An Encyclopaedia of Occultism [Paperback]

Lewis Spence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

This "compendium of information on the occult sciences, occult personalities, psychic science, demonology, spiritism, and mysticism" was one of a kind when it was first published in 1920 and is still considered the best in its field today. Spence organizes a world's worth of magic -- from "Ab" (a magical month in the ancient Semitic calendar) to "Zulu witch-finders" -- into 2,500 dictionary-style entries that explore concepts and personalities both familiar (Freemasonry, Morgan le Fay) and obscure: palingenesy (a process by which plants or vegetables are destroyed and then "resurrected"), Leonora Galigai (a 17th-century Italian aristocrat who was burned as a witch). A delight for devotees of the weird and the strange, and a valuable resource for students of mythology and the evolution of scientific thought, this important volume is at home in the libraries of all book lovers. Scottish journalist and folklorist LEWIS SPENCE (1874 -1955) was a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, and Vice-President of the Scottish Anthropological and Folklore Society. He published more than 40 works on mythology and the occult, including History of Atlantis, An Introduction to Mythology, and Myth and Ritual in Dance, Game and Rhyme.

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: Cosimo Classics (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596052376
• ISBN-13: 978-1596052376
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,066,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the first of its Kind, But still Finger Licking Good!, March 8, 2009

By 

Josephine Velez "Ghost Writer" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (Paperback)

This book is not the first of its kind. It is in a large way very much like and some parts are even in part a translation of the J.A. S. Collin De Plancy's Dictionnaire des Sciences Occultes, (which was created in two volumes in 1848). A lot of the entries are eerily similar and have the same subject matter with few differences. Although I must admit its easier to read Spences' version if you are not familiar with French and if you could find a viable copy of De Plancy's work. Between the two you can get a massive amount of information concerning the subject. Some entries are more extended in one version than the other.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best there is, December 7, 2007

By 

John (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (Paperback)

I own the 1960 edition, and after reading lots of books on the occult, I always turn to this one at the end if something is unclear. This is the best there is, even if it's old.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling, oft-cited resource packed with important keys, September 10, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (Dover Occult) (Paperback)

This was the first comprehensive coverage of its kind covering the topic of occultism, and was originally titled with a long, daunting title peculiar to its 1920 origins. Dover's reduced the title to a managable read and provided a fine reprint of a dictionary-style set of entries which embrace occult terms and explore the roots of mythology, folk literature, and the occult. A thrilling, oft-cited resource packed with important keys to understanding, this will still prove applicable and important to modern audiences.