Magic and witchcraft : from shamanism to the technopagans / Nevill Drury.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Drury, Nevill, 1947-2013.

Contributor:

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Magic--History.

Magic.

History.

Witchcraft--History.

Witchcraft.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

240 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Thames & Hudson, 2003.

Summary:

Magic is as old as humanity itself. From the earliest animist view of a universe alive with potent spiritual forces to the emergence of Wicca and Neopaganism, the magical arts have provided a path to power in a mysterious world. This book covers Western magical thought and practice from earliest times to the present. Beginning with shamanism, the world's earliest spiritual tradition, it goes on to look at myth and magic in the ancient world, the quest for gnosis or sacred knowledge, and the emergence of the Kabbalah, alchemy and the Hermetic tradition. It discusses medieval witchcraft and the European and American witch hunts, the origins of the Tarot, and the esoteric philosophy of the Freemasons and Rosicrucians.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in Britain, established in 1888, led to a twentieth-century magical revival. The controversial influence of Aleister Crowley, the rebirth of witchcraft and Goddess worship, the emergence of modern Satanism, the revival of interest in shamanism, the connection between digital magic and cyberspace -- a whole spectrum of modern magical practice and exploration is illustrated and explored. The subject here is high magic -- the active quest for personal transformation in order to harness a higher power. Magicians have always sought to tap into the strange forces of the universe and to use them for their own purposes, for good or for evil.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Shamanism: The Oldest Magical Tradition 10

Chapter 2 Magic in the Ancient World 32

Chapter 3 Gnosis and Kabbalah 46

Chapter 4 Medieval Magic and the Witch Trials 61

Chapter 5 The Hermetic Tradition and Alchemy 82

Chapter 6 Astrology and the Tarot 96

Chapter 7 Freemasons and Rosicrucians 116

Chapter 8 The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 127

Chapter 9 Aleister Crowley: The Beast 666 144

Chapter 10 Wicca and the Goddess 162

Chapter 11 Contemporary Satanism 188

Chapter 12 The Archaic Revival 199

Chapter 13 Technopagans and Digital Magic 222.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Gotham Book Mart Collection copy has dustjacket retained.

ISBN:

0500511403

OCLC:

52531057