Magick Matters

24.01.2023

“The Transformations of Magic: Illicit Learned Magic in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance” by Frank Klaassen (alternate rip)

Magick Matters
"The Transformations of Magic: Illicit Learned Magic in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance" by Frank Klaassen (alternate rip)
"In this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic, which could be interpreted and justified in scholastic terms, and ritual magic (in its extreme form, overt necromancy), which could not. Image magic tended to be recopied faithfully; ritual magic tended to be adapted and reworked. These two forms of magic did not usually become intermingled in the manuscripts, but were presented separately. While image magic was often copied in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, The Transformations of Magic demonstrates that interest in it as an independent genre declined precipitously around 1500. Instead, what persisted was the...>>
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24.01.2023

“Magic in the Modern World: Strategies of Repression and Legitimization” edited by Edward Bever and Randall Styers

Magick Matters
"Magic in the Modern World: Strategies of Repression and Legitimization" edited by Edward Bever and Randall Styers
"This collection of essays considers the place of magic in the modern world, first by exploring the ways in which modernity has been defined in explicit opposition to magic and superstition, and then by illuminating how modern proponents of magic have worked to legitimize their practices through an overt embrace of evolving forms such as esotericism and supernaturalism. Taking a two-track approach, this book explores the complex dynamics of the construction of the modern self and its relation to the modern preoccupation with magic. Essays examine how modern “rational” consciousness is generated and maintained and how proponents of both magical and scientific traditions rationalize evidence to fit accepted orthodoxy. This book also describes how people...>>
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24.01.2023

“Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with Your Coven” by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman

Magick Matters
"Basic Witches: How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with Your Coven" by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman
"A magical lifestyle guide for everything from powering up a stylish crystal to banishing terrible Tinder dates Want to feel terrifyingly beautiful? Wear the right color of eye shadow to project otherworldly glamour. Need to exorcise a toxic friendship? Repeat the proper incantation and make it disappear. Want to increase your energy? Whip up a tasty herbal “potion” to rev up your stamina. DIY projects, rituals, and spells—along with fun historical sidebars—summon the best trends of the modern witchy lifestyle and the time-trusted traditions of the hell-raising women of the past. With humor, heart, and a hip sensibility, Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman dispense witchy wisdom for the curious, the cynical, and anyone who could...>>
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24.01.2023

“Propelled: How Boredom, Frustration, and Anticipation Lead Us to the Good Life” by Andreas Elpidorou

Magick Matters
"Propelled: How Boredom, Frustration, and Anticipation Lead Us to the Good Life" by Andreas Elpidorou
"Discover the value of discontent and how boredom, frustration, and anticipation make our lives better. Many of our endeavors—be it personal or communal, technological or artistic—aim at eradicating all traces of dissatisfaction from our daily lives. They seek to cure us of our discontent in order to deliver us a fuller and flourishing existence. But what if ubiquitous pleasure and instant fulfillment make our lives worse, not better? What if discontent isn't an obstacle to the good life but one of its essential ingredients? In Propelled, Andreas Elpidorou makes a lively case for the value of discontent and illustrates how boredom, frustration, and anticipation are good for us. Weaving together stories...>>
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24.01.2023

“A Pocket Guide to Tarot Card Archetypes: When You Don’t Want to Carry Around a Library” by Abbi Clark

Magick Matters
"A Pocket Guide to Tarot Card Archetypes: When You Don't Want to Carry Around a Library" by Abbi Clark
"As the title suggests, this pocket-sized guide to tarot archetypes will save you the difficulty of carrying around your whole library of reference texts for convenience while conducting readings on the go. With a guide to choosing the right deck for you, suggestions for when and where to perform readings, instructions for your basic three-card draw, and the commonly accepted meanings of different elements in the Major and Minor Arcana, this little zine is a perfect companion to any tarot deck, and can provide novice tarot readers and more experienced practitioners alike with a handy reference. Grab a copy to give to a friend along with a new deck, or pick one up to...>>
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