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Magic, Mystery, and Science: The Occult in Western Civilization

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"Magic, Mystery, and Science" is a historical survey of the "occult" in Western culture. That includes things like numerology, astrology, cabala (of Madonna fame), alchemy, witches and witch-hunts, New Age, hypnosis, ESP, UFO's and alien abductions, Gnosticism, near-death experiences, Satan and demons, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead. The authors attempt as neutral an approach as possible to these ideas. They aren't debunking skeptics or gullible suckers. This book reminds me of Jeffrey Burton Russell's magnificent series of volumes on the devil. Those books were objective, informed, and thorough in intellectual, historical, and literary approaches. Like this book, they are also a lot of fun to read because the subject is so fascinating. "Magic, Mystery, and Science" is unusually accessible for a university press offering, and at 390 pages it doesn't feel rushed or incomplete although it covers hundreds of years of history.

The art on the cover neatly depicts the theme of the book. It's an old painting that depicts an alchemist in search of the "Philosopher's Stone" (a stone that heals, purifies and perfects anything it touches.) Instead, the alchemist accidentally discovers phosporus. Burton and Grandy perceive the occult as a "third stream" of knowledge in Western Culture, along with Greek rationalism and orthodox Judeo-Christianity. Science, religious faith and "magic" (some would use the word "intuition" instead) are three ways of apprehending the truth that are designed to be used in conjuction with each other. The authors spend a lot of time debunking the rigid naturalism that emerged out of the Enlightenment that reduced human beings in essence to biological robots helpless in the grip of natural forces. Practitioners of the occult were grasping for a way out of this trap. Burton and Grandy point out that in the Renaissance science and magic often went hand in hand together. Isaac Newton not only discovered gravity but was a determined if unsuccessful alchemist. Many thinkers considered reality as all of one piece and made no distinction between the natural and what was called (incorrectly) the supernatural. Thus the cover image of the alchemist who becomes a scientist almost in spite of himself.

The authors aren't propogandists for the occult. They include an absorbing chapter on Nazism and the occult and show how Hitler as a young man became obsessed with a mystical, sexually charged form of anti-Semitism that he transmitted like a virus to the whole German nation. They also painfully depict the stupid atrocites of the European witch-hunts. There's also some rather funny descriptions of the fakeries and con-artistry of 19th century American Spiritualists, all of whom turned out to be frauds. The authors can see clearly how such figures as Gurdjieff and Blavatsky could seem at once impressive and silly. The UFO phenomenon and Whitley Strieber also take a big hit from these guys.

But on the whole Burton and Grandy seem determined to clear some room in Western culture for revelation, for epiphany, for the possibility that humans can come to know some things about the natural order that science alone is too earthbound and clumsy to grasp. Late in the book the authors discuss quantum physics and how it has replaced stultifying "classical" materialism:

"So the hope of producing a comprehensive theory of the universe founders on the realization that we inevitably participate in nature: nature is a game that allows no spectators. We cannot sit in the audience and blithely take in the play; we are on the stage, deeply involved and unpredictably ratcheting up the world's complexity while attempting to understand it...it would appear that the smallest parts of nature are capable of timelessly registering faraway changes. Space and time, the great separating modalities of classical science, no longer seem so absolute." (page 326)

This is a good, interesting book.

This book aims to show that science and the occult are not discrete, mutually exclusive categories of human understanding. Historically speaking, each has borrowed from the other, and so the view that science systematically dispels or discredits occult practices and attitudes is flawed, or at least less defensible than commonly assumed. Religion and/or spirituality inevitably plays into the mix as well. Perhaps the biggest point the authors make is that modern science is, in many ways, inhospitable to religious and occult belief. Not so much because of its skepticism, but because of its bleak characterization of physical reality. Of course this characterization has, in the 20th century, been challenged by science (primarily physics) itself, at least insofar as some people choose to interpret the science. But that brings us back to the earlier point that science, the occult, and spirituality never settle down into discrete, self-contained states. As Empedocles said long ago regarding the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), they continually "run through" each other.

My eyes usually glaze over when someone starts to wax enthusiastic about a New Age or occult subject, so at first blush I was not eager to read this book. However, the authors won me over with their lively writing and observations about various occult movements throughout Western history. Kudos to the authors for cogent writing on a wide range of occult topics, from alchemy to gnosticism to spirit mediums, and for a witty, engaging, and thought-provoking tone throughout.

The authors do a wonderful job of collating what seem to be disparate elements into a historically, scholarly analysis of magic, the occult and science. To the Egyptians, everything was connected, with no separation between the rational and intuitive. This concept was included in the first chapter of this book, and was what really grabbed my attention, resulting in one of my "A-Ha!" moments.

What most people assume about the word "occult" is that it means spooky or perhaps demonic. (However, as an aside, according to the Greeks, the word "daemon" meant [according to Wikipedia] "Daemons are good or benevolent nature spirits beings of the same nature as both mortals and gods, similar to ghosts, chthonic heroes, spirit guides, forces of nature or the gods themselves...") The word "occult" just means (back to Wikipedia) "...from the Latin word occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret), referring to 'knowledge of the hidden'." Often, the occult knowledge is based on subjective mystical or metaphysical (i.e. non-rational or nonscientific) experiences.

The main outcome of this work is the authors' conclusion that the dry rational aspect of science and scientific thinking has turned many people off, leading them to explore the rich intuitive world of magic and the imagination. Maybe Jung had it right, after all, with his exploration of the Collective Unconscious?!

this book contains a great resource for information regarding how the occult is viewed in modern society and gives many examples to justify things in a more positive light . there is a wealth of info in this book from astrology info, biblical, djinn, egyptian religion,,
the book doesnt cover in depth any one topic, but attempts to touch on a bit of everything that is somewhat taboo and explain it further. if you are looking for a lot of defining info in one area this isnt it. this is just a bold expansive view of may different areas, and for that reason i consider it to be a good thorough read. people more knowledgable in the occult and practices may find this is a bore and repetitive but for others, it serves its purpose and is a nice overview of things without being judgmental. i feel someone reading this may open their eyes to things in a broader view than what they thought previously.

In Magic, Mystery, and Science Dan Burton and David Grandy present the occult as a "third current" shaping Western thought, along with Greek rationalism and Judeo-Christianity. The occult is thus analyzed in terms of its encounters with religion and science, at both the historical and intellectual levels. Burton and Grandy note the difficulty in defining the occult as clearly demarcated from religion, science, and technology, as the sharp contrast between these categories of knowledge only emerged after the Scientific Revolution and the wide acceptance of a mechanistic, physical understanding of the cosmos. Burton and Grandy do not even provide a tentative definition of the occult, but rather identify some common characteristics: occult traditions speak of precious knowledge or gnosis that is often reserved for initiates (official or unofficial) and therefore the occult carries a quality, in varying degrees, of secrecy or more general inaccessibility; occult thought includes the notion of an intelligent, meaningful cosmos that constitutes the whole of reality, including the physical, mental, and spiritual realms; finally, occultism is a way of knowing and experiencing reality through intuition, empathy and connectedness, with a sense of destiny and purpose. Magic is also vaguely defined as exercising power over nature through spiritual, supernatural, or natural means, such as ritual, incantation, or simply adept methods.

Yet, the ambiguity of these terms is exactly the point, according to the authors. Religion, science, and magic simply cannot be understood apart from intellectual history. Before the modern period, the relationship and correspondences between religion, science, and magic were taken for granted; all were just expressions of the same truths. Occult notions of eternal truths never fully died out though, even at the height of scientific rationalism, rather acceptance of occult knowledge has experienced ebb and flow throughout history. The rising scholarly interest in esotericism, counter intellectual currents, new religions, and alternative spiritualities in contemporary times illustrates the continuing influence of the occult on the Western imagination. The book covers the ancient, the medieval, and the modern periods providing an historical account accompanied by a fair analysis of occult thought and how it has been challenged by and how it challenges the scientific tradition. Burton and Grandy do not fall into the extremes of apologetics or blind skepticism and they successfully engage the reader in the compelling and sometimes humorous developments in occult thought.

The book is academic, but accessible to the causally interested, general reader as well. It is primarily a historical introductory text of the occult in Western civilization and does not position the research in conversation with other scholars of the occult or esotericism. Some scholars regard science and magic as mutually exclusive, the former in the realm of knowledge while the latter is categorized as belief; others take a sociological approach and understand magic according to the functions it serves in society; still others regard the `occult' as an outdated term generalizing the diverse world of esotericism that might be better understood as falling within the category of alternative spiritualities. The presentation of the occult as a `third stream' is not measured up against the issues raised in these or other alternative frameworks, although many important thinkers are mentioned. Nonetheless, Magic, Mystery, and Science is enjoyable, informative, and satisfying to all those who want to catch a glimpse of the occult without the dogmatic acceptance or rejection of some genuine mysteries.

There are already several fine reviews, so I will only suggest reading the following works (all of them sound anthropology, good to understand ourselves) in addition to this interesting book: a) "Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality" by Paul Barber (persuasive explanation of why people believe in vampires); b) "Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath" by Carlo Ginzburg (it delivers more that its title promises); c) "Religion and the Decline of Magic" by Keith Thomas (nowadays a classic); d) "The Bathhouse at Midnight. Magic in Russia" by W.F. Ryan; and e)"When They Severed Earth from Sky: How the Human Mind Shapes Myth" by Paul and Elizabeth Barber (myths lest we forget natural disasters).

These authors appear to be able scholars in the sense that they can gather facts and information. Unfortuanately, they are either unaware of their own religious bias or are being dishonest. In either case, this bias spoils the book.

In the chapter on magic and miracles there is no mention of Christian, or particularly Mormon, miracles. There is no mention of the belief of some Christians that the host is magically transformed into the body of Christ or that revelation has been magically brought to earth by angels. Worst of all, the authors characterize the religious understanding that "all is one" as an ego-based desire for power. Never mind that perhaps a majority of this planet's population understand that as a spiritual truth. Religious war and strife begins with this kind of intolerance and arrogance.

The authors also classify "Gnosticism," which is a scholarly category for non-orthodox early Christian beliefs, as "occult." There is no rational reason to classify alternative early Christian thought as occult while treating what the authors call "normative Christianiy" as not occult. The only difference is that the authors apparently believe in one and not the other.

In the chapter on the Nazi, the authors try to characterize the roots of anti-Semitism as "occult," completely ignoring the facts that European anti-Semitism grew out of the Christian belief that "the Jews" killed Jesus and that anti-Semitism had prevaded and festered in European Christianity for centuries. The autors also fail to mention that the vast majority of Nazi were Christians.

I am not at all opposed to a direct and honest promotion of Christianity, but I deeply object to dishonest attempts to misrepresent and miscategorize other points of view. This is just the modern form of demonization, where other viewpoints are made demonic. They used to be labeled heresy, now they are labeled occult.