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Magic in the Middle Ages
by Richard KieckheferComparison of the different types of Magic used in the Middle Ages and their impact on the people. (ie Necromancy, Astrology, Science)
Magic's Reason: An Anthropology of Analogy
by Graham M. JonesIn Magic’s Reason, Graham M. Jones tells the entwined stories of anthropology and entertainment magic. The two pursuits are not as separate as they may seem at first. As Jones shows, they not only matured around the same time, but they also shared mutually reinforcing stances toward modernity and rationality. It is no historical accident, for example, that colonial ethnographers drew analogies between Western magicians and native ritual performers, who, in their view, hoodwinked gullible people into believing their sleight of hand was divine. Using French magicians’ engagements with North African ritual performers as a case study, Jones shows how magic became enshrined in anthropological reasoning. Acknowledging the residue of magic’s colonial origins doesn’t require us to dispense with it. Rather, through this radical reassessment of classic anthropological ideas, Magic’s Reason develops a new perspective on the promise and peril of cross-cultural comparison.
Magic, Culture and the New Economy
by Orvar LöfgrenWhat happens when economies 'heat up'? This book looks at the 1990s, years of intense economic experimentation, when buzz words such as 'network society', 'the experience economy', 'creative cities' and 'glocalization' were everywhere. A fascinating perspective on 'The New Economy' emerges as the authors explore the worlds of coolhunters, biotech brokers, career coaches, software entrepreneurs and event managers and tackle such questions as: - how is magic used in the quest for newness and change? - what happens when cultural techniques such as branding and styling colonize new arenas? - what turns out to be just a flash-in-the-pan and what has a lasting impact? This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand how economies operate in periods of rapid transformation.
Magic, Witchcraft and the Otherworld: An Anthropology
by Susan GreenwoodAnthropology's long and complex relationship to magic has been strongly influenced by western science and notions of rationality. This book takes a refreshing new look at modern magic as practised by contemporary Pagans in Britain. It focuses on what Pagans see as the essence of magic - a communication with an otherworldly reality. Examining issues of identity, gender and morality, the author argues that the otherworld forms a central defining characteristic of magical practice. Integrating an experiential ethnographic approach with an analysis of magic, this book asks penetrating questions about the nature of otherworldly knowledge and argues that our scientific frameworks need re-envisioning. It is unique in providing an insider's view of how magic is practised in contemporary western culture.
Magic: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the Present
by Chris GosdenAn Oxford professor of archaeology explores the unique history of magic—the oldest and most neglected strand of human behavior and its resurgence today Three great strands of belief run through human history: Religion is the relationship with one god or many gods, masters of our lives and destinies. Science distances us from the world, turning us into observers and collectors of knowledge. And magic is direct human participation in the universe: we have influence on the world around us, and the world has influence on us.Over the last few centuries, magic has developed a bad reputation—thanks to the unsavory tactics of shady practitioners, and to a successful propaganda campaign on the part of religion and science, which denigrated magic as backward, irrational, and "primitive." In Magic, however, the Oxford professor of archaeology Chris Gosden restores magic to its essential place in the history of the world—revealing it to be an enduring element of human behavior that plays an important role for individuals and cultures. From the curses and charms of ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish magic, to the shamanistic traditions of Eurasia, indigenous America, and Africa; from the alchemy of the Renaissance to the condemnation of magic in the colonial period and the mysteries of modern quantum physics—Gosden's startling, fun, and colorful history supplies a missing chapter of the story of our civilization. Drawing on decades of research around the world—touching on the first known horoscope, a statue ordered into exile, and the mystical power of tattoos—Gosden shows what magic can offer us today, and how we might use it to rethink our relationship with the world. Magic is an original, singular, and sweeping work of scholarship, and its revelations will leave a spell on the reader.
Magical Capitalism: Enchantment, Spells, and Occult Practices in Contemporary Economies
by Brian Moeran Timothy de Waal MalefytThis volume of essays examines the ways in which magical practices are found in different aspects of contemporary capitalist societies. From contract law to science, by way of finance, business, marketing, advertising, cultural production, and the political economy in general, each chapter argues that the kind of magic studied by anthropologists in less developed societies – shamanism, sorcery, enchantment, the occult – is not only alive and well, but flourishing in the midst of so-called ‘modernity’. Modern day magicians range from fashion designers and architects to Donald Trump and George Soros. Magical rites take place in the form of political summits, the transformation of products into brands through advertising campaigns, and the biannual fashion collections shown in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Magical language, in the form of magical spells, is used by everyone, from media to marketers and all others devoted to the art of ‘spin’.While magic may appear to be opposed to systems of rational economic thought, Moeran and Malefyt highlight the ways it may in fact be an accomplice to it.
Magical Consciousness: An Anthropological and Neurobiological Approach (Routledge Studies in Anthropology #24)
by Erik D. Goodwyn Susan GreenwoodHow does a mind think magically? The research documented in this book is one answer that allows the disciplines of anthropology and neurobiology to come together to reveal a largely hidden dynamic of magic. Magic gets to the very heart of some theoretical and methodological difficulties encountered in the social and natural sciences, especially to do with issues of rationality. This book examines magic head-on, not through its instrumental aspects but as an orientation of consciousness. Magical consciousness is affective, associative and synchronistic, shaped through individual experience within a particular environment. This work focuses on an in-depth case study using the anthropologist’s own experience gained through years of anthropological fieldwork with British practitioners of magic. As an ethnographic view, it is an intimate study of the way in which the cognitive architecture of a mind engages the emotions and imagination in a pattern of meanings related to childhood experiences, spiritual communications and the environment. Although the detail of the involvement in magical consciousness presented here is necessarily specific, the central tenets of modus operandi is common to magical thought in general, and can be applied to cross-cultural analyses to increase understanding of this ubiquitous human phenomenon.
Magical Habits (Writing Matters!)
by Monica HuertaIn Magical Habits Monica Huerta draws on her experiences growing up in her family's Mexican restaurants and her life as a scholar of literature and culture to meditate on how relationships among self, place, race, and storytelling contend with both the afterlives of history and racial capitalism. Whether dwelling on mundane aspects of everyday life, such as the smell of old kitchen grease, or grappling with the thorny, unsatisfying question of authenticity, Huerta stages a dynamic conversation among genres, voices, and archives: personal and critical essays exist alongside a fairy tale; photographs and restaurant menus complement fictional monologues based on her family's history. Developing a new mode of criticism through storytelling, Huerta takes readers through Cook County courtrooms, the Cristero Rebellion (in which her great-grandfather was martyred by the Mexican government), Japanese baths in San Francisco—and a little bit about Chaucer too. Ultimately, Huerta sketches out habits of living while thinking that allow us to consider what it means to live with and try to peer beyond history even as we are caught up in the middle of it.Duke University Press Scholars of Color First Book Award recipient
Magical Herbalism: The Secret Craft of the Wise
by Scott CunninghamNatural magic utilizes the world around us for magical purposes. Herbs are one of the most important tools for natural magic, and the best introduction to this system is found in Scott Cunningham's Magical Herbalism. This book presents a complete system of magic using herbs. You will learn the theory of magic and the tools you'll need. Then you'll get countless techniques for using herbs for magic. Need a protection method? "Pick several protective herbs and bind the stems together with red thread, then hang them up. This practice dates back to Babylonian times." You'll find a list of over 115 herbs that details their magical powers, so you can easily find which ones are protective in nature.How about a divination using herbs? "Get a small quantity of dried patchouly, mugwort, or wormwood. Crumble the herb between your hands until it is finely diminished. Next, pour it into a small square pan (glass or ceramic). Light yellow candles and place the pan on your working area. Close your eyes, extend the index finger of your weak hand, and gently touch the center of the pan with its tip. Move it at random in the pan, shifting from one direction to another ... Now, remove your finger, open your eyes, and interpret the symbols you have just written in the herb."All of the techniques, rituals, spells, talismans, healing methods, and charms are this easy. And most importantly, they work! You'll also find how to make and use incenses, scented oils, perfumes, fluid condensers, and so much more.Here is your chance to work with a beautiful and simple system. Give it a try! You won't be disappointed.
Magical House Protection: The Archaeology of Counter-Witchcraft
by Brian HoggardBelief in magic and particularly the power of witchcraft was a deep and enduring presence in popular culture; people created and concealed many objects to protect themselves from harmful magic. Detailed are the principal forms of magical house protection in Britain and beyond from the fourteenth century to the present day. Witch-bottles, dried cats, horse skulls, written charms, protection marks and concealed shoes were all used widely as methods of repelling, diverting or trapping these energies. Many of these practices and symbols can be found around the globe, demonstrating the universal nature of efforts by people to protect themselves from witchcraft.
Magical Interpretations, Material Realities: Modernity, Witchcraft and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa
by Todd Sanders Henrietta L. Moore'Magical Interpretations, Material Realities brings together many of today's best scholars of contemporary Africa. The theme of "witchcraft" has long been associated with exoticizing portraits of a "traditional" Africa, but this volume takes the question of occult as a point of entry into the moral politics of some very modern African realities.' - James Ferguson, University of California, USA'These essays bear eloquent testimony to the ongoing presence and power of the occult imaginary, and of the intimate connection between global capitalism and local cosmology, in postcolonial Africa. A major contribution to scholarship that aims to rework the divide between modernity and tradition.' - Charles Piot, Duke University, USAThis volume sets out recent thinking on witchcraft in Africa, paying particular attention to variations in meanings and practices. It examines the way different people in different contexts are making sense of what 'witchcraft' is and what it might mean.Using recent ethnographic materials from across the continent, the volume explores how witchcraft articulates with particular modern settings for example: the State in Cameroon; Pentecostalism in Malawi; the university system in Nigeria and the IMF in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. The editors provide a timely overview and reconsideration of long-standing anthropological debates about 'African witchcraft', while simultaneously raising broader concerns about the theories of the western social sciences.
Magical Manuscripts in Early Modern Europe
by Daniel Bellingradt Bernd-Christian OttoThis book presents the story of a unique collection of 140 manuscripts of 'learned magic' that was sold for a fantastic sum within the clandestine channels of the German book trade in the early eighteenth century. The book will interpret this collection from two angles - as an artefact of the early modern book market as well as the longue-dur#65533;e tradition of Western learned magic -, thus taking a new stance towards scribal texts that are often regarded as eccentric, peripheral, or marginal. The study is structured by the apparent exceptionality, scarcity, and illegality of the collection, and provides chapters on clandestine activities in European book markets, questions of censorship regimes and efficiency, the use of manuscripts in an age of print, and the history of learned magic in early modern Europe. As the collection has survived till this day in Leipzig University Library, the book provides a critical edition of the 1710 selling catalogue, which includes a brief content analysis of all extant manuscripts. The study will be of interest to scholars and students from a variety of fields, such as early modern book history, the history of magic, cultural history, the sociology of religion, or the study of Western esotericism.
Magical Medicine: The Folkloric Component of Medicine in the Folk Belief, Custom, and Ritual of the Peoples of Europe and America
by Wayland D. Hand"Distilling baby's first tear into the eye of a blind man to make him see"; "Plucking herbs upward for emetics and downward for purgatives"; "Stroking one's goiter with a dead man's hand to make the growth shrivel away"--these are not beliefs and customs found among primitive peoples in remote parts of the world but are examples of hundreds of items of magical medicine found in Professor Hand's remarkable collection of essays dealing with this neglected field in twentieth-century Europe and America. Fantasy and imagination still have free reign in people's lives, more than any of us will admit. In a time when science is preeminent, irrational thinking ca lay hold on the mid of man as much as in olden times. Folk medicine has expanded in recent years to include holistic medicine and other forms of alternative medicine, but little attention has been paid to magical medicine. Despite the benefits of medical science in an advance culture, the magical medicine of Europe and America has clung to an unusually rich and original body of magical lore that lies at the base of its folk medical thought. Ethnomedicine in the inner cities of America can be better understood by practitioners who know something about folk medicine and, especially, if they kno some of the basics of magical medicine. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.
Magical Qabalah for Beginners: A Comprehensive Guide to Occult Knowledge
by Frater BarrabbasDiscover the history and theory of Qabalah as well as its practical ritual uses. Explore the five basic but essential parts of Qabalah: the ten Sephiroth, the twenty-two paths, the Four Worlds, the Three Negative Veils, and the Tree of Life.The Qabalah is the symbolic key to the Western Mystery tradition. Gain invaluable insights into all occult systems including high magic, Tarot, astrology, alchemy, hermetics, and more. In Magical Qabalah for Beginners, Frater Barrabbas shows ritual magicians, Pagans, and occult students how to incorporate the Qabalah into practice, using tables of correspondences, numerology, acronyms and formulae, sigils and ciphers, contemplation, and the theurgy of ascension. Now is the time to penetrate the mystical properties of Qabalah and make them work in your life.Praise:"Frater Barrabbas has crafted a comprehensive overview of the Qabalah that is clear and accessible."—Chic and Tabatha Cicero, Chief Adepts of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and authors of The Essential Golden Dawn"Those starting out on the path of learning magical Qabalah would do well to explore this book."—Scott Stenwick, author of Arcana"Magical Qabalah for Beginners is the introductory book that I wish we'd had back when I was first being trained in the Craft."—Veronica Cummer, author of Sorgitzak: Old Forest Craft
Magical Realism in Africa: Literary and Dramatic Explorations (Routledge Studies in African Literature)
by Kenneth Usongo Sarali GintsburgMagical realism has deep roots across many African languages and regions. This book explores African magical realism from a transregional and inclusive approach, drawing on contributions from different literary genres across the continent.The chapters in this book constitute a sustained and insightful reflection on the salient components of this literary genre as well as evaluating its connections to themes of conflict, violence, women’s rights, trauma, oppression, culture, governance, and connecting to the African self. As well as theorizing magical realism, this book engages with African expressive performance across various formats, novels, plays, and films. This book investigates African magical realism from its origins up to the present day, where local oral traditions link indigenous cosmogonic stories with Western literature, as well as with the specific narrative traditions of Arabo‑Islamic literature. The rich analysis draws on works from across the continent, including Egypt, Sudan, Mauritania, Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, and Mozambique.This book is a timely contribution to debates within African literature, cultural anthropology, ethnography, and folklore.
Magical Urbanism: Latinos Reinvent the US City
by Mike DavisWinner of the 2001 Carey McWilliams AwardIs the capital of Latin America a small island at the mouth of the Hudson River? Will California soon hold the balance of power in Mexican national politics? Will Latinos reinvigorate the US labor movement?These are some of the provocative questions that Mike Davis explores in this fascinating account of the Latinization of the US urban landscape. As he forefully shows, this is a demographic and cultural revolution with extraordinary implications. With Spanish surnames increasing five times faster than the general population, salsa is becoming the predominant ethnic rhythm (and flavor) of contemporary city life. In Los Angeles, Houston, San Antonio, and (shortly) Dallas, Latinos outnumber non-Hispanic whites; in New York, San Diego and Phoenix they outnumber Blacks. According to the Bureau of the Census, Latinos will supply fully two-thirds of the nation&’s population growth between now and the middle of the 21st century when nearly 100 millions Americans will boast Latin American ancestry.Davis focuses on the great drama of how Latinos are attempting to translate their urban demographic ascendancy into effective social power. Pundits are now unanimous that Spanish-surname voters are the sleeping giant of US politics. Yet electoral mobilization alone is unlikely to redress the increasing income and opportunity gaps between urban Latinos and suburban non-Hispanic whites. Thus in Los Angeles and elsewhere, the militant struggles of Latino workers and students are reinventing the American left. Fully updated throughout, and with new chapters on the urban Southwest and the explodiing counter-migration of Anglos to Mexico, Magical Urbanism is essential reading for anyone who wants to grasp the future of urban AmericaThis paperback edition of Mike Davis&’s investigation into the Latinization of America incorporates the extraordinary findings of the 2000 Census as well as new chapters on the militarization of the border and violence against immigrants.
Magical Writing In Salasaca
by Peter WoganThis engaging case study of Salasaca, a village in highland Ecuador, examines indigenous beliefs about writing, such as Day of the Dead name lists, comparisons with weaving, and a witch who kills people listed in his book of names. Magical Writing in Salasaca demonstrates that these beliefs reflect extensive contact with birth certificates, baptism records, and other church and state documents. Wogan's inquiry into the place of literacy in the Salasacas' worldview provides a nuanced look at the power relations between elites and nonelite villagers, at the same time that it imparts an empathetic understanding of alternative ways of viewing ostensibly familiar aspects of the world. Magical Writing in Salasaca will appeal to anyone interested in anthropology, literacy, power, or Latin America.
Magical Writing in Salasaca: Literacy and Power in Highland Ecuador
by Peter WoganExplores the connections between beliefs about writing and power in an indigenous village in highland Ecuador.
Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders
by Vanessa Angélica VillarrealA brilliant, singular collection of essays that looks to music, fantasy, and pop culture—from Beyoncé to Game of Thrones—to excavate and reimagine what has been disappeared by migration and colonialism. Upon becoming a new mother, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal was called to Mexico to reconnect with her ancestors and recover her grandmother&’s story, only to return to the sudden loss of her marriage, home, and reality. In Magical/Realism, Villarreal crosses into the erasure of memory and self, fragmented by migration, borders, and colonial and intimate violence, reconstructing her story with pieces of American pop culture, and the music, video games, and fantasy that have helped her make sense of it all. The border between the real and imagined is a speculative space where we can remember, or re-world, what has been lost—and each chapter engages in this essential project of world-building. In one essay, Villarreal examines her own gender performativity through Nirvana and Selena; in another, she offers a radical but crucial racial reading of Jon Snow in Game of Thrones; and throughout the collection, she explores how fantasy can help us interpret and heal when grief feels insurmountable. She reflects on the moments of her life that are too painful to remember—her difficult adolescence, her role as the eldest daughter of Mexican immigrants, her divorce—and finds a way to archive her history and map her future(s) with the hope and joy of fantasy and magical thinking. Magical/Realism is a wise, tender, and essential collection that carves a path toward a new way of remembering and telling our stories—broadening our understanding of what memoir and cultural criticism can be.
Magicians of Manumanua: Living Myth in Kalauna
by Michael W. YoungThis title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1983.
Magickal Mystical Creatures: Invite Their Powers into Your Life
by D.J. ConwayGain the Magical Powers of More Than 200 Amazing CreaturesFrom pookas and green men to gorgons and gargoyles, this occult encyclopedia reveals everything you need to know about more than two hundred marvelous beasts. Magickal, Mystical Creatures invites you to explore their history, symbolism, appearance, associated traits, and abilities. Best of all, it shows you how their energies and talents empower your magickal workings, rituals, and meditations.Draw upon the knowledge of griffins and water-folk to eliminate barriers blocking your progress. Invoke the energy of the centaur for artistic inspiration. Work with the magickal serpent when you need a financial windfall. This comprehensive bestiary introduces you to a variety of incredible beings just waiting to enhance your life with their legendary wisdom and power.Previously published with ISBN 9781567181494.The Complete Magickal BestiaryLong ago, strange and fabulous beasts filled the tales of storytellers and the myths of many cultures. Over time, humankind abandoned its connection with these powerful helpers.This comprehensive guide describes the history, symbolism, appearance, associated traits, and magickal abilities of over two hundred magickal creatures, and tells how to enlist their aid:UnicornsCentaursSatyrs and FaunsGriffinsGoblinsMagickal SerpentsGigantic BirdsGargoylesGremlinsFabulous LionsThe RuhkMystical Bulls and Bull-MenTrollsPixiesDwarfsThe Riddling SphinxRed Cap Hell HoundsWater-FolkCreatures of the Stony StareThe SalamanderHuman-BirdsFox SpiritsFlying HorsesRemember the forgotten magick—rediscover the unique abilities and powerful influence of the marvelous beings in Magickal, Mystical Creatures.
Magico-Religious Groups and Ritualistic Activities: A Guide for First Responders
by Tony M. KailMore than just a litany of artifacts, rituals, and symbols, this valuable book provides a cultural bridge for emergency responders. It places the information in a relevant context and offers crucial keys to communication, assessment, and treatment in culturally sensitive situations. Beginning with the importance of trans-cultural communication, the book separates fact from fantasy regarding Neo-Paganism, Santeria, Bantu religion (Palo Mayombe), Voodoo, and Curanderismo. Promoting functional cultural competency, this book provides the tools to properly assess situations, open lines of communication, protect cultural diversity, and provide effective emergency treatment.
Magic’s Translations: Reality Politics in Colonial Indonesia
by Margaret J. Wiener“Do you believe in magic?” This familiar question suggests magic is easily recognized but unreal. In Magic’s Translations, Margaret J. Wiener argues that such views are shaped by historical power struggles, especially in Europe’s relations with the wider world. Focusing on nineteenth- and twentieth-century Dutch interactions with Indonesians, Wiener reveals how colonial agents framed unfamiliar practices, practitioners, and objects as “magic,” rendering distinct phenomena fundamentally alike and advancing colonizing projects that deemed magic antithetical to reason and reality. While colonial authorities, including ethnologists, mobilized the concept of magic to differentiate Europeans from Indonesians, nature from culture, reason from superstition, and fact from fetish, their efforts produced unexpected outcomes: Some Indonesian artifacts and acts not only retained their power but invaded European experiences. As anthropologists were among the key translators of magic throughout the world, Wiener intersperses accounts of magic’s translations in the Indies with reflections on anthropology’s ongoing engagement with the concept. She demonstrates that magic became an object of expert knowledge, political control, and popular fascination, rather than a self-evident category or relic of naïve belief.
Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science & Religion
by Nicholas SpencerMost things you &‘know&’ about science and religion are myths or half-truths that grew up in the last years of the nineteenth century and remain widespread today. The true history of science and religion is a human one. It&’s about the role of religion in inspiring, and strangling, science before the scientific revolution. It&’s about the sincere but eccentric faith and the quiet, creeping doubts of the most brilliant scientists in history – Galileo, Newton, Faraday, Darwin, Maxwell, Einstein. Above all it&’s about the question of what it means to be human and who gets to say – a question that is more urgent in the twenty-first century than ever before. From eighth-century Baghdad to the frontiers of AI today, via medieval Europe, nineteenth-century India and Soviet Russia, Magisteria sheds new light on this complex historical landscape. Rejecting the thesis that science and religion are inevitably at war, Nicholas Spencer illuminates a compelling and troubled relationship that has definitively shaped human history.
Magmas, Rocks and Planetary Development: A Survey of Magma/Igneous Rock Systems
by Eric A. MiddlemostThe variety of volcanic activity in the Solar System is widely recognised, yet the majestic sequences of magmatic processes that operate within an active planet are much less well known. Providing an exposition of igneous rocks, magmas and volcanic erupsions, this book brings together magnetic and volcanic data from different tectonic settings, and planets, with explanations of how they fit together. It systematically examines composition, origin and evolution of common igneous rocks, yet also examines a variety of rare magnetic rocks that play a crucial role in the global magma/igneous rock system.