Olejar Books

What is magic? A belief in occult forces has existed since the very earliest times and magical rituals have pervaded every part of human development. Even today the power of mystical belief is strong, both in the primitive peoples who still preserve ancient tribal rites, and in the many cults which exist within civilised society. Man's understanding of nature is still limited and there are many phenomena that cannot be explained. Magic and mysticism have been used to explain them and to increase man's power over nature. Ideas and theories which have occupied the savants of so many generations are worthy of our serious attention. In this book Maurice Bessy traces man's involvement with magic from the hunting magic of prehistoric times, through the innumerable superstitions and divers religious sects of succeeding ages to its expression today in contemporary occultism and psychological theory. The wide ranging illustrations not only show the recurrence and perpetuation of symbols and beliefs, they illuminate the complexity of man's development and the reaction of society to misunderstood minorities. They come from all manner of sources: cave paintings, ancient carvings, medieval manuscripts, apothecaries' recipe books, modern paintings, contemporary photographs - each one making a special point
to advance the author's exposition. The rituals of the druids, the mayas, ancient Egypt and Tibet, Brazilian Indians, Papuan headhunters; sorcerers and medicine-men; witches and werewolves, freemasonry, the Ku-Klux-Klan; spiritualism, astrology, cartomancy; love potions, initiations, fertility rites; vampires, voodoo, macumba and black masses - the manifestations of thousands of years of occult experience are presented here in all their fascination and their horror, but seen from a modern viewpoint which places them in perspective. This is a book which reaches into the inherited subconscious of us all.