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Witchcraft --- Black art (Witchcraft) --- Sorcery --- Occultism --- Wicca

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How was magic practised in medieval times? How did it relate to the diverse beliefs and practices that characterised this fascinating period? In Magic in the Middle Ages Richard Kieckhefer surveys the growth and development of magic in medieval times. He examines its relation to religion, science, philosophy, art, literature and politics before introducing us to the different types of magic that were used, the kinds of people who practised magic and the reasoning behind their beliefs. In addition, he shows how magic served as a point of contact between the popular and elite classes, how the reality of magical beliefs is reflected in the fiction of medieval literature and how the persecution of magic and witchcraft led to changes in the law. This book places magic at the crossroads of medieval culture, shedding light on many other aspects of life in the Middle Ages.

Magic --- Magick --- Necromancy --- Sorcery --- Spells --- Occultism --- History.

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Born Alphonse Louis Constant, French magician Éliphas Lévi (1810-75) wrote prolifically on the occult sciences. This highly popular two-volume treatise on practical magic attempts to initiate the reader into the mysteries of occult philosophy. Identifying magic as the 'nurse or godmother' of all intellectual forces, Lévi proclaims his firm belief in man as microcosm of the universe, the strength of human willpower and the effectiveness of sympathetic magic. This first volume, 'The Doctrine of Transcendental Magic', establishes Lévi's own philosophical approach to the theory of magic, detailing the various methods of accessing esoteric knowledge of the universe through supernatural methods. Beginning with the ancient origins of occult philosophy and influence, Lévi chronicles the history of magic, including transmutations, black magic, bewitchments, astrology, divination and alchemy.

Magic. --- Magick --- Necromancy --- Sorcery --- Spells --- Occultism

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This examination of the connection between the belief in miracles and religious practices in ancient times was originally written by French politician and polymath Anne-Joseph-Eusb̈e Baconnir̈e de Salverte (1771-1839) and published in 1829. In 1846, it was translated into English by a Scottish physician and writer, Anthony Todd Thomson (1778-1849), and published in two volumes. Thomson explains that Salverte's work was an important study of miracles and the power of priests, and he had 'performed a beneficial service in throwing open the gates of ancient sanctuaries'. However, Thomson also states that he differed from Salverte over the idea of the miraculous, and that he had expunged or heavily edited any passages relating to Christianity, even changing 'miracles' in the original subtitle to 'apparent miracles'. Volume 2 discusses the role of drugs and poison in magic.

Magic. --- Magick --- Necromancy --- Sorcery --- Spells --- Occultism

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Magic is ubiquitous across the world and throughout history. Yet if witchcraft is acknowledged as a persistent presence in the medieval and early modern eras, practical magic by contrast - performed to a useful end for payment, and actually more common than malign spellcasting - has been overlooked. Exploring many hundred instances of daily magical usage, and setting these alongside a range of imaginative and didactic literatures, Tabitha Stanmore demonstrates the entrenched nature of 'service' magic in premodern English society. This, she shows, was a type of spellcraft for needs that nothing else could address: one well established by the time of the infamous witch trials. The book explores perceptions of magical practitioners by clients and neighbours, and the way such magic was utilised by everyone: from lowliest labourer to highest lord. Stanmore reveals that - even if technically illicit - magic was for most people an accepted, even welcome, aspect of everyday life.

Magic --- History. --- Magick --- Necromancy --- Sorcery --- Spells --- Occultism