Magick Matters

06.06.2022

“The Embodied Soul: Aristotelian Psychology and Physiology in Medieval Europe between 1200 and 1420” edited by Marek Gensler, Monika Mansfeld and Monika Michalowska

Magick Matters

"This book contains a collection of papers devoted to the problems of body, mind and soul in medieval Europe between 1200 and 1420. Modern discussions of the mind-body relationship seldom look back into the past further than the psycho-somatic dualism of Descartes which started the mechanistic approach in biology and medicine. The authors of the volume go beyond that fault line to investigate the tradition of medieval natural philosophy and its ancient sources and analyze the issues forming a borderland between physiology and psychology. They also demonstrate that the medieval tradition was rich and diverse for it offered a wide variety of the discussed problems as well as the methodological approaches. This volume is...>>

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06.06.2022

“Contemporary Esotericism” edited by Egil Asprem and Kenet Granholm

Magick Matters

"The study of contemporary esoteric discourse has hitherto been a largely neglected part of the new academic field of Western esotericism. Contemporary Esotericism provides a broad overview and assessment of the complex world of Western esoteric thought today. Combining historiographical analysis with theories and methodologies from the social sciences, the volume explores new problems and offers new possibilities for the study of esoterica. Contemporary Esotericism studies the period since the 1950s but focuses on the last two decades. The wide range of essays are divided into four thematic sections: the intricacies of esoteric appeals to tradition; the role of popular culture, modern communication technologies, and new media in contemporary esotericism; the impact and influence...>>

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06.06.2022

“History of the Concept of Mind: Volume 2: The Heterodox and Occult Tradition” by Paul S. MacDonald

Magick Matters

"Exploring the 'roads less travelled', MacDonald continues his monumental essay in the history of ideas. The history of heterodox ideas about the concept of mind takes the reader from the earliest records about human nature in Ancient Egypt, the Ancient Near East, and the Zoroastrian religion, through the secret teachings in the Hermetic and Gnostic scriptures, and into the transformation of ideas about the mind, soul and spirit in the late antique and early medieval epochs. These transitions include discussion of the influence of Central Asian shamanism, Manichean ideas about the soul in light and darkness, and Neoplatonic theurgy, 'working-on-god-within'. Sections on the medieval period are concerned with the rediscovery of magical practices and...>>

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06.06.2022

“History of the Concept of Mind: Volume 1: Speculations About Soul, Mind and Spirit from Homer to Hume” by Paul. S. MacDonald

Magick Matters

"In the 20th century theorists were almost exclusively concerned with various versions of the materialist thesis, but prior to the current debates accounts of soul and mind reveal an extraordinary richness and complexity which bear careful and impartial investigation. This book is the first comprehensive, single-authored work to examine the historical, linguistic and conceptual issues involved in exploring the basic features of the human mind — from its most remote origins, to the beginning of the modern period. Paul MacDonald traces the development of an armature of psychical concepts from their earliest origins in the Old Testament and Homeric notions of soul as life-force, through Plato's infusion of an immortal and divine power, Aristotle's functional...>>

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06.06.2022

“The Occult & Subversive Movements: Tradition & Counter-Tradition in the Struggle for World Power” by Kerry Bolton

Magick Matters

"Conspiracy theory" is now a widely familiar term, albeit generally referred to with sarcasm and scorn. Yet "criminal conspiracies" are heard before law courts. The Mafia, the Thuggee in India, and Triads in China are all recognised criminal conspiracies that have ritualistic and religious elements. During the Cold War there were government investigations into a "communist conspiracy". President Dwight Eisenhower in his Farewell Address referred to a wide-ranging conspiracy he called the "military-industrial complex". However, if political conspiracies are referred to that involve secret societies such as Freemasonry, the suggestion is met with derision. The situation is not helped when there are "conspiracy theorists" who make outlandish claims and fail to support their allegations with...>>

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