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Author Lecouteux, Claude.

Title The high magic of talismans and amulets : tradition and craft / Claude Lecouteux ; translated by Jon E. Graham.

Publication Info. Rochester, Vermont ; Toronto, Cananda : Inner Traditions, 2014.

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 South Windsor Public Library - Non Fiction  133.44 LECOUTEUX    Check Shelf
Edition First U.S. edition.
Description vii, 264 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Note "Originally published in French under the title Le livre des talimans et des amulettes by Éditions Imago, 7 rue Suger, 75006 Paris.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 240-255) and index.
Summary The use of talismans and amulets stretches back nearly to the dawn of man, from everyday items magically prepared, such as horns or coins, to intricate and beautiful jewelry imbued with protective powers. Drawing on his private collection of medieval manuscripts as well as his privileged access to the rare book archives of major European universities, Claude Lecouteux provides a comprehensive history of the use of talismans and amulets for protection, healing, and divine influence. He explores their use in the Western Mystery Tradition as well as Eastern and Middle Eastern beliefs about these magical objects and their incorporation--despite Church anathema--into the Christian tradition of Medieval Europe. Reviewing many different kinds of amulets and talismans used throughout the ages, such as a rabbit's foot, horseshoe, gris-gris bag, or an inscribed parchment charged through ritual, he details the principles and symbology behind each object and shows that their use is still as widespread today as any time in the past. Lecouteux explains the high magic behind the hermetic art of crafting amulets and talismans: the chains of sympathy, astrological geography, and the invocations required to activate their powers. He explores the work of adepts such as Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Athanasius Kircher, including an in-depth look at Kircher's work on planetary seals in his Oedipus Aegyptiacus.
Contents Pt. ONE A Scarcely Catholic Tradition -- 1. On the Words "Talisman" and "Amulet" and Some Definitions -- 2. Amulets and Talismans in Medieval Culture -- 3. Some Christian Amulets and Talismans -- 4. The Medicine of Amulets and Talismans -- pt. TWO The Use of Amulets and the Making of Talismans -- 5. Amulets -- 6. The Crafting of Talismans -- 7. The Use of Amulets and Talismans.
Subject Talismans -- History.
Amulets -- History.
Occultism -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- History.
Amulets. (OCoLC)fst00808063
Occultism -- Religious aspects -- Christianity. (OCoLC)fst01043138
Talismans. (OCoLC)fst01142279
Genre/Form History. (OCoLC)fst01411628
Added Title Livre des talismans et des amulettes. English
ISBN 9781620552797 (hardcover)
1620552795 (hardcover)
9781620552803 (ebook)
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