Since the dawn of history people have used charms and spells to try to control their environment, and forms of divination to try to foresee the otherwise unpredictable chances of life. Many of these techniques were called "superstitious" by educated elites.
For centuries religious believers used "superstition" as a term of abuse to denounce another religion that they thought inferior, or to criticize their fellow-believers for practising their faith "wrongly." From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, scholars argued over what 'superstition' was, how to identify it, and how to persuade people to avoid it. Learned believers in demons and witchcraft, in their treatises and sermons, tried to make 'rational' sense of popular superstitions by blaming them on the deceptive tricks of seductive demons.
Every major movement in Christian thought, from rival schools of medieval theology through to the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment, added new twists to the debates over superstition. Protestants saw Catholics as superstitious, and vice versa. Enlightened philosophers mocked traditional cults as superstitions. Eventually, the learned lost their worry about popular belief, and turned instead to chronicling and preserving 'superstitious' customs as folklore and ethnic heritage.
Enchanted Europe offers the first comprehensive, integrated account of western Europe's long, complex dialogue with its own folklore and popular beliefs. Drawing on many little-known and rarely used texts, Euan Cameron constructs a compelling narrative of the rise, diversification, and decline of popular 'superstition' in the European mind.

The book developed from my gradual realization that spirituality was a normal characteristic in the human race, but that in recent millennia it had regressed in the everyday awareness of most people, especially those belonging to what they regarded as a cultural society. Only so-called primitive peoples retained a spiritual outlook. My book describes how this has come about, especially the negative influence of organized religions on individual spirituality, and the resulting deterioration in most human societies. Finally I suggest how mankind can become again spiritual during their Earth lives. Michael Higgins

Helena Blavatsky's translations of three fragments of ancient Buddhist wisdom, sourced from texts such as The Book of Golden Precepts, are contained in this thought-provoking volume. A valiantly sought collection of sage advice and spiritual instruction, The Voice of the Silence offers readers advice on inner growth. Principally the text echoes the principles of Buddhism, advising readers to put aside personal desires and focus upon fostering the inner wealth of the soul to achieve a life of contentment. Blavatsky's book was published as part of her personal investigations into ancient wisdom pertaining to the human soul and reality. Her hunt turned up the formerly obscure fragments which she painstakingly translated. Although existing scholars generally poured cold water upon her efforts, which they considered a haphazard grouping of ancient precepts and mysticism, the reception was warmer among readers discovering the theosophist principles of spiritualism for the first time.

During the lowest point of his life, a man begins writing letters to God to vent his frustrations - and unexpectedly receives answers to his questions, written by his own hand. The bestselling spiritual classic that has now sold millions of copies world-wide. Neale Donald Walsch was experiencing the lowest point of his life - from a devastating fire to the collapse of his marriage - when he decided to write a letter to God to vent his frustrations. What he did not expect was a response: as he finished his letter, he was moved to continue writing, and out came extraordinary answers to his questions. These answers - covering all aspects of human existence, from happiness to money, to faith - helped Walsch to change himself and his life for better, and the way he viewed other beings. Walsch compiled all of these answers into a book, Conversations with God, which was an instant bestseller on publication in 1995, going straight into the New York Times bestseller list and remaining there for more than 130 weeks. Over twenty years later, it has sold millions of copies world-wide and has changed the lives of countless people all around the world with its profound answers about life, happiness, money, love and faith. Conversations with God is a modern spiritual classic that remains fresh and relevant in a world that needs its powerful messages about who we are and our place in it more than ever.

Black Jack Herman

Eva turns 109 as seen on the Today Show 4/9/08.

Quote of the day: "When you've been buried alive, you're not looking forward to the real thing "

The premiere African-American magician of the twentieth century, he was an ardent freedom fighter speaking out against the scourge of Jim Crow-ism and conducting Algonquin style roundtables in his Harlem abode circa 1920's. Intriguingly, he warned people against banks and stocks before the advent of the Great Depression. He continued to entertain and enlighten throughout the crisis that followed. That is, until his mysterious death on stage in April 1934.

Steeped in details of its early twentieth-century setting, the manuscript offers a richly detailed look at the showmanship so popular during that era. In addition, it effectively conveys the mentality of the time, with prohibition, big-name gangsters, and the threat of national economic collapse looming always in the background. Ultimately, "Black Jack: A Drama of Magic, Mystery, and Legerdermain" also serves as a testament to the power of the human spirit, as readers may be struck not only by what Eva endures, but by how she endures it.

THE BOOK OF ST. CYPRIAN: THE SORCERER'S TREASURE is a translation of one of the most complete Portuguese grimoires attributed to St. Cyprian of Antioch, O GRANDE LIVRO DE S.CYPRIANO OU THESOURO DO FEITICEIRO, including extensive commentaries on the history of Western Iberian Bruxaria and Feiticaria, Catholicism, the blood war of Old and New Christians, the slave trade, and the Empire. The Book of Saint Cyprian is revealed as a manifestation of vaster and pre-existent magical and folkloric traditions and is inserted into its proper cultural background, providing the reader with the keys to its unwritten content including the Book's connection to the vast mythical corpus of the Mouras Encantadas. THE BOOK OF ST. CYPRIAN: THE SORCERER'S TREASURE is an essential read for all those interested in folk magic, be it diabolical or saintly, fey traditions, the largely unknown West Iberian magical current and its various traces and manifestations in the modern Ibero-African-American cults of Brazil."

Supporting three wives, twelve children, and assorted relatives, Mohan Rai is a thoroughly modern man, convinced he's escaped an outmoded duty to follow his father as shaman to his Bhutanese village. But the gods and spirits, ancient protectors of the tribe, have other ideas.

Dishonored and vengeful, they enter his dreams and haunt his days, destroying his business, his health, his sanity, and finally, his freedom.

Based on Mohan's letters from prison, this true account by his first Western initiate will transform your worldview.

"Ellen's retelling of Mohan Rai's first-hand account of his shamanic apprenticeship in Bhutan is a valuable contribution to the preservation of this ancient knowledge." ―Michael Harner, Ph.D., author, "The Way of the Shaman and Founder, Foundation for Shamanic Studies"

"I was fascinated. Like "Autobiography of a Yogi," Mohan Rai's story shares much wisdom. Portraying his training from childhood in the ancient, mystical traditions of the shaman, this book brings a hopeful vision I will carry into my everyday life forever...a reminder of the mysteries that sustain our lives and how little we know of them. The message runs deep." ―Hal Zina Bennett, Ph.D., author, "Spirit Animals and the Wheel of Life: Earth-Centered Practices for Everyday Living"