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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies
This amazing book is an essential reference and permanent resource
for every aspirant. It is illustrated with original ary by Oberon
and friends, as well as hundred of woodcuts from medieval
manuscripts and alchemical texts--plus, charts, tables and
diagrams.
Universities And The Occult Rituals Of The Corporate World explores the metaphorical parallels between corporatised, market-oriented universities and aspects of the occult. In the process, the book shows that the forms of mystery, mythmaking and ritual now common in restructured institutions of higher education stem from their new power structures and procedures, and the economic and sociopolitical factors that have generated them.
Wood argues that universities have acquired occult aspects, as the beliefs and practices underpinning present-day market-driven academic discourse and practice weave spells of corporate potency, invoking the bewildering magic of the market and the arcane mysteries of capitalism, thriving on equivocation and evasion. Making particular reference to South African universities, the book demonstrates the ways in which apparently rational features of contemporary Western and westernised societies have acquired occult aspects. It also includes discussion of higher education institutions in other countries where neoliberal economic agendas are influential, such as the UK, the USA, the Eurozone states and Australia.
Providing a unique and thought-provoking look at the impact of the marketisation of Higher Education, this book will be essential reading for academics, researchers and postgraduate students engaged in the study of higher education, educational policy and neoliberalism. It should also be of great interest to academics in the fields of anthropology, folklore and cultural studies, as well as business, economics and management.
'Eleanor Porter is a major new voice in historical fiction.' Tim
Clayton Where will her loyalty lead her?Once accused of witchcraft
Martha Spicer is now free from the shadow of the gallows and lives
a safe and happy life with her husband, Jacob. But when Jacob heads
north to accompany his master, he warns Martha to keep her healing
gifts a secret, to keep herself safe, to be a good wife. Martha
loves Jacob but without him there to protect her, she soon comes
under the suspicious eye of the wicked Steward Boult, who's heard
of her talent and forces her to attend to him. If she refuses, he
promises to destroy the good life she has built for herself with
Jacob. Desperate and alone, Martha faces a terrible decision: stay
and be beholden to Boult or journey north to find Jacob who is
reported to have been killed.. The road ahead is filled with
danger, but also the promise of a brighter future. And where her
gifts once threatened to be her downfall, might they now be the
very thing that sets Martha free...? The brilliant follow-up to
Eleanor Porter's first novel of love, betrayal, superstition and
fear in Elizabethan England. A story of female courage, ingenuity
and determination, this is perfect for fans of Tracy Chevalier.
'Eleanor Porter is a major new voice in historical fiction. With
her beautiful use of language and compelling storytelling she
conjures the past with a vividness that lingers in the mind long
after the final page.' Tim Clayton Praise for The Wheelwright's
Daughter:'It's a gripping story and such accomplished writing. I
really enjoyed every moment of working on it.' Yvonne Holland,
editor of Philippa Gregory and Tracy Chevalier 'A brilliant debut
novel' 'An interesting read and an impressive debut novel' 'A
wonderfully written story' 'A skilfully crafted story of love,
betrayal, superstition and fear in 16th century England.' 'This is
a story of courage, trust, betrayal and love.' 'A great historical
novel I loved.'
Offers a full introduction to and survey of runes and runology:
their history, how they were used, and their interpretation. Runes,
often considered magical symbols of mystery and power, are in fact
an alphabetic form of writing. Derived from one or more
Mediterranean prototypes, they were used by Germanic peoples to
write different kinds of Germanic language, principally Anglo-Saxon
and the various Scandinavian idioms, and were carved into stone,
wood, bone, metal, and other hard surfaces; types of inscription
range from memorials to the dead, through Christian prayers and
everyday messages to crude graffiti. First reliably attested in the
second century AD, runes were in due course supplanted by the roman
alphabet, though in Anglo-Saxon England they continued in use until
the early eleventh century, inScandinavia until the fifteenth (and
later still in one or two outlying areas). This book provides an
accessible, general account of runes and runic writing from their
inception to their final demise. It also covers modern uses of
runes, and deals with such topics as encoded texts, rune names, how
runic inscriptions were made, runological method, and the history
of runic research. A final chapter explains where those keen to see
runic inscriptions can most easily find them. Professor MICHAEL P,
BARNES is Emeritus Professor of Scandinavian Studies, University
College London.
Over half a century after the defeat of the Third Reich, the
complexities of Nazi ideology are still being unravelled. This text
is a serious attempt to identify these ideological origins. It
demonstrates the way in which Nazism was influenced by powerful
occult and millenarian sects that thrived in Germany and Austria at
the turn of the century. Their ideas and symbols filtered through
to nationalist-racist groups associated with the infant Nazi party
and their fantasies were played out with terrifying consequences in
the Third Reich: Auschwitz, Sobibor and Treblinka are the hellish
museums of the Nazi apocalypse. This bizarre and fascinating story
contains lessons we cannot afford to ignore.
Lizzie Baty, the Brampton Witch (1729-1817), lived close to the
village of Brampton in Cumbria and was said to be a 'canny auld
body'. A wise woman, she achieved great notoriety in her day.
Numerous tales and anecdotes have been handed down over the years
relating to Lizzie's 'second-sight', witchcraft and the strange
powers that she appeared to possess. They tell of spells, curses
and prophecies with Lizzie turning into a hare, her knack of
finding lost objects, forecasting marriages as well as strange
happenings at her funeral. This book serves to collect together
these varying accounts and attempts to establish which are fact and
which might be fiction. Whatever conclusion the reader may reach,
the Brampton Witch stories, whether real or imagined, are part of
Brampton's heritage and deserve to be preserved.
In this major new book, Wolfgang Behringer surveys the phenomenon
of witchcraft past and present. Drawing on the latest historical
and anthropological findings, Behringer sheds new light on the
history of European witchcraft, while demonstrating that
witch-hunts are not simply part of the European past. Although
witch-hunts have long since been outlawed in Europe, other
societies have struggled with the idea that witchcraft does not
exist. As Behringer shows, witch-hunts continue to pose a major
problem in Africa and among tribal people in America, Asia and
Australia. The belief that certain people are able to cause harm by
supernatural powers endures throughout the world today.
Wolfgang Behringer explores the idea of witchcraft as an
anthropological phenomenon with a historical dimension, aiming to
outline and to understand the meaning of large-scale witchcraft
persecutions in early modern Europe and in present-day Africa. He
deals systematically with the belief in witchcraft and the
persecution of witches, as well as with the process of outlawing
witch-hunts. He examines the impact of anti-witch-hunt legislation
in Europe, and discusses the problems caused in societies where
European law was imposed in colonial times. In conclusion, the
relationship between witches old and new is assessed.
This book will make essential reading for all those interested
in the history and anthropology of witchcraft and magic.
Uncovers the mindset and motives that drive far-right extremists
More than half a century after the defeat of Nazism and fascism,
the far right is again challenging the liberal order of Western
democracies. Radical movements are feeding on anxiety about
immigration, globalization and the refugee crisis, giving rise to
new waves of nationalism and surges of white supremacism. A curious
mixture of Aristocratic paganism, anti-Semitic demonology, Eastern
philosophies and the occult is influencing populist antigovernment
sentiment and helping to exploit the widespread fear that invisible
elites are shaping world events. Black Sun examines this neofascist
ideology, showing how hate groups, militias and conspiracy cults
gain influence. Based on interviews and extensive research into
underground groups, the book documents new Nazi and fascist sects
that have sprung up since the 1970s and examines the mentality and
motivation of these far-right extremists. The result is a detailed,
grounded portrait of the mythical and devotional aspects of Hitler
cults among Aryan mystics, racist skinheads and Nazi satanists, and
disciples of heavy metal music and occult literature. Nicholas
Goodrick-Clarke offers a unique perspective on far right neo-Nazism
viewing it as a new form of Western religious heresy. He paints a
frightening picture of a religion with its own relics, rituals,
prophecies and an international sectarian following that could,
under the proper conditions, gain political power and attempt to
realize its dangerous millenarian fantasies.
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