Magick Matters

18.03.2025

“The Shaman and the Magician: Journeys Between the Worlds” by Nevill Drury (Routledge Library Editions: Occultism)

Magick Matters

"Originally published in 1982, The Shaman and the Magician draws on the author’s wide experience of occultism, western magic and anthropological knowledge of shamanism, to explore the interesting parallels between traditional shamanism and the more visionary aspects of magic in modern western society. In both cases, as the author shows, the magician encounters profound god-energies of the spirit, and it is up to the individual to interpret these experiences in psychological or mythological terms. The book demonstrates that both shamanism and magic offer techniques of approaching the visionary sources of our culture."...>>

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17.03.2025

“Rudolf II: The Life and Legend of the Mad Emperor” by Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann

Magick Matters

"A reinterpretation of the Habsburgian ruler’s reign as exemplary rather than reclusive. Rudolf II: The Life and Legend of the Mad Emperor offers a fresh perspective on the Habsburg ruler, shedding new light on a reign often coloured by myths of madness. Contrary to popular belief, Rudolf was not a passive recluse but an engaged monarch, navigating the complexities of state affairs with a moderate hand amid turbulent times. By contextualizing his interests in astrology, alchemy and magic, Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann offers new insights into Rudolf’s support for scientific endeavours and his quest for power. It also demonstrates that Rudolf’s assembling of the greatest Kunstkammer and painting collection of his time and his patronage of...>>

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17.03.2025

“Hazards of the Dark Arts: Advice for Medieval Princes on Witchcraft and Magic” translated by by Richard Kieckhefer

Magick Matters

"This volume comprises English translations of two fundamentally important texts on magic and witchcraft in the fifteenth century: Johannes Hartlieb’s Book of All Forbidden Arts and Ulrich Molitoris’s On Witches and Pythonesses. Written by laymen and aimed at secular authorities, these works advocated that town leaders and royalty alike should vigorously uproot and prosecute practitioners of witchcraft and magic. Though inquisitors and theologians promulgated the witch trials of late medieval times, lay rulers saw the prosecutions through. But local officials, princes, and kings could be unreliable; some were skeptical about the reality and danger of witchcraft, while others dabbled in the occult themselves. Borrowing from theological and secular sources, Hartlieb and Molitoris agitated against this...>>

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17.03.2025

“New Devotionary Spiritist: Collection of Selected Prayers” by Allan Kardec (2nd edition)

Magick Matters

"Allan Kardec believed that the ability to communicate with the spirit world was hindered because man did not know how to pray. This belief inspired him to write a collection of prayers accompanied by instructions for their appropriate use. Many worldwide have found these prayers to be an essential tool for communicating with spirits on a positive level. Mr. Kardec’s original work was in French. As interest in Spiritualism grew so did the acceptance of his beliefs, which lead his works to be translated into other languages."...>>

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16.03.2025

“Asia Mysteriosa: The Oracle of Astral Force as a Means of Communication with The Little Lights of the Orient” by Zam Bhotiva

Magick Matters

"Famous esoteric work of the 1930s describing the workings of the Oracle of Astral Force, the secret divinatory system of the group known as The Polaires and giving clues to their origin, way of working and sources of inspiration. Alongside it is printed the first edition of the Polaire Bulletin, dated 9 May 1930 and effectively the manifesto of the Polaires themselves, and a historical preface by Colum Hayward, outlining the history of the Polaires and of the two publications. In 1929 there burst onto the esoteric scene in Paris a group that had been waiting for a decade to manifest publicly, the Polaires. Furnished with a mathematical oracle that gave them direct communication with...>>

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