The History of Magic in the Modern Age: The Quest for Personal Transformation

by Nevill Drury

Divorced from the realm of mere superstition and again wedded to disciplines of alternative spirituality, magic is newly exerting a vital influence on contemporary thought and culture, and this... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786707828
• ISBN13: 9780786707829
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A great overview of western magic

It's quite hard finding an authoritative and yet easy to read survey of the western magical traditions. What I like about this book is that it provides a very good overview of the sources of western magic - including the Kabbalah, Hermeticism, Gnosticism and the Tarot, and then draws all these strands together.When it comes to the 20th Century all the major figures are there, including Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Austin Spare, Anton La Vey, Gerald Gardner and Alex Sanders - as well as the leading figures of contemporary Wicca ( the Farrars, Z Budapest, Starhawk et al.) There is a special chapter to distinguish between Wicca and Satanism, which I also found very worthwhile.Many people now realise the metaphysical dimensions of the internet, and this book also covers magic and cyberspace.I haven't seen another book quite like this one and I hope it gets widely read. It should become a classic, alongside Margot Adler's " Drawing Down the Moon " .