23.04.2026

“Conjuring the Arab Magician: Intercultural Histories of Magic” by Gal Sofer

Magick Matters

"This Element reassesses narratives of intercultural transmission in medieval European magic, highlighting complex processes of compilation and attribution often obscured by broad labels. Following an Introduction that lays out the methodological framework, Section 1 ("The Wise Saracens") explores a medieval Christian magician's depiction of Islam and the figure of the Arab magician, illustrating how authors blended genuine intercultural exchanges with imaginative attributions. Section 2 ("The Seven Names") reconsiders a Latin magical text traditionally labeled "Arabic magic", demonstrating that its complex, multicultural components resist any simple claims of a lost Arabic original. Section 3 ("The Almandel Problem") presents another contested text, showing how philological evidence often complicates a linear model of transmission. Finally, this volume...>>

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23.04.2026

“The Complete Guide to Runes: An Essential Reference for Runelore, Meanings, Divination, and Magic” by Wayne Brekke

Magick Matters

"Explore rune magic and create your own powerful practice with this complete guide for beginners. Deepen your understanding of runes—from their origins and meanings, to their use in divination, and how to cast your own runes to inspire self-discovery and transformation. With this clear and in-depth rune book, you'll find everything you need to read different rune sets, learn where they come from, and infuse them into your life. Explore the history of runes—Dive into runelore and uncover a complete overview of different alphabets, early inscriptions, and their strong connections to Norse mythology. Understand the runic alphabet—Learn how to decode the Elder Futhark, the Younger Futhark, and the Anglo-Saxon...>>

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22.04.2026

“Patterns of Prophecy” by Alan Vaughan

Magick Matters

"From the beginnings of man, there have been men and women who have attempted to see into the future. Some have attempted, with little success, to predict through reason and knowledge of the past; and amazingly, a few individuals have successfully prophesied from mystical insights. The ability of these individuals has for too long been clouded in superstition. Alan Vaughan—a prophet whose predictions concerning the Apollo missions, the Robert Kennedy assassination, and the Watergate scandal have received nationwide attention—attempts in Patterns of Prophecy to take some of the mystery out of the subject. Vaughan believes that each individual has an inner or psychic "blueprint" much like the physical RNA-DNA "blueprint" and that prophets have the ability...>>

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21.04.2026

“Hallowed Ground: The Folklore of Churches and Churchyards” by Mark Norman

Magick Matters

"Hallowed Ground examines the surprising traditions, customs, superstitions, and secular imagery found in Christian churches and churchyards, with a particular emphasis on the traditional rural protestant church. Beginning with stories associated with the construction of church buildings themselves and the role that they played in the community, the book moves through a number of subjects where everything might not be as it would seem it should be in the Christian church and its grounds. Expect vestiges of pagan symbols hidden in the fabric of the church building and clergymen rumored to hold strange arcane knowledge of their own, kept within their personal occult libraries. Learn the ways in which you can use the church...>>

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21.04.2026

“Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI” by Carissa Véliz

Magick Matters

🕵️🐷🕵️ zero-day🕵️🐷🕵️ "From an award-winning University of Oxford professor comes a brilliant, urgent new look at prophecies—the predictions that determine our lives, from our personal finances and the quality of our healthcare to the news and social media we consume and the products foisted upon us. Today’s computer scientists play the same role as the oracles of the ancient world and the astrologers of the Middle Ages. Modern predictions not only advise on war, crop output, and marriages, but algorithms and statisticians also now determine whether we can get a loan, a job, an apartment, or an organ transplant. And when we cede ground to these predictions, we lose control of our own lives. In this powerful,...>>

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