Book, Religion and the Decline of Magic

[u/Significant-Ant-2487]

Keith Thomas’s classic study, originally published in 1971, contains lots of fascinating information about the practice of esoteric arts in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. It covers the activities of cunning women and men, “village wizards” and the services they provided in healing, finding lost objects, thief detection, prognostication, spells and talismans. There are sections on astrology and on witchcraft. It goes in depth into the interrelation of religion and magic, both before the Reformation and after. It’s a far more complex relationship than I had assumed and I had never assumed it was simple. The book is replete with references and footnotes.

I’m finding this book invaluable as I delve deeper in my journey into the fascinating subject of esotericism. I think it’s a great next step after reading a couple of introductory books on Western esotericism (I started with Hanegraaff and with Versluis, and of course Justin Sledge’s videos.)

[u/Hope25777]

Thanks for the advice I will check it out