Giordano Bruno's visit to Elizabethan England in the 1580s left its imprint on many fields of contemporary culture, ranging from the newly-developing science, the philosophy of knowledge and language, to the extraordinary flowering of Elizabethan poetry and drama.
From the shelves of mainstream bookstores and the pages of teen magazines, to popular films and television series, contemporary culture at the turn of the twenty-first century has been fascinated with teenage identity and the presence of magic and the occult.
Containing ten essays by anthropologists on the beliefs and practices associated with witches and sorcerers in Eastern Africa, the chapters in this book are all based on field research and new information which is studied within its wider social context.
From being on the margins of scholarly debate for much of the past century and a half, religion is being recognized once again as an area of concern for scholars, politicians, and public policy makers, and thus, the role of religious and spiritual education has taken on a new importance.
Das Anliegen der Ontosophie besteht darin, evolutionär und kulturell verzerrte Vorstellungen von dem, was Denken und Realität seien, herauszustellen und sie via Bewusstwerdung zu durchschauen.
This book, first published in 1974, shows how social class and origins in mid-nineteenth century Aberdeen were reflected in religious belief and observance, and how in turn this acted as a catalyst for change in society.
Using in-depth examples of 'magical' practice such as exorcisms, love rites, alchemy and the transformation of humans into divine beings, this lively volume demonstrates that the word 'magic' was used widely in late antique texts as part of polemics against enemies and sometimes merely as a term for other people's rituals.
John Chryssavgis explores the ascetic teaching and theology of St John Climacus, a classical and formative writer of the Christian medieval East, and the author of the seventh-century Ladder of Divine Ascent.
Exploration of the interface between mystical theology and continental philosophy is a defining feature of the current intellectual and even devotional climate.
Originally published in 1970, this book explores the role of concepts of disease in the social life of the Safwa of Tanzania, particularly through beliefs concerning witchcraft and sorcery.
The Routledge International Handbook of Charisma provides an unprecedented multidimensional and multidisciplinary comparative analysis of the phenomenon of charisma - first defined by Max Weber as the irrational bond between deified leader and submissive follower.
This volume addresses dealings with the wondrous, magical, holy, sacred, sainted, numinous, uncanny, auratic, and sacral in the plays of Shakespeare and contemporaries, produced in an era often associated with the irresistible rise of a thinned-out secular rationalism.
This compelling reference work introduces the religions of Voodoo, a onetime faith of the Mississippi River Valley, and Vodou, a Haitian faith with millions of adherents today.
The oldest roots of the European concepts of witchcraft and magic lie in the Hebrew and other cultures of the ancient Near East and in the Celtic, Nordic and Germanic Societies of the North and West.
"e;Few are agnostic about atheism and agnosticism; this eloquent, wide-ranging volume should appeal to many, as well as supporting recent academic interest in its subject.
Jakob Böhme (1575 bis 1624), herausragender mystischer Denker und spiritueller Schriftsteller, wird unter Kennern zwar weltweit geschätzt, ist aber noch immer nicht in angemessener Weise bekannt.
This volume offers 18 studies linked together by a common focus on the circulation and reception of motifs and beliefs in the field of folklore, magic, and witchcraft.
Christian Science is one of the most unique and controversial of American religions, but there has never been a history of this influential metaphysical group, best known for its healing through prayer.
Die Erkenntnisse und Überlegungen, die in diesem Buch dargestellt werden, sind das Ergebnis von zwanzig Jahren klinischer Arbeit und individueller Forschung.
The authoritative cultural history of Virginia's most famous accused witch In 1706, Grace Sherwood was ';ducked' after her neighbors in Princess Anne County accused her of witchcraft.
This compelling reference work introduces the religions of Voodoo, a onetime faith of the Mississippi River Valley, and Vodou, a Haitian faith with millions of adherents today.
Explores the origins and practices of early alchemy*; Examines the oldest surviving alchemical texts, the original purpose of the ';Royal Art,' and the first alchemists, showing how women dominated early alchemy*; Looks at the historical setting for the first alchemists, with detailed accounts of their apparatus, recipes, chemical processes, and the ingredients they used*; Reveals how changing the color of materials was more important in early alchemy than transmuting base metals into goldInvestigating the origins of alchemy and the legend of the Philosopher's Stone, Tobias Churton explores the oldest surviving alchemical texts, the original purpose of the ';Royal Art,' and the first alchemists themselves.
Demons in the USA argues that the discourse on the demonic that developed in the nineteenth century continues to exert a powerful hold over the American spiritual imagination.
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.
Chromatius of Aquileia and the Making of a Christian City examines how the increasing authority of institutionalized churches changed late antique urban environments.
This book rediscovers a spiritual way of preparing the actor towards experiencing that ineffable artistic creativity defined by Konstantin Stanislavski as the creative state.
In contradistinction to the many monographs and edited volumes devoted to historical, cultural, or theological treatments of demonology, this collection features newly written papers by philosophers and other scholars engaged specifically in philosophical argument, debate, and dialogue involving ideas and topics in demonology.
At the core of African American religion's response to social inequalities has been a symbiotic relationship between socio-political activism and spiritual restoration.