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.
This unparalleled introduction to cults and new religious movements has been completely up-dated and expanded to reflect the latest developments; each chapter reviews the origins, leaders, beliefs, rituals and practices of a NRM, highlighting the specific controversies surrounding each group.
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.
Sufism is a religion which emphasizes direct knowledge of the divine within each person, and meditation, music, song, and dance are seen as crucial spiritual strides toward attaining unity with God.
A study of the role of language in the hope of interplanetary contact and exchange, drawing on episodes from US Air Force history and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), together with science fiction that uses these sources.
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.
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.
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.
When Leah Reinhart was six years old, her family moved to an unlikely neighborhood on a hill much like the country—a place where everyone dressed and lived like they were living a real-life Little House on the Prairie.
An exploration of mythological and archaeological evidence for prehistoric giants *; Examines the many corresponding giant mythologies throughout the world, such as the Greek and Roman titans, Norse frost giants, and the biblical Nephilim *; Reveals recent finds of giant skeletons in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and India *; Explains how giants passed on their sophisticated culture and civilization to humanity before being wiped out in the great age of cataclysms and floods Giants are a cornerstone of the myths, legends, and traditions of almost every culture on Earth.
Die Erkenntnisse und Überlegungen, die in diesem Buch dargestellt werden, sind das Ergebnis von zwanzig Jahren klinischer Arbeit und individueller Forschung.
Answering the call for new rituals in our secular age, this book recognises the essential importance of rituals to the psychological, physical and spiritual health of individuals, families, organisations, and society as a whole.
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.
*; Connects the philosophy of the I Ching with key recent advances in cosmology, such as the Big Bang theory, Roger Penrose's cyclic conformal cosmology, and his and Stuart Hameroff's cosmic quantum brain dynamics*; Explains the Taoist cosmology of Heaven-Humanity Oneness in the context of Teilhard de Chardin's evolutionism, Thomas Berry's cosmogenetic trinity, and Brian Swimme's 12 cosmological powers*; Examines the holographic unity of Heaven, Earth, and Humankind at microcosmic, mesocosmic, and macrocosmic scalesIs the universe inert and empty, or is it in some way responsive to consciousness?
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.
An exploration of the use of cannabis as a sacrament in spiritual practice *; Provides instructions for using marijuana for the spiritual practices of spontaneous movement, ecstatic dance, sitting meditation, and gazing meditation, allowing you to open the body's energies more fully and get closer to the Divine or your higher self *; Includes a new translation of the Five Moral Precepts of Buddhism, adapted to include energetic practices and the judicious use of entheogenic substances as a legitimate support for spiritual growth *; Includes access to 9 audio meditations With the end of marijuana prohibition on the horizon, people are now openly seeking a spiritual path that embraces the benefits of cannabis.
'At last, we have a study that tackles these questions, and does so with a wealth of learning, a poet's sensibility and a thorough theological literacy.
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.
A product of the "e;spiritual hothouse"e; of the Second Great Awakening, Spiritualism became the fastest growing religion in the nation during the 1850s, and one of the principal responses to the widespread perception that American society was descending into atomistic particularity.
The Tibetan district of Tsari with its sacred snow-covered peak of Pure Crystal Mountain has long been a place of symbolic and ritual significance for Tibetan peoples.
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.
