Magick Matters

“Urban Legends of the Old Testament: 40 Common Misconceptions” by David A. Croteau and Gary Yates

"Urban Legends of the Old Testament surveys forty of the most commonly misinterpreted passages in the Old Testament. These “urban legends” often arise because interpreters neglect a passage’s context, misuse historical background information, or misunderstand the original language of the text. With a pastoral tone and helpful explanations of where the error originally occurred, authors David A. Croteau and Gary E. Yates tackle legendary biblical misinterpretations of topics like the origin of evil or the purpose of Mosaic food laws, as well as common misconceptions about dinosaurs, or NASA discovering Joshua’s long day. Urban Legends of the Old Testament will help readers avoid missteps in the interpretation of key biblical texts while modeling...>>

“Virtual Unreality: Just Because the Internet Told You, How Do You Know It’s True?” by Charles Seife

"Digital information is a powerful tool that spreads unbelievably rapidly, infects all corners of society, and is all but impossible to control—even when that information is actually a lie. In Virtual Unreality, Charles Seife uses the skepticism, wit, and sharp facility for analysis that captivated readers in Proofiness and Zero to take us deep into the Internet information jungle and cut a path through the trickery, fakery, and cyber skullduggery that the online world enables. Taking on everything from breaking news coverage and online dating to program trading and that eccentric and unreliable source that is Wikipedia, Seife arms his readers with actual tools—or weapons—for discerning truth from fiction online."...>>

“Spiritual Sensations: Cinematic Religious Experience and Evolving Conceptions of the Sacred” by Sarah K. Balstrup

"The secular, pluralist culture of the West encourages a subjective approach to spiritual truth where stimulating emotional experiences, such as those provided by film, can contribute to personal conceptions of the sacred. Examining Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) as the principal case-study and Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void (2009) and Lars von Trier's Melancholia (2011) as comparative examples, Sarah Balstrup argues that these directors harness the affective properties of film to generate altered states of perception in a manner analogous to religious practice. Powerful feelings of dissociation and indescribable significance typical of mystical testimony appear in viewer responses to these films, demonstrating the continued sacralisation of such states of mind. In their own...>>

“The 2-Hour Tarot Tutor : The Fast, Revolutionary Method for Learning to Read Tarot in 2 Hours” by Wilma Carroll

"For centuries, the Tarot has been regarded as a powerful means of telling fortunes and predicting fates. Now, you too can learn the techniques and skills to read the Tarot — in just two hours! Using this breakthrough manual, anyone with a desire to discover the secrets of the Tarot can find easy-to-follow instructions that will lead to success in Tarot reading, including: the Celtic Cross and Seven Sisters spreads; spreads to answer those unfathomable love questions; sample readings; tips and troubleshooting for beginners; worksheets; interpreting card meanings quickly"...>>

“The Pagan Christ : Recovering the Lost Light” by Tom Harpur

"A provocative argument for a mystical, rather than historical, understanding of Jesus, leading to a radical rebirth of Christianity in our time. For forty years, scholar and religious commentator Tom Harpur has challenged church orthodoxy and guided thousands of readers on subjects as controversial as the true nature of Christ and life after death. Now, in his most radical and groundbreaking work, Harpur digs deep into the origins of Christianity. Long before the advent of Jesus Christ, the Egyptians and other peoples believed in the coming of a messiah, a virgin birth, a madonna and her child, and the incarnation of the spirit in flesh. While the early Christian church accepted these ancient truths as the...>>