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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies
In 1636, residents at the convent of Santa Chiara in Carpi in
northern Italy were struck by an extraordinary illness that
provoked bizarre behavior. Eventually numbering fourteen, the
afflicted nuns were subject to screaming fits, throwing themselves
on the floor, and falling abruptly into a deep sleep. When medical
experts' cures proved ineffective, exorcists ministered to the
women and concluded that they were possessed by demons and the
victims of witchcraft. Catering to women from elite families, the
nunnery suffered much turmoil for three years and, remarkably,
three of the victims died from their ills. A maverick nun and a
former confessor were widely suspected to be responsible, through
witchcraft, for these woes. Based primarily on the exhaustive
investigation by the Inquisition of Modena, The Scourge of Demons
examines this fascinating case in its historical context. The
travails of Santa Chiara occurred at a time when Europe witnessed
peaks in both witch-hunting and in the numbers of people reputedly
possessed by demons. Female religious figures appeared particularly
prone to demonic attacks, and Counter-Reformation Church
authorities were especially interested in imposing stricter
discipline on convents. Watt carefully considers how the nuns of
Santa Chiara understood and experienced alleged possession and
witchcraft, concluding that Santa Chiara's diabolical troubles and
their denouement -- involving the actions of nuns, confessors,
inquisitorial authorities, and exorcists -- were profoundly shaped
by the unique confluence of religious, cultural, judicial, and
intellectual trends that flourished in the 1630s. Jeffrey R. Watt
is professor of history at the University of Mississippi.
Daughters of Hecate unites for the first time research on the
problem of gender and magic in three ancient Mediterranean
societies: early Judaism, Christianity, and Graeco-Roman culture.
The book illuminates the gendering of ancient magic by approaching
the topic from three distinct disciplinary perspectives: literary
stereotyping, the social application of magic discourse, and
material culture.
The volume challenges presumed associations of women and magic by
probing the foundations of, processes, and motivations behind
gendered stereotypes, beginning with Western culture's earliest
associations of women and magic in the Bible and Homer's Odyssey.
Daughters of Hecate provides a nuanced exploration of the topic
while avoiding reductive approaches. In fact, the essays in this
volume uncover complexities and counter-discourses that challenge,
rather than reaffirm, many gendered stereotypes taken for granted
and reified by most modern scholarship.
By combining critical theoretical methods with research into
literary and material evidence, Daughters of Hecate interrogates
gendered stereotypes that are as relevant now as for understanding
antiquity or the early modern witch hunts.
This is Laurence Gardner's final book, written shortly before his
death in 2010 and is the accompanying book to his Origin of God
(published 2011 by dash house publishing). Together with Origin of
God, this book outlines an irrefutable and searing indictment of
conventional belief and exposes the evils and absurdities
perpetuated over the millenia in the name of Christianity. In
Revelation of the Devil, Laurence Gardner traces the history of the
Devil, from its roots in Mesopotamia and the Old Testament all the
way up to the modern world of today. Travelling through the New
Testament, as well as the Koran, and then passing in turn through
the Inquisitions, the Reformation and the Enlightenment, he unmasks
what he has called "the myth of evil and the conspiracy of Satan."
For nearly 2,000 years a supernatural entity known as the Devil has
been held responsible by Church authorities for bringing sin and
wickedness into the world. Throughout this period, the Devil has
been portrayed as a constant protagonist of evil, although his
origin remains a mystery and his personality has undergone many
interpretive changes, prompting questions such as: If God is all
good and all powerful, then why does evil exist? How can it exist?
If God created everything, then where did the Devil come from? If
the Devil exists, then why does he not feature in any pre-Christian
document? Revelation of the Devil follows the Devil's sinister
history, in the manner of a biography, from his scriptural
introduction to the dark satanic cults of the present day. In a
strict chronological progression, we experience the mood of each
successive era as the Devil's image was constantly manipulated to
suit the changing motives of his creators in their bid for
threat-driven clerical control.
The Kingdom of the Occult takes Dr. Walter Martin's comprehensive
knowledge and his dynamic teaching style and forges a strong weapon
against the world of the Occult-a weapon of the same scope and power as
his phenomenal thirty-five-year bestseller, The Kingdom of the Cults
Chapters include: Witchcraft and Wicca, Satanism, Pagan Religions,
Tools of the Occult, Demon Possession and Exorcism, Spiritual Warfare,
etc.
Features include:
• Each chapter contains: Quick Facts; History; Case Studies; Theology;
Resources
Crop circles are the finest, most beautiful and original art forms
of modem times, and they are totally mysterious. Behind the crop
circle phenomenon is an evident purpose. Some intelligence, human,
alien or spiritual, is in the process of communication. It is
exposing us to a course of re-education, beginning with the symbols
of sacred knowledge and wisdom. The most striking evidence for this
view is the amazing formation that appeared at Crooked Soley in
Wiltshire on the 27th August 2002. Clearly expressed in its design
are certain numerical symbols that are known esoterically as the
'Keys to Creation'. They are also keys to that universal science
associated with the Holy Grail. From time to time it is revealed
again, and when that happens, culture and the human spirit are
renewed and life on earth is restored to its natural state as a
reflection of paradise.
A sigil is an intensely powerful magickal tool that any modern
witch should consider adding to their repertoire. Sigils can help
manifest your desires, ward off evil, and add deeper levels of
meaning to your spells. You don’t have to be an artist to create
a sigil—anyone can do it. Sigil Craft is Lia Taylor’s
must-have guide to creating sigils, including step-by-step
instructions using various methods including the Magic Square and
Austin Osman Spare, as well as an overview of sigils throughout
history, from Agrippa to modern chaos magick, from medieval
grimoires and prehistoric cave paintings to the graphic novels of
Grant Morrison. Taylor shares how to charge your sigils,
incorporate them into your creative endeavors, and heighten the
power of your sigils through the shoaling technique. This immensely
useful book is fully illustrated with Taylor’s art, and is a
fascinating guide to an increasingly popular practice.Â
The Ancient and Accepted Rite for England and Wales covers the
4th-33rd degrees, including the 18th 'Rose Croix' degree. The
author explores the historic background to this important part of
Freemasonry with the original being published in 1980. A second
edition appeared in 1987 which was a completely revised work after
much new documented evidence was discovered, and this third edition
is another reprint of this authoritative study.
The end of the eighteenth century saw the end of the witch trials
everywhere. This volume charts the processes and reasons for the
decriminalisation of witchcraft but also challenges the widespread
assumption that Europe has been 'disenchanted'. For the first time
surveys are given of the social role of witchcraft in European
communities down to the end of the nineteenth century and of the
continued importance of witchcraft and magic as topics of debate
among intellectuals and other writers
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*
Examining the theme of child sacrifice as a psychological
challenge, this book applies a unique approach to religious ideas
by looking at beliefs and practices that are considered deviant,
but also make up part of mainstream religious discourse in Judaism,
Islam, and Christianity. Ancient religious mythology, which
survives through living traditions and transmitted narratives,
rituals, and writings, is filled with violent stories, often
involving the targeting of children as ritual victims. Christianity
offers Abraham's sacrifice and assures us that the "only begotten
son" has died, and then been resurrected. This version of the
sacrifice myth has dominated the West. It is celebrated in an act
of fantasy cannibalism, in which the believers share the divine
son's flesh and blood. This book makes the connection between
Satanism stories in the 1980s, the Blood Libel in Europe, The
Eucharist, and Eastern Mediterranean narratives of child sacrifice.
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