The History of Witchcraft and Demonology


Montague Summers - 1926
    The definitive scholarly account on witchcraft, demonology, diabolic possession and modern spiritualism.

The Rosicrucian Enlightenment


Frances A. Yates - 1972
    Beautifully illustrated, it remains one of those rare works of scholarship which the general reader simply cannot afford to ignore.

Traditional Witchcraft for Urban Living


Melusine Draco - 2012
    'Traditional Witchcraft for Urban Living' deals with the constant barrage of psychic problems that confront the urban witch on a daily basis.

The Way of the Shaman


Michael Harner - 1980
    Ten years after it was first published, this is still the leading resource and reference for all those interested in cross-cultural and current forms of shamanism: now with a new introduction and a list of current shamanic resources.

Natural Witchery: Intuitive, Personal & Practical Magick


Ellen Dugan - 2007
    This kinship with the unseen world is at the heart of Witchcraft. It is also the foundation of all magickal work.You will enhance your spellcrafting, empower your witchery, and add richness and depth to your everyday life by developing your intuition and psychic skills. Natural Witchery features straightforward how-to's, first-hand stories, spells, rituals, fun quizzes, and creative exercises to help you live a more magickal life:Learn how to tune in to many different kinds of energy, such as the cycles of the moon and the energy of the seasons, and use it to fuel your spellwork Explore different types of psychic abilities, and discover your own elemental strengths and challenges Use natural witchery to create more harmony and balance in your home, workplace, and circle This friendly guidebook also includes a Book of Witchery with magickal correspondences and a handy journal section for keeping track of your progress.

Ozark Magic and Folklore


Vance Randolph - 1947
    Many of the old-time superstitions and customs have been nurtured and kept alive through the area's relative isolation and the strong attachment of the hillfolk to these old attitudes. Though modern science and education have been making important inroads in the last few decades, the region is still a fertile source of quaint ideas, observances, and traditions.People are normally reticent about their deepest beliefs, especially with outsiders. The author, however, has lived in the Ozarks since 1920 and has long since been a student of Ozark life—and a writer of a number of books and articles on various aspects of the subject. Through casual conversations rather than by direct questioning, he has been able gradually to compile a singularly authentic record of Ozark superstition. His book contains a vast amount of folkloristic material, including legends, beliefs, ritual verses and sayings and odd practices of the hillpeople, plus a wealth of general cultural data. Mr. Randolph discusses weather signs; beliefs about auspicious times for planting crops, butchering hogs, etc.; prenatal influence in "marking" babies; backwoods beauty treatments; lucky charms, omens and auguries; courtship jinxes, love potions, etc.; dummy suppers; and numerous other customs and convictions—many racy and amusing, others somewhat grisly or spooky.Here you'll meet and learn about the yarb doctor who prepared curious remedies of herbs and odd concoctions; power doctors who use charms, spells, and exorcism to effect cures; granny-women (mountain midwives); "doodlebuggers" and witch wigglers who find water with the aid of divining rods; "conjurefolk" and Holy Rollers; witches and goomer doctors; clairvoyants and fortune-tellers; plus the ordinary finger-crossing, wish-making citizens of the area. The general reader as well as the specialist in particular fields of cultural anthropology, etc. will truly enjoy this lively survey of lore and practice—a little-known but fascinating slice of American life.Its gentle humor takes the reader into the hills with the author. The book deserves a place in any general collection of Americana and in all collections of folklore," U.S. QUARTERLY BOOKLIST. "A veritable treasury of backwoods custom and belief… [ a ] wealth of circumstantial detail and cultural background," Carl Withers, N.Y. TIMES.

TechGnosis: Myth, Magic Mysticism in the Age of Information


Erik Davis - 1998
    Davis uncovers startling connections between such seemingly disparate topics as electricity and alchemy; online role-playing games and religious and occult practices; virtual reality and gnostic mythology; programming languages and Kabbalah. The final chapters address the apocalyptic dreams that haunt technology, providing vital historical context as well as new ways to think about a future defined by the mutant intermingling of mind and machine, nightmare and fantasy.

An Encyclopaedia of Occultism


Lewis Spence - 1920
    Spence organizes a world's worth of magic -- from "Ab" (a magical month in the ancient Semitic calendar) to "Zulu witch-finders" -- into 2,500 dictionary-style entries that explore concepts and personalities both familiar (Freemasonry, Morgan le Fay) and obscure: palingenesy (a process by which plants or vegetables are destroyed and then "resurrected"), Leonora Galigai (a 17th-century Italian aristocrat who was burned as a witch). A delight for devotees of the weird and the strange, and a valuable resource for students of mythology and the evolution of scientific thought, this important volume is at home in the libraries of all book lovers. Scottish journalist and folklorist LEWIS SPENCE (1874 -1955) was a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, and Vice-President of the Scottish Anthropological and Folklore Society. He published more than 40 works on mythology and the occult, including History of Atlantis, An Introduction to Mythology, and Myth and Ritual in Dance, Game and Rhyme.

Hidden Mysteries


Osho - 1997
    Hidden Mysteries is a scientific, insightful, and at the sametime, esoteric exploration of what are often considered the outer trappingsand paraphanalia of religion.REVIEW FROM SANNYAS DOT ORG:Five chapters on ancient secrets man has been pondering over for centuries. Osho unveils new truths about pyramids, the third eye, ancient temples, mantras, sacred places of pilgrimage and their esoteric rituals and significance. This small volume also contains two fascinating chapters on astrology.SubjectEarly Talks and WritingsTranslated fromHindi :NotesAlso published as "Odysee Within"Time Period of Osho's original Discourses/Talks/Lettersfrom Apr 1, 1971 to Oct 31, 1971Number of Discourses/Chapters6

The Druid Animal Oracle


Philip Carr-Gomm - 1994
    The Druids, like the Native Americans, revered animals as sacred guides, guardians and protectors. Today, the book and beautiful card set of The Druid Animal Oracle can bring healing and will help you draw strength from its intuitive knowledge. From the interpretations of the card spreads and the animal lore given, you will gain powerful insights into your life-situation and receive positive guidance for the future. Authors Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, who live in England, are Chief and Scribe of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, one of the largest international Druid groups.

Secret Agent 666: Aleister Crowley, British Intelligence and the Occult


Richard B. Spence - 2008
    His wide, hypnotic eyes peer at us from the cover of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and his influence can be found everywhere in popular culture.Crowley, also known as the Great Beast, has been the subject of several biographies, some painting him as a misunderstood genius, others as a manipulative charlatan. None of them have looked seriously at his career as an agent of British Intelligence.Using documents gleaned from British, American, French, and Italian archives, Secret Agent 666 sensationally reveals that Crowley played a major role in the sinking of the Lusitania, a plot to overthrow the government of Spain, the thwarting of Irish and Indian nationalist conspiracies, and the 1941 flight of Rudolf Hess.Author Richard B. Spence argues that Crowley—in his own unconventional way—was a patriotic Englishman who endured years of public vilification in part to mask his role as a secret agent.The verification of the Great Beast’s participation in the twentieth century’s most astounding government plots will likely blow the minds of history buff s and occult aficionados alike.Author Richard B. Spence can be seen on various documentaries on the History Channel and is a consultant for Washington, DC’s International Spy Museum. He is also the author of Trust No One: The Secret World of Sidney Reilly (Feral House).

Yule: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice


Susan Pesznecker - 2015
    It includes hands-on information for modern celebrations, spells and divination, recipes and crafts, invocations and prayers, and more!Yule—also known as Midwinter—is when nighttime has reached its maximum length, but there is a promise of brighter days to come as candles are lit and feasts are enjoyed. This guide to the history and modern celebration of Yule shows you how to perform rituals and magic to celebrate and work with the energy of the winter solstice.

Great Lent: A School of Repentance Its Meaning for Orthodox Christians


Alexander Schmemann - 2011
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey Into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism


Daniel Pinchbeck - 2002
    While psychedelics of all sorts are demonized in America today, the visionary compounds found in plants are the spiritual sacraments of tribal cultures around the world. From the iboga of the Bwiti in Gabon, to the Mazatecs of Mexico, these plants are sacred because they awaken the mind to other levels of awareness--to a holographic vision of the universe.Breaking Open the Head is a passionate, multilayered, and sometimes rashly personal inquiry into this deep division. On one level, Daniel Pinchbeck tells the story of the encounters between the modern consciousness of the West and these sacramental substances, including such thinkers as Allen Ginsberg, Antonin Artaud, Walter Benjamin, and Terence McKenna, and a new underground of present-day ethnobotanists, chemists, psychonauts, and philosophers. It is also a scrupulous recording of the author's wide-ranging investigation with these outlaw compounds, including a thirty-hour tribal initiation in West Africa; an all-night encounter with the master shamans of the South American rain forest; and a report from a psychedelic utopia in the Black Rock Desert that is the Burning Man Festival.Breaking Open the Head is brave participatory journalism at its best, a vivid account of psychic and intellectual experiences that opened doors in the wall of Western rationalism and completed Daniel Pinchbeck's personal transformation from a jaded Manhattan journalist to shamanic initiate and grateful citizen of the cosmos.

Kabbalah: Key to Your Inner Power (Mystical Paths of the World's Religions)


Elizabeth Clare Prophet - 1997
    Matt, author of The Essential Kabbalah and God and the Big Bang."An excellent synthesis of many aspects of Kabbalah and other spiritual traditions." --Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi, author of The Way of Kabbalah and Kabbalah: Tradition of Hidden Knowledge.Mystics are adventurers of the spirit. They dare to push beyond the boundaries of orthodox tradition to pursue a common goal--the direct experience of God. And they teach that while you may seek him in temple or mosque or church, you must ultimately find him in your heart. Kabbalah: Key to Your Inner Power explores the once-secret Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah. With intriguing new perspectives, Elizabeth Clare Prophet shows how we can use Kabbalah's extraordinary revelations about the creation of the universe, our relationship to God and our purpose in life to unlock our own spiritual power."My goal is to bring to life the path of the Jewish mystics--to share with you their joys and ecstasies, their sacred visions and their practical techniques for experiencing the sacred in everyday life."--from the Introduction