Witchcraft and Magic: Contemporary North America
- ISBN-10
- 0812201256
- ISBN-13
- 9780812201253
- Category
- Social Science
- Pages
- 216
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2011-03-19
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania Press
- Author
- Helen A. Berger
Description
Magic, always part of the occult underground in North America, has experienced a resurgence since the 1960s. Although most contemporary magical religions have come from abroad, they have found fertile ground in which to develop in North America. Who are today's believers in Witchcraft and how do they worship? Alternative spiritual paths have increased the ranks of followers dramatically, particularly among well-educated middle-class individuals. Witchcraft and Magic conveys the richness of magical religious experiences found in today's culture, covering the continent of North America and the Caribbean. These original essays survey current and historical issues pertinent to religions that incorporate magical or occult beliefs and practices, and they examine contemporary responses to these religions. The relationship between Witchcraft and Neopaganism is explored, as is their intersection with established groups practicing goddess worship. Recent years have seen the growth in New Age magic and Afro-Caribbean religions, and these developments are also addressed in this volume. All the religions covered offer adherents an alternative worldview and rituals that are aimed at helping individuals redefine themselves and make their interactions with the environment more empowered. Many modern occult religions share an absence of dogma or central authority to determine orthodoxy, and have become a contemporary experience embracing modern concerns like feminism, environmentalism, civil rights, and gay rights. Afro-Caribbean religions such as Santería, Palo, and Curanderismo, which do have a more developed dogma and authority structure, offer their followers a religion steeped in African and Hispanic traditions. Responses to the growth of magical religions have varied, from acceptance to an unfounded concern about the growth of a satanic underground. And, as magical religions have flourished, increased interest has resulted in a growing commercialization, with its threat of trivialization.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2005
- 220 pages
- Paperback
- University of Pennsylvania Press
Similar books
-
Witchcraft, Magic & Alchemy
By Grillot de GivryPrints, drawings, documents, and text illuminate the development of the occult sciences to the nineteenth century
-
A History of Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult
By DKFrom alchemy and modern Wicca to paganism and shamanism, this enchanting book takes you on a mystical journey that will leave you spellbound. This is the perfect introduction to magic and the occult!
-
The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic
By Owen DaviesThe book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches ...
-
Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 1736-1951
By Owen DaviesAfter much persecution , Moredike moved to Paul's Wharf , where the trouble continued . It was during a mobbing she received there that a local magistrate , Sir Thomas Lane , intervened and ...
-
The Occult, Witchcraft and Magic: An Illustrated History
By Christopher DellThe curious history of magic and the powers of the occult, witchcraft, ritual, and the imagination, from their earliest appearances to modern times
-
Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages
By Stephen A. MitchellStephen A. Mitchell offers the fullest examination available of witchcraft in late medieval Scandinavia, drawing on extensive sources ranging from the Icelandic sagas to those much less familiar to the nonspecialist: legal cases, church ...
-
Wicca Elemental Magic: A Guide to the Elements, Witchcraft, and Magic Spells
By Lisa ChamberlainIn this guide, best-selling author Lisa Chamberlain covers it all: the basics of incorporating the Elements into your rituals, as well as less-often discussed topics like animism, Elemental personalities, and using these forces of nature to ...
-
Gender and Witchcraft: New Perspectives on Witchcraft, Magic, and Demonology
By Brian P. Levack[27] See Hester, Lewd Women and Wicked Witches. [28] P. C. Hotter & N. E. H. Hull (1981) Murdering Mothers: infanticide in England and New England 15584803 (New York: New York University Press). [29] Ibid., Introduction, p.
-
Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft
By Raymond Buckland"---Back cover This classic text is the most complete self-study course in modern Wicca available, written by the author who first went public with "The Old Religion" in the United States.
-
Witchcraft and Magic in Ireland
By Andrew SneddonThis is the first academic overview of witchcraft and popular magic in Ireland and spans the medieval to the modern period.