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• catalog abstract "In this fascinating exploration of occult practice, Anthony Aveni takes the reader on a whirlwind tour through time and space, traveling from the ancient Tigris-Euphrates river valley to the streets of our modern-day cities. On the way, he catalogs the many ways people have used magic over the millennia in hopes of improving their lives. Consider a page from your ancestors' book of spells: For a headache, pour vinegar on your door hinges. For warts, wait until the twentieth day after a new moon, rub dirt on the warts while you lie in the road, and gaze up at the moon. Or, if you prefer more modern superstitions and want to be a good pitcher, be like Texas Ranger Mike Griffin and always eat bacon the day before you take to the mound. Professor Aveni argues persuasively that we cannot separate a culture's perception of reality from its times. The ancient priests of Egypt saw the dung beetle, or scarab, as a sign of life not because they were ignorant primitives, but because they were using the available clues in the world around them to map out a greater truth. When Kabbalists sought to discover meaning through the letters in a name or an historical date, they were seeking to satisfy a very deeply held urge. The ancients sought the same goals we now obtain from science and religion - a clearer picture of humanity's place in the cosmos. How and why has Western thought and scientific inquiry diverged from magic? At a time when crystals, channeling, faith healing, earth worship, and transcendental meditation are enjoying a renaissance, the lines between science, magic, and the occult are beginning to blur once again. Comparing Harry Houdini and scientific provocateur Richard Feynman, Professor Aveni asks, "Is magic in the eye of the beholder?"".
• catalog contributor b9821940.
• catalog created "1996.".
• catalog date "1996".
• catalog date "1996.".
• catalog dateCopyrighted "1996.".
• catalog description "In this fascinating exploration of occult practice, Anthony Aveni takes the reader on a whirlwind tour through time and space, traveling from the ancient Tigris-Euphrates river valley to the streets of our modern-day cities. On the way, he catalogs the many ways people have used magic over the millennia in hopes of improving their lives. Consider a page from your ancestors' book of spells: For a headache, pour vinegar on your door hinges. For warts, wait until the twentieth day after a new moon, rub dirt on the warts while you lie in the road, and gaze up at the moon. Or, if you prefer more modern superstitions and want to be a good pitcher, be like Texas Ranger Mike Griffin and always eat bacon the day before you take to the mound. Professor Aveni argues persuasively that we cannot separate a culture's perception of reality from its times. The ancient priests of Egypt saw the dung beetle, or scarab, as a sign of life not because they were ignorant primitives, but because they were using the available clues in the world around them to map out a greater truth. When Kabbalists sought to discover meaning through the letters in a name or an historical date, they were seeking to satisfy a very deeply held urge. The ancients sought the same goals we now obtain from science and religion - a clearer picture of humanity's place in the cosmos. How and why has Western thought and scientific inquiry diverged from magic? At a time when crystals, channeling, faith healing, earth worship, and transcendental meditation are enjoying a renaissance, the lines between science, magic, and the occult are beginning to blur once again. Comparing Harry Houdini and scientific provocateur Richard Feynman, Professor Aveni asks, "Is magic in the eye of the beholder?"".
• catalog description "Includes bibliographical references and index.".
• catalog description "Middle East exotica : ancient Egypt and magical Mesopotamia -- The ancient art of hepatoscopy -- The Greek paradox : magic confronts science -- Magic in the Roman Empire -- The new outcasts : the rise of secret doctrines -- Knowledge through number and the word -- Pathways to knowledge -- Resurrection of the Kabbalah -- Music of the spheres -- Two sides of the coin of alchemy -- Rise of the clear seer -- Medieval astrology -- The devil and the proliferation of good and evil -- It's witchcraft -- Summary : who turned on the lights? -- Rochester rap : the first haunted house -- Before Hydesville : strange forces, new experiments -- "Mr. Sludge" -- DDH to HPB : pipelines to the past -- After the Foxes : from parlor to stage -- My body, my map : "bumpology" -- Summary : a light that failed? -- Who's a magician? : The Houdini legend -- Who's a magician? : Trickster from far Rockaway -- Magic in the twentieth century : what the pollsters say -- Different time, same channel -- PK wars : psychics vs. physics -- The personalized magic of healing : mending the Cartesian split -- You are what you eat -- Come fly with me : UFO abductions -- Life after life -- Crystals : who's scrying now? -- Geomancy : from saws to sausages -- Summary : On shifting ground -- Is magic a religion? -- Magic and science : J.Z. and the Ramsters meet Arch Debunker -- Anthropologists encounter the occult -- Summary : Crossing curves in an age of interconnectedness -- Epilogue : Of Bacon and black holes.".
• catalog extent "xvii, 406 p. :".
• catalog hasFormat "Behind the crystal ball.".
• catalog identifier "0812924150".
• catalog isFormatOf "Behind the crystal ball.".
• catalog issued "1996".
• catalog issued "1996.".
• catalog language "eng".
• catalog publisher "New York : Times Books,".
• catalog relation "Behind the crystal ball.".
• catalog subject "133/.09 20".
• catalog subject "BF1589 .A9 1996".
• catalog subject "Magic History.".
• catalog subject "Occultism and science.".
• catalog tableOfContents "Middle East exotica : ancient Egypt and magical Mesopotamia -- The ancient art of hepatoscopy -- The Greek paradox : magic confronts science -- Magic in the Roman Empire -- The new outcasts : the rise of secret doctrines -- Knowledge through number and the word -- Pathways to knowledge -- Resurrection of the Kabbalah -- Music of the spheres -- Two sides of the coin of alchemy -- Rise of the clear seer -- Medieval astrology -- The devil and the proliferation of good and evil -- It's witchcraft -- Summary : who turned on the lights? -- Rochester rap : the first haunted house -- Before Hydesville : strange forces, new experiments -- "Mr. Sludge" -- DDH to HPB : pipelines to the past -- After the Foxes : from parlor to stage -- My body, my map : "bumpology" -- Summary : a light that failed? -- Who's a magician? : The Houdini legend -- Who's a magician? : Trickster from far Rockaway -- Magic in the twentieth century : what the pollsters say -- Different time, same channel -- PK wars : psychics vs. physics -- The personalized magic of healing : mending the Cartesian split -- You are what you eat -- Come fly with me : UFO abductions -- Life after life -- Crystals : who's scrying now? -- Geomancy : from saws to sausages -- Summary : On shifting ground -- Is magic a religion? -- Magic and science : J.Z. and the Ramsters meet Arch Debunker -- Anthropologists encounter the occult -- Summary : Crossing curves in an age of interconnectedness -- Epilogue : Of Bacon and black holes.".
• catalog title "Behind the crystal ball : magic, science, and the occult from antiquity through the New Age / Anthony Aveni.".
• catalog type "History. fast".
• catalog type "text".