Reinventing the Renaissance Occult

Review of the 'Reinventing the Renaissance Occult in Modern and Postmodern Culture' conference accepted by the Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition (JWMT) for the forthcoming edition, vol. 2, no. 20. Will post link when the journal is published.

"How to cure a witch..."

A guide on how to convert witches to Christianity has been published by the Roman Catholic Church in Britain.

The move comes in response to fears that growing numbers of teenagers are being lured into Wicca, occult practices and paganism by the heroic depiction of witches in entertainment including the Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice films, and TV.

The booklet, called Wicca and Witchcraft: Understanding the Dangers, offers parents advice on what to do if one of their children takes an interest in witchcraft.

Where's the Wiccan guide on how to convert Christians? Oh yeah, there isn't one, because Wiccans respect the spiritual choices of other people.

Read the full story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353517/Catholic-Church-issues-guide-convert-Harry-Potter-witches-Christianity.html

The Paranormal is Finished!

Of course I mean my book about the paranormal, not the paranormal itself! Yesterday afternoon I pressed the send button and sent the manuscript flying through the ether to my publishers. The editor's immediate reaction was 'wow'. After working ten hours a day, all the weekends, most of xmas, to produce 100,000 thoroughly researched, double-checked, fully referenced words in a record six months, it's finally over. Over, that is, until the proofs come back. Look out for the finished article in early 2012.

Tonight we are going to invoke Satan - just for fun

Did I ever tell you about the time I went to a Black Mass? No? Pick up this month's copy of Paranormal magazine and read 'Talk of the Devil, Part 2' - all will be revealed.

From the contents page:

Continuing the history of the Prince of Evil, the Devil is brought in to the modern age of theological doubts, possession and Satanic cults and murders. The author also describes the night he attended a Black Mass.

From the article:

After 2,500 years of tormenting mankind, I was about to find out if the Devil was still alive and well.

'Talk of the Devil, Part 2', Paranormal, 52, October 2010.