Magic, alchemy and hermetic thought Books

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Book SynopsisA practical guide to the Anglo-Saxon Futhark and how runes were used in Old England In the early Anglo-Saxon period, the region of Great Britain known as Northumbria was a kingdom in its own right. These lands, in what is now northern England and southeast Scotland, were the targets of the first Viking raids on Britain. This violent influx, followed by the establishment of trade routes with the Norse, brought the runes to the region, where they intermingled with local magical traditions and legends, resulting in the development of a practical runic wisdom entirely unique to Northumbria. In this guide to the Wyrdstaves, or runic practices, of Old Northumbria, Nigel Pennick examines the thirty-three runes of the Anglo-Saxon Futhark and how they were used in Old England for weaving the web of Wyrd. Sharing runic lore and legends from the area, he explains how the Northumbrian runes are unique because they contain elements from all the cultures of the region, including the Picts, Britons, Romans, Angles, Scots, and Norse. He illustrates how each rune in this tradition is a storehouse of ancient knowledge, detailing the meanings, historical uses, symbolism, and related tree and plant spirits for each of the thirty-three runes. The author describes the Northumbrian use of runes in magic and encryption and explores geomancy divination practices, the role of sacred numbers, and the power of the eight airts, or directions. He also shows how the Northumbrian runes have a close relationship with Ogam, the tree alphabet of the ancient Celts. Providing a magical history of Northumbria, as well as a look at the otherworldly beings who call these lands home, including boggarts, brownies, and dragons, Pennick explains how traditional spirituality is intimately tied to the landscape and the cycle of the seasons. He reveals how the runic tradition is still vibrantly alive in this area and ready for us to reawaken to it.Trade Review“In Runic Lore and Legend: Wyrdstaves of Old Northumbria, Pennick delivers the most thorough account of Anglo-Saxon history, mythology, and cosmology. His ability to weave their narrative into the use of the Northumbrian Runes and reveal their modern relevance is nothing less than magickal.” * S. Kelley Harrell, author of Runic Book of Days *“Nigel Pennick is one of the greatest living runic experts, bringing meticulous research and a profound magical understanding to his subject. This important book examines the distinctive Anglo-Saxon Futhark of Northumbria, essentially setting the thirty-three runes in the context of both time and place.” * Anna Franklin, author of Pagan Ways Tarot *“The magical runes of England have, ironically, been the most neglected of all the runic alphabets in writings in the English language. To have one of the leading authors on the wisdom of the runes pen this comprehensive manual on the Northumbrian wyrdstaves is a most valuable gift to all who follow the Northern Tradition. Pennick’s weaving of local history and lore around the runes illuminates his subject in a way that no other book has been able to achieve.” * Richard Rudgley, author of The Return of Odin: The Modern Renaissance of Pagan Imagination *“Nigel Pennick is a true initiate who can demonstrate to the reader how nature and cosmos correlate to each other. He explains runes, medieval traditions, and Celtic magic in a pedagogic way that helps us understand how these topics are universal--something that gives us knowledge about ourselves and is of highest relevance for humankind today. I regularly return to Nigel Pennick’s books and am delighted to add Runic Lore and Legend: Wyrdstaves of Old Northumbria to my shelf.” * Thomas Karlsson, Ph.D., author of Nightside of the Runes *"This book is far more than the cover promised--had I seen this in a bookshop I could have easily passed it over for something that appeared less intimidating but to have done so would have denied me the delightful, personable yet incredibly intelligent and thorough writing of this author... " * Em Chuter, Pagan Dawn: Journal of the Pagan Federation *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION Our Picture of Past Times CHAPTER 1The Kingdom of Northumbria A Brief History CHAPTER 2 The Spirit Landscape of Northumbria CHAPTER 3 Northumbrian Geomancy The Year, Time, and Space CHAPTER 4 Runes and Consciousness Weaving the Web of Wyrd CHAPTER 5The Runes of Northumbria CHAPTER 6 The First Airt of the Northumbrian RunesCHAPTER 7 The Second Airt of the Northumbrian Runes CHAPTER 8 The Third Airt of the Northumbrian Runes CHAPTER 9 The Fourth Airt of the Northumbrian RunesCHAPTER 10Runes in Magic and Encryption CHAPTER 11 Magical Symbols and Artifacts of Old Northumbria CHAPTER 12 Ing Legendary and Magical HistoryCHAPTER 13Yr The Outlaw Archers CHAPTER 14 Otherworldly Beings of the Northumbrian Landscape Boggarts, Hobs, Brownies, and Bogeymen POSTSCRIPT Ancestral TreasuresGlossaryBibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWith mental health increasingly in the spotlight, this book offers a new perspective on anxiety. The focus of this book is on the application of psychological alchemical practice to address, explore and examine the nature and cause of anxiety in order to tackle and overcome it. It has never been more relevant to illustrate the reality that scientific, artistic and spiritual understanding, together with practical application, has the capacity to eliminate anxiety and gain personal control, liberation and fulfilment. The first half of the book identifies the issues to be considered and the second half explains and illustrates the alchemical practices with which to approach them. While the book puts a slight emphasis on musical performance, it is made clear at the outset that performance concerns everyone and the contents, therefore, apply universally. Music is simply a very clear example. The book is designed as a personal development book rather than a scholarly work and, although it is relevant to all ages (depending on timing), it was written with 18 – 30 year olds being the main inspiration through apparent and ever increasing necessity. It is a source book that can be dipped into anywhere or launch further investigation into any of the various disciplines and practices covered. Alchemy has the capacity to bind it all together and the alchemy of performance can become a way of life for anyone.

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Book SynopsisNow in paperback! Following the category-dominating success of Witchery, Indigenous medicine woman and seer Juliet Diaz initiates readers following the current witchy trends of herbal medicine and magic into a deeper, wilder connection with the ancient healing power of over 200 plants. All it will take is for you to slow down and pay attention to the world around you and, I promise, you will find the world within you. Indigenous seer, gifted plant whisperer, and Witchery author Juliet Diaz invites you to walk the path of the Plant Witch. Journey far beyond the basic medicinal and magical properties of plants, deep into Mother Earth''s drumming heart. Drawn from ancestral practices passed down by generations of teachers, the lessons in this book will awaken your intimate connection with nature, your ancestors, your guides, and to your true self through the powerful magic of plants. Within these pages, you will learn: Essential, magical, and medicinal properties of 200 herbs, flowers, trees, and fruits. Rituals for abundance, cleansing, and connecting with spirits. Spells to ward against evil, find answers, and protect against self-sabotage. Potions to open your third eye, bring luck, and promote creativity. Communication techniques for speaking and listening to plants. The optimal moon phases and seasons to work with different plants. Even as humans forget our place in nature''s rhythm and cause harm to our Earth Mother, the spirits of plants still call out to us, appear in our dreams, and inspire us as they push through cracks in cementresilient and determined to thrive. From abre camino and acacia to yucca and ZZ plant, each has unique personality and wisdom to share, if we are only willing to listen.

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Book SynopsisAn analysis of the methods of Solomonic magic from the 7th to the 19th century as found in the Hygromanteia and Key of Solomon. This volume is about the methods of magic used in 7th century Egyptian Alexandria and how they have been passed via the Greek grimoires of Byzantium (the Hygromanteia), to the manuscripts of the Latin Clavicula Salomonis and its English incarnation as the Key of Solomon. Jewish techniques like the use of pentacles, oil and water skrying were added along the way, but Solomonic magic (despite its name) remained basically a classical Greek form of magic. Amazingly, this transmission has involved very few changes: the 'technology' of magic has remained firmly intact. The emphasis is upon specific magical techniques such as the invocation of the gods, the binding of demons, the use of the four demon Kings, the construction of a circle and lamen (for protection of the magician). The requirements of purity, sexual abstinence, and fasting have changed little in the last 2000 years. The concrete reasons for that are explained. The difference between amulets, talismans and phylacteries or lamens is outlined along with their methods of construction. Examples of magical circles have been taken from many sources and their construction and development traced out. Practical considerations such as choice of incense, the timing of the cutting of the wand, utilisation of rings and statues, use of the Table of Evocation, or the acquisition of a familiar spirit are explained. The structure of a Solomonic evocation puts into perspective the reasons for each step, the use of thwarting angels, achieving invisibility, sacrifice, love magic, treasure finding, and the binding, imprisoning and licensing of spirits. The facing directions and timing of evocations have always been crucial, and these too have remained consistent. By examining the way these same methods were used again and again in the various periods, minor omissions in magical practice can be observed and repaired. This book is thus a follow-on from Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic. This volume investigates precise methods used by magicians from the magicians' own handbooks rather than from the opinions of theologians, historians, anthropologists or legislators. The emphasis is on what magicians did and why. Tools used by magicians in 7th century Alexandria, 15th century Constantinople and 19th century London are very much the same. Detailed comparisons are made chapter by chapter with 70 illustrations of magical equipment like the wand, the sword, wax and clay images and magical gems, drawn from a wide range of manuscripts and reproduced with detailed analysis. Literally hundreds of manuscripts in libraries across Europe have been read and checked to ensure this is the most detailed analysis of Solomonic magic, from the inside, ever penned.

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Book SynopsisIncludes the History of the Tablet, Followed By Multiple Translations, Textual Remarks, Commentaries, Appendix, and Bibliography -

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Book SynopsisFollowing the death of the Austrian philosopher and spiritual scientist Rudolf Steiner in 1925, Ita Wegman - one of his closest esoteric pupils - began to publish regular letters to the members of the Anthroposophical Society. In Steiner's tradition, these letters were appended with 'leading thoughts' (or guiding principles). Esoteric Studies collects many of these 'letters to friends', together with various articles, reports and addresses by Ita Wegman on subjects such as the Christmas Foundation Conference, the Goetheanum building and the festival of Michaelmas. Featuring an informative foreword by Crispian Villeneuve and a commemorative study by George Adams, this book provides a fine introduction to the work of Ita Wegman, as well as a rousing call for courage and wakefulness in the spirit of the Archangel Michael!

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Book SynopsisIn this practical training guide, Don Webb lays out a detailed step-by-step program for building and sustaining a magical practice. Based not on Eliphas Levi’s correspondence system but on an older form of Egyptian magic, as well as drawing on Chaos Magick, shamanism, and the secret techniques of the Temple of Set, the program offers a full 12 months of activities, rituals, spells, and exercises to help you acquire magical skills and knowledge and maximize your strengths over the course of a year. Beginning with the hows and whys of magic, as well as the real dangers of the occult and how to avoid or cure them, the author shares experiences from his 45 years of personal work and 30 years of teaching the magical arts. He presents the Inshallo Rite for creating a magical helper as the first step on the road to becoming a magician. He explores the temporal aspect of magic--what works best at which times of year, month, or day--as well as the importance of keeping a magical diary, creating a warded work space, and properly preparing for magical work. Presenting a chapter-per-month curriculum, he explores the magical powers of elements, gods, and esoteric traditions, with weekly and daily exercises as well as emotional and mental training connected to each month’s topic. He examines the four elements in depth, sharing rites, invocations, spells, and activities for working magically with each element. Looking at Egyptian Soul Craft, he details how to work with the KA and the BA and how to perform magical workings with Egyptian deities. He explores sex magic, dream magic, group practice, and rites for the Nine Gates--events that can serve as pivotal moments for initiation. Based on more than three decades of magical teaching, Don Webb’s guide to becoming a modern magus will help beginners start their magical journey and support experienced magicians to revitalize and balance their existing practice.Trade Review“A no-nonsense, hands-on, pedal-to-the-metal primer in dealing with the magical universe--its blessings, pitfalls, dangers, trips, traps, and triumphs. A great and inspiring read for those who are about to embark on the greatest journey and adventure of all: that of truly getting to know yourself.” * Carl Abrahamsson, author of Source Magic and Occulture *“Many ‘instruction manuals’ for building a magical practice leave out a few inconvenient truths, like (a) becoming a better magician is hard work, (b) not everything will go your way regardless of how well you follow the instructions, and, most importantly, (c) unless you work first and foremost to transform yourself, your ability to cause change in the world will be limited. Don Webb thinks you are ready to handle these truths and has given you an honest road map. To point the way, he has created an innovative guidebook that stresses that magic must work with the whole self--all of your hopes, experiences, fears, desires--even when that work may be hard or uncomfortable. It is the rare book that is indispensable for both beginners and seasoned practitioners alike, regardless of their school or style. Don Webb is one of the very few authors on practical magic who can truly pull off this difficult task; whatever your approach is, this book will help you make it better.” * Toby Chappell, author of Infernal Geometry and The Left-Hand Path *“How to Become a Modern Magus gives any dedicated individual the framework and instruction they need for a full year of living magically. More than just spells and rituals, Webb provides a series of inquiries throughout the chapters that will help the student check in and test their growth. If you pick up this book and work it, I am confident you will be amazed at the improvements in both self-possession and outer circumstance that serious magic can achieve in just a year.” * Jason Miller, author of Consorting with Spirits *“Don Webb can easily be credited with ensuring a critical and well-researched approach supported with exquisite writing in any of his works. Yet in this dish of intellectual delights he wins us over even more deeply as he provides the sincere seeker with not only a practical system of modern magic but also a psychological and spiritual initiation through the very quintessence of the maturing stages of occultism. It is a work that is at once practical and psycho-biographical, an honest deep dive into several systems coherently woven into a single elegant tapestry without watering down the true cost of living deliciously.” * Adam Nox, host and creator of The Cult of You *“This is not a book; it is the cauldron of Magus Don Webb, into which he has poured a wealth of his experience, knowledge, and practice of the magical arts. Dipping into it will more than stir your imagination--it will slake your thirst to know more.” * Judith Page, Setian, artist, and author of My Inner Guide to Egypt *“How to Become a Modern Magus reveals the background of magic and shows not only the dangers but also the difference between magic and sorcery. A good book worth reading.” * Claude Lecouteux, author of Traditional Magic Spells for Protection and Healing *"How to Become a Modern Magus will for sure make you a more reflected person, more self-aware and more conscient. And in this it will also help you realise that your world or your universe depends on many elements working together in harmony for magic to become a reality – and that magic starts with the self-aware Magus. In this case, the Magus is someone who manages to keep his or her sanity and serenity in a world saturated by media and an excess of stimuli, someone who manages to move in worlds visible and invisible with agility, understanding and direction. A book that teaches all that deserves to be read, to be used and to be applauded!" * Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold, psychologist and anthropologist *Table of ContentsA Very Personal Preface An Introduction to Magic Dangers of Occultism A YEAR OF LIVING MAGICALLY Barriers, Crossroads, Secrets ONE JanusThe ElementsTWO Agni THREEFreya FOURPakaaFIVE Saraswati INTERIM IA Week to Reflect on Elemental MagicEgyptian Soulcraft SIX Horus SEVEN Isis EIGHT AnubisNINE SetINTERIM IIA Week to Consolidate The Three Lovely and Challenging Faces of Time TEN Verðandi ELEVEN Urðr TWELVE Skuld Additional Resources Book of Gates Sex Magic--Dreamwork--Group WorkClosing Sermon: The Monkey’s Paw Leave-Taking Works Cited Index

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of the traditional rites of auspicious building and crafting• Explains the ceremonial beginnings and Hermetic principles in the laying out of foundations not only for sacred buildings like temples but also for homes and barns• Examines the principles and ceremonies of electional astrology and details how to compute natural time, as opposed to clock time• Shares examples from ancient Egypt, Iran, India, and Europe that range from the Stone Age to the Renaissance and include secret societiesWhen we make things--whether a building, a sacred space, or a magical object--there is a precise moment when the artifact comes into being as a separate entity. That moment in time possesses its own unique quality, and because of this, there is a right time to do something and a wrong time. And, as Nigel Pennick reveals, we have the power to select favorable moments for our creations, just as our ancestors did. Illustrating ancient principles of divination, chronomancy, and electional astrology, Pennick examines all the factors behind the ancestral art of geomancy: the auspicious creation and alignment of sacred buildings as places of power. Sharing examples from ancient Egypt, Iran, India, and Europe that range from the Stone Age to the modern day, including secret societies like the Rosicrucians and the Freemasons, he explains how many cities were constructed on specially selected sites and founded ritually at precise, predetermined moments. Looking at the traditional rites of creating places of power, Pennick explains the ceremonial beginnings and Hermetic principles in the laying out of foundations as well as the use of sacrifice in the building of many notable structures. Examining the role of sacred geometry in geomancy, Pennick explains the Hermetic meaning assigned to each direction in traditional European cultures as well as the principles of natural measures and the science of understanding lucky and unlucky days. Revealing how geomantic principles are rooted in the structure of the world and the cosmic patterns of space and time, the author shows how they transcend the ages and are just as meaningful today as they were to our ancestors.Trade Review“Scholarly yet accessible, this book presents all the essential precepts of geomantic design and construction timing within the Western traditions. It is ideal reading for anyone wishing to create meaningful sacred spaces in contemporary times or to imbue secular spaces with the timeless spiritual truths that uplift the atmosphere of place.” * Richard Creightmore & Jewels Rocka, leading international teachers of dowsing, geomancy, and self-de *“The archaic lore that traditional builders in Europe once used to bring structures into creative harmony with their physical and spiritual environments has become all but inaccessible to students of the mysteries in today’s world. Creating Places of Power remedies that, placing a wealth of once-secret lore in the reader’s hands. Encyclopedic in its scope and detail, this is the definitive work on a crucial dimension of old earth magic.” * John Michael Greer, author of The Secret of the Temple and The Twilight of Pluto *“In Creating Places of Power, Nigel Pennick, an established authority on folklore, folk magic, and ancient beliefs with more than 60 books to his name, hones his work on the European ancestral heritage of geomancy, sharing fascinating facts and practices that are accessible and also of value today. Crammed with a generous sharing of wisdom, this illustrated book is highly recommended.” * June Kent, publisher and editor of Indie Shaman magazine *Table of ContentsPreface to the New EditionIntroduction CHAPTER 1 Patterns of ExistenceConsciousness, the Gods, and the Stars CHAPTER 2Ceremonial Beginnings Finding and Marking the Place CHAPTER 3 Foundation Offerings, Sacrifices, and Relics CHAPTER 4Consecration, Evocatio, and BlessingsThe Sacred and the ProfaneCHAPTER 5 Symbolic Foundation Laying and Consecrating the First Stone CHAPTER 6 At the Center of the World The Earth’s Navel, the Cosmic Column, and the World TreeCHAPTER 7Space, Time, and Ceremony The Eightfold Division of the World and the Eight Winds CHAPTER 8 The Meaning of the DirectionsSymbolism and Nature of the Winds CHAPTER 9Natural Measure Dimensions Emergent from Nature and the Land CHAPTER 10 Traditional Time-Telling Sunlight and Shadow CHAPTER 11Orientation Facing in the Best Direction CHAPTER 12The City of the Omphalos Cosmic Centers and Symbolic Street Plans CHAPTER 13 At the Right TimeFavorable Days in the Calendar CHAPTER 14 Principles of Electional AstrologyChoosing the Correct Time for Rites and Ceremonies APPENDIX 1 Zodiac Signs and AssociatesAPPENDIX 2 The Egyptian Calendar APPENDIX 3Ruling Signs of CitiesGlossary Bibliography and Sources for Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1573, the alchemist Anna Zieglerin gave her patron, the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, the recipe for an extraordinary substance she called the lion's blood. She claimed that this golden oil could stimulate the growth of plants, create gemstones, transform lead into the coveted philosophers' stone—and would serve a critical role in preparing for the Last Days. Boldly envisioning herself as a Protestant Virgin Mary, Anna proposed that the lion's blood, paired with her own body, could even generate life, repopulating and redeeming the corrupt world in its final moments. In Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood, Tara Nummedal reconstructs the extraordinary career and historical afterlife of alchemist, courtier, and prophet Anna Zieglerin. She situates Anna's story within the wider frameworks of Reformation Germany's religious, political, and military battles; the rising influence of alchemy; the role of apocalyptic eschatology; and the position of women within these contexts. Together with her husband, the jester Heinrich Schombach, and their companion and fellow alchemist Philipp Sommering, Anna promised her patrons at the court of Wolfenbüttel spiritual salvation and material profit. But her compelling vision brought with it another, darker possibility: rather than granting her patrons wealth or redemption, Anna's alchemical gifts might instead lead to war, disgrace, and destruction. By 1575, three years after Anna's arrival at court, her enemies had succeeded in turning her from holy alchemist into poisoner and sorceress, culminating in Anna's arrest, torture, and public execution. In her own life, Anna was a master of self-fashioning; in the centuries since her death, her story has been continually refashioned, making her a fitting emblem for each new age. Interweaving the history of science, gender, religion, and politics, Nummedal recounts how one resourceful woman's alchemical schemes touched some of the most consequential matters in Reformation Germany.Trade Review"This is a major feat of historical revision for a subject that has too long been the object of mockery and scorn . . . Tara Nummedal's new microhistory demonstrates with scholarly acumen and stylistic élan just how wrong assumptions [about alchemy] are. In a dazzling work of cultural imagination, she eschews all the 'turning lead into gold' nonsense and quickly gets to the conceptual heart of who alchemists were, what they actually believed, and what roles they played in early modern society. Building on deep archival work and sophisticated argumentation, she fashions a truly engaging and revealing microhistory focused on the tragic story of one sixteenth-century practitioner, Anna Zieglerin."" * Preternature *"[A] gripping microhistory that situates alchemy within the histories of imperial politics, Reformation culture, Renaissance self-fashioning, courtly patronage, gender, the body, and sixteenth-century eschatology...With its intriguing storytelling, Anna Zieglerin and the Lion’s Blood is particularly attractive for scholars and students new to the complexities of early modern alchemy. Nummedal maintains a light touch, weaving discussions of sixteenth-century science, magic, religion, and imperial politics into what remains an enthralling tale throughout. She is to be commended for producing a book that does so much to highlight alchemy’s connections to a broad range of Reformation-era developments and that has a chance to bring its history to a wider audience." * Renaissance and Reformation *"Captivating and creative from the earliest pages...Nummedal has skillfully interwoven the history of science and religion, as well as political, social, gender, and court histories via an insightful look into the alchemical theories and practices of the age...[An] erudite and well-written study. Nummedal has produced a fun page-turner and the reader—whether a scholar of any aspect of early modern history or a general reader interested in good stories and good histories—will benefit from this wonderful presentation of alchemy and political intrigue in the courts of the Holy Roman Empire." * The Journal of Modern History *"In this masterful study, Tara Nummedal exposes a previously vilified figure of local German history to sympathetic new scrutiny and in the process, opens a window onto the fantastic worldview of her subject…By employing archival and manuscript evidence along with the older historiography, Nummedal manages to piece together the fascinating story." * American Historical Review *"In Alchemy and Authority, Nummedal made clear how alchemy was deeply integrated into early modern economics and court culture. In this latest effort, Nummedal has accomplished the same goal except on a vastly more ambitious scale, bringing the relevance of alchemy into the politics, religion, diplomacy, court culture, and gender roles of the Holy Roman Empire in the sixteenth century . . . Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood is a remarkable historiographical study . . . In short, Nummedal has contributed a stunning achievement that ideally will reach a wide and diverse audience far beyond historians of science." * Ambix *"[A]an entertaining book, with long stretches reading like a thriller…Anna Zieglerin lived her existence as an alchemist so authentically, was so dedicated body and soul to the matter that not only the substances but also she herself became a victim of the flames. The fact that she is now transmuted into a book and can live on in this way is a testament to Nummedal’s achievement." * Annals of Science *"Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood is perfect for historians and general readers alike. It is written in a vivid and accessible language, and by adopting a nonjudgmental style of reporting Nummedal decisively differs from her predecessors: she refuses to make value judgments about Anna's wondrous and outrageous claims and brand the alchemist a simple charlatan. Instead, she presents the story of a complex and tragic individual, who came up with a unique theory of heavenly alchemy." * Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft *"Drawing upon diverse sources, Nummedal situates Anna and her alchemy within the social contexts of gender, religion, and politics in Reformation Germany to weave an impressive historical narrative of a woman attempting to understand the natural world and her place within it...Nummedal succeeds in reframing Anna Zieglerin as a woman with agency who intentionally fashioned herself into a courtly alchemist within strict early modern European gender boundaries. Nummedal’s Anna is a lens through which the twentyfirst-century reader can view the history of alchemy and its relationship to Christianity, the body, and politics." * Isis *"Nummedal’s analysis offers particular insights into the history of women’s bodies, the intersections between natural knowledge and politics, and the relationship between self-fashioning and fantasy...The book is meticulously researched and displays the author’s talents for archival sleuthing (which were already known from her first book). Beyond this, it is eminently readable and takes what is strange, foreign, and ripe for misunderstanding, making it comprehensible and relatable." * Journal of the History of Medicine *"The book is superbly written and clearly contextualized, and thus easily accessible even to non-experts. However, more experienced scholars will also benefit from this elegant study. All in all, Anna Zieglerin and the Lion’s Blood adds considerably to our understanding of the complexity of sixteenth-century religiosity, which was easily able to accommodate alchemical practices...Because of the ways in which it considers the religious implications of alchemical practice, Nummedal’s study is a worthwhile read not only for historians of science but also for Church historians and religious scholars." * Renaissance Quarterly *"Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood is as gripping as a good novel yet so much more than merely an interesting yarn. Tara Nummedal is completely conversant with the milieu in which she locates her story and is very adept in fitting this episode into the broader narratives of sixteenth-century religion, science, and court life." * Philip Soergel, University of Maryland *"Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood is at once a story of one particular woman and a broader discourse on gender and the body, the history of alchemy, the central role of apocalyptic thinking in early modern Germany, and, most interestingly, the nature of historical truth. A remarkable story, expertly told." * Alisha Rankin, Tufts University *Table of ContentsCast of Characters A Note on Names Introduction. A Witch's Chair? Chapter 1. The Shadow of Gotha Chapter 2. The Road to Wolfenbüttel Chapter 3. Courting Julius and Hedwig Chapter 4. The Lion's Blood Chapter 5. A New Virgin Mary Chapter 6. Unraveling Chapter 7. Toad Poison and Other Fictions Conclusion. Afterlives Chronology of Events Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisAwaken your cosmic spirit in a new realm of imagination Become immersed in the mystical beauty of nature. Starcana: Moon Magic is an entrancing collection of elegant moons and stars, of radiant herbs and crystals charged with energy, of enchanting flora and fauna, and of ethereal symbols. Embellish more than 45 hand-drawn illustrations of grounding panoramas and gorgeous patterns with kaleidoscopic flourishes. With intricate linework to soften the setting and inspire your creativity, Starcana: Moon Magic is a uniquely beautiful canvas for passionate colorists to illuminate.- Harness your artistic vision to transform each captivating illustration- Color spellbinding art that celebrates cosmic mysticism- Let gorgeous designs set the tone for complementing colors, gels, and glitter

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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 SynopsisDiscover: Protection and Clearing Rituals: Solar Shielding Ritual; Family Healing Ritual Transformation Rituals: Road Opener Ritual; Ritual of Power Love Rituals: Self-Love Ritual; Quick Cash Ritual Space Rituals: Clearing a Space;

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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 Synopsis

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