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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies
This thought-provoking collection of magical texts from ancient
Egypt shows the exotic rituals, esoteric healing practices, and
incantatory and supernatural dimensions that flowered in early
Christianity. These remarkable Christian magical texts include
curses, spells of protection from "headless powers" and evil
spirits, spells invoking thunderous powers, descriptions of fire
baptism, and even recipes from a magical "cookbook." Virtually all
the texts are by Coptic Christians, and they date from about the
1st-12th centuries of the common era, with the majority from late
antiquity. By placing these rarely seen texts in historical context
and discussing their significance, the authors explore the place of
healing, prayer, miracles, and magic in the early Christian
experience, and expand our understanding of Christianity and
Gnosticism as a vital folk religion.
London, more than any other city, has a secret history concealed
from view. Behind the official facade promoted by the heritage
industry, lies a city of esoteric traditions, obscure institutions,
and forgotten locations. Occult London rediscovers this history,
unearthing the hidden city that lies beneath our own. From the
Elizabethan magic of Dr Dee and Simon Forman, to the occult designs
of Wren and Hawksmoor; from the Victorian London of Spring-Heeled
Jack, to the fin de siecle heyday of Madame Blavatsky and Aleister
Crowley. This book describes these practitioners of the occult and
their unorthodox beliefs, alongside the myths and legends through
which the city has always been perceived. The role of the occult
within London's literary history is also outlined, while a
gazetteer maps the sites of London's most resonant occult
locations. Today we are experiencing a renewal of interest in the
occult tradition, and Merlin Coverley examines the roots of this
revival, exploring the rise of New Age philosophies and the
emergence of psychogeography in shaping a new vision of the city.
Magician, Poet and Seer, Victor Neuburg was the disciple of
Aleister Crowley and literary godfather of Dylan Thomas. Really two
books in one. Firstly a record of one man's extraordinary journey
to magical enlightenment. Secondly the story of the Aleister
Crowley, the magus who summoned Neuburg to join him in the quest.
The book opens with the author's entry into the group of young
poets including Dylan Thomas and Pamela Hansford Johnson. They
gather around Victor Neuburg in 1935 when he is poetry editor of
the Sunday Referee. Gradually the author becomes aware of his
strange and sinister past, in which Neuburg was associated in magic
with Aleister Crowley. Neuburg had been Crowley's partner in
magical rituals in the desert and in rites even more dangerous and
controversial. The author sought out the truth behind the rumours
and with her intuitive understanding of deeper things presents a
sympathetic and compelling biography. 'Vicky encouraged me as no
one else has done, ' Dylan Thomas declared on hearing of Neuburg's
death. 'He possessed many kinds of genius, and not the least was
his genius for drawing to himself, by his wisdom, graveness, great
humour and innocence, a feeling of trust and love, that won't ever
be forgotten.' ' . . . there was a whiff of sulphur abroad, and all
of us would have liked to know the truth of the Aleister Crowley's
legends, the truth of the witch-like baroness called Cremers, the
abandonment of Neuburg in the desert.' - Pamela Hansford Johnson
2011 Reprint of 1929 Edition. Full facsimile of the original
edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software.
Francesco Maria Guazzo was an Italian priest in Milan. In the
"Compendium Maleficarum" (Compendium of the Witches), he cites
numerous experts on the subject, among them Nicholas Remy. He
describes the eleven formulas or ceremonies previous to the vow to
Satan, allegedly necessary to participate of the Sabbath; besides,
Guazzo offers detailed descriptions of the sexual relationships
between men and succubi, and women and incubi. The book was not
translated into English until 1929, when this was accomplished
under the direction of the witchcraft scholar Montague Summers. It
discusses witches' alleged powers to transport themselves from
place to place, create living things, make beasts talk and the dead
reappear. Also discusses witches' powers, poisons and crimes,
sleep-inducing spells and methods for removing them, apparitions of
demons and specters and more. Guazzo also established also a
classification of the demons, inspired by a previous work by
Michael Psellus.
A landmark contribution to women's history that sheds new light on
the Salem witch trials and one of its most crucial participants,
Tituba of The Crucible In this important book, Elaine Breslaw
claims to have rediscovered Tituba, the elusive, mysterious, and
often mythologized Indian woman accused of witchcraft in Salem in
1692 and immortalized in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
Reconstructing the life of the slave woman at the center of the
notorious Salem witch trials, the book follows Tituba from her
likely origins in South America to Barbados, forcefully dispelling
the commonly-held belief that Tituba was African. The uniquely
multicultural nature of life on a seventeenth-century Barbadan
sugar plantation—defined by a mixture of English, American
Indian, and African ways and folklore—indelibly shaped the young
Tituba's world and the mental images she brought with her to
Massachusetts. Breslaw divides Tituba’s story into two parts. The
first focuses on Tituba's roots in Barbados, the second on her life
in the New World. The author emphasizes the inextricably linked
worlds of the Caribbean and the North American colonies,
illustrating how the Puritan worldview was influenced by its
perception of possessed Indians. Breslaw argues that Tituba’s
confession to practicing witchcraft clearly reveals her savvy and
determined efforts to protect herself by actively manipulating
Puritan fears. This confession, perceived as evidence of a
diabolical conspiracy, was the central agent in the cataclysmic
series of events that saw 19 people executed and over 150
imprisoned, including a young girl of 5. A landmark contribution to
women's history and early American history, Tituba, Reluctant Witch
of Salem sheds new light on one of the most painful episodes in
American history, through the eyes of its most crucial participant.
THE FINAL FREY & McGRAY MYSTERY All will be revealed... * * * *
* The Devil Has Come to Edinburgh... An ill-fated grave-robbery
unearths a corpse with a most disturbing symbol on it. When a
patient in Edinburgh's lunatic asylum is murdered, the same sign is
daubed in blood on the walls - the mark of the devil. The prime
suspect: inmate Amy McGray, notorious for killing her parents years
before. Her brother, Detective 'Nine-Nails' McGray, must prove her
innocence - with the help of an old friend . . . Inspector Ian Frey
insists he is retired. But when called upon, he reluctantly agrees
to their final case. As twists follow bombshells, leading to
secrets that have been waiting in the shadows all along, all will
be revealed . . . This rollicking Victorian sensationalist
melodrama is the epic conclusion to the marvellous Frey &
McGray mysteries.
In "The Devil and Philosophy," 34 philosophers explore questions
about one of the most recognizable and influential characters
(villains?) of all time. From Roman Polanski's "The Ninth Gate" to
J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Silmarillion" to Bram Stoker's "Dracula" to
Darth Vader to Al Pacino's iconic performance in "The Devil's
Advocate," this book demonstrates that a little devil goes a long
way. From humorous appearances, as in Kevin Smith's film "Dogma"
and Chuck Palahniuk's novels "Damned" and "Doomed," to more
villainous appearances, such as Gabriel Byrne's cold outing as
Satan in "End of Days," "The Devil in Philosophy" proves that the
Devil comes in many forms.
Are there any good arguments for the actual existence of the Devil?
Does demonic evil thrive in Gotham City? Can humans really be
accountable for all evil? Which truths about the Devil are actual
facts? Is Milton correct, in that the Devil believes he is doing
good? Through the lenses of Jung, Kant, Kundera, Balkan, Plato,
Bradwardine, Aristotle, Hume, Blackburn, Descartes, Lavey, Thoreau,
and Aquinas, "The Devil and Philosophy" takes a philosophical look
at one of time's greatest characters.
Poison Prescriptions is a stunningly illustrated grimoire of some
of the most notorious plants: henbane, datura, belladonna, among
others. It is also a practical guide to plant magic, medicine and
ritual, offering advice to professional and home herbalists, to
those interested in forgotten lore and the old ways, and to all
those who wish to reclaim control of their own wellbeing. This book
urges the resurrection of the ancient tradition of using these
witching herbs in ritual and medicine. Now is the time to relink
magic and medicine in the context of modern herbalism and
contemporary witchcraft. Discover: Safe ways of interacting with
the witching herbs to usher in wellbeing and healing. Practical
activities ranging from meditations and folklore writing to wreath
making and beer brewing. Step-by-step instructions to creating the
powerful witches' Flying Ointment and using it in ritual, sex magic
and lucid dreaming.
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.
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*
Beginning in January 1692, Salem Village in colonial Massachusetts
witnessed the largest and most lethal outbreak of witchcraft in
early America. Villagers-mainly young women-suffered from unseen
torments that caused them to writhe, shriek, and contort their
bodies, complaining of pins stuck into their flesh and of being
haunted by specters. Believing that they suffered from assaults by
an invisible spirit, the community began a hunt to track down those
responsible for the demonic work. The resulting Salem Witch Trials,
culminating in the execution of 19 villagers, persists as one of
the most mysterious and fascinating events in American history.
Historians have speculated on a web of possible causes for the
witchcraft that stated in Salem and spread across the
region-religious crisis, ergot poisoning, an encephalitis outbreak,
frontier war hysteria-but most agree that there was no single
factor. Rather, as Emerson Baker illustrates in this seminal new
work, Salem was "a perfect storm": a unique convergence of
conditions and events that produced something extraordinary
throughout New England in 1692 and the following years, and which
has haunted us ever since. Baker shows how a range of factors in
the Bay colony in the 1690s, including a new charter and
government, a lethal frontier war, and religious and political
conflicts, set the stage for the dramatic events in Salem. Engaging
a range of perspectives, he looks at the key players in the
outbreak-the accused witches and the people they allegedly
bewitched, as well as the judges and government officials who
prosecuted them-and wrestles with questions about why the Salem
tragedy unfolded as it did, and why it has become an enduring
legacy. Salem in 1692 was a critical moment for the fading Puritan
government of Massachusetts Bay, whose attempts to suppress the
story of the trials and erase them from memory only fueled the
popular imagination. Baker argues that the trials marked a turning
point in colonial history from Puritan communalism to Yankee
independence, from faith in collective conscience to skepticism
toward moral governance. A brilliantly told tale, A Storm of
Witchcraft also puts Salem's storm into its broader context as a
part of the ongoing narrative of American history and the history
of the Atlantic World.
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