Parting company with the trend in recent scholarship to treat the subject in abstract, highly theoretical terms, Magic in Ancient Greece and Rome proposes that the magic-working of antiquity was in reality a highly pragmatic business, with very clearly formulated aims - often of an exceedingly malignant kind. In seven chapters, each addressed to an important arm of Greco-Roman magic, the volume discusses the history of the rediscovery and publication of the so-called Greek Magical Papyri, a key source for our understanding of ancient magic; the startling violence of ancient erotic spells and the use of these by women as well as men; the alteration in the landscape of defixio (curse tablet) studies by major new finds and the confirmation these provide that the frequently lethal intent of such tablets must not be downplayed; the use of herbs in magic, considered from numerous perspectives but with an especial focus on the bizarre-seeming rituals and protocols attendant upon their collection; the employment of animals in magic, the factors determining the choice of animal, the uses to which they were put, and the procuring and storage of animal parts, conceivably in a sorcerer's workshop; the witch as a literary construct, the clear homologies between the magical procedures of fictional witches and those documented for real spells, the gendering of the witch-figure and the reductive presentation of sorceresses as old, risible and ineffectual; the issue of whether ancient magicians practised human sacrifice and the illuminating parallels between such accusations and late 20th century accounts of child-murder in the context of perverted Satanic rituals. By challenging a number of orthodoxies and opening up some underexamined aspects of the subject, this wide-ranging study stakes out important new territory in the field of magical studies.

This work explores the interaction between magic and medicine in ancient Mesopotamia, as applied specifically to ghosts. Included is a discussion of sin and natural causes in Mesopotamian medicine. Additionally, it transliterates and translates 352 prescriptions designed to cure psychological and physical ailments thought to be caused by ghosts.

This thought-provoking and engaging guide is filled with a wide range of practical information and step-by-step plans for beginning your study and personal practice, including:
- Exploring the connection between spirituality and sexuality
- Meditating and creating sacred spaces
- Finding rituals and deities that are right for you
- Manifesting your desires through magic
- Living a joyful, purposeful life
- Eight original stories inspired by the Wiccan Sabbats
- And so much more

In this classic work, first published in 1899, one of the most prolific Egyptologists of the Victorian era offers his renowned insight into the magical power names, spells, and talismans held for the ancient Egyptians. How did beliefs that predated the worship of deities come to become associated with controlling gods and goddesses? How did magical amulets ward off evil spirits? What role did scarabs serve in bestowing immortality? The writings of E.A. Wallis Budge are considered somewhat controversial today because of his use of an archaic system of translation, but useful illustrations and an abundance of information make them necessary works for students of ancient civilizations as well as those of the evolution of historical study. This entertaining overview of the connection between religion and magic in ancient Egypt remain a vital resource today. SIR E.A. WALLIS BUDGE (1857-1934) was curator of Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities at the British Museum form 1894 to 1924. Among his many works of translation and studies of ancient Egyptian religion and ritual is his best-known project, The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

With 23 illustrations. Crowley had a temple in Cefalu in Sicily. He was supposed to practice Black Magic there, and one day a baby was said to have disappeared mysteriously.

Communing With The Spirits is the only book available that deals with the magical practice of Necromancy in a non-initiatory manner. The book has had excellent reviews in the serious occult online press, and is considered by many serious Occultists to be a standard in the field. This second edition contains some interesting new material, but retains all of the old material that has been found to be useful in guiding people who have the real desire and inclination to successfully practice Necromancy. Necromancy is not for everyone, but for those interested in mastering the art, this book is an excellent guide. 100 words

Some consider this to be the best book on magic available. The system of magic found here originated in Egypt from a magician who was known as Abramelin the Mage. It became the main source in the work of Aleister Crowley, who based many of his magical concepts and rituals on it. This book contains a complete system of ceremonial magic, covering areas considered to be both black and white. It is an advanced test that requires focus and concentration. If patience is used, one can be successful in its practice.

Science and Magic in the Modern World is a unique text that explores the role of magical thinking in everyday life. It provides an excellent psychological look at the subconscious belief in magic in both popular culture and society, as well as experimental research that considers human consciousness as a derivative of belief in the supernatural, thus showing that our feelings, emotions, attitudes and other psychological processes follow the laws of magic. This book synthesises the science of 'natural' phenomena and the magic of the 'supernatural' to present an interesting look at the juxtaposition of the inner and outer selves. Fusing research into psychological disorders, subconscious feelings, as well as the rising presence of artificial intelligence, this book demonstrates how an engagement with magical thinking can enhance one's creativity and cognitive skills. Science and Magic in the Modern World is an invaluable resource for those studying consciousness, as well as those looking at the effect of magical thinking on religion, politics, science and society.

One of the peculiarities of Bulwer was his passion for occult studies. They had a charm for him early in life, and he pursued them with the earnestness which characterized his pursuit of other studies. He became absorbed in wizard lore; he equipped himself with magical implements, -- with rods for transmitting influence, and crystal balls in which to discern coming scenes and persons; and communed with spiritualists and mediums. The fruit of these mystic studies is seen in _Zanoni_ and A strange Story, romances which were a labor of love to the author, and into which he threw all the power he possessed, -- power re-enforced by multifarious reading and an instinctive appreciation of Oriental thought.

Many of the spells that spiritual workers give their clients to solve problems in their lives are given in this book. No knowledge or training in magic is necessary to perform thse spells, which have been taken from the successful folk magic of many of the ethnic spiritual practitioners of New York, as well as Draja Mickaharic

Creating Magickal Entities is a comprehensive reference manual that presents step-by-step instructions for creating entities through astral manipulation that will change your life. This manual, written by three practicing occultists, reveals magickal and alchemical methods, many which have been lost and suppressed through the ages, in a refreshingly modern way that magickal practitioners of any tradition can understand.

This volume contains a series of provocative essays that explore expressions of magic and ritual power in the ancient world. The essays are authored by leading scholars in the fields of Egyptology, ancient Near Eastern studies, the Hebrew Bible, Judaica, classical Greek and Roman studies, early Christianity and patristics, and Coptology.
Throughout the book the essays examine the terms employed in descriptions of ancient magic. From this examination comes a clarification of magic as a polemical term of exclusion but also an understanding of the classical Egyptian and early Greek conceptions of magic as a more neutral category of inclusion.
This book should prove to be foundational for future scholarly studies of ancient magic and ritual power.
This publication has also been published in hardback (no longer available).

Everyone possesses the spiritual, psychic, and worldly potential of a Goddess or God. In this breakthrough book, Francesca De Grandis brings years of experience as a shamanic counselor and traditional spiritual healer to reveal how you can cultivate and celebrate the secret, magical side of your nature. This month-to-month program of many practical exercises, rituals, and prayers will help you:

• Discover your innate wisdom

• Heal inner blocks to happiness and meaningful action in your life

• Achieve your goals and feel energized, strong, and capable

• Unleash creativity and passion for living

• Celebrate a vibrant and healthy sexuality

Based on traditional Celtic culture and the author's own successful and unique Third Road teaching, this enriching journey deep into the heart of shamanism and Goddess Spirituality will appeal to all seekers, not just Wiccans. A lyrical sourcebook of rituals, spells, mysticism, and mirth, Goddess Initiation is designed for everyone who wants to integrate commonsense Spirituatity -- and a bit of Faerie dust! -- into their everyday lives.

This volume presents editions of two fascinating anonymous and untitled manuscripts of magic produced in Elizabethan England: the Antiphoner Notebook and the Boxgrove Manual. Frank Klaassen uses these texts, which he argues are representative of the overwhelming majority of magical practitioners, to explain how magic changed during this period and why these developments were crucial to the formation of modern magic. The Boxgrove Manual is a work of learned ritual magic that synthesizes material from Henry Cornelius Agrippa, the Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy, Heptameron, and various medieval conjuring works. The Antiphoner Notebook concerns the common magic of treasure hunting, healing, and protection, blending medieval conjuring and charm literature with materials drawn from Reginald Scot’s famous anti-magic work, Discoverie of Witchcraft. Klaassen painstakingly traces how the scribes who created these two manuscripts adapted and transformed their original sources. In so doing, he demonstrates the varied and subtle ways in which the Renaissance, the Reformation, new currents in science, the birth of printing, and vernacularization changed the practice of magic. Illuminating the processes by which two sixteenth-century English scribes went about making a book of magic, this volume provides insight into the wider intellectual culture surrounding the practice of magic in the early modern period.

This volume, edited by Tzvi Zbusch and Karel van der Toorn, contains the papers delivered at the first international conference on Mesopotamian magic held under the auspices of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS) in June 1995. It is the first collective volume dedicated to the study of this topic. It aims at serving as a bench-mark and provides analytic and innovative but also sythetic and programmatic essays. Magical texts, forms, and traditions from the Mesopotamian cultural worlds of the third millennium BCE through the first millennium CE, in the Sumerian, Akkadian and Aramaic languages as well as in art, are examined.

This work is a powerful and astute examination of the connection between magic in literature and magic in history. It traces the evolution of the Faust tradition and its relationship to the practice of magic in European history. Written by one of the most distinguished scholars in the field of German literature, this book, first published in 1952, is a classic text. Butler follows the magic tradition of the Magus--the priest-king--and its reformulation in the Christian world. In the process, the Magus was transformed into a wicked sorcerer who comes to a bad end in this world and a worse one hereafter. This conception, which gained ground in the Middle Ages, received its most categorical statement in the Faust legend.

The celebrated pact between Faust and the devil was in fact an invention of Christian mythologists who had interpreted occult rituals in accordance with the Christian belief that magicians were the servants of Satan. Occultists replied by denying the pact with the devil and by associating Faust with ritual magic traditions. Butler draws on her detailed knowledge of literature, religion, and history to produce an authoritative synthesis that all those interested in the development of mythology will find indispensable.

Alchemy of the Word is a study of the literary, philosophical, and cultural ramifications of Cabala during the Renaissance. Important intellectual figures from 1490 to 1690 are considered, including Agrippa, Dee, Spenser, Shakespeare, Browne, and Milton; Cabalas more recent impact is also discussed. Cabala, a hermeneutic style of Biblical commentary of Jewish origin, is based on the notion that, along with an inscribed Decalogue, Moses received a secret, oral supplement that provides a symbolic, allegorical, and moral qualification of the literal law of religion.

Building on the work of Gershom Scholem, Joseph Blau, Harold Bloom, Francois Secret, Michel de Certeau, and Arthur Waite, Beitchman takes a fresh look at the "mystical" text through the lens of postmodernist theory. In a model developed from Deleuze-Guattari's "nomadology" to explore issues related to the Zohar, he shows that Cabala was a deconstruction of Renaissance authority. Like deconstruction, Cabala presents familiar material from novel and sometimes provocative perspectives. It allows space for modifiability, tolerance and humanity, by widening the margins between the letter of the law and the demands of an existence whose rules were so rapidly changing.

An exercise in the literary analysis of "sacred texts" and an examination of the mystical element in literary works, Alchemy of the Word is also an experiment in new historicism. It shows how the reincarnation theories of E M. Van Helmont, which impacted heavily on the seventeenth century English cabalistic circle of Henry More and Ann Conway, demonstrate at once the originality and boldness of Cabala, but also its desperation, constituting a theoretical parallel tothe continental "acting out" of the Sabbatian heresy.

Which He Caused to be Painted Upon an Arch in St. Innocents Church Yard in Paris. Only 100 copies of this elusive book were ever printed until now! Introduction by W.W. Westcott. Flammel was certainly one of the most captivating figures in alchemy. Because he mastered the art of alchemy, his vast wealth and charities surpassed anything known in his time. Contained in this vary rare book is the symbolism and allusions to the inner meanings contained within the powerful symbols that yielded their ancient secrets to him. Many alchemists insist that this is one of the most important alchemical works ever written. Long out-of-print, it's reprinting will satisfy the yearning for those seeking the Philosopher's Stone. (Due to the age and scarcity of this rare book, some of the pages are light although the text is readable.

The object of this book is to place before the reader in language as simple as possible the story of alchemy. Because the literature on this science has ever been an enigma to both the scientific and the lay mind, it is the earnest desire of the author to present it stripped of its symbolism, and to give some indication of its processes, its achievements, and its possibilities. He wishes to show that this science is the Law operating behind all Manifestation in Man; Man that is in his entirety, physical, mental, and spiritual, and to demonstrate how it is bound up in the further evolution and unfoldment of the race, for without this understanding the vision of Man made perfect is impossible. This is an excellent primer for anyone interested in alchemy.

Or, the Victorious Philosophical Stone. A Treatise more complete and more intelligible than any yet extant, concerning the Hermetical Magistery to which is added, The Ancient War of the Knights: Being an Alchemistical Dialogue between our Stone, Gold and Mercury: of the True Matter of which those who have traced Nature do prepare the Philosopher's Stone. This may be the first reprint of this essential alchemical work since 1740!

A unique, authoritative collection of rituals, spells, and meditations for attracting and enhancing love relationships--from the authors of Power of the Witch. This entertaining and enlightening book addresses both the novice and experienced magic worker to give an overview on the meaning of love and on the craft of performing it.

Treason and magic were first linked together during the reign of Edward II. Theories of occult conspiracy then regularly led to major political scandals, such as the trial of Eleanor Cobham Duchess of Gloucester in 1441. While accusations of magical treason against high-ranking figures were indeed a staple of late medieval English power politics, they acquired new significance at the Reformation when the 'superstition' embodied by magic came to be associated with proscribed Catholic belief. Francis Young here offers the first concerted historical analysis of allegations of the use of magic either to harm or kill the monarch, or else manipulate the course of political events in England, between the fourteenth century and the dawn of the Enlightenment. His book addresses a subject usually either passed over or elided with witchcraft: a quite different historical phenomenon. He argues that while charges of treasonable magic certainly were used to destroy reputations or to ensure the convictions of undesirables, magic was also perceived as a genuine threat by English governments into the Civil War era and beyond.

This volume represents a selection of contributions on Mediterranean themes from a wider international interdisciplinary conference on Magical Texts in Ancient Civilizations, organised by the Centre for Comparative Studies of Civilizations at Jagiellonian University in Krakow in Poland between 27-28 June 2013. The meeting welcomed researchers from Hungary, Italy, Poland and Ukraine, covering various disciplines including comparative civilizations, comparative religions, linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, history and philosophy. In the past 'magic' was often misunderstood as irrational behaviour, in contrast to the tradition of philosophical or rational thought mostly based on Greek models. Evidence collected from ancient high cultures, like that of Pharaonic Egypt, includes massive amounts of documents and treatises of all kinds related to what has been labelled 'magic'. Today it cannot be written off as merely a primitive or 'lesser human' phenomenon: the awareness of magic remains to the present day in many societies, at all social levels, and has not been generally replaced by what might be considered as more advanced thinking. The researches in this volume focus heavily on Egypt (in particular Predynastic, Pharaonic, Hellenistic, Roman and Christian evidence), but Near Eastern material was also presented from Pagan (Ugaritic) and Christian (Syriac) times.

This collection of essays considers the place of magic in the modern world, first by exploring the ways in which modernity has been defined in explicit opposition to magic and superstition, and then by illuminating how modern proponents of magic have worked to legitimize their practices through an overt embrace of evolving forms such as esotericism and supernaturalism. Taking a two-track approach, this book explores the complex dynamics of the construction of the modern self and its relation to the modern preoccupation with magic. Essays examine how modern "rational" consciousness is generated and maintained and how proponents of both magical and scientific traditions rationalize evidence to fit accepted orthodoxy. This book also describes how people unsatisfied with the norms of modern subjectivity embrace various forms of magic-and the methods these modern practitioners use to legitimate magic in the modern world. A compelling assessment of magic from the early modern period to today, Magic in the Modern World shows how, despite the dominant culture's emphatic denial of their validity, older forms of magic persist and develop while new forms of magic continue to emerge. In addition to the editors, contributors include Egil Asprem, Erik Davis, Megan Goodwin, Dan Harms, Adam Jortner, and Benedek Lang.