The Rise of Alchemy in Fourteenth-Century England

The Rise of Alchemy in Fourteenth-Century England
Author: Jonathan Hughes
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2012-03-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 1441142789

The first book to explore the importance of alchemy and its links to the occult in the period between 1320 and 1400. Alchemists didn't just try to turn metals into gold: they studied planetary influences on metals and people, refined plants and minerals in the search for medicines. This book illustrates how this branch of thought became more popular as the practical and theoretical knowledge of alchemists spread throughout England.

Modern Alchemy

Modern Alchemy
Author: Mark Morrisson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2007-04-19
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0195306961

Alchemists are generally held to be the quirky forefathers of science, blending occultism with metaphysical pursuits. Although many were intelligent and well-intentioned thinkers, the oft-cited goals of alchemy paint these antiquated experiments as wizardry, not scientific investigation. Whether seeking to produce a miraculous panacea or struggling to transmute lead into gold, the alchemists radical goals held little relevance to consequent scientific pursuits. Thus, the temptation is to view the transition from alchemy to modern science as one that discarded fantastic ideas about philosophers stones and magic potions in exchange for modest yet steady results. It has been less noted, however, that the birth of atomic science actually coincided with an efflorescence of occultism and esoteric religion that attached deep significance to questions about the nature of matter and energy.Mark Morrisson challenges the widespread dismissal of alchemy as a largely insignificant historical footnote to science by prying into the revival of alchemy and its influence on the emerging subatomic sciences of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Morrisson demonstrates its surprising influence on the emerging subatomic sciences of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Specifically, Morrisson examines the resurfacing of occult circles during this time period and how their interest in alchemical tropes had a substantial and traceable impact upon the science of the day. Modern Alchemy chronicles several encounters between occult conceptions of alchemy and the new science, describing how academic chemists, inspired by the alchemy revival, attempted to transmute the elements; to make gold.Examining scientists publications, correspondence, talks, and laboratory notebooks as well as the writings of occultists, alchemical tomes, and science-fiction stories, he argues that during the birth of modern nuclear physics, the trajectories of science and occultism---so often considered antithetical---briefly merged.

The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy

The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy
Author: Rosemary Guiley
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2006
Genre: Alchemy
ISBN: 1438130007

A comprehensive illustrated reference guide with more than 400 entries on the subjects of magic and alchemy.

The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture

The Occult in Russian and Soviet Culture
Author: Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 486
Release: 1997
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780801483318

A comprehensive account of the influence of occult beliefs and doctrines on intellectual and cultural life in twentieth-century Russia.

Esotericism and Narrative: The Occult Fiction of Charles Williams

Esotericism and Narrative: The Occult Fiction of Charles Williams
Author: Aren Roukema
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 330
Release: 2018-05-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004369112

Esotericism and Narrative: The Occult Fiction of Charles Williams situates the life and fiction of the Inkling Charles Williams in the network of modern occultism, with special focus on his initiatory experiences in A.E. Waite’s Fellowship of the Rosy Cross. Aren Roukema evaluates fictional projections of magic, kabbalah, alchemy and ritual experience in Williams’s seven novels of supernatural fantasy. From this specific analysis, he develops more broadly applicable approaches to the serious expression of religious experience in fiction. Roukema shows that esoteric knowledge has frequently been blurred into fiction because of its inherent narrativity and adaptability, particularly by authors already attracted to the syncretism, multivalence and lived fantasy of the modern occult experience.

Spirituality and the Occult

Spirituality and the Occult
Author: Brian Gibbons
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 206
Release: 2013-07-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1134541481

Spirituality and the Occult argues against the widely held view that occult spiritualities are marginal to Western culture. Showing that the esoteric tradition is unfairly neglected in Western culture and that much of what we take to be 'modern' derives at least in part from this tradition, it casts a fresh, intriguing and persuasive perspective on intellectual and cultural history in the West. Brian Gibbons identifies the influence and continued presence of esoteric mystical movements in disciplines such as: * medicine * science * philosophy * Freudian and Jungian psychology * radical political movements * imaginative literature.

Eliphas Lévi and the French Occult Revival

Eliphas Lévi and the French Occult Revival
Author: Christopher McIntosh
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2011-01-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1438435584

This classic study of the French magician Eliphas Lévi and the occult revival in France is at last available again after being out of print and highly sought after for many years. Its central focus is Lévi himself (1810-1875), would-be priest, revolutionary socialist, utopian visionary, artist, poet and, above all, author of a number of seminal books on magic and occultism. It is largely thanks to Lévi, for example, that the Tarot is so widely used today as a divinatory method and a system of esoteric symbolism. The magicians of the Golden Dawn were strongly influenced by him, and Aleister Crowley even believed himself to be Lévi's reincarnation. The book is not only about Lévi, however, but also covers the era of which he was a part and the remarkable figures who preceded and followed him – the esoteric Freemasons and Illuminati of the late 18th century, and later figures such as the Rosicrucian magus Joséphin Péladan, the occultist Papus (Gérard Encausse), the Counter-Pope Eugène Vintras, and the writer J.-K. Huysmans, whose work drew strongly on occult themes. These people were avatars of a set of traditions which are now seen as an important part of the western heritage and which are gaining increasing attention in the academy. Christopher McIntosh's vivid account of this richly fascinating era in the history of occultism remains as fresh and compelling as ever.

The Beginner's Guide to the Occult

The Beginner's Guide to the Occult
Author: Deborah Lipp
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2021-09-21
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1648764746

Discover the secret world of the occult The occult is an ancient field of supernatural study that was formed to help unravel the mysteries of the universe. The Beginner's Guide to the Occult helps you explore some of these mysteries for yourself, with simple explanations of different occult practices and their fascinating history. This guide is designed for any beginner who seeks to learn more about the occult and answer big questions about human nature as well as natural phenomena like the sky, the stars, and the Earth. A modern approach—Begin with an overview of the key history and beliefs of occult philosophy and how it gave rise to contemporary sciences like chemistry and meteorology. Occult philosophy—Explore different branches of occultism, from numerology to witchcraft, and see how they're all interconnected. Try it for yourself—Find a collection of spells and techniques—like horoscopes and healing rituals—that you can use to get your own occult practice brewing. Step into the supernatural with this beginner's guide to the power of the occult.

Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts

Hidden Symbolism of Alchemy and the Occult Arts
Author: Herbert Silberer
Publisher: GLOBAL ACADEMY YAYINCILIK VE DANIŞMANLIK HİZMETLERİ SANAYİ TİCARET LİMİTED ŞİRKETİ
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN: 6258284361

ISBN:978-625-8284-36-2 All rights reserved. Published by: GLOBAL ACADEMY, 2013 Language: English E-mail: [email protected] Website: https://www.globalacademy.com.tr This thoughtful study, which antedates the work of Jung by a generation, represents the first serious attempt to correlate the methods of psychoanalysis with the literature of alchemy and of other great Western mystical and occult traditions. Dr. Silberer was a prominent member of the Vienna School whose untimely death prevented this, his major published work, from receiving the attention it clearly merited. Included is a wealth of material taken directly from alchemical and Rosicrucian sources. Symbolisms of salt, sulphur and mercury; of the prison, the abyss and the grave; of putrefaction and procreation; and of the sun, moon, and planets are carefully analyzed and explained. Passages from the works of Hermes Trismegistus, Flamel, Lacinius, Michael Meier, Paracelsus, and Boehme are cited both as important sources of alchemical doctrine and to substantiate the thesis that alchemy was a spiritual discipline of the highest order, comparable to the Yoga of the East. The entire inquiry is based on a parable from the pages of "Geheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer," an eighteenth-century alchemical text. After a general exposition of dream and myth interpretation, Dr. Silberer proceeds to a psychoanalytic interpretation of the parable and then gives a detailed account of the traditions and practices of the alchemists, Rosicrucians, and Freemasons. Returning to the parable, he introduces the problem of dual interpretations; for while the psychoanalytic approach focuses on the depths of the impulsive life, the hermetic and mystical leads to the heights of spirituality. The heart of the book is an attempt to reconcile these divergent philosophies and a meditation on the relationship of introversion to mysticism.

The Occult World

The Occult World
Author: Christopher Partridge
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 1017
Release: 2014-12-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317596757

This volume presents students and scholars with a comprehensive overview of the fascinating world of the occult. It explores the history of Western occultism, from ancient and medieval sources via the Renaissance, right up to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and contemporary occultism. Written by a distinguished team of contributors, the essays consider key figures, beliefs and practices as well as popular culture.