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emmeyer's review against another edition
3.0
This book contains an interesting overview of magic and the occult and how those topics were treated through time and through cultures. You can read about history on whole or focus on a specific time/culture easily.
thepurplebookwyrm's review against another edition
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.25
Overall, this is a very good, and beautifully illustrated overview of the interrelated topics of magic, witchcraft, and occultism/esotericism – just like it says on the tin!
A few nit-picky drawbacks that prevented this from being a 5 stars book for me:
a) I'm pretty sure I spotted a couple of mistakes, or inaccuracies in the text itself.
b) A geographical, or hybrid, rather than purely chronological, structuring of the material might've been better? The focus here is also clearly on the Western esoteric/magical tradition, which isn't a bad thing as such... I just wish this had been made clearer in the book's titling and introduction – for the sake of intellectual transparency.
c) I really didn't care for the content about stage, or performance magic. I guess it's technically relevant, sure, but at the same time... I mean come on, it's just really not the same thing as spiritual/religious/esoteric magic and/or witchcraft. 😅 It just isn't, and I don't think there needed to be more than one or two pages tops about the 'entertainment stuff'. 🤷♀️
Otherwise, and to reiterate: this is definitely a worthwhile reference book I would confidently recommend to anyone with an interest in the topics at hand.
A few nit-picky drawbacks that prevented this from being a 5 stars book for me:
a) I'm pretty sure I spotted a couple of mistakes, or inaccuracies in the text itself.
b) A geographical, or hybrid, rather than purely chronological, structuring of the material might've been better? The focus here is also clearly on the Western esoteric/magical tradition, which isn't a bad thing as such... I just wish this had been made clearer in the book's titling and introduction – for the sake of intellectual transparency.
c) I really didn't care for the content about stage, or performance magic. I guess it's technically relevant, sure, but at the same time... I mean come on, it's just really not the same thing as spiritual/religious/esoteric magic and/or witchcraft. 😅 It just isn't, and I don't think there needed to be more than one or two pages tops about the 'entertainment stuff'. 🤷♀️
Otherwise, and to reiterate: this is definitely a worthwhile reference book I would confidently recommend to anyone with an interest in the topics at hand.
marria_1's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
pixiteca's review against another edition
4.0
a fun, informative, picture book for adults about magic, witchcraft, and the occult??!! yayyy , yes please! it is however largely from a European lense with sprinkles of information from other non western cultures.
tobibi's review against another edition
3.0
Very good if you're looking for general knowledge on witchcraft throughout the ages, but does contain some outdated lingo. A good choice if you're uncertain what you want to focus on in witchcraft specifically.