An extensive study of ancient books of magic and the magical practices preserved in the few surviving grimoires *; Includes spells, talisman formulations, and secret magical alphabets reproduced from the author's private collection of grimoires, with instructions for their use *; Explains the basic principles of medieval magic, including the doctrine of names and the laws of sympathy and contagion *; Offers an overview of magic in the Western Mystery tradition Grimoires began simply as quick-reference ';grammar books' for sorcerers, magicians, and priests before evolving into comprehensive guides to magic, complete with spell-casting rituals, magical alphabets, and instructions to create amulets and talismans.
Reconceiving Religious Conflict deconstructs instances of religious conflict within the formative centuries of Christianity, the first six centuries CE.
Originally published in 1978 Spirit Possession and Spirit Mediumship in Africa and Afro-America is an incredibly diverse and comprehensive bibliography on published works containing ethnographic data on, and analysis of, spirit possession and spirit mediumship in North and Sub-Saharan Africa and in some Afro-American communities in the Western Hemisphere.
This book challenges the popular use of 'Valentinian' to describe a Christian school of thought in the second century CE by analysing documents ascribed to 'Valentinians' by early Christian Apologists, and more recently by modern scholars after the discovery of codices near Nag Hammadi in Egypt.
Part of the enduring fascination of the Salem witch trials is the fact that, to date, no one theory has been able to fully explain the events that ravaged Salem in 1692.
A touching and thought-provoking account of how a woman explored a spectrum of religionsancient and newand ended up, unexpectedly, becoming a bona fide witch.
This new edition introduces the reader to the philosophy of early Christianity in the second to fourth centuries AD, and contextualizes the philosophical contributions of early Christians in the framework of the ancient philosophical debates.
If we are to believe sensationalist media coverage, Satanism is, at its most benign, the purview of people who dress in black, adorn themselves with skull and pentagram paraphernalia, and listen to heavy metal.
This small but interdisciplinary collection on ritual originally published between 1974 and 1998, draws together research by leading academics in the area of anthropology, sociology, history and religion and provides a focused approach to the study of ritual in human society.
Reveals how the Rothschild Banking Dynasty fomented war and assassination attempts on 4 presidents in order to create the Federal Reserve Bank*; Explains how the Rothschild family began the War of 1812 because Congress failed to renew a 20-year charter for their Central Bank as well as how the ensuing debt of the war forced Congress to renew the charter*; Details Andrew Jackson's anti-bank presidential campaigns, his war on Rothschild agents within the government, and his successful defeat of the Central Bank*; Reveals how the Rothschilds spurred the Civil War and were behind the assassination of LincolnIn this startling investigation into the suppressed history of America in the 1800s, Xaviant Haze reveals how the powerful Rothschild banking family and the Central Banking System, now known as the Federal Reserve Bank, provide a continuous thread of connection between the War of 1812, the Civil War, the financial crises of the 1800s, and assassination attempts on Presidents Jackson and Lincoln.
This book explores the QAnon movement by examining its history, fluctuations, and evolution, stemming from the likelihood of multiple users behind the "e;Q"e; account, as well as from the changes in the sociopolitical landscape since the creation of the movement.
This volume offers the most comprehensive survey available of the philosophical background to the works of early Christian writers and the development of early Christian doctrine.
This title was first published in 2001: Engaging contemporary discussion concerning the validity of mystical experiences of God, Jerome Gellman presents the best evidential case in favor of validity and its implications for belief in God.
Although research on contemporary pilgrimage has expanded considerably since the early 1990s, the conversation has largely been dominated by Anglophone researchers in anthropology, ethnology, sociology, and religious studies from the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Northern Europe.
Neronian representations of magic, a practice prevalent in the everyday life of the period and a central topic in its literary production, are characterized by unprecedented accuracy and detail.
Lethal Spots, Vital Secrets provides an ethnographic study of varmakkalai, or "e;the art of the vital spots,"e; a South Indian esoteric tradition that combines medical practice and martial arts.
This book focuses on the question of how different contexts are relevant in the shaping and expression of individual spirituality spanning from early childhood to young adulthood.
There has long been a debate about implications of globalization for the survival of the world of sovereign nation-states, and the role of nationalism as both an agent of and a response to globalization.
A classic initiatic primer for the serious magical aspirant, available now for the first time in English *; Details occult purification and preparations for the path of natural and divine magic *; Explains how initiation into the hermetic science transforms the novice not only mentally but also physically, altering even the very fluids of the body *; Offers a return to the original hermetic path of initiation, following the strict procedures and symbolism as defined in the spiritual practices of Pythagoras and his tradition The main purpose of the hermetic science, as seen by Giuliano Kremmerz (1861-1930), Italian alchemist, hermeticist, philosopher, and member of the Ur Group, is to allow the adept to concentrate on the natural and divine magic that will allow him or her to develop the latent powers innate in every human being.
Frist published in 1999, this book provides an overview of various non-conventional notions of what is sacred, currently held among European young people.
*; Contains hardcover editions of Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells, Traditional Magic Spells for Protection and Healing, and The High Magic of Talismans and Amulets in a collector's slipcase*; Analyzes more than 7,000 spells from the magical traditions of Europe and provides a comprehensive history of the use of talismans and amulets from the Middle Ages to todayThrough meticulous study of his private collection of medieval manuscripts as well as his privileged access to the rare book archives of major European universities, Claude Lecouteux has become renowned in esoteric academic circles for his in-depth examinations of the myths and magical practices of the Middle Ages.
Wonder and Skepticism in the Middle Ages explores the response by medieval society to tales of marvels and the supernatural, which ranged from firm belief to outright rejection, and asks why the believers believed, and why the skeptical disbelieved.