Dated classic of occult writing
933183
Of great specialist interest although some of the concepts have moved on since written in 1930. Dion Fortune was probably the major 20th. C occultist.
2451964
It's definitely an interesting read, and it's definitely dated.  When I say it's dated, I'm not referring to the fact that it ends with the Battle of Waterloo, when there have obviously been battles since of equal or greater decisiveness.  Rather, I'm referring to things such as Mr. Creasy's comments regarding the "inferior" nature of civilizations/empires to arise in Asia to those arising in Europe.  While I know such sentiments were commonplace at the time of the book's writing, it still is a bit of a jolt to see such views so brazenly stated in print... particularly in the current Age of Political Correctness.  If you can look past such prejudices so common to the author's time, there is most certainly content more in depth than that presented in your high school history class.  Additionally, Mr. Creasy often quotes other authors, and when that quote happens to be in Latin, he does not translate it.  Again, this is not surprising, since his target audience at the time was very likely to have been schooled in Latin.  A 21st Century reader, very likely not schooled in Latin beyond the occasional scientific term, is left to glean the meaning of the quote through context or interrupt reading for a quick visit to an online translation site.
3962146
This is generally a who's who in the occult world. Contains names and addresses of people involved in anything mystical, paranormal and occult related, also some book reviews and vendors. Although somewhat dated its still a great reference.
3258565
If you're looking for instructions on casting spells or summoning demons or any other occult practices, this is NOT for you.

If you're looking for validation of the idea of underground networks of devil worshippers, this will disappoint you.

If you're looking for good introductory information on the terrifying delusion that swept Europe from 1450-1750, this should be in your library. Robbins is not one of those who believes that a vast Satanic underground terrorized the West, defeated by Christian warriors, nor is he a believer in the idea that holdouts of polytheistic pre-Christian religions were persecuted. The only real flaw is that he does not believe that of the many witch-hunters, whether clergy or laypeople, believed their own claims. Any others stem from the time in which he was writing, which pre-dates our modern knowledge of cult beliefs and how even decent people can be caught up in evil.
183010
I should've seen it coming when I saw the cover proclaiming "As Seen On Geraldo."  This book was published back in the days when Geraldo Rivera was on his "Satanism" kick - all sensationalism and no substance just like this book.

For the most part, it was fundamentalist propaganda (any belief besides "mainstream" religion is "evil" to these authors).

I believe that Sean Richard Sellers was a born sociopath. With each passing year, he became more and more adept at hiding his true nature from the world.  Sellers' interest in the occult had little to do with his crimes.  Many people "dabble" in the occult, play D&D, or check out the Satanic Bible; they don't murder people in cold blood.

On the other hand, how many serial killers and mass murders were raised in "mainstream" or fundamentalist homes?

Yes, Sellers was shunted around, but MANY people have two working parents (out of necessity) and they don't become murderers.

All that aside, the book was just NOT very well written.
1421425
Crowley's esoteric masterpiece - 25 years in construction - is divided into four parts: 1)Mysticism, (incorporating Yoga and Meditation); 2)Magick: Elementary Theory, (outlining the symbolism of the Wand, Cup, Sword, Robe, etc., employed in Ceremonial Magick); 3)Magick in Theory & Practice, (in essence the Philosophical, Kabbalistic and Scientific basis of Magick); 4)The Law Of Thelema: being an autobiographical account of how Crowley came to receive the Book Of The Law, followed by a full transcript of the text.

This tome is revered amongst Crowley Disciples as a kind of Occult Bible - and it certainly is the practical and theoretical cornerstone of the Religion of Thelema. What quite a few of Aleister's fans do not realize, however, is that he wrote "Magick" as a reference book, or guide: an addition to one's own independent line of esoteric study. Such is clearly outlined in the introductory "Note" penned by Mary d'Este Sturges, in which she also states that A.C. "does not ask for followers". Try telling that to the veritable legions of Crowley obsessives in existence nowadays. Put simply: the complex and (alleged) incomprehensible nature of the work which has left so many seekers dumbfounded and confused is a rich and colourful, alternative universe, the intention of which is to totally absorb the consciousness of the individual and cut off the malaise of triviality and "everydayness" - thus allowing supernormal, subconscious powers to be liberated. This process also underpins the nature of ALL Occult Ceremonies and Rituals.

The rationale lying behind Aleister's execution of this work lay in his strenuous conviction that each individual human being should strive to discover their True Will. The active pursuit of this goal must take precedence over everything else, the basic idea being to "free-up" the individual and force him/her to realize that they have been - in essence - living a lie. Whatever a person's role, rank, position or status in life, there was the probability that this was a falsehood, an act, a role-play.

The dangers of Crowley's Magick as outlined in this work have been exaggerated and misinterpreted by the frightened, the righteous and the hysterical. Many self-ordained "Crowleyites" are self-evidently driven by nothing more than a completely insincere, ego-driven lust "to be a Magician". By their very pretentious, imbecilic stances and puerile posturings, these people involuntarily and unwittingly actually do Invoke powerful Forces that will painfully make them realize that they are fakes, charlatans, pretenders. In each case, the extrovert egomaniac will be faced with the unpleasant fact that his True Will has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Magick, Thelema or, indeed, Occultism of any kind. Its real nature is yet to be discovered.

"Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law" means "Find out precisely who you really are - not what your idealistic, ego-crafted image of yourself happens to be." This is why the charlatans are pre-destined to be self-destroyed by the very Forces they so arrogantly and erroneously align themselves with.
3640404
I would warn all potential purchasers of this work that it is probably incomplete-- the original two volume set (which I own) has 463 pages in Vol. 1 and 959 pages in Vol. 2.

The 490 odd pages advertised in this volume indicate that it's probably just Vol. 1. This is a pity, as both volumes give an incredibly large amount of information, although the title is misleading-- this set of books has much more to do with Clymer's axe grinding against A.M.O.R.C. than it does the history of Rosicrucianism in America. It rails against A.M.O.R.C., against its origins with the charter granted to A.M.O.R.C. by Theodore Reuss as the Grand Master of the Pantheosophical Lodge of Europe, against Dr. Reuss's other organization, the Ordo Templi Orientis, and of course, against the O.T.O.'s much more famous subsequent Grand Master, Aleister Crowley. Clymer attempts to prove the illegitimacy of A.M.O.R.C. to lend credence to his own Rosicrucian Brotherhood In America, whose authority to charter he purchased around the turn of the century from the widow of Dr. Paschal Beverley Randolph, as shown in correspondence recently published in Bishop T. Allen Greenfield's "The Hermetic Brotherhood of Light." But in doing so, he presents a number of historical documents and pieces from long out-of-print journals and magazines that the student would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.

Being an Initiate of the O.T.O., I was first made aware of this set of books when xeroxed portions of it were presented to me as part of my 3rd Degree study materials back in 1992, under the obligations of secrecy of the 3rd Degree. This is no longer the case, but the materials are still very interesting and worthwhile of study to any student of Crowley, the O.T.O. or the Western Ceremonial Magickal Traditions. The original two-volume set is expensive, at least $200-300 in any condition, if it can be found at all. As such, the publisher does the student a service offering this single volume for the price, but as I say, it must be incomplete, lacking over 900 pages of the original 2 volume set.
1950074
It takes gumption to reduce beliefs in sacred cows and messiahs to strictly functional purposes. For the most part, Harris pulls it off with a series of entertaining (and at times speculative) essays on how beliefs cement people together. Particularly interesting is the comparison between the emergence of cargo cults and their leaders and the emergence of charismatic leaders (i.e. John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth) during the Roman occupation of Palestine. But the rewriting of Jesus from messianic warrior to the Prince of Peace is dated, as Biblical scholarship explaining how and why Christianity caught on has come a long way since the book was first written. His chapters on witchcraft and modern pagans are also unconvincing. The arguments are weak and his bias against the counter culture of the time is clearly conditioning his point of view.

Still, the main thesis and the stories Harris uses to support it strike me as worth knowing, even if the current age of evolutionary psychology offers alternative (almost always better, sometimes complementary) theories supported with more rigorous evidence.
1089629
Let me preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of Jason Louv's writing and have been since Generation Hex. He is the only author I would place side by side with Robert Anton Wilson (my favorite author of all time), so there's that. You know my bias going in.

The Angelic Reformation: John Dee, Enochian Magick & the Occult Roots of Empire is about Queen Elisabeth I's court astrologer, Dr. John Dee and his influence on the modern world and the western Magickal/Esoteric tradition. Louv (it seems to me) comes at this from the perspective of somone well versed in the western magickal tradition, both in theory and practice, and therefore lends a unique perspective to Dee's life and work. This is because a lot of occult writing and concepts will not make a lot of sense unless one has explored them in practice and so developed an occult bullS*** filter and an understanding of "twilight language".

Like Giordano Bruno, Dee was a man both of science and of spirituality/mysticism/magic. He was one of the last great explorers and scholars to straddle the line between the spiritual and the profane before the schism of "enlightenment" and was one of the most (if not the most) knowledgeable men of his time, basically knowing most of what that could be learnt through books and academic study. Dee influenced the forming of the British Empire, the dissemination of mathematics to the common people of Britain and many other achievements, but none as weird as that of Enochian magick, received through the magickal workings of Dee and Edward Kelley.

This book also explores how John Dee and his many important contributions to western society and historical trajectory (read: the British Empire) have mostly been expunged from the historical records for political and fundamentalist religious reasons (which is always good for suppressing information).

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in the occult, John Dee or just history in general. Git u one!

Any inaccuracies in this review should reflect my ignorance and not be laid at the feet of the author.
2529871
Though written in 1933, this, the first of Woodford's string of classic books on writing, still holds up well today, with his trademark caustic, no BS realistic advice for writers. I witheld one star in my rating only because a significant portion of the book is devoted to writing and marketing short stories to the then plentiful hordes of magazines that thrived on slick and genre fiction. Alas, that market is long gone, replaced by TV, so Woodford's advice there is now irrelevant to the needs of writers today.
Otherwise, the book is still entertaining and trenchant.
2004594
Very in depth account of the authors' encounters in discovering the paranormal, but bear in mind also that this was written in the early 80s and it definitely sounds somewhat dated at times.
4745476
"Growing Up in the the Shadow" is a collection of essays of varying value about growing up in an alcoholic family.  There are some insights, but a lot of it is dry academia, and dated since this was written in the early 80s
1129330
Ok, first of all if you are a wiccan/witch/neo-pagan, take it easy.  Dion Fortune obviously had a different definition for you than you had for yourselves.  She saw the term "witch" not as a neo-pagan religion, but as a synonym for practitioners of black magic.  As for the people offended by use of racist and class terms, remembber this was written around seventy years ago in a class conscious society.  Lastly, as for the people who found her writing to be difficult to read or understand, it is archaic, and filled with references that are no longer common.  I also admit that she puts a definite Judeo-Christian spin on things.  If you can't deal with any of these facts, then don't read this book.  Instead read "Practical Guide to Psychic Self-Defense" by Denning and Phillips and "Monsters" by John Michael Greer, both titles by Lewelleyn.  They have the same information, but in greater detail, and they lack the Judo-Christian slant.
If you want to read an excellent first hand account of psychic attack, and the development and mistakes of an occultist, then read Dion Fortune.  She is great, the writing is wonderful and witty.  She gives tons of information, and she was one of the first people to write on the topic.  I recommend this book for those reasons.  Plus the stories of her experiences in the beginning of the book are fascinating to say the least.
2195393
Since I like mystery novels I decided to try out the pre-eminent mystery writer.  This is the first of her Poirot stories.  It is a classic puzzle mystery, not necessarily a fair one at that, complete with diagrams and a slew of clues.  The main problem is that it seems bloodless, with no strong emotional hook.  Overall it feels dated to me.
4021791
PROS: Classic, elegant prose from one of the best science writers of all time. Sagan was a genius of making science interesting to the masses and his works reflect that.

CONS:
(1) This book is disjointed. It feels like a collection of independent essays or lectures that were all brought together. There is little flow from chapter to chapter and the sections of the book are somewhat arbitrary and broad. It doesn't flow as well from chapter to chapter as Sagan's other books.
(2) The book is dated. It's not Sagan's fault, but this book is out of date. Written in the 1970s, we have since learned so much about the universe. It's interesting to hear Sagan speculate about certain planets and other things we now know about. It's cool to see how accurate many of his speculations were. Nevertheless, to learn more about the universe, you should read a book written in the 21st century.

CONCLUSION: I love Sagan! I enjoyed this book. But it's disjoined and dated nature made me give it only 3 stars. He has written other better books, like "Cosmos", "Billions and Billions", and "Dragons of Eden". I also enjoyed "Contact", which is fiction. Although all those books are also dated, they have a more timeless message.
2304111
WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC IN EUROPE - THE TWENTIETH CENTURY is number six in a series of six volumes covering the history of magic and witchcraft in Europe from ancient to modern times. Most of these volumes have included first rate scholarship. The fourth (and last) volume in the series, entitled, "The Period of the Witch Trials," will be published later this year.
Series authors have attempted to define witchcraft and magic for each of the covered periods. The major impression one receives on reading these books is that the concepts or witchcraft and magic as well as the operational definitions are many and varied. As Willem de Blecourt of the Huizinga Institute in the Netherlands notes in his section in this volume, "Local witchcraft discourses are accentuated and even defined by the locally current value systems." Blecourt's article is by far the best of the three in the book.
The first two sections of this book deal with witchcraft (Ronald Hutton, Bristol University) and Satanism (Jean la Fontaine, London School of Economics) as practiced in the 20th Century according to "modern" practitioners. These two sections are really more news article than scholarly essay. Each author has assembled material widely available to the public in autobiographical and biographical form, and to a certain extent "participated" in and "observed" some of the practices discussed. Both authors make it clear that Wicca (the Anglo-Saxon variant) and Satanism have nothing to do with each other. Wicca, or witchcraft as some practitioners prefer to call it, is considered by it's adherents to predate Christianity by several million years. Satanism, on the other hand, is based on the Hebrew word that means "the opposed" and requires historical references to Christianity that Wiccans eschew. The members of these two very different groups apparently loath each other. Many of the Wiccans are feminists while many of the Satanists have connections to neo-Nazis. The rationale for Wiccans is love the Earth, while that of the Satanists appears to be tear it up. Apparently, overly zealous and poorly educated Christians confuse the two. The Wiccans have been invited by the Archbishop to Canterbury Cathedral, the Satanists have not.
My favorite essay is the last, Blecourt's piece on witchcraft in Europe from the anthropologist's perspective. Most of his material comes from France, Spain, and the Netherlands. He includes material on Frisian witches, the work of Pitt-Rivers (an institute at Oxford University is named for him) who became famous for his studies of witchcraft in Andalusia, and Favret-Saada who studied witchcraft in the Bocage in France. Blecourt suggests anthropologists are faced with a perplexing situation in the attempt to study witchcraft-who to adopt as an informer. The person who informs you shapes your experience. The witch, the bewitched, and the unwitcher form a triangle with three perspectives. In the end, each will have a different tale, but you won't be able to get all three of them to confide in you.  Blecourt suggests all the ethnographer can do is see witchcraft from a liminal perspective-i.e. barely at all or at the edge of perception.
499186
For a book you can get free online via forgottenbooks dot org this isn't bad. Originally published in 1902, this is a translation of his father's translation from the Pali (into German, if I recall correctly) so the original was probably written two turns of centuries ago.  It was out of copyright, and scanned in, and when the scanner fails (not often), you can still usually make out what was intended.  However when the translator(s) fail, it can result in a total loss of meaning or the potential for getting the wrong meaning. In the latter case there's always that risk in every translation, in the former in this book at least there is some notations that the "whole of this passage is very obscure in the original."

To give a fairly minor example we have a conversation between the Buddha and King Pasenadi who has just visited with a varied assortment of heretics from naked Jains to fire worshipers.  Talking to the Buddha afterward the King says (in this version): "There are, Sire, certain of my people going about the country, who may be likened to robbers, for they receive alms without having renounced the world.  When these have entered the 'path', I will do likewise.'"  Compare this to Thanissaro Bhikku's translation freely available at access to insight dot org "These men, lord, are my spies, my scouts, returning after going out through the countryside. They go out first, and then I go."  Big difference in meaning!

The Udana is worth reading as a collection of short tales including the one where the Buddha puts down the heretics arguing the finer points of cosmology by comparing them to blind men trying to describe an elephant after only grasping one of its parts.  But you might want to find a more up-to-date version.