ABSTRACT

This volume presents students and scholars with a comprehensive overview of the fascinating world of the occult. It explores the history of Western occultism, from ancient and medieval sources via the Renaissance, right up to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and contemporary occultism. Written by a distinguished team of contributors, the essays consider key figures, beliefs and practices as well as popular culture.

part I|34 pages

Ancient and Medieval Sources

chapter Chapter One|17 pages

Ancient Esoteric Traditions

Mystery, Revelation, Gnosis

chapter Chapter Two|15 pages

The Occult Middle Ages

part II|68 pages

The Renaissance

chapter Chapter Three|23 pages

The Hermetic Revival in Italy

chapter Chapter Four|18 pages

Alchemical Hermeticism

chapter Chapter Five|7 pages

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa

chapter Chapter Six|8 pages

Paracelsus

chapter Chapter Seven|10 pages

John Dee

part III|78 pages

Seventeenth Century and Eighteenth Century

chapter Chapter Ten|12 pages

Emanuel Swedenborg

chapter Chapter Eleven|16 pages

Freemasonry

chapter Chapter Twelve|9 pages

Illuminism

chapter Chapter Fourteen|7 pages

Animal Magnetism and Mesmerism

part IV|80 pages

Nineteenth Century

chapter Chapter Fifteen|10 pages

Spiritualism

chapter Chapter Sixteen|13 pages

New Thought Traditions

chapter Chapter Seventeen|11 pages

Eliphas Lévi

chapter Chapter Eighteen|3 pages

Paschal Beverly Randolph

chapter Chapter Nineteen|3 pages

William Wynn Westcott

chapter Chapter Twenty-One|3 pages

Samuel Liddell Mathers

chapter Chapter Twenty-Two|10 pages

Theosophy

chapter Chapter Twenty-Three|6 pages

Frederic W. H. Myers

chapter Chapter Twenty-Four|9 pages

The Society for Psychical Research

part V|152 pages

Twentieth Century and the Contemporary World

chapter Chapter Twenty-Five|6 pages

Ordo Templi Orientis

chapter Chapter Twenty-Six|5 pages

Arthur Edward Waite

chapter Chapter Twenty-Seven|5 pages

Charles Fort

chapter Chapter Twenty-Eight|10 pages

Aleister Crowley

A Prophet for the Modern Age

chapter Chapter Twenty-Nine|5 pages

Austin Osman Spare

chapter Chapter Thirty|7 pages

René Guénon and Traditionalism

chapter Chapter Thirty-Two|3 pages

John Whiteside Parsons

chapter Chapter Thirty-Three|8 pages

Kenneth Grant and the Typhonian Tradition

chapter Chapter Thirty-Four|5 pages

Robert Anton Wilson

chapter Chapter Thirty-Five|12 pages

Nazism and the Occult

chapter Chapter Thirty-Seven|11 pages

Contemporary Paganism and the Occult

chapter Chapter Thirty-Eight|10 pages

New Age

chapter Chapter Thirty-Nine|14 pages

Contemporary Ritual Magic

chapter Chapter Forty|10 pages

Contemporary Satanism

chapter Chapter Forty-One|6 pages

Chaos Magick

chapter Chapter Forty-Two|12 pages

Vampirism, Lycanthropy, and Otherkin

chapter Chapter Forty-Three|3 pages

Hakim Bey

part VI|112 pages

Popular Culture and the Arts

chapter Chapter Forty-Four|17 pages

The Occult and the Visual Arts

chapter Chapter Forty-Five|13 pages

The Occult and Film

chapter Chapter Forty-Six|5 pages

Kenneth Anger

chapter Chapter Forty-Seven|5 pages

Dennis Wheatley

chapter Chapter Forty-Eight|9 pages

The Occult and Modern Horror Fiction

chapter Chapter Forty-Nine|14 pages

The Occult and Science Fiction/Fantasy

chapter Chapter Fifty|7 pages

H.P. Lovecraft

chapter Chapter Fifty-One|10 pages

The Occult and Comics

chapter Chapter Fifty-Two|22 pages

The Occult and Popular Music

chapter Chapter Fifty-Three|8 pages

The Occult on the Internet

part VII|213 pages

Beliefs, Practices, Issues, and Approaches

chapter Chapter Fifty-Four|11 pages

Kabbalah

chapter Chapter Fifty-Five|12 pages

Alchemy

chapter Chapter Fifty-Six|7 pages

Sex Magic

chapter Chapter Fifty-Seven|9 pages

Tarot

chapter Chapter Fifty-Eight|12 pages

Scrying

chapter Chapter Fifty-Nine|11 pages

Astrology

chapter Chapter Sixty|8 pages

Grimoires

chapter Chapter Sixty-One|15 pages

Orientalism and the Occult

chapter Chapter Sixty-Two|9 pages

Occult War

chapter Chapter Sixty-Three|11 pages

The Counterculture and the Occult

chapter Chapter Sixty-Four|13 pages

Intermediary Beings

chapter Chapter Sixty-Five|13 pages

The Body in Occult Thought

chapter Chapter Sixty-Six|9 pages

Drugs and the Occult

chapter Chapter Sixty-Seven|11 pages

Gender and the Occult

chapter Chapter Sixty-Eight|9 pages

Crime, Moral Panic, and the Occult

chapter Chapter Sixty-Nine|9 pages

Conspiracy Theories and the Occult

chapter Chapter Seventy|10 pages

Science and the Occult

chapter Chapter Seventy-One|12 pages

Sociology and the Occult

chapter Chapter Seventy-Two|12 pages

Psychology and the Occult

Dialectics of Disenchantment and Re-Enchantment in the Modern Self

chapter Chapter Seventy-Three|8 pages

Opposition to the Occult