Description

This exciting multi-authored volume provides a fascinating overview of the many different pathways that help define esoteric belief and practice in modern Western magic. Included here are chapters on the late 19th century Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the influential Thelemic doctrines of Aleister Crowley, and the different faces of the Universal Goddess in Wicca and the Pagan traditions. Also included are chapters on Neoshamanism in Europe and the United States—and an account of how these traditions have in turn infl uenced the rise of techno-shamanism in the West. Additional features of this collection include insider perspectives on Seidr oracles, hybridised Tantra, contemporary black magic, the Scandinavian Dragon Rouge and Chaos magic in Britain—as well as profiles of the magical artists Ithell Colquhoun, Austin Osman Spare and Rosaleen Norton.

Contributors: Nikki Bado • Jenny Blain • Nevill Drury • Dave Evans • Amy Hale • Phil Hine • Lynne Hume • Marguerite Johnson • Thomas Karlsson • James R. Lewis • Libuše Martínková • Robert J. Wallis • Don Webb • Dominique Beth Wilson • Andrei A. Znamenski

Nevill Drury, editor of this collection, received his PhD from the University of Newcastle, Australia, in 2008. His most recent publications include Stealing Fire from Heaven: the Rise of Modern Western Magic and The Varieties of Magical Experience (co-authored with Dr Lynne Hume)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction–Nevill Drury
2. Lifting the Veil: An Emic Approach to Magical Practice–Lynne Hume
3. The Visual and the Numinous: Material Expressions of the Sacred in Contemporary Paganism–Dominique Beth Wilson
4. Encountering the Universal Triple Goddess in Wicca–Nikki Bado
5. Away from the Light: Dark Aspects of the Goddess–Marguerite Johnson
6. Neo-Shamanism in the United States–Andrei A. Znamenski
7. Neo-Shamanisms in Europe–Robert J. Wallis
8. Seiðr Oracles–Jenny Blain
9. Magical Practices in The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn–Nevill Drury
10. The Thelemic Sex Magick of Aleister Crowley–Nevill Drury
11. The Draconian Tradition: Dragon Rouge and the Left-Hand Path–Thomas Karlsson
12. Claiming Hellish Hegemony: Anton La Vey, The Church of Satan & The Satanic Bible–James R. Lewis
13. Modern Black Magic: Initiation, Sorcery and The Temple of Set–Don Webb
14. The Magical Life of Ithell Colquhoun–Amy Hale
15. Two Chthonic Magical Artists: Austin Osman Spare & Rosaleen Norton–Nevill Drury
16. Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted: Chaos Magics in Britain–Dave EvansThe Computer-Mediated Religious Life of Technoshamans and Cybershamans–Libuše Martínková
17. The Magic Wonderland of the Senses: Reflections on a Hybridised Tantra Practice–Phil Hine
    Contributors
    Index

6×9 in., Paperback, 484 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-9843729-9-7