Whether chanted as devotional prayers, intoned against the dangers of the wilds, or invoked to heal the sick and bring ease to the dead, incantations were pervasive features of Buddhist practice in late medieval China (600--1000 C.E.). Material incantations, in forms such as spe…
Charismatic visions and the role of mediums; possession ceremonies and ecstatic trance; the social contexts and practices of invocation: these are a number of the intriguing topics addressed by this comprehensive undergraduate textbook, the first of its kind to offer a thorough …
"This ... work ... examines spirit possession rituals in relation to interpersonal, institutional, structural and expressive processes, and underscores the potential of possession to adapt to changing circumstances. Each chapter offers ethnographically grounded and theoretically…
"Sorcery, defined here as the art of conjuring spirits, is one of the traditional, core disciplines of magickal practice. It is highly admired and its practitioners accorded great prestige. While many of the old grimoires have baroque and elaborate procedures for conjuring spiri…
Biographical note: Gregorio del Olmo Lete, University of Barcelona, Spain. This book provides an edition and study of the Ugaritic and Akkadian incantation and anti-witchcraft texts from Ugarit. All texts have been newly collated and are edited here alongside translations, hand…
This book provides an edition and study of the Ugaritic and Akkadian incantation and anti-witchcraft texts from Ugarit. All texts have been newly collated and are edited here alongside translations, hand copies, photographs, and a commentary. The author offers an analysis and in…
