Magic and Witchcraft: From Shamanism to the Technopagans

This book is an essential read for any one interested not only in Witchcraft and Magic, but also in the general history of both Pagan, and Monotheistic, Esoteric Mysticism. In fact anyone expecting to learn Wiccan practices, craft or magick would be best to give this one a miss. As it is really more a loose, historical overview and exploration of the term 'Magic' (real magick that is) itself. An extremely comprehensive and well researched, compact bible of information, it links the idea of Witchcraft and Magic with philosophical, spiritual and metaphysical schools of thought in an intelligent and academic way for a change. Instead of treating it as something supernatural, evil or anti-Christian. Magick afterall, has always been greatly misunderstood and misrepresented. Magick and Witchcraft are not evil, they are in fact a kind of ancient natural science which has become forgotten in the modern world (though not lost entirely thankfully). It's only when the intent is harmful that it becomes 'evil', this can also be said about churches and religions, as well as human beings in general. In fact, there are schools of thought which actually support the theory that Jesus himself was a kind of Witch, a gifted Magician, Healer and Rabbi of the Mystical Jewish Kabbalah. Who's miracles and feats of magic were therefore seen as divine. Forget the De Vinci Code, wait'll the church gets a load of that! Though the percentage of focus in this book is still on European influences, it still manages to cover a broard range of cultures and historic periods, spanning from the ancient world, and middle ages to the present day. Subjects include everything from Shamanism, Wicca, Alchemy and Gnosticism, to the Kabbalah, Hermetic Orders, Free Masonary and Neo-Paganism. A fascinating read and worthwhile coffee table book to have. My only minor criticism would be that at times the Author's writing style tends to be a little flowery and not always user friendly. He has a tendency to waffle a bit rather than get to the heart of the matter. Still, a very well put together book, and I congratulate Neville Dury for treating this subject with intelligence and maturity.

Drury has been refining his presentation of this material for several decades. This is a large, beautiful, well-produced presentation of his findings to date, with up-to-date coverage of magic in visionary-plant shamanism and on the Web. This book is a good model of combining clear, accessible presentation with scholarly references. This book has widely comprehensive coverage of magic in the history of ideas, including myth; he treats magic in relation to religion, myth, Western esotericism, Gnosticism, alchemy, hermeticism, and astrology. Mostly Western rather than Eastern practices, but Bon shamanism is covered. Spans ancient and modern eras through the 20th Century. Has stronger coverage of visionary plants than most books on magic, though more coverage is needed such as in Ratsch's book "Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants", which raises the standard for covering this key subject. I would like to see more explicit coverage of magic and myth as metaphorical double-entendres for the visionary-state phenomena. I would also like to see more extended coverage of astrological determinism and magically or supernaturally transcending it -- for example, the index lacks entries for determinism, fate, heimarmene, and astrological determinism, even though the book does have some coverage of astrological determinism. Because of the focus on the history of esotericism, this is a superior book on magic. There is a little room for improvement in depth of profundity such as bringing together metaphor, ecstatic consciousness, transcendence, and cosmic determinism. This book is among the better treatments of the history of magic, though not outstanding in its depth of grasp; its real outstanding strength is its comprehensive scope, the author's thorough and highly developed long-term familiarity with the material, and clear presentation.