The Spirit Book: The Encyclopedia of Clairvoyance, Channeling, and Spirit Communication

by Raymond Buckland
Spirit Book

… a basic, readable encyclopedia of major terms, people, and events in modern Spiritualism. … Some 500 entries range from short paragraphs to a page or two, and each entry includes a list of sources … Recommended for academic libraries with popular religion collections and public libraries where there is an interest in Spiritualism and similar beliefs.

Booklist

"The Spirit Book, the latest in Wicca Buckland's extensive occult oeuvre (Buckland's Book of Spirit Communications), cuts a wide swath through the history of spiritualism, its precursors, and widely related supernatural subjects…. There is nothing else quite like this resource on the market."

Library Journal

"Students of the goofily strange will go for this ‘encyclopedia of clairvoyance, channeling and spirit communication.’"

PEOPLE Magazine

The fascinating history of Spiritualism is coaxed into the material realm as the object of this perceptive and sweeping overview by that legendary author of the occult and supernatural, Raymond Buckland.

Containing more than 500 entries and 100 illustrations, The Spirit Book is the comprehensive encyclopedia to Spiritualism and its related subjects. Plus it provides full biographies of every prominent person connected to the field.

The Spiritualism movement began in the mid-18th century and focuses on communication with the spirits of the dead. Followers believe that spirit communication occurs primarily through mediums, although non-mediums can also communicate through a variety of methods, including automatic writing or the use of an Ouija board. Spiritualism is currently enjoying a renaissance due in part to the public appearances of mediums such as John Edward and Colin Fry and the shared belief by a growing number of people that communication with the dead is possible, however far out of cell-phone range they might be.

Drawing on decades of research, writing, and transcendence, Buckland describes sundry methods of channeling, events associated with Spiritualism, including séances and exorcism, organizations focused on clairvoyance, and a colorful host of mortals?famous and infamous?who delved into Spiritualism. Nostradamus, Helena Blavatsky, and Edgar Cayce receive their due, as well as Joan of Arc, William Blake, Susan B. Anthony, Winston Churchill, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mahatma Gandhi, Harry Houdini, and Mae West (look up and see her sometime).

The Spirit Book explores Qabbalah, Sibyls, Fairies, Poltergeists; phenomena such as intuition and karma; objects useful in the attempt to cross the divide, including tarot cards, flower reading, and runes; and related practices such as Shamanism, transfiguration, meditation, and mesmerism. The Encyclopedia covers the history of Spiritualism as well as offshoots such as Kardecism (in France, South America, and the Philippines), channeling, fraud, psychic research, and possession. It also reports on investigations of contemporary manifestations, including electronic voice phenomena and spirit appearances on TV screens (that static might be Aunt Margaret trying to get through).

About Raymond Buckland

As one of the world's foremost experts on the occult and Wicca practices, Raymond Buckland studied and practiced fortune telling, Witchcraft, Gypsy magic, and other aspects of the supernatural for more than half a century. Of Romany (Gypsy) descent, Buckland was born in London in 1934. He obtained a doctorate in anthropology and, in 1962, moved to America. His spiritual quest led him to the works of Wicca pioneer Dr. Gerald Gardner. Before long, Buckland began serving as Gardner's spokesperson in the United States and was initiated into the Craft shortly before Gardner's death in 1964.


He had nearly 40 titles published, including The Witch Book, The Fortune-Telling Book, and the classic Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft. Buckland was also the subject of and had written countless newspaper and magazine articles, appeared on many television and radio shows, and lectured on college campuses nationwide.


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Quick Facts

  • ISBN: 9781578597901
  • PDF ISBN: 9781578592890
  • Kindle ISBN: 9781578592999
  • ePUB ISBN: 9781578593088
  • 528 pages
  • 100 photos and illustrations
  • 7.25" x 9.25" paperback
  • $44.95

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