The mirror of magic : a history of magic in the western world

by Kurt Seligmann

Paper Book, 2018

Status

Available

Call number

133.4

Collection

Publication

Rochester : Inner Traditions, 2018.

Description

A collector's edition of the classic, illustrated, and comprehensive history of magic and the occult * Written by renowned Surrealist and magic scholar Kurt Seligmann (1900-1962) * Includes all 250 illustrations from the original 1948 edition * Explores magical practices and beliefs from their origins in the ancient world through the heyday of secret societies in the 18th century In the occult classic The Mirror of Magic, renowned Surrealist Kurt Seligmann (1900-1962) draws from his encyclopedic practitioner's knowledge and extensive antiquarian collection to offer a comprehensive, illustrated history of magic and the occult from Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt through the 18th century. He explores the gods and divinatory arts of the legendary Sumerians and the star-wise Babylonians, including the birth of astrology. He examines the afterlife beliefs of the ancient Egyptians and the dream interpretation practices and oracles of ancient Greece, including the mysteries of Eleusis and the magical philosophy of Plato, Socrates, and other Greeks. He uncovers the origins of Gnosticism and the suppression and banishment of magic by the post-pagan, Christian emperors of Rome. Seligmann reviews the principles of alchemy, sharing famous transmutations and allegorical illustrations of the alchemical process and explores the Hermetica and its remarkable adepts. Investigating the Middle Ages, the author discusses the work of European magicians of the time, including Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, Agrippa, Nostradamus, and Pico Della Mirandola. He studies the medieval practices of devil worship, witchcraft, and black magic, as well as the "Cabala" in both its Hebrew and Christian forms. He also examines the art of the Tarot and many lesser known divination techniques. He explores the development of secret societies, including Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism, in the 17th century and the increase in occult publications and magical science in the 18th century. First published in 1948, this history of magic and the occult seeks to "mirror" the magical worldview throughout the ages. Beautifully illustrated with images from the author's rare library, this collector's edition features all of the artwork--more than 250 images--from the original 1948 edition.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member tuckerresearch
A neat, old history of magick of all areas, times, and stripes. Good stories thrown in, good illustrations, and all referenced (though dated).
LibraryThing member bongo_x
Sometimes I’m not sure if it’s the book, or that I’m not in the mood. It took a while because I was having a hard time staying focused on it, but kept at it.

The book is a little too much of a list of names and dates at times. When you’re going back to the first people on Earth, that’s a
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lot of names and dates. There was a lot of good information, but it was a little hard for me to tell sometimes what he was presenting as truth, what he was relating from someone else’s point of view, and what he was saying sarcastically or mockingly, since he seemed to not be a total skeptic unless I was just reading it wrong. To add to the confusion he often mocked writers from earlier times for being intelligent enough to not follow the beliefs in magic that most of their contemporaries did, but still believe in other types of magical thinking. It often seemed to me that he was doing the same thing, but again, I wasn’t sure sometimes.

Still not bad.
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LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
This book is not a how-to, DIY tome; it is a history of its subjects, told in a neutral, dispassionate vein. It starts with Mesopotamia, goes through Persia, the Hebrews, Egypt, Greece, Gnosticism, the Roman Empire, the shifts to Europe and the magical arts that survived during Christian times. The
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author takes neither a “magic was bad and misguided” nor a “Christianity was a bully that took over and destroyed magic” that is today’s take on the subjects; he stays totally neutral. Yes, he does talk about the witch trials and the trials of alchemists, but it’s told in a ‘just the facts, ma’am” tone. I found it pretty interesting, although quite dry. When you don’t take sides there isn’t any passion in writing, I guess. The illustrations were fascinating; pen and ink drawings of magical principles and things like palmistry charts fill the book. s
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Language

Original publication date

1948

ISBN

9781620557907

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