The New Encyclopedia of the Occult | 
| Author: John Michael Greer
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $16.80
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Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 88334
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 576
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 8.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 1567183360
Dewey Decimal Number: 133.03
EAN: 9781567183368
ASIN: 1567183360
Publication Date: October 1, 2003
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Product Description
2004 COVR AWARD-WINNER!
From "Aarab Zereq" to "Zos Kia Cultus," this is the most up-to-date, comprehensive guide to the history, philosophies, and personalities of Western occultism.
Written by an occult scholar and practitioner with the assistance of hundreds of experts in the field, this volume presents the latest in scholarly research and points out errors in previous writings-revealing truths much more interesting and dramatic than the fictional histories that obscured them.
The New Encyclopedia of the Occult is an invaluable reference guide to magic, alchemy, astrology, divination, Tarot, palmistry, and geomancy; magical orders such as the Golden Dawn and Rosicrucians; important occultists; and religions and spiritual traditions associated with occultism such as Wicca, Thelema, Theosophy, and the modern Pagan movement.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Good reference book & fairly priced September 8, 2008
Useful, practical, compact. All basic terms & meanings are in. Good reference book at fair price
a powerful reference for anyone who wants to know about Occult history July 10, 2008
John Michael Greer has created a great Occult dictionary that provides quick and well researched definitions for pretty much any Occult term one can think of as well as the biographies of influential luminaries of esoterica, their ideas and contributions. If you're doing any sort of academic research into mysticism and the Occult, it's a great starting point for your study and a good source for finding related information.
Simply amazing July 9, 2008
Wealth of information.
Substance.
Thematic work.
Clarity.
Knowledge.
In brief, get a copy!
 Good list of titles. But articles v. biased, cover title is arrogant, & certain articles can incite hate between occult groups July 7, 2007
3 out of 14 found this review helpful
I would love to give this book five stars. But my conscience can only allow me to give it one, because the book is presented as being something that it is not.
It is very useful to have a comprehensive list of occult subjects in one place, as in this encyclopedia. But it should be called ``A' New Encyclopedia of the Occult', not ``The' New Encyclopaedia of the Occult'. Different occult groups have different ideas about the subjects discussed. So it is extremely biased to present one perspective on a subject as `the' perspective.
For example, in the article entitled `Initiation' on p. 242, it says that spiritual, as opposed to physical ritualistic initiation, "has very little to do with the reality of initiation as actually practiced by magical lodge organizations". But this is biased because in certain significant magical lodge organizations, initiation is actually considered to be a spiritual transformation, not a physical ritual. An example is explained in Chapter II of "A Compendium of Occult Laws" by the Rosicrucian Grand Master, Dr. R. S. Clymer, entitled "The Philosophy of Occult Initiation" (1966).
I would also like to pick up on the article "Randolph, Paschal Beverly", beginning on p. 389. This is an extremely offensive article, which can incite hate between occult groups. For example, it says on p. 390, "Unfortunately Randolph's considerable creativity and intelligence were more than overbalanced by his arrogance, egotism, and uncontrolled temper". This is bad history. It is bad because it does not corroborate different primary sources before concluding what Randolph's character was actually like. Arthur Marwick, a professor of History at the Open University, explained that even the most accurate history is only about 80% true. History is a representation of the past. It cannot be considered identical with the past.
Randolph is highly respected by Modern Rosicrucian orders, and his teachings are used by them as the foundation. For example, referring to the preface of "Compendium of Occult Laws", by the Rosicrucian Grand Master Dr. R. S. Clymer, he says, "The second section, "The Philosophy of Occult Initiation", is based almost exclusively upon the secret writings of those versed in Hermetic Science and Alchemical Processes, notably Dr. P.B. Randolph ..."
`The New Encyclopedia of the Occult' even contradicts itself concerning the character of Paschal Beverly Randolph. For example, on p. 390 it says, "[Randolph] ... travelled on the anti-Spiritualist lecture circuit, attacking Spiritualism as earnestly as he had praised it a few years earlier." But as is explained in the article "New Age Movement" in the same Encyclopaedia, page 330, paragraph 2, "...occultists of the Victorian period shook their heads at the excesses and follies of the mesmerist and spiritualist movements ..." So Randolph's actions were in harmony with the Victorian occultism zeitgeist.
Randolph also explained that his intention was not to attack spiritualism. Randolph states, for example, in his book, "Soul, The Soul World," Chapter 8, Paragraph 21, in which he outlines Rosicrucian philosophy, "The sole business of this book is not to controvert any current system of philosophy . . . but to give forth what I know to be the truth." This of course means that Randolph's intention was not to attack spiritualism, but simply to express his Rosicrucian philosophy. When defining one thought system, it is necessary to contrast it against others that are different. This is the way that academic argumentation works. Such argumentation and contrasting does not constitute attacking e.g. explaining how chemistry is not biology is not an attack upon biology by chemistry. Randolph also explains: "much herein given necessarily antagonizes a few of the popular Spiritual theories" ("Soul, The Soul World," Chapter 8, Paragraph 21). Explaining that the Rosicrucian view of the Soul World is hierarchical, necessarily antagonises spiritualism, because it is impossible to describe the soul hierarchy without saying that certain souls are lower in the hierarchy than others. There would be no Masters if there were no apprentices.
Further regarding Randolph's abandonment of the spiritualist worldview. Bryan Magee says in his text `The Great Philosophers' (1987), Oxford, Oxford University Press, p. 66, that the abandonment of one's beliefs that are shown to be flawed in the light of new knowledge is part of what constitutes intellectual advance.
"There is no justice in the world's censorious eyes. They will not wait to learn a man's true character. Though no wrong has been done them, one look - and they hate". - From Medea by Euripides, Lines 18-21 (431 BCE)
So, if you want to know about occultism, `The New Encyclopedia of the Occult' is not the place to start. The information it presents is not trustworthy. And the articles require corroboration with other sources, preferably direct (e.g. what occult orders actually say about themselves), primary, and several secondary sources about a particular subject.
A much more thorough and less biased way to learn about the occultism is through the up to date leading academic research on the subject. This can be found through `The Association for the Study of Esotericism'. URL: http://www.aseweb.org/
Another useful academic resource on occultism is `Esoterica: The Journal of Esoteric Studies'. URL: http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/
 Good Reference May 13, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
So I'm pretty new to occult studies. I bought this book due to general interest and to help decode some references made in lyrics by the band TOOL. I would say it is a pretty informative, but like any encyclopedia the topics are addressed in very general terms. However, I've felt completely lost after reading about some topics. This is likely due to my inexperience with the occult. I imagine I would get a great deal more out of the encyclopedia if I had more basic knowledge. This is a good reference for starting primary research into a particular field of occult study. I would recommend it to anyone who has a general interest in occult studies.
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