Library Archive - Page 8 of 336 - Museum of Witchcraft and Magic

Le Livre de la Loi

Foreign language books are now in a separate section of the library. French translation of Aleister Crowley’s The Book of the Law. Includes photographs of Aleister Crowley’s original manuscript. Donated by …

Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune

Alan Richardson has also written biographies of Dion Fortune and William Gray. Here he examines Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune’s relationship, in a way that works remarkably well, and casts …

Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

Classic work by a great Buddhist teacher who helped to make hardcore Buddhist spirituality accessible to Westerners. Donated by Jane Cox.

Real Energy

Wide-ranging guide to sensing and drawing on healing energies. Donated by Jane Cox

Frabato the Magician

Novel based on the author’s experiences of Hermetic magic in Germany in the 1930s. Interesting background to Cecil Williamson’s clandestine investigations in Germany at around the same time. Also potentially …

A Short History of Myth

Interesting analysis of the role of myth as an expression of spirituality. Unfortunately it is very short, and so at times not as nuanced as it could be. Donated by Jane Cox.

The Hittites

Scholarly (though dated) account of the Egyptians’ traditional enemy. Short but interesting sections on magic and divination (p.158 ff.). Donated by Jane Cox.

Does God Hate Women?

Heartbreaking stories of oppression, unfortunately made to serve a rationalist agenda. Donated by Jane Cox.

The Monk

Classic (and somewhat notorious) Gothic novel. Includes an interesting ‘Danish ballad’ (pp. 223-5) recounting the legend of a water spirit carrying off a young girl with the help of his …

Meditation

Very detailed guide to practising meditation in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Donated by Jane Cox.

The Dark Side of History

As the cover blurb accurately puts it, Michael Edwardes “puts magic back where it properly belongs – in the mainstream of history.” Donated by Henriette North.

The Book of the Damned

Charles Fort’s influential attack on the scientific establishment for ignoring anomalous phenomena. Remarkably, it was first published in 1919, but it remains the archetypal work of alternative science. The journal Fortean …

Journeys into the Fifth Dimension

An account of the author’s visionary experiences of the astral realm. Donated by Henriette North.

The Origins of Alchemy in Graeco-Roman Egypt

A very scholarly account, with many quotations and illustrations from ancient sources. Donated by Henriette North.

The Hollow Earth

The Hollow Earth theory is an interesting comparatively modern manifestation of the belief in magical or paradisaical worlds that overlap the normal world. Indeed, this book includes a chapter on …

The Techniques of Astral Projection

Step-by-step guide, but also includes theories about the nature of the astral realm. Originally purchased from The Atlantis Bookshop (according to stamp). Donated by Henriette North. In rather fragile condition …

Reality of Occult / Yoga / Meditation / Flying Saucers

An updating of Theosophy taking into account modern phenomena such as UFOs. Signed by the author. Donated by Henriette North.

Magic and Mystery in Tibet

Written by a European woman who spent many years in Tibet and was given the rank of Lama. Includes an interesting account of an enchanted dagger (p.132 ff.). Donated by …

Miracle Cures for the Millions

Surprisingly touching tales – small boy saves dying cat by faith alone etc. Also interesting observations on Shamanism (mentioning the ancient pagan religion Tengrism), the placebo effect etc. Mentions the …

Harry Potter: A History of Magic

Donated by the British Library. Companion book to the exhibition of the same name. The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic lent a number of artefacts to the exhibition, and there …

Devon and Cornwall in Colour

Although the subtitle calls this a collection of colour photographs, the text includes a great deal of interesting folklore – for example, a reference to a legend that King Arthur’s spirit …

The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity

Comprehensive, with some interesting and fairly nuanced sections on (for example) Christianity in Africa and Christianity and Islam, but perhaps rather too uncritical for many sceptics (and with no reference …

The Art of Sexual Ecstasy

Interesting attempt to make the sex manual more spiritual. Very late-80s.

Written on Stone

A series of enlightening essays exploring prehistoric monuments as inspiration for music, fiction, Pagan movements etc. The wonderfully titled chapters include Supernatural Nationalism and New Age Ecology (Shelley Trower), Pulp Archaeology (Neil Mortimer) and Right …