History of Magic and the Occult

by Kurt Seligmann

From the demons of Mesopotamia to those plaguing our own late-20th-century civilization, this comprehensive primer covers every aspect of magic and the occult since earliest recorded time. Spanning 5,000 years of world history it covers every major civilization and includes sections on alchemy, the Devil, witchcraft, the cabala, astrology, the tarot, the Rosicrucians, Nostradamus, and vampires. Profusely illustrated with nearly 170 black-and-white illustrations.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Occult, Magic, Religion, Magick, Reference

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1948

Reviews

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books I've read conerning the history, myths, and truth about magic and the occult, this is one of the best, if not the best. It teaches everything someone would need to know for writing everything from a term paper to a thesis to a short story to a novel to a whole series of novels. Anyone into witchcraft and / or the occult should read this book.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not a how-to, DIY tome; it is a history of its subjects, told in a neutral, dispassionate vein. It starts with Mesopotamia, goes through Persia, the Hebrews, Egypt, Greece, Gnosticism, the Roman Empire, the shifts to Europe and the magical arts that survived during Christian times. The author takes neither a “magic was bad and misguided” nor a “Christianity was a bully that took over and destroyed magic” that is today’s take on the subjects; he stays totally neutral. Yes, he does talk about the witch trials and the trials of alchemists, but it’s told in a ‘just the facts, ma’am” tone. I found it pretty interesting, although quite dry. When you don’t take sides there isn’t any passion in writing, I guess. The illustrations were fascinating; pen and ink drawings of magical principles and things like palmistry charts fill the book. s

[aa · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the Tower of Babel and ancient Egyptian gods all the way to the revival of European superstition in the Enlightened 18th century, this book covers a wide range of people, ideas, places, and magical beliefs. Each chapter, consisting of anywhere from 3 to 15 pages, is basically an introduction to a single magical/occult topic.

Readers will likely find themselves engrossed in some chapters and bored in others, based on whatever naturally interests them. The format of the book was helpful in covering so many different things, but then frustrating when a chapter is particularly exciting and then quickly ends.

Seligmann's book is strongest as a guide to find out what occult/magical topics interest you so you can look into them more later.

[Min · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in 1948, the vignette treatments of varied topics of magic throughout history uses primary sources for reference, with a few secondary source materials to give impressions of the changes from Babylon to Early Modern in practices, and beliefs.
At times, it is a romanticized view of the Ancient world, overlaying neo-Platonic thought onto a polytheistic time unconcerned about Harmonic Unity. Other parts are sketches of the movers, and shakers of their eras, often quoting from their works, or contemporaneous observers. The section about Alchemy offered clear explorations of popular wood cuts from the influential works. The Rosicrucian portion relates a succinct summary of The Chemical Marriage, and the possible history of the Order without dipping into speculation, too far.
The subjects covered are vast, and limited, allowing a glimpse into the personages that shaped the knowledge we have with us today, and the once important topics of the day. The coverage of divination does dive into areas not often discussed, particularly using body parts such as the hands, warts, and physiognomy, that have fallen far out of favor. The article for Astrology is shockingly brief, yet informative.

Covering such a vast distance in time, pleasantly, a solid grounding in the feel of the Ages is given. It is oddly specialized, as with the portion about body divination, then keen focus of the Cabalistic usage of letters, interspersed with biographies familiarizes the reader with the original sources to seek out and learn more from, and about the subjects. The bibliography shares works in Latin, French, German, and Italian, as well as, English. Uncovering them all could take some effort, even in the modern Information Age.

Its scope is too scattered to recommend it as a beginner's book about Magic, or Occult History, yet, reading it is bound to be fruitful to the modern explorer in the realms of Esoterica.

[Joe Simpkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

"the fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious." - Albert Einstein

This book was worth the money just for the pretty pictures...

[Shannon Marshall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, this book is more a of a encyclopedia or detailed glossary of the history of magic and the occult rather than a book that explores the evolution of magic and the occult throughout history. When you jump into knowing it is less about the evolution of but the explanation of different piece of magic/occult, I think it is easier to swallow.

This book goes all the way back to the beginnings of magic and magical beliefs in ancient times - Babylon, Chaldea, Ancient Egypt, etc. It assumes that the reader has some previous knowledge of ancient civilizations and can be quite a tricky read if the readers does not have some fundamental knowledge of ancient times. I found the beginning of these chapters tricky to read because I do not have a solid knowledge base of ancient times. Although I found the histories of magical beliefs in ancient Egypt, etc. to be interesting it was written in a very dry and matter-of-fact way that did not make the information easily digestible (to me).

I did enjoy the more modern traditions in magic and the occult (such as tarot and palm reading).

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will definitely recommend this book to others as a fundamental and solid learning of Esotericsm. It includes both history and skills of magic in a systemic organization. The history part is generally similar with other popular magic readings. The skills part is distinguishing, which includes almost all variety of western magic arts.

However, I feel the book is a bit simple in the ancient part especially when it comes to the introduction of Eleusis, though it is introduced on the cover, which only takes two pages with mere historical description without deeper analysis or systematic connection with other Occults.

[Ben C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, very elaborate. Goes over more obscure magical history. I found it very accessible and most of it was fairly engaging (some was dry though).

I disagree with people who say it doesnt go over the evolution as the author absolutely mentions the transition to gnosticism and beyond, how peoples views changed and evolved and why. Probably haters.

[Maureen · Rating 2 out of 5]

What it lacks in digestibility it makes up for in comprehensiveness. Kurt Seligmann was a Swiss-American surrealist painter and this makes for a delightful curio on the shelf.

[Who · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valid as a historical reference, giving a brief yet encompassing overview of various topics. Yes, the author rambles. No, he isn't just stating baseless opinions.

[James Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book by the Surrealist Kurt Seligmann, but the real treat is the massive amount of visual material here dealing with alchemy, witchcraft, Kabbalah, etc. The author's collection of occult art was reportedly a big influence on the Beat/Surrealist poet Philip Lamantia, and its easy to see why.

[Piali · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book altogether, with excellent illustrations. Does not suffer from occidental shortsightedness, like some of its ilk. Further, it does not deal with magic and occult in an isolated and time-bound approach. As a student of literature, I gained, from this book, a different perspective on some of the Romantic texts I had once read as part of my course, especially Keats' "Lamia".

[Mathalus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great history of superstitions, and is far superior to the paperback NECRONOMICON you find at Barnes and Nobles. Seligmann was also a Surrealist painter, but don't hold that against him. He did his research.

[Les75 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opera enciclopedica esaustiva sulla magia in tutte le sue forme, dalle origini arcaiche al presente. Si tratta di un'opera storiografica, che mira ad approfondire tutte le derive magiche che hanno animato l'evoluzione dell'uomo fin dalla notte dei tempi.

[april violet]

I don't think I'll ever finish this book. It has a scholarly tone, but it's interesting! Fuel for the imagination, I say.

[ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man's art is amazing, and so is his depth of knowledge of magic and the occult…

[Christophere Kartes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book back in 1993. It was my introduction to alchemy. At the time the material was way over my head, but it later opened me up to new concepts

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice but dated survey.
i finally learned what jansenism was all about.
and good to see someone cite Gen. Ethan Allen Hitchcock.

[Diego Tonini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tanti concetti interessanti ma esposti in maniera caotica

[Diletta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prima parte precisa ed esauriente, dopo la sezione dedicata al Medioevo si perde un po' (ovviamente). Una buona infarinatura comunque, e in ogni caso ottimo per scovare altri libri.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good introduction to magic and the occult. Great illustrations.