© The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. A priestess of the god Apollo, the Pythia served as an oracle, experiencing visions after imbibing vapours rising from the floor of an inner room at the Delphi temple complex – as seen here in The Oracle by Camillo Miola (1880). Over time, the Pythia became the most influential oracle in all of Greece, and today the ruins of Delphi are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What is it about myth, magic and the occult that fascinates humanity? In ancient times, magic was a way of explaining how the universe worked – it helped us make sense of the chaos of the world. Even in modern times, we seek patterns and rituals to help us understand and navigate our lives while searching for a little bit of magic to imbue our everyday.
Discover seven spellbinding books on the mystical world, from paganism and numerology to the occult and the cosmic universe. Uncover symbols and ancient customs, delve into rich histories and harness planetary powers.
1. Prophecies
Looking into the future has obsessed human beings since written records began. As soon as communities could conceive of higher powers, they tried to look into the future. Prophets and priests have delivered divine messages. Shamans and seers have channelled spirits and interpreted visions, portents, revelations and omens.
Prophecies by Christopher Dell is a unique and richly illustrated volume which reveals the long history of the future in every human society – from Egyptian oracles, Roman augurs and Aztec omens, to Japanese divination and the active magic of Norse seers. It traces the parallels in different traditions and cultures, exploring the signs and images found in antique documents, rare books, imaginative projections and divinatory paraphernalia.
The nine chapters explore extraordinary oracles from ancient Greece and western Africa, to Mesopotamia and the mountains of Tibet; we discover omens, portents and auspicious signs in indigenous societies in Asia; meet the Zoroastrian priests of Iran and astrologers of China; share dreams and visions from Australia to North America; and finally reckon with the many predictions of the end of the world, from ancient days to our present moment.
Discover Prophecies by Christopher Dell.
2. Pagans
For more than a thousand years, across the world, people have been labelled ‘Pagan’ by the Christians who encountered them. In the twentieth century, new groups have emerged to carry on the name. But what is it that Pagans believe?
From sacred plants imbued with supernatural powers to hand-carved amulets that repel evil, and from mischievous spirits of nature to holy mountains, Pagans find divine value in the natural world and spiritual significance in the material universe. Delve into these pages and examine the myriad paintings and sculptures, shrines and ceremonial objects that reveal the stories, symbols and rituals of Paganism.
Discover Pagans by Ethan Doyle White.
3. A History of Witchcraft
Witchcraft is a fluid belief system that has enchanted and sometimes terrified humanity, from Greek goddess Hecate through the witch-crazes of the 15th and 16th centuries and into the modern day.
A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics & Pagans is an authoritative and concise history of witchcraft from the ancient world up to the present day, exploring the definition of witchcraft in its many diverse forms. This updated edition features a new chapter exploring the challenges that witchcraft has faced in the past decade, including the rise of social media platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok, the coronavirus pandemic and neopagan groups.
Discover A History of Witchcraft by Jeffrey B. Russell and Brooks Alexander.
4. Compendium of the Occult
Explore the mysterious and intriguing world of the occult, from divination and charms to secret societies and ritual practices. Compendium of the Occult is a visual cabinet of curiosities, featuring expert commentary on topics from ancient Egyptian curses to the history of demonology, all illuminated by excerpts from historical texts and a wide range of beautiful archive imagery.
Discover Compendium of the Occult by Liz Williams.
5. Cosmic Numerology
Cosmic Numerology is numerology with an extra dimension. Numerologist and astrophile Jenn King pairs mystical mathematics with planetary power so you can tap into deeper levels of self-knowledge, uncover your talents and enhance your relationships by charting your cosmic course through the wisdom of numbers and the planets. Use this magical manual to tune into the numerical and planetary energies at play in your life, and use this knowledge to maximise the gifts revealed by your birth chart.
Discover Cosmic Numerology by Jenn King
6. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Occultism has long been associated with the visual and literary arts, the wild and the avant-garde, and nowhere was this more embodied than in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Founded in London in the 1880s by Freemasons, it was the world’s most famous secret society. In this fresh, bracing narrative history, Felix John Taylor recounts its rise and fall through the lives of the men and women for whom the Order represented both an alternative to traditional Victorian religious values and a space for imaginative exploration.
Discover The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn by Felix John Taylor.
7. The Cosmic Dance
In The Cosmic Dance, renowned image alchemist Stephen Ellcock uses a collection of remarkable, arresting and surprising images drawn from the entire history of art to explore the ancient belief that the cosmos is reflected in all living things. Beginning with the microscopic and moving through the particulate and into the celestial and infinite, The Cosmic Dance provides bitesize information on key concepts and key thinkers, while thought-provoking quotations from philosophers, writers, artists and scientists interspersed throughout the book prompt a closer, more personal engagement with the images.
