Based on twenty-seven years of original archival research, including the discovery of previously unknown documents, this day-by-day narrative of the hysteria that swept through Salem Village in 1692 and 1693 reveals new connections behind the events, and shows how rapidly a community can descend into bloodthirsty madness. Roach opens her work with chapters on the history of the Puritan colonies of New England, and explains how these people regarded the metaphysical and the supernatural. The account of the days from January 1692 to March 1693 keeps in order the large cast of characters, places events in their correct contexts, and occasionally contradicts earlier assumptions about the gruesome events. The last chapter discusses the remarkable impact of the events, pointing out how the 300th anniversary of the trials made headlines in Japan and Australia.

Outline of the processes of cosmic evolution, including detailed exercises for attaining higher conscious states.

This volume makes available for the first time in English translation over a thousand texts written between the fifth century BC, and the fifth century AD, of curses inscribed on stone tablets from North Africa, to England, and Syria to Spain. A substantial introduction supplies the full cultural, social and historical context to the ancient Graeco-Roman practice of cursing enemies and rivals by writing an incantation on a tablet and dedicating it to a god or spirit. The selected translations, arranged thematically, are fully annotated and accompanied by extensive commentary.

Contents Flavius Josephus' Terminology of Magic: Accommodating Jewish Magic to a Roman Audience, / Philip Jewell The Role of Grimoires in the Conjure Tradition / Dan Harms Hermetic/Cabalistic Ritual in Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus / Dana Winters Italian Cunning Craft: Some Preliminary Observations / Sabina Magliocco Walking The Tightrope: A Study Of Secret Astrologers In Mainstream Professions / J.A. Silver Frost Martyrs, Magic, and Christian Conversion / Patrick Maille "Worshiping the Devil in the Name of God"Anti-Semitism, Theosophy and Christianity in the Occult Doctrines of Pekka Siitoin / Kennet Granholm "The Witching Hour: Sex Magic in 1950s Australia" / Marguerite Johnson Reviews Obituaries

After coming of age and graduating in the tumultuous sixties, Ahad Cobb found himself wandering without direction. A chance road trip with a friend led him to Ram Dass, thus beginning an enthusiastic journey of spiritual awakening and deep involvement with three spiritual communities originating in the sixties and still thriving today: the Ram Dass satsang, Lama Foundation, and Dances of Universal Peace. Sharing his opening to the inner life, his poetry and dreams, his spiritual passions and astrological insights, Ahad Cobb's memoir begins with his summer with Ram Dass and his satsang, immersed in meditation, devotion, and guru's grace. His path takes him to New Mexico, to a newly established intentional spiritual community, Lama Foundation, where he lives on the land for thirteen years, experiencing the disciplines and rewards of communal living and spiritual practice. At Lama, he is initiated into universal Sufism in the tradition of Hazrat Inayat Khan and the Dances of Universal Peace. He travels overseas to spend time with Sufis in Chamonix, Istanbul, Konya, and Jerusalem. After the birth of his son, Ahad moves off the mountain and serves as sacred dance leader and musician for 35 years in Santa Fe and later Albuquerque. When Lama Foundation is nearly destroyed by a forest fire in 1996, Ahad serves as a trustee, guiding the rebuilding of the community. He imparts insights from his personal work with Jungian analysis and trauma release, shares his search for and discovery of his soul mate, and details his twelve years of study with Hart DeFouw in the wisdom stream of Vedic astrology. Offering a poignant reflection on life lived from the inside out, and the delicate balance between spirituality and psychology, this memoir leads readers on an outer and inner journey steeped in poetry, music, astrology, dreams, inner work, and spiritual practice in the context of community devoted to awakening.

Kentucky has a rich legacy of ghostly visitations. Lynwood Montell has harvested dozens of tales of haunted houses and family ghosts from all over the Bluegrass state. Many of the stories were collected from elders by young people and are recounted exactly as they were gathered. Haunted Houses and Family Ghosts of Kentucky includes chilling tales such as that of the Tan Man of Pike County, who trudges invisibly through a house accompanied by the smell of roses, and the famed Gray Lady of Liberty Hall in Frankfort, a houseguest who never left. Montell tells the story of a stormy night, shortly before Henry Clay's death, when the ghost of the statesman's old friend Daniel Boone calls upon him, and then recounts the more modern story of the ghouls that haunt the rehearsal house of the band The Kentucky Headhunters.

Included are accounts of haunted libraries, mansions, bedrooms, log cabins, bathrooms, college campuses, apartments, furniture, hotels, and distilleries, as well as reports of eerie visitations from ghostly grandmothers, husbands, daughters, uncles, cousins, babies, slaves, Civil War soldiers, dogs, sheep, and even wildcats. Almost all of Kentucky's 120 counties are represented. Though the book emphasizes the stories themselves, Montell offers an introduction discussing how local history, local character, and local flavor are communicated across the generations in these colorful stories.

The Orphic hymns are fascinating historical artifacts 87 devotions, invocations, and entreaties to the Greek gods that are as powerful today as they were when they were originally developed thousands of years ago. Designed to be used in contemporary spiritual practice and spellcrafting, this premium hardcover edition features spectacular new English translations by Patrick Dunn along with the original Greek on facing pages. These translations are complete, accurate, and poetic perfect for integrating into rituals and magical workings for every conceivable purpose, from protection to prosperity and everything in between. Written by a poet and occultist specifically for contemporary practitioners of magic, this must-have book also includes detailed notes to help you understand esoteric passages as well as suggestions for incense selection and the practical use of the hymns.

This key to the world's esoteric traditions unlocks some of the most fascinating and closely held secrets of myth, religion, and philosophy. Unrivaled in its beauty and completeness, it distills ancient and modern teachings of nearly 600 experts. Compelling themes range from the riddle of the Sphinx and the tenets of Pythagorean astronomy to the symbolism of the pentagram, the significance of the Ark of the Covenant, and the design of the American flag.
Acclaimed by "Publishers Weekly" as "a classic reference, dizzying in its breadth," this remarkable resource was compiled by the founder of the Philosophical Research Society. Author Manly P. Hall examines the secrets of Isis along with arcane aspects of mystic Christianity and other religions. Fascinating surveys cover topics as diverse as Kabbalah, alchemy, cryptology, and Tarot, along with Masonry, gemology, and the identity of William Shakespeare. Sixteen pages of color plates and 100 black-and-white images by the celebrated illustrator J. Augustus Knapp illuminate this vast and indispensable encyclopedia of the occult.

This book provides a practical introduction to Chaos Magic, one of the fastest growing areas of Western Occultism. Through it you can change your circumstances, live according to a developing sense of personal responsibility, effect change around you, and stop living as a helpless cog in some clockwork universe. All acts of personal/collective liberation are magical acts. Magic leads us into exhilaration and ecstasy; into insight and understanding; into changing ourselves and the world in which we participate. Through magic we may come to explore the possibilities of freedom.

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486 1535) was a controversial Renaissance theologian and writer who published work on the occult and magic, and his writings influenced later leading literary figures such as Goethe. Agrippa, although born near Cologne, spent his life travelling around Europe, to Italy, Spain, France, England, Switzerland and the Netherlands. He wrote his De occulta philosophia in 1511 (though it was not published until twenty years later) and its three volumes are the best-known works on Renaissance magic, though Agrippa tried to distance himself from the occult side and instead stress more metaphysical aspects. In Henri Corn lis Agrippa, published in 1911, writer Joseph Orsier examines Agrippa's life. The first part of the work discusses Agrippa's travels, writings, thoughts and controversies. The second part is a translation collection of seventy of his letters, dating from 1509 to 1532, to and from a range of correspondents, including Erasmus.

On February 3, 1913, the first General Meeting of the newly formed Anthroposophical Society was convened in Berlin. Six weeks later, in Holland, Rudolf Steiner spoke for the first time to an anthroposophical audience in a detailed, intimate way of the esoteric schooling of the individual human being in earthly life. Hence the fundamental importance of these lectures for anthroposophical inner development. Steiner deals here with the subtle effects of spiritual development at every level of the human being. Beginning with straightforward questions relating to the body's experience of foodstuff - meat, coffee, alcohol, and so forth - he unfolds the universe of anthroposophical spiritual striving until it includes direct perception of Paradise and the Holy Grail, as well as the role of the human being as evolving between the forces of Lucifer and Ahriman. This edition also includes as a prologue Steiner's crucial lecture on "The Being of Anthroposophy," which has never before appeared in English. In this, Steiner says: Sophia will become objective again, but she will take with her what humanity is, and objectively present herself in this form. Thus, she will present herself not only as Sophia, but as Anthroposophia - as the Sophia who, after passing through the human soul, through the very being of the human being, henceforth bears that being within her, and in this form she will confront enlightened human beings as the objective being Sophia who once stood before the Greeks.

The dark side of the dark side ...He has everything he should want in life. A good job. A nice home. A nice car. A beautiful wife and family. A retirement plan. An active social life. A prestigious reputation. Envious neighbours. A pet dog. Yet there remains emptiness inside. In a search for meaning, he begins a journey from which he cannot return. Grasping at everything he can, experiments in ritual magick lead him into the realms of sex, drugs, organised crime, aliens and angels as his life spirals further and further up and down the paths of initiation and illumination while grappling with insanity, annihilation and transformation.

What secret power is hiding within you? There is an untamed wildness within each of us. Once found and nurtured, this wild power can lead to true and boundless freedom, creativity and purpose. In Wild Once, internationally renowned High Wiccan Priestess, Vivianne Crowley, reveals the secret riches to be found on a hidden path. This is the extraordinary and inspiring guide to a life lived magically, of adventures into the unknown and of finding spiritual nourishment. It shows what can happen when you have the courage to step into the unexplainable and live untamed. It is also an evocative, intricate account of a hidden world, a rich tour of modern magical practices, from meditation to manifestation, shamanism to spellwork. Magic is waiting to be discovered. It is here, just beneath the surface, if only you know where to look... We all have wild magic within us; this book will inspire you to find it. ___________________ PRAISE FOR WILD ONCE 'Utterly contemporary, yet drawing on ancient wisdom' - Philip Carr-Gomm, author of The Prophecies and DruidCraft: The Magic of Wicca & Druidry 'A memoir of beautifully told tales about her magical and well-lived life that will awaken the magic within and guide you to the enchanted adventure that awaits' - Phyllis Curott, Priestess of Ara, author of The Witches' Wisdom Tarot 'The best book on the experience of magic that I have ever read' - Ronald Hutton, author of The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles 'Heartfelt and often beautiful ... Witches, look no further! This is the guide you need' - Diane Purkiss 'Wonderfully inspirational and highly practical - if you have ever wondered what it's like to be a witch in Real Life, just read this book!' - Rodney Orpheus, author of Abrahadabra and founding member of The Cassandra Complex

Steiner immerses the reader in the evolving stream of 11 mystics who appeared in central Europe between the 13th and 17th centuries, who resolved the conflict between their inner perceptions and beginnings of modern science.

In the first edition of the Bancroft Prize-winning Entertaining Satan, John Putnam Demos presented an entirely new perspective on American witchcraft. By investigating the surviving historical documents of over a hundred actual witchcraft cases, he vividly recreated the world of New England during the witchcraft trials and brought to light fascinating information on the role of witchcraft in early American culture. Now Demos has revisited his original work and updated it to illustrate why these early Americans' strange views on witchcraft still matter to us today. He provides a new preface that puts forth a broader overview of witchcraft and looks at its place around the world--from ancient times right up to the present.

Almost two decades after writing his famous The Occult, Colin Wilson re-examined the whole spectrum of the mystical and paranormal, producing a general occult theory that remains as compelling as the evidence of atomic particles. Originally published in 1988, Beyond the Occult contains a huge amount of new material and evidence, which came to light following publication of The Occult. It combines scientific thinking on the nature of physical reality with a wide range of fascinating case studies, from the Swiss dowser who located the body of a missing woman to the lucky American whose dreams foretold the winning horses in multiple races to scores of accounts of mystical experiences of the Divine, of spirit possession and of poltergeists. Part One covers the amazing hidden powers of the human mind: ESP, clairvoyance, psychometry, precognition, psychokinesis, and dowsing. Part Two considers the more mysterious forces for good or evil - poltergeists, spirit possession, and reincarnation - that convinced Colin Wilson of the reality of disembodied spirits. In Beyond the Occult, Colin Wilson puts forward a convincing case that our so-called 'normal' experience may, in fact, be subnormal, and that evolution may have brought us near the edge of a quantum leap into a hugely expanded human consciousness. This new edition includes a foreword by Colin Wilson's biographer, Colin Stanley.

When strange signs appeared in the sky over Quebec during the autumn of 1660, people began to worry about evil forces in their midst. They feared that witches and magicians had arrived in the colony, and a teenaged servant named Barbe Hallay started to act as if she were possessed. The community tried to make sense of what was happening, and why. Priests and nuns performed rituals to drive the demons away, while the bishop and the governor argued about how to investigate their suspicions of witchcraft. A local miller named Daniel Vuil, accused of using his knowledge of the dark arts to torment Hallay, was imprisoned and then executed. Stories of the demonic infestation circulated through the small settlement on the St Lawrence River for several years. In The Possession of Barbe Hallay Mairi Cowan revisits these stories to understand the everyday experiences and deep anxieties of people in New France. Her findings offer insight into beliefs about demonology and witchcraft, the limits of acceptable adolescent behaviour, the dissonance between a Catholic colony in theory and the church's wavering influence in practice, the contested authority accorded to women as healers, and the insecurities of the colonial project. As the people living through the events knew at the time, and as this study reveals, New France was in a precarious position. The Possession of Barbe Hallay is both a fascinating account of a case of demonic possession and an accessible introduction to social and religious history in early modern North America.

Harry Gilmore has no idea of the terrible danger he faces when he meets a beautiful girl in a local student bar. Drugged and abducted, Harry wakes up in a secure wooden compound deep in the Welsh countryside, where he is groomed by the leaders of a manipulative cult, run by the self-proclaimed new messiah known as The Master. When the true nature of the cult becomes apparent, Harry looks for any opportunity to escape. But as time passes, he questions if The Master's extreme behavior and teachings are the one true religion. With Harry's life hanging by a thread, a team of officers, led by Detective Inspector Laura Kesey, investigate his disappearance. But will they find him before it's too late? *Previously published as The Girl in White*

The astrologer-physician Richard Napier (1559-1634) was not only a man of practical science and medicine but also a master of occult arts and a devout parish rector who purportedly held conversations with angels. This new interpretation of Napier reveals him to be a coherent and methodical man whose burning desire for certain, true knowledge contributed to the contemporary venture of putting existing knowledge to useful ends. Originally trained in theology and ordained as an Anglican priest, Napier later studied astrological medicine and combined astrology, religious thought, and image and ritual magic in his medical work. Ofer Hadass draws on a remarkable archive of Napier's medical cases and religious writings-including the interviews he claimed to have held with angels-to show how Napier's seemingly inconsistent approaches were rooted in an inclusive and coherent worldview, combining equal respect for ancient authority and for experientially derived knowledge. Napier's endeavors exemplify the fruitful relationship between religion and science that offered a well-founded alternative to the rising mechanistic explanation of nature at the time. Carefully researched and compellingly told, Medicine, Religion, and Magic in Early Stuart England is an insightful exploration of one of the most fascinating figures at the intersection of medicine, magic, and theology in early modern England and of the healing methods employed by physicians of the era.