Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Here's an open secret: spirits do more than pervade literature, advertising, games, myths, and movies. They also walk among us. Some may find that statement shocking or surprising, ludicrous or laughably absurd, but for many people, all over Earth, coming from all walks of life, unconventional and conventional alike, it's a statement of basic, obvious fact." - From the Encyclopedia of Spirits

Quick: What do the following have in common?

* Wednesday
* Lyon (city in France)
* Versace
* Yu-Gi-Oh!
* Santa Claus
* Babalu (Desi Arnaz's trademark song)
* Maneki Neko (Japanese beckoning cat)
* Nike
* Hell (Hel)
* Orpheus
* Swan Lake
* Jupiter
* Mermaids

All of the above are spirits, named for a spirit, or filled with references to deities. The world of spirits--gods, goddesses, fairies, genies, ghosts, patron saints, dragons, demons, orishas, Djinn, devas, genies, and so on--permeate everything around us.

From planet names to corporate emblems, literature to all manner of song, the world of spirit (and spiritual references) are literally everywhere.

Renowned independent scholar and researcher extraordinaire, author Judika Illes has created yet another comprehensive and utterly fascinating tome with her newest book The Encyclopedia of Spirits.

At 1056 pages, the Encyclopedia of Spirits serves as menu or a roadmap, a handy reference or a creator's muse, a spiritual phone book or a recipe box for wish fulfillment. Truly, this engaging, informative compendium encompasses all these uses for those seeking to meet, converse, or collaborate with spirits, as well as individuals wanting to investigate, learn, or draw inspiration from the spirit world.

In the first 65 pages of this book, Ms. Illes defines the realm of spirits, covers their public (and private) faces, explains why they help humanity, points out where they're likely to be met, instructs how to work with them, teaches how to find spirit allies and much more. She addresses the common question "Are spirits dangerous?", as well as the conundrum of unanswered prayers and petitions.

In addition, Ms. Illes offers a Spirit Worker's Glossary and helpful advice on how to use the Encyclopedia of Spirits. However, the bulk of this exhaustive book is the A-Z guide to spirits. From origin to iconography, manifestations to offerings, attributes to hallowed days, sacred sites to favored people, a wealth of information is graciously shared with readers.

Symbolic associations such as number, color, metal, sacred days, planets, times, creatures, planets, direction, and element are also provided for each spirit, as are extensive cross references for related mythos and beings.

An absorbing tour guide to the world of spirits, it's honestly difficult to stop reading the Encyclopedia of Spirits once you get started! Intriguing sidebars are scattered throughout, too, offering additional glimpses into the scope of influence effected by the spirit realm. Here are just a few of the many sidebars that are peppered alongside the meaty spirit profiles:

* There are many man-goat spirits, including Faunus, Krampus, and Ordog but references to the goat god usually mean Pan.

* During his fourth labor, Heracles stopped to party with the centaurs. Very drunk, he accidentally wounded Chiron, his old friend, with a poisoned arrow. As an immortal, Chiron didn't and couldn't die but suffered excruciating agony. To relieve him, Zeus placed him in the heavens as the constellation Sagittarius. Chiron is the archetypal wounded healer who heals everyone but is unable to help himself.

* The October 5, 2007 issue of The UK Times Online listed the Lord God as the number-one top ranking of the forty most memorable aliens.

* The floats, masks, clowns, dancing, public drunkenness, and erotic theater that characterizes modern Carnivals and parades are descendents of Dionysian rituals

* Babalu was the signature song of Cuban singer, actor, and television producer Desi Arnaz (2 March 1917- 2 December 1986). According to legend, Desi requested three things from Babalu: professional and financial success and a beautiful wife. In return he promised to spread Babalu's name around the globe, or so the legend says.

* Socrates' last words were to remind friends to sacrifice a rooster to Asklepios on his behalf.

* Anansi stars in Neil Gaiman's 2006 novel, Anansi Boys, and steals the show in his 2001 novel, American Gods, where, as Mr. Nancy, he manifests as an elderly black man with a pencil mustache, lemon-yellow gloves, and a checked sport jacket.

Writers will find creative ideas seeded from these pages, and spiritual seekers will discover the rich tapestry of lively beings woven around them and available from within. Whether you desire to find a spirit helper to befriend, protect, entreat, provide or comfort--or perhaps are one who'd like to learn more the vast array of spirit manifestations and their place in history, legend, religion and modern culture--the Encyclopedia of Spirits deserves a prominent place in your library.

Highly recommended!

-- Janet Boyer, author of The Back in Time Tarot Book

Once again Judika Illes has really done her homework and managed to cram a lifetime of research into easily digestible portions. This book is packed full of fascinating information on well known characters from myth and legend as well as introducing the new and not so well known. The cross references and connections made through out the book weave a tapestry that is both informative and enlightening. I would have appreciated the addition of phonetic pronunciations of these names.

once again a good written book from ms illes...and i only gave 4 stars cause i found some mistakes at a mythological side[ex.Athena never got married to hephestus or gave birth!!thats why the greeks call her the Virgin Goddess,Aphrodite was the one that married Hephestus and Not Aris.....] that the writter should have not made..hopfully she will fix it somehow.but still i do believe that Judika makes a wonderfull job and for my pagan studies i always refer to her books.Blessings...

Wonderful book, full of information for those who search for specific information about the unknown.

...or did no one else have Ra in their encyclopedia? I looked through the "R" section several times and even went to the Horus and Sekhmet entries hoping to find a "see also" for Ra. Even under sun spirits in the back there was no mention of Ra. I had to take off a couple of stars for that. Quite disappointing. Now if I'm wrong please someone let me know. But until then, three stars.

$20 for a book with over 1000 pages of information seems like a really good deal - until you get this book, that is. First of all, the book is about the size of a standard hardback. Don't expect some hefty tome. When I lifted this book out of the box, the first thing I noticed was that the spine is very loose. I can't imagine this bearing the passage of time very well. This is particularly bad considering this is a volume that people will likely be referencing time and again instead of reading through once. The text is enormous, there are no illustrations (curious considering the subject matter), and the paper is low quality.

There are a host of better books on the subject. This one is going back to Amazon.

I sample-read this on my Kindle, and loved the author's friendliness. Her style is very enjoyable - she acknowledges that these spirits are real beings, but doesn't make them sound silly or as if they wait for your command. Of course, I bought it right away - the hardcover edition.
I love to have encyclopedias like this for writing fiction, and she paints a very relatable picture of each creature, god, goddess, etc. You can tell they have a very structured personality and attitude, which is great for writing about them.
However, I would agree with another reviewer who said that it was not all-encompassing when it comes to demons. I don't know much about demons, to tell the truth, but I would imagine that part of the demons are actually gods, goddesses, etc., that were demonized by Christianity later - she usually states whether they were turned to saints or demons in their individual entries.
Yes, some entries are less detailed than others, but that's because there's not that much information on that spirit. I get the feeling when I'm reading that Ms. Illes tried the best she could with the information available.
I haven't experienced the binding problems that many reviews talk about, so I don't know if the binding was reviewed by the publisher and redone. It seemed very sturdy to me.
Plus, it's not dry to read, and, as I said, being a writer, I'm reading the whole thing cover-to-cover. Though it's a lengthy tome, I find it very interesting and fun - especially for an encyclopedia.
Let this be your first purchase on spirits, and if you feel the need to buy more books to fill in the gaps, look up some encyclopedias by Rosemary Guiley.

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Arctic
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I wasn't sure at first about buying this book, but it has proved itself a useful tool as a starting point for an investigation into a God, Goddess, or other kind of spirit. Of course, it doesn't cover every single one and it doesn't cover them in depth, but it paves the way for deeper and more involved research. But then, if you were going to cover all spirits around the world and throughout history in any kind of detail then this would not only be the work of a lifetime, but end up being a collection of books that would fill a very large shelf.

I wouldn't recommend going no farther than this book if you are seriously looking into a God, Goddess, Faery, or any other entity, but it gives enough info that you can decide if you want to explore more. It would probably be a great gift for a trainee or someone who is just beginning to figure out what sort of pantheon or path they want to work with.

The Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses is very thorough, and the author shows experience in her knowledge of the spiritual, along with her fun wit, which makes this book anything but dull. She also duly expresses that this book, thick though it may be, is only a GLIMPSE into the spiritual world, and encourages further research. Not only has it been a guiding light for my journey to acquaint myself to spirits, it has also been a fun read and keeps me preoccupied late into the night. I plan to purchase many more books from Judika Illes.

This is a wonderful book, filled with so much useful information. Contains Likes, dislikes, color/element/zodiac associations, fav foods/drinks, general info and more of the spirits/demons, faeries, ghost, genies, gods, and goddesses mentioned in this book. I am very pleased with my purchase. :)