Magick Matters

02.10.2020

“The Witches’ Ointment: The Secret History of Psychedelic Magic” by Thomas Hatsis (kindle edition)

Magick Matters

"In the medieval period preparations with hallucinogenic herbs were part of the practice of veneficium, or poison magic. This collection of magical arts used poisons, herbs, and rituals to bewitch, heal, prophesy, infect, and murder. In the form of psyche-magical ointments, poison magic could trigger powerful hallucinations and surrealistic dreams that enabled direct experience of the Divine. Smeared on the skin, these entheogenic ointments were said to enable witches to commune with various local goddesses, bastardized by the Church as trips to the Sabbat--clandestine meetings with Satan to learn magic and participate in demonic orgies. Examining trial records and the pharmacopoeia of witches, alchemists, folk healers, and heretics of the 15th century, Thomas Hatsis details...>>

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02.10.2020

“Life After Death” by Dr. Douglas M. Baker

Magick Matters

"The question of whether we survive the grave has been in the minds of men for countless ages and is indeed one of the cornerstones of every major world religion, and in particular of the more recent movement of the Spiritualist Church. Many have endeavoured to answer this question, whether out of a personal obsession and devotion or as an act of serving their fellow man, and our libraries are filled with their treatises — some more enlightened than others. Dr. Douglas Baker is not only well versed on the teachings of Ancient Wisdom, but a qualified medical doctor and has travelled the world investigating and lecturing on, among other things, this very important subject...>>

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02.10.2020

“Anthropogeny: The Esoteric History of Man’s Origin” by Dr. Douglas M. Baker

Magick Matters

"In this brilliantly written masterpiece, Dr. Baker has tried as far as possible to avoid a repetition of facts and figures given by The Secret Doctrine except where these are important in elucidating, confirming, contradicting or supporting some point of new detail. When H.P. Blavatsky wrote The Secret Doctrine, the great biological periods, which we know so well today were not yet clearly defined in terms of age and extent. Also, by her own admission, many figures given by the Masters to her were inevitably altered in the process of being passed on to others for publication. Instead of loosely referring to time in terms of Rounds and Chains, Root Races and Sub-races, Dr. Baker has...>>

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01.10.2020

“The 21 Divisions: Mysteries and Magic of Dominican Voodoo” by Hector Salva

Magick Matters

"One of the first books to explore the unique tradition of Dominican shamanism, the magical practices called the 21 Divisions. Like all forms of Caribbean Voodoo, practitioners of the 21 Divisions believe in one God, a distant God that doesn’t get involved in human affairs. Followers of this Dominican spiritual tradition believe that God created intermediaries to help humans, beings known as Los Misterios. The Misterios are powerful beings with rulership and dominion over universal forces and human conditions. Practitioners of the 21 Divisions have ways of connecting with the Misterios to achieve success in life, improve their careers, resolve love and relationship issues, heal illness, and much more. Filled with detailed insider information and real stories...>>

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01.10.2020

“Fake News: Understanding Media and Misinformation in the Digital Age” edited by Melissa Zimdars and Kembrew McLeod

Magick Matters

"What is fake news? Is it an item on Breitbart, an article in The Onion, an outright falsehood disseminated via Russian bot, or a catchphrase used by a politician to discredit a story he doesn't like? This book examines the real fake news: the constant flow of purposefully crafted, sensational, emotionally charged, misleading or totally fabricated information that mimics the form of mainstream news. Rather than viewing fake news through a single lens, the book maps the various kinds of misinformation through several different disciplinary perspectives, taking into account the overlapping contexts of politics, technology, and journalism. The contributors consider topics including fake news as “disorganized” propaganda; folkloric falsehood in the “Pizzagate” conspiracy; native advertising...>>

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