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The Book of Spells, Hexes, and Curses: True Tales from Around the World
Book by Gordon, Stuart
264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
2 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Stuart Gordon
46 books5 followersStuart Gordon is the pen name for Richard Alexander Steuart Gordon. He also published as Alex Stuart and Alex R. Stuart.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 24, 2022
A very interesting book with an off-putting title. Lots of fascinating history, and not the usual viewpoint:
In 1320, just 6 years after Jacques de Molay (Grand Master of the Knights Templar) burned in Paris because Philip the Fair was broke - Petronilla de Meath suffered the same fate. The first witch to be burned in Ireland. She was rich, the Church wanted her land and riches, just like they wanted the Templars' gold - and they're off:
“...by and large the civil war that arrived with Renaissance and Reformation was a war against Woman. It was a war waged by the emergent and paranoid intellectual mind, all thought and up in the air with the sky-god (‘risen Christ’, etc.), against the old, dark earth-ways; against the flesh; ultimately against nature itself.”
And a few hundred years later perhaps this war against nature has brought us where we are now? Completely destroying the planet that provides us with life? Or to quote someone more articulate than I (Lierre Keith) on our chosen indifference:
"We are living in a period of mass extinction. The numbers stand at 200 species a day. That's 73,000 a year. This culture is oblivious to their passing, feels entitled to their every last niche, and there is no roll call on the nightly news."
But back to this book - our use of magic, belief in and need for spells, hexes and curses is widespread in time and space. Maybe because we have no real power over the random events of our lives.
The author covers fraud and religion, of course; I learned that Carlos Casteneda was a complete fraud, never met a Yaqui in his life. And I learned about real Yaqui magic.
Some areas Gordon seems to delve into quite thoroughly, others quite shallowly. I was particularly disappointed by his lack of understanding of Yoruba, condemning it with a single tale from a pretty whacky sounding guy. Gordon conflates an orisha (Esu, Elegua) with the “Christian Satan”. Esu is actually more like Ganesh, an opener of crossroads and gates and invited, necessary for the opening of, ceremonies. How the author made a Satan connection, I don’t know.
There are lots of excellent bits in this tome; learn about datura and calabar bean as antidote, and how they might explain zombies, the mano cornuta from Naples and how to use it against the evil eye, and much more. But I’ll just finish with this thought:
“During the fishing season the fishermen of the Caroline Islands, whenever on shore, had to spend all their time in the men’s clubhouse, and under no circumstances visit their homes or even look at their wives or any other women, or else flying fish would inevitably bore out their eyes at night. They could not even join in song and dance with other men, but had to remain in silent isolation.”
Can’t help but wonder what brilliant Carolinian woman thought that up?
:>)
In 1320, just 6 years after Jacques de Molay (Grand Master of the Knights Templar) burned in Paris because Philip the Fair was broke - Petronilla de Meath suffered the same fate. The first witch to be burned in Ireland. She was rich, the Church wanted her land and riches, just like they wanted the Templars' gold - and they're off:
“...by and large the civil war that arrived with Renaissance and Reformation was a war against Woman. It was a war waged by the emergent and paranoid intellectual mind, all thought and up in the air with the sky-god (‘risen Christ’, etc.), against the old, dark earth-ways; against the flesh; ultimately against nature itself.”
And a few hundred years later perhaps this war against nature has brought us where we are now? Completely destroying the planet that provides us with life? Or to quote someone more articulate than I (Lierre Keith) on our chosen indifference:
"We are living in a period of mass extinction. The numbers stand at 200 species a day. That's 73,000 a year. This culture is oblivious to their passing, feels entitled to their every last niche, and there is no roll call on the nightly news."
But back to this book - our use of magic, belief in and need for spells, hexes and curses is widespread in time and space. Maybe because we have no real power over the random events of our lives.
The author covers fraud and religion, of course; I learned that Carlos Casteneda was a complete fraud, never met a Yaqui in his life. And I learned about real Yaqui magic.
Some areas Gordon seems to delve into quite thoroughly, others quite shallowly. I was particularly disappointed by his lack of understanding of Yoruba, condemning it with a single tale from a pretty whacky sounding guy. Gordon conflates an orisha (Esu, Elegua) with the “Christian Satan”. Esu is actually more like Ganesh, an opener of crossroads and gates and invited, necessary for the opening of, ceremonies. How the author made a Satan connection, I don’t know.
There are lots of excellent bits in this tome; learn about datura and calabar bean as antidote, and how they might explain zombies, the mano cornuta from Naples and how to use it against the evil eye, and much more. But I’ll just finish with this thought:
“During the fishing season the fishermen of the Caroline Islands, whenever on shore, had to spend all their time in the men’s clubhouse, and under no circumstances visit their homes or even look at their wives or any other women, or else flying fish would inevitably bore out their eyes at night. They could not even join in song and dance with other men, but had to remain in silent isolation.”
Can’t help but wonder what brilliant Carolinian woman thought that up?
:>)
June 12, 2011
Read this book and admired the depth of information presented. Anyone doubting the power of a curse should take a look at this book. Stuart Gordon does not lecture the reader, he simply gives facts to be considered. A great book for someone interested in the subject in hand.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews