The Occult Sciences in the Renaissance: A Study in Intellectual Patterns

by Wayne Shumaker

Book Overview

"The only short and acceptable summary and analysis of the five Renaissance occult sciences." - Times Literary Supplement

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520020219
• ISBN13: 9780520020214
• Release Date: January 1972
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Short but essential

I've noticed through joining a myriad of occult societies that many people have no clue as to the history behind their society's teachings. While remaining nameless, many of these societies claim that their practices reflect thoughts or ideas expressed by Hermeticism (furthermore, mention the quasi-mythical allusive figure known as Hermes Trismegistus). Unfortunately the average student of the occult would have no knowledge of Hermes Trismegistus or the writings attributed to the thrice great Hermes... if they did, they probably wondered why it had a Christian slant to it. While not a definitive account of Occult history in the Renaissance, this book offers the very basics of Astrology, Witchcraft (as it was viewed during the Renaissance), White Magic (differences between "natural magic, spiritual magic, goetia, and astrological magic", during the Renaissance), Alchemy, and one of the most useful chapters: a background of Hermes Trismegistus which helps clear up who translated the documents and the time period in which they were translated and perhaps supposedly written (essential for those in the academics field studying the occult and the Corpus Hermeticum). Again, while some might claim that the book lacks in-depth information, the truth is most of the "in-depth" studies of the occult during this time tend to be extremely biased - for the average occultist if not for the expert historian, perhaps this might be used as a general overview of the Occult history. Be forewarned, it's hard to find such impartial books in the occult field - instead (my opinion), rely on history books and make your own choices from there: no book or organization will ever offer "the truth" about subjects so obscure (do to religious piety and the passage of years). Read for fun or brief historical significances of the Occult during the Renaissance (again, this isn't an "Occult book" but I'm sure many Occult students will find a copy at their public library under "Occult").

Short but essential

I've noticed through joining a myriad of occult societies that many people have no clue as to the history behind their society's teachings. While remaining nameless, many of these societies claim that their practices reflect thoughts or ideas expressed by Hermeticism (furthermore, mention the quasi-mythical allusive figure known as Hermes Trismegistus). Unfortunately the average student of the occult would have no knowledge of Hermes Trismegistus or the writings attributed to the thrice great Hermes... if they did, they probably wondered why it had a Christian slant to it. While not a definitive account of Occult history in the Renaissance, this book offers the very basics of Astrology, Witchcraft (as it was viewed during the Renaissance), White Magic (differences between "natural magic, spiritual magic, goetia, and astrological magic", during the Renaissance), Alchemy, and one of the most useful chapters: a background of Hermes Trismegistus which helps clear up who translated the documents and the time period in which they were translated and perhaps supposedly written (essential for those in the academics field studying the occult and the Corpus Hermeticum). Again, while some might claim that the book lacks in-depth information, the truth is most of the "in-depth" studies of the occult during this time tend to be extremely biased - for the average occultist if not for the expert historian, perhaps this might be used as a general overview of the Occult history. Be forewarned, it's hard to find such impartial books in the occult field - instead (my opinion), rely on history books and make your own choices from there: no book or organization will ever offer "the truth" about subjects so obscure (do to religious piety and the passage of years). Read for fun or brief historical significances of the Occult during the Renaissance (again, this isn't an "Occult book" but I'm sure many Occult studies will no doubt find a copy at their public library).