Eclectic and esoteric religions and belief systems

Brash, bold, and sometimes brutal, superheroes might seem to epitomize modern pop-culture at its most melodramatic and mindless.

This volume argues that ancient Greek girls and early Christian virgins and their families made use of rhetorically similar traditions of marriage to an otherworldly bridegroom in order to handle the problem of a girl's denied or disrupted transition into adulthood.

This is a Comprehensive Survey of the Bhakti Movement as it sprang in South India to spread across the subcontinent in independent and multifarious manifestations yet marked with amazing commonalities.

Late Antiquity was an era of remarkable change as beliefs were shaped and reshaped by the competing philosophies of traditional Greco-Roman religion, Middle and Neoplatonist philosophy, and the theology of the early Church.

A guide to ancient beliefs including instructions for magic and spellcasting*; Describes the arcane rituals, ancient beliefs, and secret rites of the Welsh Marches, including those of the Sin Eaters, Eye Biters, and Spirit Hunters*; Shares extracts from ancient texts stored in the archives of the National Museum of Wales, along with many original photographs of related artifacts*; Includes a Grimoire of the Welsh Marches, a wide collection of spells and magical workings along with practical instruction on crafting and castingIn this collaboration between a Druid and a witchcraft researcher, Jon G.

Magic, witches, and demons have drawn interest and fear throughout human history.

In these talks, written and presented to a variety of audiences between 2001 and 2010, John Michael Greer explores the forgotten history of occultism and its unexpected possibilities in our time.

The spectre of the UFO, as popularized by shows such as The X-Files, has brought an astonishing slant to the face of modern religious practice.

Cultural and spiritual bonds with 'nature' are among the strongest motivators for nature conservation; yet they are seldom taken into account in the governance and management of protected and conserved areas.

A guide to meaningful life choices for living an ethical life without theology or religious faith.

In recent years the subject of satanic ritual abuse (SRA) has incited widespread controversy focused primarily on whether or not such abuse actually occurs.

Ron Geaves demonstrates how the convergence of Prem Rawat, formerly known as Guru Maharaj Ji, and Glastonbury Fayre in 1971 was a key event in understanding the jigsaw that came to be known as 'New Age' spirituality.

Providing an accessible and comprehensive overview, The Story of the Salem Witch Trials explores the events between June 10 and September 22, 1692, when nineteen people were hanged, one was pressed to death and over 150 were jailed for practicing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.

Like an ecosystem, cities develop, change, thrive, adapt, expand, and contract through the interaction of myriad components.

Grappling with theological issues raised by abuse, this book argues that the Church should be challenged, and ministered to, by survivors.

This book explores the complexity of Iberian identity and multicultural/multi-religious interactions in the Peninsula through the lens of spells, talismans, and imaginative fiction in medieval and early modern Iberia.

This engaging text introduces readers to the sociology of cults.

This title was first published in 2002.

Imagining the Witch explores emotions, gender, and selfhood through the lens of witch-trials in early modern Germany.

In one of the biggest religion news stories of the new millennium, the Associated Press announced that Professor Antony Flew, the world's leading atheist, now believes in God.

The resurrection of the dead was, as Tertullian says, 'the chief article of the whole Christian faith' (De resurrectione 39.

This volume offers an accessible investigation of the Naassene discourse embedded in the anonymous Refutation of All Heresies (completed about 222 CE), in order to understand the theology and ritual life of the Naassene Christian movement in the late second and early third centuries CE.

In this book, Henrik Lagerlund offers students, researchers, and advanced general readers the first complete history of what is perhaps the most famous of all philosophical problems: skepticism.

When over 900 followers of the Peoples Temple religious group committed suicide in 1978, they left a legacy of suspicion and fear.

This book presents a collection of original research about every day, innovative, interactive, and multiple religiosities among Sri Lankan Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and devotees of New Religious Movements in post-war Sri Lanka.

Illuminating the Dark Side's Spirits, Fiends, Devils, and Demons.

The question of whether or not God exists is profoundly fascinating and important.

This authoritative reference work presents a full image of the Prince of Darkness as he appears throughout traditional theology, mythology, art and literature, and popular culture.

This book explores trans-cultural and cross-border transmission and transformation of Esoteric Buddhism in East Asia, focusing on its manuscript culture and the transborder transmission of Esoteric Buddhist texts.

Rudolf Steiner is one of the most controversially judged educational reformers of the twentieth century.

This book examines political nationalism in Japan through an in-depth analysis of the organisation, ideology and influence of Nippon Kaigi, the most significant nationalist pressure group in contemporary Japan.

This comprehensive annotated bibliography, first published in 1990, guides the user helpfully through where to find information on various elements on alchemy when researching.

A comprehensive look at the life and continuing influence of 16th-century scientific genius and occultist Dr.

*; Reveals how mask rituals are akin to shamanic journeying and allow the mask wearer to personify an ancestral presence, spirit, deity, or power *; Examines animal guising and shows how mask customs are tied to creation myths and the ancestral founders of a people, tribe, city, or nation *; Looks at morris dancers and mummers in the UK, Krampuslauf and Perchtenlauf in Germanic areas, the Gorgon myths of Greece, Norse Berserker rituals, and the annual Black Forest rite to awaken ensouled masks every spring There is a spiritual power in masks that transports one into realms unseen and gives voice to things unspoken.

For over a decade the cult of La Santa Muerte has grown rapidly in Mexico and the United States.

How do we write about magic?

Jenseits des Sichtbaren liegt eine Welt voller mystischer Symbole und alter Weisheiten, eine Welt, die in diesem Buch lebendig wird.

Ernesto de Martino was a major critical thinker in the study of vernacular religions, producing innovative analyses of key concepts such as 'folklore', 'magic' and 'ritual'.

2025 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PUBLISHERS PROSE AWARDS WINNER: EUROPEAN HISTORYIn June 1609, two judges left Bordeaux for a territory at the very edge of their jurisdiction, a Basque-speaking province on the Atlantic coast called the Pays de Labourd.

This book offers an overview of how the Church Fathers used and intepretated biblical texts.

As one of the fastest growing Pagan traditions, Feminist Wicca appeals to many through its emphasis on the deep interconnectedness of life and its focus on the woman's religious experience.

This is a Comprehensive Survey of the Bhakti Movement as it sprang in South India to spread across the subcontinent in independent and multifarious manifestations yet marked with amazing commonalities.