Hallowe'en in the Sierra Sun

Read my article on Hallowe'en in the Sierra Sun: Faith Factor: Hallowe'en then and now.

Magic, Witches and Parapsychology

Books received for review:

Butler, Alison, Victorian Occultism and the Making of Modern Magic: Invoking Tradition (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)

Description
In the midst of increasing secularization and the birth of scientific naturalism, a curious group emerged in Victorian Britain. From 1888-1900, hundreds of men and women were initiated into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn at temples across Britain and in Paris. Amongst them were famous personalities such as William Butler Yeats, Florence Farr, Annie Horniman, Maud Gonne and the infamous Aleister Crowley. These men and women met in secret temples for even more secretive rituals, in order to learn the techniques of ritual magic. Members put this magic to use in various ways including attempting murder, preserving peace, and travelling to other planets.
This examination of the rituals and personalities associated with the Golden Dawn demonstrates how Victorian magic provided an alternative to the tightening camps of science and religion in an intellectual environment that heightened the allure of magic. Victorian Occultism and the Making of Modern Magic explores how nineteenth-century occultism encompassed many of the aspirations and ideals of the middle-class, while completely revolutionizing Western magic.

Pickering, Andrew, and David Pickering, Witch-Hunting in England (Amberley, 2010)

Description
This book will address the origins of witch-hunting in England in the sixteenth century, the methods by which it was conducted, its distribution, its causes and consequences, and its decline. While addressing a general readership it will be a scholarly work that is informed by the historiography of the subject - e.g. feminist perspectives, functional explanations, post-modern interpretations. The text will be rich in primary source material including trial records and contemporary literature, including demonological texts and the papers of the Royal Society. Most of the illustrations will also be engravings from the period but some maps and location photographs will be included.

About the Author
David Pickering is an experienced reference books compiler. He has contributed to (and often been sole author and editor of) some 150 reference books, mostly in the areas of the arts, language, local history and popular interest. These include a Dictionary of Theatre (1988), an Encyclopedia of Pantomime (1993), Brewer's Twentieth-Century Music (1994; 1997), a Dictionary of Superstitions (1995) and a Dictionary of Witchcraft (1996). Andrew Pickering is Senior Lecturer in History and Archaeology at Strode College, Somerset, and is Programme Manager of the History, Heritage and Archaeology Foundation Degree with the University of Plymouth.

Smith, Matthew D., Anomalous Experiences: Essays from Parapsychological and Psychological Perspectives (McFarland, 2010)

From the back cover:
Thirteen essays on the psychology and parapsychology of anomalous experience explore extrasensory perception, haunting experiences, apparitions, alien contacts, séance room phenomena, and out-of-body experiences. The contributors are Daryl Bem, Etzel Cardena, Jezz Fox, Chris French, Craig Murray, Ciaran O'Keeffe, Chris Roe, Simon Sherwood, Christine Simmonds-Moore, Paul Stevens, Caroline Watt, Richard Wiseman and Robin Woofitt

Contents:
Feeling the future: studies of precognitive emotional arousal / Daryl J. Bem — Experimenter effects in parapsychology: three studies — With a remote helping task / Caroline Watt — The role of altered states of consciousness in extrasensory — Experiences / Chris A. Roe — Are our assumptions more anomalous than the phenomena? / Paul Stevens — Will we ever know whether extrasensory perception exists? / Jezz Fox — Towards a sociological parapsychology / Robin Wooffitt — Psychological perspectives — Anomalous experiences during deep hypnosis / Etzel Cardea — Haunting experiences: an integrative approach / Ciarn O'Keeffe and Steve Parsons — Apparitions of black dogs / Simon J. Sherwood — Psychological aspects of the alien contact experience / Christopher C. French, Julia Santomauro, Victoria Hamilton — Rachel fox and michael thalbourne — Observing the impossible: eyewitness testimony for — Darkroom seances / Richard Wiseman — Developing a dissociational account of out-of-body — Experiences / Craig D. Murray — Anomalous experiences and boundary thinness in — The mind and brain / Christine Simmonds-Moore.

Call to End Ghana 'Witch Camps'

George Asekere of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation has issued an emotional plea to abolish the so-called 'witch camps' and bring the persecution of alleged witches to an end.

Many Ghanaians believe witchcraft is real and can be destructive. This non-empirical and intuitive mentality with no justification in today’s scientific world, is unfortunately the bane behind the inhumane treatment meted out to people perceived to be witches. It is embarrassing, that in the midst of Christian and Islamic teachings and the claim that rule of law is supreme in Ghana, as many as over 966 women and six hundred and seven (607) children are detained in three out of the six witch camps in the Northern Region. These are Ngani witches camp in Yendi, the Kukuo witches camp at Bimbila and the famous Gambaga witches camp at Gambaga.

You can read the full story at http://gbcghana.com/index.php?id=1.358651.1.427106&no_cache

Also in the news is Accra's Old Fadama slum, home to many of those fleeing witchcraft accusations. Read the report here http://www.modernghana.com/news/334543/1/old-fadama-threat-to-ghana-achieving-mdgs.html

Witchcraft Out of the Shadows 2nd Edition

A second edition of Witchcraft Out of the Shadows is now in the works. First published in hardback in 2004, the last copies of the first edition of Witchcraft Out of the Shadows left the warehouse some months ago. There are now only four copies being sold through Amazon.co.uk. There are more Stateside with ten selling on Amazon.com. But be warned, prices are going through the roof. One seller is charging as much as $160.71 for a used copy. If you can get a copy cheaper, this could be a good investment for the future, as well as a good read.

New Article on Magic

I saw him do it. On national TV. Took a voodoo doll out of his pocket and wrapped a thread around it. His victim was watching him, not quite believing. But when he'd finished, could she move her arms? Legs?

In the July 2010 edition of Paranormal Magazine you can read my latest article on the supernatural:

Sympathy from the Devil

Expert on magical practices, Dr Leo Ruickbie, discusses the two main principles of spell-craft - sympathetic and contagious magic. Do they really work?

Click here to read the story in Paranormal magazine

Hexen - Mythos und Wirklichkeit

Interesting new exhibition on witchcraft:

Hexen - Mythos und Wirklichkeit

13. September 2009 bis 2. Mai 2010

Das Historische Museum der Pfalz widmet sich in der Sonderausstellung „Hexen – Mythos und Wirklichkeit“ der Bedeutungsvielfalt des Hexenbegriffs. Dabei stellt die Ausstellung das Stereotyp „Hexe“ auf den Prüfstand.

At the Historisches Museum der Pfalz Speyer until 2 May 2010.

Witches Cast Spell for Haiti

Witches across the world joined forces to cast a global spell to help the people of Haiti.

Rev Terry Power, High Priest of the Correllian Nativist Tradition of Wicca, issued a call to all witches to join him in performing a ritual for Haiti at 17:00 on Saturday, 16 January.

Power said ‘this ritual is designed to cascade around the planet... the energy is directed and released to add itself to the growing wave of love, comfort and healing around the world’.

Read the full story at http://www.witchology.com/news/2010/2010-01-18-Witches-Haiti-Spell.php

Witchcraft Collection: New Acquisitions

Fourth Quarter 2009

Amulet. Described as a goodluck amulet. Inscribed with unidentified symbols. Metal. 20th century.

Amulet. Christian ‘Schutz-Amulette’. Provenance: Trier, Germany. Metal. 1933.

Carnival Mask. Carved wood in the form of a ‘witch’. Provenance: Tirol. Wood. 20th century.

Poison Bottle. Marked with skull and crossbones. Glass. 20th century.

Ritual Object. Described as a ‘Voodoo Skull’. Decorated animal skull said to have been used by a female shaman. Bone, skin, hair. Acquired from Mannheim, Germany. Of unknown date.

Tarot Cards. Albano-Waite deck. Card. Published by Moewig, no date, circa 1999.

Voodoo Doll and Coffin. Product name ‘Love Never Dies’. Card and fabric. Contemporary.

Witchcraft: in the shadows no more

An old review, but a good one, written before I got my PhD, hence the use of 'Mr':

Witchcraft: Out of the Shadows

Leo Ruickbie

(Hale)

Mr Ruickbie has written a tight overview of the history and current trends (including some interesting statistical analysis) in Witchcraft. Unlike some books on the subject, there is no political or religious motivation to this book. It is factual and unjudgemental on the subject, neither being the craft's cheerleader nor taking the "its all evil" line. Because of this lack of an agenda, the book is much more complete than many books of its kind. His flowing style allows the reader to get to grips with the varied history of Witchcraft without being overwhelmed by minutiae. Not only is the book a fascinating read, it is a pleasant one as well. Needless to say, Ruickbie has included an extensive bibliography for those wishing to read further on the subject. I highly recomend this book to anyone with the slightest interest in the "Craft".

Rating: 5/5