Download or read book Magic in the Modern World written by Edward Bever and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 unsatisfied with the norms of modern subjectivity embrace various forms of magic—and the methods these modern practitioners use to legitimate magic in the modern world. A compelling assessment of magic from the early modern period to today, Magic in the Modern World shows how, despite the dominant culture’s emphatic denial of their validity, older forms of magic persist and develop while new forms of magic continue to emerge. In addition to the editors, contributors include Egil Asprem, Erik Davis, Megan Goodwin, Dan Harms, Adam Jortner, and Benedek Láng.
Download or read book Science and Magic in the Modern World written by Eugene Subbotsky and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-10-04 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science and Magic in the Modern World is a unique text that explores the role of magical thinking in everyday life. It provides an excellent psychological look at the subconscious belief in magic in both popular culture and society, as well as experimental research that considers human consciousness as a derivative of belief in the supernatural, thus showing that our feelings, emotions, attitudes and other psychological processes follow the laws of magic. This book synthesises the science of ‘natural’ phenomena and the magic of the ‘supernatural’ to present an interesting look at the juxtaposition of the inner and outer selves. Fusing research into psychological disorders, subconscious feelings, as well as the rising presence of artificial intelligence, this book demonstrates how an engagement with magical thinking can enhance one’s creativity and cognitive skills. Science and Magic in the Modern World is an invaluable resource for those studying consciousness, as well as those looking at the effect of magical thinking on religion, politics, science and society.
Download or read book Making Magic written by Randall Styers and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2004 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Randall Styers seeks to account for the vitality of scholarly discourse purporting to define and explain magic despite its failure to do just that. He argues that it can best be explained in light of the European and Euro-American drive to establish and secure their own identity as normative.
Download or read book Witchcraft in the Modern World written by Brian P. Levack and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-28 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Witchcraft and magical beliefs have captivated historians and artists for millennia, and stimulated an extraordinary amount of research among scholars in a wide range of disciplines. This new collection, from the editor of the highly acclaimed 1992 set, Articles on Witchcraft, Magic, and Demonology, extends the earlier volumes by bringing together the most important articles of the past twenty years and covering the profound changes in scholarly perspective over the past two decades. Featuring thematically organized papers from a broad spectrum of publications, the volumes in this set encompass the key issues and approaches to witchcraft research in fields such as gender studies, anthropology, sociology, literature, history, psychology, and law. This new collection provides students and researchers with an invaluable resource, comprising the most important and influential discussions on this topic. A useful introductory essay written by the editor precedes each volume.
Download or read book Here Is Real Magic written by Nate Staniforth and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2018-01-16 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An extraordinary memoir about finding wonder in everyday life, from magician Nate Staniforth. Nate Staniforth has spent most of his life and all of his professional career trying to understand wonder--what it is, where to find it, and how to share it with others. He became a magician because he learned at a young age that magic tricks don't have to be frivolous. Magic doesn't have to be about sequins and smoke machines--rather, it can create a moment of genuine astonishment. But after years on the road as a professional magician, crisscrossing the country and performing four or five nights a week, every week, Nate was disillusioned, burned out, and ready to quit. Instead, he went to India in search of magic. Here Is Real Magic follows Nate Staniforth's evolution from an obsessed young magician to a broken wanderer and back again. It tells the story of his rediscovery of astonishment--and the importance of wonder in everyday life--during his trip to the slums of India, where he infiltrated a three-thousand-year-old clan of street magicians. Here Is Real Magic is a call to all of us--to welcome awe back into our lives, to marvel in the everyday, and to seek magic all around us.
Download or read book Old World Magick for the Modern World written by Patti Negri and published by . This book was released on 2019-03-28 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Use Your Inner Magick to Solve Problems and Create a Happy Life Empower yourself and create the life you want with this simple and easy "how to" book of Magick. Sharing her specialty of adjusting energy and flow, in people, spaces and situations Patti shows you how to work with natures elements and create simple 30 second solutions which can be done anywhere. Using her magical, loving and upbeat working style Patti shares elemental "old world" techniques showing you how to create spells and rituals which arrange natural elements to the rhythms and cycles of the universe to bring about healing, balance and change our lives for the better. Bring balance, peace and joy into your fast paced world. Inside This Book You'll Discover: - Easy techniques to shift your energy, your perception and your outcomes to create the life you want -A new outlook and fun, manageable and MAGICAL way to live your life to create a sense of empowerment and hope -A different and expanded way to look at your life, without changing your religion or belief system -Fun, powerful and often life changing spells, potions and rituals you can easily do at home with common items, without having to be a witch, psychic or medium - Tools for every area of your life...home, relationships, and career A great little book which has some Magick for everyone!
Download or read book Conjuring Asia written by Chris Goto-Jones and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-07-14 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book charts the history of modern magic across India, China and Japan, analyzing representations in the cultural imagination of the West.
Download or read book The Book of English Magic written by Philip Carr-Gomm and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2010-10-14 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide to England’s rich history of magical lore and practice “for readers of works like Harry Potter who have grown up a bit into wanting to know more” (The Hermetic Library). Through experiments to try and places to visit, as well as a historical exploration of magic and interviews with leading magicians, The Book of English Magic will introduce you to the extraordinary world that lies beneath the surface. Magic runs through the veins of English history, part of daily life from the earliest Arthurian legends to Aleister Crowley to the novels of Tolkien and Philip Pullman, and from the Druids to Freemasonry and beyond. Richly illustrated and deeply knowledgeable, this book is an invaluable source for anyone curious about magic and wizardry, or for sophisticated practitioners seeking to expand their knowledge. “Playful and serious, respectful and amused . . . this will remain the standard work for years to come.” —The Sunday Telegraph “A magical mystery tour.” —The Times “Fabulous.” —Daily Express “Lucid and wonderfully easy to read . . . While it is indeed a perfect book for the ‘intelligent novice’ it’s far more than that—it’s a serious, in-depth survey of a massive topic.” —WitchVox “An accessible and immensely readable book . . . A fascinating insight into a hidden world.” —Booksquawk
Download or read book Everyday Magic in Early Modern Europe written by Kathryn A. Edwards and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-09 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While pre-modern Europe is often seen as having an 'enchanted' or 'magical' worldview, the full implications of such labels remain inconsistently explored. Witchcraft, demonology, and debates over pious practices have provided the main avenues for treating those themes, but integrating them with other activities and ideas seen as forming an enchanted Europe has proven to be a much more difficult task. This collection offers one method of demystifying this world of everyday magic. Integrating case studies and more theoretical responses to the magical and preternatural, the authors here demonstrate that what we think of as extraordinary was often accepted as legitimate, if unusual, occurrences or practices. In their treatment of and attitudes towards spirit-assisted treasure-hunting, magical recipes, trials for sanctity, and visits by guardian angels, early modern Europeans showed more acceptance of and comfort with the extraordinary than modern scholars frequently acknowledge. Even witchcraft could be more pervasive and less threatening than many modern interpretations suggest. Magic was both mundane and mysterious in early modern Europe, and the witches who practiced it could in many ways be quite ordinary members of their communities. The vivid cases described in this volume should make the reader question how to distinguish the ordinary and extraordinary and the extent to which those terms need to be redefined for an early modern context. They should also make more immediate a world in which magic was an everyday occurrence.
Download or read book Religion Magic and Science in Early Modern Europe and America written by Allison Coudert and published by Praeger. This book was released on 2011-10-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was a time when highly educated men believed witches flew to "Sabbaths" on broomsticks and the' backs of goats, had sex with the devil, and cooked and ate infant body parts. How did eminent artists, philosophers, and scientists pave the way for the modern age during a period of such outdated perceptions? --
Download or read book Magic and Magicians in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Time written by Albrecht Classen and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2017-10-23 with total page 768 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are no clear demarcation lines between magic, astrology, necromancy, medicine, and even sciences in the pre-modern world. Under the umbrella term 'magic,' the contributors to this volume examine a wide range of texts, both literary and religious, both medical and philosophical, in which the topic is discussed from many different perspectives. The fundamental concerns address issue such as how people perceived magic, whether they accepted it and utilized it for their own purposes, and what impact magic might have had on the mental structures of that time. While some papers examine the specific appearance of magicians in literary texts, others analyze the practical application of magic in medical contexts. In addition, this volume includes studies that deal with the rise of the witch craze in the late fifteenth century and then also investigate whether the Weberian notion of disenchantment pertaining to the modern world can be maintained. Magic is, oddly but significantly, still around us and exerts its influence. Focusing on magic in the medieval world thus helps us to shed light on human culture at large.
Download or read book Wonderland written by Steven Johnson and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2016 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Everyone knows the old saying "necessity is the mother of invention," but if you do a paternity test on many of the modern world's most important ideas or institutions, you will find, invariably, that leisure and play were involved in the conception as well." Most history books don't concern themselves with delight. History is the serious business of war, treaties, governments and monarchs. This is a different kind of history book. Steven Johnson argues that if you want to understand how we got to now, you have to understand pleasure and play. A staggering amount of the landscape of modern life is populated by environments and technology designed to entertain and delight us. Here history of popular entertainment, arguing that the pursuit of novelty and wonder is a powerful driver of world-shaping technological change. Throughout history, he locates the cutting edge of innovation wherever people are working the hardest to keep themselves and others amused.He introduces us to the colorful innovators of leisure: the explorers, proprietors, showmen, and artists who changed the trajectory of history with their luxurious wares, exotic meals, taverns, gambling tables, and magic shows.
Download or read book The Modern Witchcraft Book of Natural Magick written by Judy Ann Nock and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-06-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The magic of witchcraft never dies. Harness the power of nature-based magick, including herbal charms and remedies, cleansing rituals, crystal healing, astrology, and more with this new guide in the popular Modern Witchcraft series—perfect for millennials. Modern-day interest in witchcraft and wicca isn’t surprising—who wouldn’t want to focus their energy into rituals of change and healing in today’s troubled and chaotic times? Right now, many of the most popular types of magick are nature-based. This fun and practical book includes methods to help you connect with the Earth mother and your own natural self. Each chapter focuses on a different type of nature magick, from seed magick to the magick of the sun, of water, of the moon, and more—and every topic includes its own accompanying spells, charms, rituals, and meditations. The Modern Witchcraft Book of Natural Magick is your complete guide to everything you’ll need to know about nature-based magick to fully embrace your spiritual and natural self.
Download or read book Modern Day Magic written by Rachel Lang and published by Hardie Grant Books. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern Day Magic is the only step-by-step guide that shows how to weave magical practice into your daily life. The book offers practical exercises, meditations, rituals, and journal prompts designed especially for men and women with busy schedules. With eight simple magic rules, Modern Day Magic is also a primer to help readers understand fundamental magic rules and practices to help them unlock their magical power and use it to reclaim and change their lives for the better.
Download or read book Postmodern Magic written by Patrick Dunn and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fresh ideas for the modern mage lie at the heart of this thought-provoking guide to magic theory. Approaching magical practice from an information paradigm, Patrick Dunn provides a unique and contemporary perspective on an ancient practice. Imagination, psychology, and authority-the most basic techniques of magic-are introduced first. From there, Dunn teaches all about symbol systems, magical artifacts, sigils, spirits, elementals, languages, and magical journeys, and explains their significance in magical practice. There are also exercises for developing magic skills, along with techniques for creating talismans, glamours, servitors, divination decks, modern defixios, and your own astral temple. Dunn also offers tips on aura detection, divination, occult networking, and conducting your own magic research.
Download or read book Between Magic and Rationality written by Vibeke Steffen and published by Museum Tusculanum Press. This book was released on 2015-04-21 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Between Magic and Reality, Vibeke Steffen, Steffen Jöhncke, and Kirsten Marie Raahauge bring together a diverse range of ethnographies that examine and explore the forms of reflection, action, and interaction that govern the ways different contemporary societies create and challenge the limits of reason. The essays here visit an impressive array of settings, including international scientific laboratories, British spiritualist meetings, Chinese villages, Danish rehabilitation centers, and Uzbeki homes, where they encounter a diverse assortment of people whose beliefs and concerns exhibit an unusual but central contemporary dichotomy: scientific reason versus spiritual/paranormal belief. Exploring the paradoxical way these modes of thought push against reason's boundaries, they offer a deep look at the complex ways they coexist, contest one another, and are ultimately intertwined. Vibeke Steffen is associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen, where Steffen Jöncke is senior advisor. Kirsten Marie Raahauge is associate professor in the School of Design at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen.
Download or read book Modern Magic written by Eric Cagle and published by Green Ronin Publishing. This book was released on 2004-05 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A d20 sourcebook on adding magic to your contemporary game setting. Inside you'll find spells with names like plain brown wrapper and welding touch, and magic items like the potion bottle opener or the police whistle of backup. You'll find "low-magic" rules for modern magical belief systems, including Wicca and Vodoun, and a new advanced class just for the kind of ceremonial casters required by these magic systems. And for military-based campaigns, there are three new campaign models based on magic in the military: "rare and secretive," "available and specialized," and "common as dirt" -- each with its own advanced class, such as the Arcane Spec-Op, Thaumaturgical Specialist, and the Magic Grunt.
