The Mysteries and Secrets of Magic

By Charles John Samuel Thompson

Book Overview

The Mysteries and Secrets of Magic is a comprehensive guide to the history, theory, and practice of magic, written by C.J.S. Thompson. The book explores various types of magic, including divination, alchemy, and ceremonial magic, and delves into the beliefs and practices of ancient civilizations and modern occult traditions. It also covers the tools and techniques used in magic, such as sigils, talismans, and incantations, and provides practical advice for those interested in practicing magic themselves. The book is well-researched and draws on a wide range of sources, including ancient texts, medieval grimoires, and modern occult literature. It is written in an engaging and accessible style, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners of magic. Overall, The Mysteries and Secrets of Magic is a fascinating and informative exploration of the world of magic and the occult.1927. Magic is a subject that has always been of profound interest to mankind. The subject is so vast and far-reaching that it is little to be wondered at that no complete history of it has been attempted, and many fields are still unexplored. This work consists of a brief survey of the magical practices that prevailed among various early peoples in different parts of the world and it will be seen that the same fundamental principles underlay their beliefs in the occult.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1162605642
• ISBN13: 9781162605647
• Release Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Kessinger Publishing
• Length: 370 Pages
• Weight: 1.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.3" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

A reasonable general overview

I found CJS Thompson's "Mysteries and Secrets of Magic" to be a reasonable (if somewhat broad spectrum) overview of a number of magical belief systems. It is *not* a book specifically dealing with modern witchcraft, wicca, or modern magic in general. It deals more with the old grimoires and the personages and principles of classical magic. It covers a fairly broad range of time and culture and presents a fair amount of material likely to be of interest to the intermediate or advanced student of the magical Art. I would say it would be of the most interest to those with a fair amount of magical background already who are seeking to extend their knowlege or find new areas to explore. While the book does not go into any one system in enough depth for actual practice, it gives a taste which may lead the reader to look more closely into the older grimoiric texts and.or lore from other lands. I would say that I rank it as being similar to Cavendish's "The Black Arts" in these regards, but slightly less thorough in the coverage it gives. It has one shortcoming which prevented me from giving it a 5 star rating. While it reproduces many diagrams from old texts and does indeed include a decent bibliography, I feel it would have been better if it specified in each instance which of the sources cited in the bibliography served as the source for the diagrams. Also there could have been more continutity of the topic being discussed and how it relates to the diagrams being show. In this regard I would have to list it as not being on a par with De Givry's "Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy". Still, a worthwhile addition to any serious student's collection of occult lore and I found it to be an enjoyable read.