Occult: Decoding the Visual Culture of Mysticism, Magic and Divination | 誠品線上

Occult: Decoding the Visual Culture of Mysticism, Magic and Divination

內容簡介

內容簡介 A clear, concise and detailed historical analysis of the eclectic and arcane visual and material culture of the occult.Focusing on a carefully curated selection of esoteric art and artefacts, this book explains the meaning and mystic power of occult ritual objects and symbols from around the world. The author identifies four key elements of occultism – mysticism, alchemy, magic and divination. Key symbols are identified and examined close up, and key rituals and practices are explained to provide new insights into the philosophies and beliefs of occultists from antiquity to today.Occult begins with an introduction that clarifies what we mean by ‘occult’. It traces the pre-Christian origins of esotericism in Hermeticism, Gnosticism and Neoplatonism, and its development as the occult sciences during the Renaissance to its rebirth in the 19th century with spiritualism, theosophy and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the 20th-century’s anthroposophy, ‘New Age’ and occulture movements. The book is then organized into three sections exploring Occult Foundations, Occult Philosophy and Occult Revival – each one containing three themed chapters.For each of the nine chapters, illustrated narrative text is interspersed with double-page presentations decoding the key practices, figures and symbols relevant to that theme. From rare, ornate tarot decks to the paintings of Leonora Carrington and Ernst Fuchs, artworks and artefacts are examined in detail: the practices depicted are identified and explained and the hidden symbolism decrypted. As the book progresses, readers will not only come to understand the mysterious practices and secret ciphers of the occult but will also discover the beliefs, philosophies and rituals of occultists around the world, from their origins in the early esoteric traditions of the ancient Greeks to their reinterpretation in modern occultism.

作者介紹

作者介紹 Peter ForshawPeter Forshaw is a researcher interested in the history of alchemy, magic, Kabbalah, astrology, ritual activity and esotericism. He has a doctorate in Intellectual History and is Associate Professor of Western Esotericism in the Early Modern Period at the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy, University of Amsterdam. In addition to editing several volumes on occult and esoteric subjects, he is the author of The Mage’s Images: Heinrich Khunrath in his Oratory and Laboratory and served as editor-in-chief of Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism for 10 years. He has contributed to TV and Radio programmes including BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time series and Channel 5’s The Philosophers’ Stone – The True Story. His Instagram page of esoteric art attracts more than 58,000 followers.

商品規格

最佳賣點

最佳賣點 : 一趟書頁上的神秘學深度之旅--以包羅萬象的圖像與史料，綜覽神祕學各種理論、定義、學說、流派、藝術與工具--本書共分三大部分，探討神秘學基礎、神秘學哲學和神秘學復興。精選神祕學相關藝術和文物，解釋來自全球的神秘儀式物件和符號的意義及其力量。