, other parts of Southeast Asia and the rest of the world. In this richly illustrated volume many images and texts are gathered for the first time, making this book essential reading for all those interested in the practice of magic and divination, and the history of Malay, Southeast Asian and Islamic manuscript art.Trade Review"Magic and Divination in Malay Illustrated Manuscripts is a pioneering study in the field of Malay manuscripts and deserves to be appreciated as an invaluable contribution to scholarship in Islamic art history. It will function as a fundamental resource for future research and teaching on the singular visual and material culture of the Malay lands." - Yuka Kadoi, in: Orientations, January/February (2018) "This is an important book. It makes a significant and original contribution to a little-known aspect of Malay manuscripture – illustrated Malay manuscripts on magic and divination – previously either ignored, or sampled very selectively, or approached tangentially through ethnographic studies… With its exceptionally wide-ranging references and thorough investigation, this book delivers much more than the sum of its parts, and constitutes a landmark in Malay manuscript studies." - Annabel Teh Gallop, in: Aseasuk News no. 61, Autumn (2017) "This comprehensive book resembles a well written encyclopaedia in targeting every aspect of Southeast Asian notes on divination and magic .." - Majid Daneshgar, in: Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 5, No. 3 (2016)Table of ContentsPREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NOTES TO THE READER Abbreviations Translations and Transliterations MAPS PART I: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND CHAPTER 1: Introduction: Malay Magic and Divination Manuscripts Malay Magic and Divination Manuscripts Importance of the Art Contained CHAPTER 2: Malay Magic And Divination The Malay Spirit World Magic and Divination Magicians and Shamans Tools of the Magician PART II: THE MANUSCRIPTS CHAPTER 3: Early Manuscripts and European Collecting Activities Manuscripts during the Srivijaya Period Magic and Divination Manuscripts from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Later European Collecting Activities and Scholarship CHAPTER 4: Material and Format European Paper and Watermarks The Folding-book Format Binding and Covers Colophons, Seals and Other Documentary Evidence Inks and Colours CHAPTER 5: The Contents: Texts and Images Relationship between Text and Image Some Issues Regarding the Sources of the Contents Titles, Opening Statements and Arrangement of the Texts Magical Rites Divinatory Techniques CHAPTER 6: The Art: Iconography, Style and Illumination General Remarks on the Illustrations and Diagrams Anthropomorphic Beings Animals Buildings Talismanic Designs Illumination and Decorative Elements Chinese and Western Influences and the Impact of Printing and Photography CHAPTER 7: Production, Patronage and Consumption Professional Magicians Female Magicians The Religious Milieu and Pondok Schools Patronage of the Royal Courts and the State Magicians Commissions by European Colonial Collectors Printed Books on Magic and Divination during the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Magic And Divination Manuscripts and Books during the Late Twentieth and Early Twenty-first Centuries CHAPTER 8: Conclusion APPENDIX: Catalogue BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

Read more less

Book SynopsisAries Book Series: Texts and Studies in Western Esotericism is the first professional academic book series specifically devoted to a long-neglected but now rapidly developing domain of research in the humanities, usually referred to as “Western Esotericism”. This field covers a variety of “alternative” currents in western religious history, including so-called “hermetic philosophy” and related currents in the early modern period; alchemy, paracelsianism and rosicrucianism; Jewish and Christian kabbalah and its later developments; theosophical and illuminist currents; and various occultist and related developments during the 19th and 20th centuries, up to and including popular contemporary currents such as the New Age movement. Published under the auspices of the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism (ESSWE). For the journal Aries - Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism please click here. The series has published an average of two volumes per year over the last five years.Table of ContentsList of Figures Notes on Contributors Introduction Or, What We Talk about When We Talk about Deviance   Manon Hedenborg White and Tim Rudbøg Part 1 Theorizing Deviance 1 On the Social Organization of Rejected Knowledge Reassessing the Sociology of the Occult   Egil Asprem 2 On the Concept of a Deviant Movement   Olav Hammer 3 Disrupting Sanctified Deviance The Benefits of Boredom   Jay Johnston 4 “The Judges of Normality Are Everywhere” Has Esotericism and the Ideas of H. P. Blavatsky’s Ever Been Normal?   Tim Rudbøg Part 2 Historical Cases 5 Constructions of Religious Deviance in the Greek and Roman Worlds   Richard Gordon 6 The Deviance of Toz The Reception of Toz Graecus and Magical Works Attributed to Toz in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries   Lauri Ockenström 7 Forgotten Knowledge, Deviance and Esotericism The Eternally Burning Lamps of Fortunio Liceti   Martin Mulsow 8 Strategic Deviance and Conflicting Loyalties The Spiritualist Interests of Bishop Ghenadie Petrescu (1836–1918)   Ionuț Daniel Băncilă 9 Jewish Kabbalah, Christian Onomatodoxy (Imyaslavie) and Theological Flexibility in Russia at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century   Konstantin Burmistrov 10 Vasily V. Nalimov – A Scientist, Philosopher and “Mystical Anarchist” from Komi   Birgit Menzel 11 Haṭhayoga as “Black Magic” in Early Theosophy and Beyond   Keith E. Cantú 12 Philology as an Epistemological Strategy to Claim Higher Knowledge Translational Endeavors within the Theosophical Society; A Case Study of Annie Besant’s Bhagavad-Gita   Yves Mühlematter 13 “I Would Not Have Left Your Platform Had I Not Been Compelled” Annie Besant’s Exclusion from the National Secular Society (1891)   Muriel Pécastaing-Boissière 14 Dismissing the Occult The Links between Esoteric Currents and French Homeopathic Medicine during the First Half of the Twentieth Century   Léo Bernard 15 The Devil’s Popess The French Reception of Maria de Naglowska (1883–1936) in the Early 1930s   Michele Olzi 16 Confessions of a Persian Opium Smoker Sadegh Hedayat, Esotericism, and The Blind Owl   Kurosh Amoui 17 Fernando Pessoa’s Multiple Esoteric Deviances   Fabio Mendia Part 3 Concluding Remarks 18 Afterword Rejected Knowledge as a Liberal Art   Joscelyn Godwin   Editors’ Conclusion   Manon Hedenborg White and Tim Rudbøg Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs magic is a powerful means to influence the natural world and human beings, and is deeply connected to the divine sphere, persons using it are in constant need to justify its use. The ambivalence of magic to serve both well-wishing and ill-wishing aims puts the practitioners ever at risk. This volume illuminates the strategies adopted to legitimise the practice of magic and analyses how these justifications are phrased and formulated in cuneiform texts, thereby revealing the underlying principles and unexplained axioms of using magic in the Ancient Near East.

Read more less