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The
New Encyclopedia of the Occult Fresh from the disappointing experience of Mr. Buckland’s most recent offering, I seriously underestimated John Michael Greer’s New Encyclopedia of the Occult. I was expecting tired Occult 101 definitions of terms all but the freshest newbies already know; what I found instead was 500+ pages of fascinating reading. From Aarab Tzereq to Zosimus of Panopolis (curious already, aren’t you?), Mr. Greer gives concise yet complete explanations, rather than simple definitions, of an astonishing array of terms. The Encyclopedia includes terms from alchemy, astrology and other branches of divination, religions and spiritual traditions, various magical orders such as The Golden Dawn, and biographies of persons important to the history of the occult (though no one still living is included in this volume.) The work is focused upon Western culture, covering western Europe and North America as the main geographic areas. In Mr. Greer’s words, “This volume attempts to cover the whole range of occult tradition, lore, history, philosophy and practice in the Western world.” A daunting undertaking, to be sure, but one that is met with impressive success. A great deal of occult literature is written by occultists who are quite successful in their own areas of practice but are sadly lacking in research skills. It is common to find historical, particularly etymological, errors that have been routinely accepted but have absolutely no basis in fact For example, Litha is said to be an ancient Roman term for the summer solstice, while in fact there is no evidence for this term before Tolkein used it in his Lord of the Rings trilogy. We all know that “tarot” comes from the ancient Egyptian words for “royal road”, right? Completely wrong. The Encyclopedia is refreshing in its scholarship. Great for looking up terms and symbols or just for a casual fireside game of follow-the-reference (going from one “see also” to the next), the Encyclopedia includes a 22 page bibliography. A must for the bookshelf of everyone from the serious student to the casually curious. Five pentagrams out of five.
Review by Karen Albeck |
