Defining '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.

Dion Fortune's The Cosmic Doctrine is a spiritual work that resulted from a psychic experiment between two friends in Glastonbury, 1923. It has since become one of the most important works in modern esoteric literature and a constant source of inspiration and instruction to many practitioners. Sparks from the Cosmic Flame is a series of essays written by some of those inspired practitioners, which rather than seeking to 'explain' the work or re-write it in more modern vernacular, instead develops various and different aspects of its ideas that can be applied to one's practice. It's a book about how The Cosmic Doctrine can be used, or perhaps used differently and more flexibly. Wendy Berg, author of Red Tree, White Tree and Gwenevere and the Round Table has collated a series of illuminating essays by those who share a common enthusiasm for The Cosmic Doctrine and its applicability to contemporary practice. The contributors include the editor as well as M. E. Beardsley, James North, Stuart Delacey, Dale Kendrick, J.R. Petrie, Derek Thompson, Gwen Blythe, Christian Gilson, Holly Mulhern and Alan Robinson. There is no single or orthodox interpretation but rather a call for individual imagination and intuition, as well as the reasoning mind. It is unlike any other book and the reader will find that the guidance and inspiration of the original Inner Plane communicators are still there to be contacted; the words are the catalyst. One needs only to read a portion of the text and hold the images and concepts in the mind for the magic to work.

This is the first systematic attempt to analyse key aspects of ancient Greek philosophy in their original context of mystery religion, and magic. Peter Kingsley brings to light new evidence recently uncovered about ancient Pythagoreanism and its influence on Plato, and reconstructs the transmission of Pythagorean ideas from the Greek West down to the alchemists and magicians of Egypt, and from there into the Islamic world.

The story of the Horned God can be heard in various mythologies from around the world and like the Goddess he has become part of our psychological and spiritual heritage. Alan Richardson revisits his previous work on the male mysteries, Earth God Rising, adding a new commentary alongside the original text. Readers of Alan Richardson have come to love his sartorial wit, honest assessment and fresh exploration. His expertise on magical matters and its practitioners make for an insightful commentary on male deity - but always prodding readers to forge their own paths and make up their own minds. Earth God Risen is a tour through the origins and archetypes of male spirituality for both new seekers and seasoned practitioners (of both sexes).

As an "omniscient and obnoxious" teenager in 1969, Alan Richardson wrote to the occult author William G. Gray in pursuit of instant magical enlightenment. While he didn't quite get that, it was the beginning of a correspondence lasting many years in which Gray generously shared his magical knowledge and experience. Gray's letters, witty, ascerbic and blunt, contain a wealth of hints and tips on working and using Qabalah, his views on Dion Fortune, sex magic, initiation, joining magical groups, and how to stay on the straight and true path to Light regardless of what life flings at you. How does free-will relate to Destiny? Why do many great Adepts behave like idiots if they're in contact with Higher Powers? Is sex incompatible with a spiritual path? He addresses the questions which weigh on the mind of every magical seeker - always with the proviso that true wisdom can only be reached from within oneself. The letters are a delight to read and show the humour and understanding which shine through Gray's famously unsentimental character. They will be of direct practical value to anyone pursuing a magical path of any kind, Qabalistic or otherwise, and his advice to his young apprentice is every bit as pertinent today as it was back then.

This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic. Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch. The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The story of the beliefs and practices called 'magic' starts in ancient Iran, Greece, and Rome, before entering its crucial Christian phase in the Middle Ages. Centering on the Renaissance and Marsilio Ficino - whose work on magic was the most influential account written in premodern times - this groundbreaking book treats magic as a classical tradition with foundations that were distinctly philosophical. Besides Ficino, the premodern story of magic also features Plotinus, Iamblichus, Proclus, Aquinas, Agrippa, Pomponazzi, Porta, Bruno, Campanella, Descartes, Boyle, Leibniz, and Newton, to name only a few of the prominent thinkers discussed in this book. Because pictures play a key role in the story of magic, this book is richly illustrated.

Paul Sedir was one of the most important figures of the late 19th century occult renaissance in France, and yet he remains very little known in the English-speaking world. Born Yvon Le Loup in 1871, the young Breton moved to Paris and took up occultism as a teenager under the patronage of Papus (Gerard Encausse). Blessed with an exceptional memory and intuition, he embraced a diversity of paths and quickly rose through the ranks of a wide range of esoteric fraternities, authoring a number of books. From his home in Montmartre he held weekly open discussions on occultism and was well known for his exceptional knowledge and powerful presence. In later life, a significant mystical encounter led him to resign from his occult activities and focus solely on a Christian mystical path. Adopting the name Sedir (an anagram of 'desir'), he began writing his important work Initiations around 1901, and expanded it gradually over the following twenty-five years until his death in 1926. It follows the 'initiations', both occult and mystical, of a Paris doctor and his strange friend Andreas, nuanced by the enigmatic background presence of Theophane, the true healer. Presented in a deceptively simple narrative form, it distils and encodes a lifetime's esoteric and mystical knowledge in a way which serves as a very real initiation for the perceptive reader. Gareth Knight brings the benefit of 60 years' experience in practical occultism to this new translation of Sedir's work. He has translated a number of French esoteric texts, as well as being a renowned author in his own right.

Evoking hidden worlds, summoning visions and making magic happen, Conjure: A Book Of Spells is filled with vivid images and tantalizing narrative fragments that stir the heart, mind and eye. Echoing the tone and structure of Medieval and Renaissance grimoires, Dube's unique collection joins surrealist automatism with rigorous formal discipline and offers readers a profound and complex work. Peter Dube is the author of four other books: Hovering World, At the Bottom of the Sky, Subtle Bodies: a Fantasia on Voice, History and Rene Crevel, which was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award, and most recently the novel The City's Gates. He is also the editor of three anthologies of contemporary writing. His essays and critical writings have been widely published in journals such as CV Photo, ESSE, Hour and Ashe, and in exhibition publications for various galleries, among them SKOL, Occurrence, Quartier Ephemere and the Leonard and Bina Ellen Gallery of Concordia University. He lives in Montreal.

Among Non-Masons, especially the sensationalist type, and even among many Freemasons, there are many misconceptions and misunderstandings of the original objectives, so much so that much of the meaning of Freemasonic ritual has become blurred and confused. The original creators of this system of character building, harmonising with humanity, and of creating a better understanding of the individual's relationship to God - whatever he deems his God to be - were very intelligent individuals. They possessed a deliberate intent regarding the most suitable method of encouraging others to achieve these high objectives. By this system of progression, it was hoped that man's understanding of himself and his God would lead eventually to a peaceful harmony throughout life. So great was its objectives and construction that it received many imitators, some not quite achieving the ideals envisaged by the original creators. This book is an attempt to 'get back to basics', and will hopefully bring some additional light upon what I consider the greatest method of self-improvement ever devised by man.

Potent medieval faery lore and hidden goddess traditions for the 21st century. Gareth Knight explores and reveals the hidden mystery of the Faery Melusine, a major figure in medieval French lore and legend. Through vivid interpretation of original source texts, Gareth Knight shows that the Melusine story is a powerful initiatory legend emerging from the deeply transformative Faery Tradition of ancient Europe. Furthermore he demonstrates how such legends manifest as history: the innate sacromagical power of Melusine affected key places and events in the development of the medieval world and from there reached far into the shaping of the modern world through the conflicts for Jerusalem and the Middle East. Gareth Knight is the author of many books on magic, occultism, and esoteric tradition. His work is known world-wide and has been influential in the development of the contemporary magical revival.