Magick Matters

05.03.2023

“The Test: Incredible Proof of the Afterlife” by Stephane Allix

Magick Matters

"A man places five objects in his father’s coffin and tells no one. Can a medium tell him what they are? Can we communicate with the dead? Some people hope it’s possible, and some are sure of it. Thousands of people consult mediums, but many wonder if their abilities are real. To find out for himself, author Stéphane Allix interviews six mediums. Without telling them that they are being tested, Allix sees if they can name the five objects he secretly placed in his father’s coffin before it was buried. The results are astounding and confirm what scientific research on the subject has revealed: that life after death is indeed a rational hypothesis. Beyond his own...>>

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05.03.2023

“Monastic Prisons and Torture Chambers: Crime and Punishment in Central European Monasteries, 1600-1800” by Ulrich L. Lehner

Magick Matters

"Following the Council of Trent (1545-1563), Catholic religious orders underwent substantial reform. Nevertheless, on occasion monks and nuns had to be disciplined and—if they had committed a crime—punished. Consequently, many religious orders relied on sophisticated criminal law traditions that included torture, physical punishment, and prison sentences. Ulrich L. Lehner provides for the first time an overview of how monasteries in central Europe prosecuted crime and punished their members, and thus introduces a host of new questions for anyone interested in state-church relations, gender questions, the history of violence, or the development of modern monasticism."...>>

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05.03.2023

“Life in the Medieval Cloister” by Julie Kerr

Magick Matters

"Life in the Medieval Cloister makes extensive use of primary sources and quotations from chronicles, letters, customaries and miracle stories, and the experience of medieval monastic life is presented through the monks' own words. Medievalist Julie Kerr provides day to day account of life in the medieval monastery from the Norman conquest to the Dissolution, with a particular focus on the high Middle ages, exploring such questions as: What effect did the ascetic lifestyle have on the monks' physical health and mental well-being? How difficult was it for newcomers to adapt to the rigors of the cloister? Did the monks suffer from anxiety and boredom; what caused them concern and how...>>

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05.03.2023

“Witch-Hunting in Scotland: Law, Politics and Religion” by Brian P. Levack

Magick Matters

"Witch-Hunting in Scotland presents a fresh perspective on the trial and execution of the hundreds of women and men prosecuted for the crime of witchcraft, an offence that involved the alleged practice of maleficent magic and the worship of the devil, for inflicting harm on their neighbours and making pacts with the devil. Brian P. Levack draws on law, politics and religion to explain the intensity of Scottish witch-hunting. Topics discussed include: the distinctive features of the Scottish criminal justice system the use of torture to extract confessions the intersection of witch-hunting with local and national politics the relationship between state-building and witch-hunting...>>

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05.03.2023

“Witchcraft, Magic and Superstition in England, 1640–70” by Frederick Valletta

Magick Matters

"This study examines the relationship between élite and popular beliefs in witchcraft, magic and superstition in England, analyzing such beliefs against the background of political, religious and social upheaval characteristic of the Civil War, Interregnum and Restoration periods. Belief in witchcraft received new impulses because of the general ferment of religious ideas and the tendency of participants in the Civil Wars to resort to imagery drawn from beliefs about the devil and witches; or to use portents to argue for the wrongs of their opponents. Throughout the work, the author stresses that deeply held superstitions were fundamental to belief in witches, the devil, ghosts, apparitions and supernatural healing. Despite the fact that popular superstitions...>>

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