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Books > Health, Home & Family > Mind, body & spirit > The Occult > Witchcraft & Wicca
Bestselling author Philip Matyszak explores how the Greeks and
Romans used magic, who performed it – and why. Magic was
everywhere in the ancient world. The supernatural abounded, turning
flowers into fruit and caterpillars into butterflies. Magic packed
a cloud of water vapour with energy enough to destroy a house with
one well-aimed thunderbolt. It was everyday magic, but it was still
magical. Philip Matyszak takes readers into that world. He shows us
how to make a love potion or cast a curse, how to talk to the dead
and how to identify and protect oneself from evil spirits. He takes
us to a world where gods, like humans, were creatures of space and
time; where people could not just talk to spirits and deities, but
could even themselves become divine; and where divine beings could
fall from – or be promoted to – full godhood. Ancient Magic
offers us a new way of understanding the role of magic, looking at
its history in all of its classical forms. Drawing on a wide array
of sources, from Greek dramas to curse tablets, lavishly
illustrated throughout, and packed with information, surprises,
lore and learning, this book offers an engaging and accessible way
into the supernatural for all.
Cotton Mather chronicles the Salem witch trials which took place in
New England in the late 18th century. Together with the trials,
this book holds detailed accounts of devilish phenomena Mather
believed were linked to the discovery of the local witches. Mather
discusses a range of spiritual phenomena reported by various
figures in the fledgling society of New England. Sudden
apparitions, visions, and other strange goings on which she
believed were linked to the frequent finding of witches are
cataloged. The bulk of the text however is concerned with the
trials of many witches, the causes of their accusations, and the
circumstances under which they were tried. Mather's book is today
one of the best and most complete primary narratives of what came
to be known as the Salem witch trials; with accounts of witnesses,
judges, and evidence put forward all present. Furthermore, Mather's
book was published in 1693, shortly after the trials were
concluded.
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