The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are a case study in hysteria and group psychology, and the cultural effects still linger centuries later. This critical study examines original trial transcripts, historical accounts, fiction and drama, film and television shows, and tourist sites in contemporary Salem, challenging the process of how history is collected and recorded. Drawing from literary and historical theory, as well as from performance studies, the book offers a new definition of presenting history and uses Salem as a tool for rethinking the relationships between the truth and the stories people tell about the past.

Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Shakespeare's ghost appeared again and again at seance tables in London, Paris, Melbourne, and Cape Town, as well as in smaller, rural settings. This study concerns itself with a now-forgotten religious group, Spiritualists, and how its ensuing discussions of Shakespeare's meaning, his writing practices, his possible collaborations, and the supposed purity and/or corruption of his texts anticipated, accompanied, or silhouetted similar debates in Shakespeare studies.

In this initiatic novel, bestselling author and acclaimed spiritual teacher Barbara Hand Clow weaves an erotically charged story of romance, deep earth forces, psychic powers, the aristocracy, and Vatican world control revealed by an ancient ruby that inspires mystical visions. Set in Rome in 2012, the story follows Sarah Adamson, a beautiful young Catholic graduate student from Boston studying at the Vatican Library for her thesis on the first Christian heretic, Marcion of Pontus. She is being courted by two utterly different men: Simon Appel, a descendent of the kabbalist Isaac Luria who covers Vatican affairs for the New York Times, and Armando Pierleoni, the scion of an ancient Italian aristocratic family with strong ties to the Vatican. After a terrible encounter with the dark side at a castle in Tuscany, Sarah is given a ring set with a ruby crystal, a powerful stone that was once the third eye of an ancient Buddha statue in Nepal. With the mystic ring on her finger, Sarah’s visionary abilities are ignited. She remembers her past life as the Sibyl of Cumae, a Roman oracle whose powers are now being channeled by the Vatican to maintain world control. As Sarah’s research and visions reveal the cause of evil in the Church and Simon’s reporting exposes the depth of the sexual abuse scandals surrounding the Vatican, the two form an alliance with an ex-lover of both Simon and Armando, Claudia, who describes secret priestly power rituals going on in Vatican City. As the heightened energies of the winter solstice of 2012 arrive and 2013 dawns, will Simon and Sarah be able to harness their divine powers for transformation? Will the Vatican seek new direction as it elects a new pope? Revealing the very nature of how evil gets into the world, this novel of romance, mystery, heresy, and spirituality uncovers the esoteric foundations for the emergence of a golden new age.

This book rediscovers a spiritual way of preparing the actor towards experiencing that ineffable artistic creativity defined by Konstantin Stanislavski as the creative state. Filtered through the lens of his unaddressed Christian Orthodox background, as well as his yogic or Hindu interest, the practical work followed the odyssey of the artist, from being oneself towards becoming the character, being structured in three major horizontal stages and developed on another three vertical, interconnected levels. Throughout the book, Gabriela Curpan aims to question both the cartesian approach to acting and the realist-psychological line, generally viewed as the only features of Stanislavski's work. This book will be of great interest to theatre and performance academics as well as practitioners in the fields of acting and directing.

This book rediscovers a spiritual way of preparing the actor towards experiencing that ineffable artistic creativity defined by Konstantin Stanislavski as the creative state. Filtered through the lens of his unaddressed Christian Orthodox background, as well as his yogic or Hindu interest, the practical work followed the odyssey of the artist, from being oneself towards becoming the character, being structured in three major horizontal stages and developed on another three vertical, interconnected levels. Throughout the book, Gabriela Curpan aims to question both the cartesian approach to acting and the realist-psychological line, generally viewed as the only features of Stanislavski's work. This book will be of great interest to theatre and performance academics as well as practitioners in the fields of acting and directing.

In writing this poem I have attempted to cut through so much of what we now think of as Ancient Egypt, and only the bare bones will remain. Symbolic figureheads such as Osiris and Amon will be discussed, but not elevated, and favoured centres of apparent importance or popularity will be by-passed. This will not be a book for those who wish to play tourist, dropping off here for a quick sensation, or stopping there for an imagined photo-shoot, it will be an experience for all those who wish to embrace the origin and notion of Set, and Set's values. In recording the mythical life of Set, we have applauded him. The strength and warmth of his intellect demand similar warmth in his dramatic performance throughout ancient Egyptian history. To adopt an attitude of detachment, particularly towards the ancient and unknown, can bar from sight those many scenes glimpsed by the historian who approaches the role of reconstructing an era with sympathy, insight and understanding. Neither the truth nor the equilibrium of scholarship is disturbed by controlled imagination and honest praise of this much-maligned Egyptian god. We are portraying the mythological concept and personality of Set not in order to worship a hero, but to recognise him as a leader and a hero. Set strives to take his stand against 5,000 years of a 'drift of history' with the introduction of Osirion and Amonite tradition, and a preconditioning before being replaced by Christianity.

Beginning with an introduction to the methodology, "Parapsychology" provides the reader with a sympathetic yet critical overview of current research into unexplained phenomena including visions, telepathy, psychokinesis, divination, and out-of-body experiences. Each chapter describes the phenomena, outlines the main lines of research, discusses possible explanations for such anomalies of cognitive function, and provides suggestions for relevant further reading.
"Parapsychology"'s detailed, yet accessible coverage of the psychological study of unexplained phenomena will be welcomed by psychology and social science students and researchers.

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER The complete history of the world, from the beginning of time to the present day, based on the beliefs and writings of the secret societies. Jonathan Black examines the end of the world and the coming of the Antichrist - or is he already here? How will he make himself known and what will become of the world when he does? - and the end of Time. Having studied theology and learnt from initiates of all the great secret societies of the world, Jonathan Black has learned that it is possible to reach an altered state of consciousness in which we can see things about the way the world works that hidden from our everyday commonsensical consciousness. This history shows that by using secret techniques, people such as Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton and George Washington have worked themselves into this altered state - and been able to access supernatural levels of intelligence. This book will leave you questioning every aspect of your life and spotting hidden messages in the very fabric of society and life itself. It will open your mind to a new way of living and leave you questioning everything you have been taught - and everything you've taught your children.

Psychic and other exceptional experiences are surprisingly common but opinions as to their causes vary widely. Can tricks of the mind such as hallucinations, mistaken perception and errors of judgement explain such phenomena or does some yet to be understood non-sensory means of communication come into play? In Parapsychology, leading researchers from both the UK and the USA combine their expertise to form a lucid account of research into the science of psychic experience. Beginning with an introduction to the methodology, Parapsychology addresses topics including coincidence, telepathy, precognition, psychokinesis, healing, apparitions, reincarnation and out-of-body experiences. Each chapter describes the phenomenon, outlines the main lines of research and discusses the merits of possible explanations for such anomalies of cognitive function. Extensive suggestions for relevant further reading on each individual subject are provided, along with a detailed glossary of terms. Parapsychology provides an accessible and succinct overview of the research and current thinking on the subject of psychic and allied experiences. This balanced account of work in this fascinating area will be of great interest to students and researchers in psychology as well as anyone with an interest in the field.

The beliefs and practices surrounding the meanings and symbols of the spirit world in Vietnam are explored in detail in this innovative study on popular religion in the country. The author shows an abiding interest in the 'subconscious life' at a grassroots level alongside rational formations of cosmological understanding which effect politics and economics on a national scale.
By bringing together oral histories, reports and fiction writing alongside more conventional documented sources, this book reveals an area of history which has been largely neglected.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203489071

Based on fieldwork in the north Indian state of Rajasthan, this book focuses on supernatural affliction - illness and misfortune ascribed to demonic spirits or ghosts and to other mystical agents, such as sorcerers and witches. The study augments and extends the existing scholarship on a range of issues, including inter alia beliefs about spirit possession, sorcery, witchcraft and the evil eye. The themes of ritual practice, especially exorcism or healing ceremonies, Hindu priests and curers, popular Hinduism and pilgrimage are discussed, and the anthropology of South Asia is explored with an emphasis on medical anthropology and Indian ethnomedicine. At a theoretical level, the book sharply contrasts with much of the literature on spirit possession or on supernatural affliction and its treatment, as the author's phenomenological orientation involves movement away from psychological or psychiatric paradigms as well as from other forms of Western rationalism that have tended to dominate scholarly work. The book thus offers fresh insights, both in terms of understanding supernatural malaise and its treatment, and in terms of the application of the approach the author engages.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203222539

This remarkable work contains the original texts with translations and descriptions of a series of Egyptian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Hebrew, Christian, Gnostic, and Muslim amulets and magical devices and figures. Man through the ages has widely held the importance of being able to hold the evil eye at bay.

Spirituality and the Occult argues against the widely held view that occult spiritualities are marginal to Western culture. Showing that the esoteric tradition is unfairly neglected in Western culture and that much of what we take to be 'modern' derives at least in part from this tradition, it casts a fresh, intriguing and persuasive perspective on intellectual and cultural history in the West. Brian Gibbons identifies the influence and continued presence of esoteric mystical movements in disciplines such as:
* medicine
* science
* philosophy
* Freudian and Jungian psychology
* radical political movements
* imaginative literature.

This book takes what is often referred to as the "supernatural" to be normal natural phenomena that are closely linked to the neurobiology of the human species. Reflecting the neurocultural and biocultural perspective, the chapters cover phenomena such as out-of-body experiences, ghosts, and experiences of spirit entities. The contributors consider the "supernatural" as emerging from innate neurobiological structures and functions, and reflecting known neurobiological processes that explain their universality and persistence.

Blending the allure of the supernatural with keen historical insights and more than 500 photos, this enchanting chronicle of magic around the world will bewitch skeptics and true believers alike. Magic and the occult have held humanity in their thrall for thousands of years. This sweeping history traces its origins across time and culture—from the protective amulets of ancient Egypt to ceremonial magic in India, Celtic paganism to modern magic tricks. National Geographic Book of Magic and the Occult illuminates this enthralling world across more than 90,000 years of history. You’ll meet witches and wizards, healers and alchemists, discovering the legends behind them and how they have enriched modern culture. You’ll also encounter a host of spellbinding subjects, including: Mystical moments, including spooky gatherings, strange happenings, and ghost stories Magic in pop culture, from Harry Houdini to Harry Potter Places of power, from Mount Fuji to “phantom” islands like Hy-Brasil Magical creatures like dragons and the Loch Ness Monster The art of divination, including the Chinese Zodiac, numerology, and tarot Modern magic, from neopaganism to astrology and herbalism Filled with more than 500 vivid illustrations and dynamic maps, this bewitching book is the true story of magical beliefs around the world.

John Van Auken combines the collection of Egyptian past lives found in the Cayce readings with Egyptian legends that appear in papyruses, on temple walls, and in pyramid texts for a complete picture that reveals the full story of priestesses, healers, female pharaohs, and gods among humans. This book includes more than 80 illustrations with Cayce's insights into the pyramids, ancient flight, the Hall of Records, the Great Initiate, and the seven stages of soul growth.

Sales restricted to North America paperback only due to co-publication agreement with Koninklijke Brill NV. Brill retains the cloth rights in all remaining countries.English language rights only.

Histories of witchcraft continue to fascinate us in the late twentieth century. Looking at texts from colonial narratvies to court masques, trial records to folktales, and Shakespeare to Sylvia Plath, this book shows how the witch acts as a carrier for the fears, desires and fantasies of women and men both now and in the early modern period.
Among other topics, The Witch in History discusses:
* the way the fantasy body of the witch, viewed as both hard and boundless, represents fear of the maternal body;
* how Macbeth and other Renaissance dramas are exploitative and sensationalist representations of witchcraft;
* how the representations of witchcraft in Europe were influenced by encounters in the New World with Native American religion, and vice versa;
* how radical feminists, modern witches and academic historians have appropriated the figure of the witch to construct their own identities. This extraordinary and fascinating study goes beyond the exploration of the figure of the witch, comprising an innovative contribution to all early modern studies.

Related link: Reviews in History
eBook available with sample pages: 0203359720

Fragments of ancient belief have been incorporated into folklore and Christian dogma with the result that its original tenets have merged with the myths and psychologies of the intervening years. Hilda Ellis Davidson sifts through centuries of cultural and religious influences to locate evidence of these "lost" pagan beliefs.
Davidson illustrates how northern pagan religions have been represented and misinterpreted by the Christian tradition and throws light on the nature of such beliefs and how they have been preserved. "The Lost Beliefs of" "Northern Europe" stresses both the possibilities and the difficulties of investigating pre-Christian faiths and emphasizes the need to separate speculation from scientific proof.
This book will be a useful tool for students with a serious interest in archaeology as it illustrates with examples how objectivity is not necessarily the driving force in forming our supposedly scientific view of the past. It will also appeal to the general reader who wants to understand the true nature of Northern European pagan belief as opposed to the oversimplified view popularized by the media.
"The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe" argues for intellectual rigorousness rather than romanticization of the past, and challenges the reader to rethink accepted interpretations.

Fragments of ancient belief mingle with folklore and Christian dogma until the original tenets are lost in the myths and psychologies of the intervening years. Hilda Ellis Davidson illustrates how pagan beliefs have been represented and misinterpreted by the Christian tradition, and throws light on the nature of pre-Christian beliefs and how they have been preserved. The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe stresses both the possibilities and the difficulties of investigating the lost religious beliefs of Northern Europe.

Academics tend to look on 'esoteric', 'occult' or 'magical' beliefs with contempt, but are usually ignorant about the religious and philosophical traditions to which these terms refer, or their relevance to intellectual history. Wouter Hanegraaff tells the neglected story of how intellectuals since the Renaissance have tried to come to terms with a cluster of 'pagan' ideas from late antiquity that challenged the foundations of biblical religion and Greek rationality. Expelled from the academy on the basis of Protestant and Enlightenment polemics, these traditions have come to be perceived as the Other by which academics define their identity to the present day. Hanegraaff grounds his discussion in a meticulous study of primary and secondary sources, taking the reader on an exciting intellectual voyage from the fifteenth century to the present day and asking what implications the forgotten history of exclusion has for established textbook narratives of religion, philosophy and science.

With stunning regularity, the search for our cosmic roots has been yielding remarkable new discoveries about the universe and our place in it. In his compelling book, Origins: The Quest for Our Cosmic Roots, veteran science journalist Tom Yulsman chronicles the latest discoveries and describes in clear and engaging terms what they mean. From the interior of protons to the outer reaches of the universe, and from the control room of one of the world's most powerful particle accelerators to an observatory atop the tallest mountain in the Pacific basin, Yulsman takes readers on a fantastic voyage at the cutting edge of science. How could the universe have sprouted from absolute nothingness? What is the origin of galaxies? How do stars and planets form? And despite what now seem to be incredible odds, how did Earth come to be a rich oasis of biodiversity-one that has given rise to a species intelligent enough to ask these questions? In laying out the answers, Origins addresses some of the most profound issues humans have ever confronted.

The Kabbalah is an esoteric Jewish doctrine adapted by author S.L. MacGregor Mathers to form the Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn, an occult organisation. This volume includes three of the critical books from the Zohar, the fundamental work in Kabbalah, as well as Mathers' introduction explaining the key elements of Jewish mysticism. Mathers' translation from Hebrew originally appeared in 1926, and it continues to be a valuable resource for students interested in Religious Studies, particularly Mysticism and the Occult.

The Kabbalah is an esoteric Jewish doctrine adapted by author S.L. MacGregor Mathers to form the Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn, an occult organisation. This volume includes three of the critical books from the Zohar, the fundamental work in Kabbalah, as well as Mathers' introduction explaining the key elements of Jewish mysticism. Mathers' translation from Hebrew originally appeared in 1926, and it continues to be a valuable resource for students interested in Religious Studies, particularly Mysticism and the Occult.

First published in 1986. Independent Spirits is about the intellectual world of the humbly-born in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Britain, focussing on plebeian, or working- and lower middle-class spiritualists. This book is an important study which throws light on the idealism and search for knowledge that were so central in plebeian circles and in certain, very important parts of the labour movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This title will be of interest to students of history.