Superstition: A Very Short Introduction

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192551329
Total Pages : 169 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (925 download)

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Book Synopsis Superstition: A Very Short Introduction by : Stuart Vyse

Download or read book Superstition: A Very Short Introduction written by Stuart Vyse and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-23 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you touch wood for luck, or avoid hotel rooms on floor thirteen? Would you cross the path of a black cat, or step under a ladder? Is breaking a mirror just an expensive waste of glass, or something rather more sinister? Despite the dominance of science in today's world, superstitious beliefs - both traditional and new - remain surprisingly popular. A recent survey of adults in the United States found that 33 percent believed that finding a penny was good luck, and 23 percent believed that the number seven was lucky. Where did these superstitions come from, and why do they persist today? This Very Short Introduction explores the nature and surprising history of superstition from antiquity to the present. For two millennia, superstition was a label derisively applied to foreign religions and unacceptable religious practices, and its primary purpose was used to separate groups and assert religious and social authority. After the Enlightenment, the superstition label was still used to define groups, but the new dividing line was between reason and unreason. Today, despite our apparent sophistication and technological advances, superstitious belief and behaviour remain widespread, and highly educated people are not immune. Stuart Vyse takes an exciting look at the varieties of popular superstitious beliefs today and the psychological reasons behind their continued existence, as well as the likely future course of superstition in our increasingly connected world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Curiosities Of Superstition And Sketches Of Some Unrevealed Religions

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Author :
Publisher : BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN 13 : 9361151517
Total Pages : 278 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (611 download)

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Book Synopsis Curiosities Of Superstition And Sketches Of Some Unrevealed Religions by : W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS

Download or read book Curiosities Of Superstition And Sketches Of Some Unrevealed Religions written by W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2024-01-02 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Curiosities of Superstition and Sketches of Some Unrevealed Religions" by W. H. Davenport Adams is a delightful exploration of the diverse universe of human beliefs and activities. Adams, who published in the eighteenth century, dives into the fascinating geographical locations of superstition and reveals lesser-known non secular practices. In this complete picture, Adams provides readers with a view into the rich tapestry of global superstitions, rituals, and spiritual traditions. The booklet most likely provides informative sketches of unknown religions, giving light on rituals that may be new to many. Adams' rigorous research and entertaining narrative style are likely to make the complicated worry count accessible to a large target audience. Adams' tales, historical bills, and cultural studies may shed light on the ways in which superstitions and non-secular beliefs have shaped cultures across time and location. The paintings could be a valuable resource for anybody interested in anthropology, comparative religion, or the junction of tradition and spirituality. "Curiosities of Superstition" exemplifies Adams' commitment to understanding the secrets of human thought processes, taking readers on an idea-provoking journey through the various representations of religion and superstition around the planet.

Cults, Customs and Superstitions of India

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 434 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (334 download)

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Book Synopsis Cults, Customs and Superstitions of India by : John Campbell Oman

Download or read book Cults, Customs and Superstitions of India written by John Campbell Oman and published by . This book was released on 1908 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Inventing Superstition

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Author :
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674040694
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Inventing Superstition by : Dale B. Martin

Download or read book Inventing Superstition written by Dale B. Martin and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Roman author Pliny the Younger characterizes Christianity as “contagious superstition”; two centuries later the Christian writer Eusebius vigorously denounces Greek and Roman religions as vain and impotent “superstitions.” The term of abuse is the same, yet the two writers suggest entirely different things by “superstition.” Dale Martin provides the first detailed genealogy of the idea of superstition, its history over eight centuries, from classical Greece to the Christianized Roman Empire of the fourth century C.E. With illuminating reference to the writings of philosophers, historians, and medical teachers he demonstrates that the concept of superstition was invented by Greek intellectuals to condemn popular religious practices and beliefs, especially the belief that gods or other superhuman beings would harm people or cause disease. Tracing the social, political, and cultural influences that informed classical thinking about piety and superstition, nature and the divine, Inventing Superstition exposes the manipulation of the label of superstition in arguments between Greek and Roman intellectuals on the one hand and Christians on the other, and the purposeful alteration of the idea by Neoplatonic philosophers and Christian apologists in late antiquity. Inventing Superstition weaves a powerfully coherent argument that will transform our understanding of religion in Greek and Roman culture and the wider ancient Mediterranean world.

Enchanted Europe

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Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 019161372X
Total Pages : 488 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (916 download)

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Book Synopsis Enchanted Europe by : Euan Cameron

Download or read book Enchanted Europe written by Euan Cameron and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2010-03-18 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the dawn of history people have used charms and spells to try to control their environment, and forms of divination to try to foresee the otherwise unpredictable chances of life. Many of these techniques were called 'superstitious' by educated elites. For centuries religious believers used 'superstition' as a term of abuse to denounce another religion that they thought inferior, or to criticize their fellow-believers for practising their faith 'wrongly'. From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, scholars argued over what 'superstition' was, how to identify it, and how to persuade people to avoid it. Learned believers in demons and witchcraft, in their treatises and sermons, tried to make 'rational' sense of popular superstitions by blaming them on the deceptive tricks of seductive demons. Every major movement in Christian thought, from rival schools of medieval theology through to the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment, added new twists to the debates over superstition. Protestants saw Catholics as superstitious, and vice versa. Enlightened philosophers mocked traditional cults as superstitions. Eventually, the learned lost their worry about popular belief, and turned instead to chronicling and preserving 'superstitious' customs as folklore and ethnic heritage. Enchanted Europe is the first comprehensive, integrated account of western Europe's long, complex dialogue with its own folklore and popular beliefs. Drawing on many little-known and rarely used texts, Euan Cameron constructs a compelling narrative of the rise, diversification, and decline of popular 'superstition' in the European mind.

Faith Versus Fact

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0143108263
Total Pages : 338 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (431 download)

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Book Synopsis Faith Versus Fact by : Jerry A. Coyne

Download or read book Faith Versus Fact written by Jerry A. Coyne and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-05-17 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A superbly argued book.” —Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion The New York Times bestselling author of Why Evolution is True explains why any attempt to make religion compatible with science is doomed to fail In this provocative book, evolutionary biologist Jerry A. Coyne lays out in clear, dispassionate detail why the toolkit of science, based on reason and empirical study, is reliable, while that of religion—including faith, dogma, and revelation—leads to incorrect, untestable, or conflicting conclusions. Coyne is responding to a national climate in which more than half of Americans don’t believe in evolution, members of Congress deny global warming, and long-conquered childhood diseases are reappearing because of religious objections to inoculation, and he warns that religious prejudices in politics, education, medicine, and social policy are on the rise. Extending the bestselling works of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens, he demolishes the claims of religion to provide verifiable “truth” by subjecting those claims to the same tests we use to establish truth in science. Coyne irrefutably demonstrates the grave harm—to individuals and to our planet—in mistaking faith for fact in making the most important decisions about the world we live in. Praise for Faith Versus Fact: “A profound and lovely book . . . showing that the honest doubts of science are better . . . than the false certainties of religion.” —Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith

People, Religion And Superstitions

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Author :
Publisher : Educreation Publishing
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 77 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis People, Religion And Superstitions by : Sumit Surana

Download or read book People, Religion And Superstitions written by Sumit Surana and published by Educreation Publishing. This book was released on with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book gives you the relation between people and their religion. It also gives you detail about many superstitious activities that take place in name of religion. It also gives you on what to believe and what not to believe. It is also compared with philosophy of life. It gives you tips on various aspects of Life and how to live life without any stress and comfortably. It had arrived at a conclusion on the basis of incidents that took place with the author. The author of the book had given his own views on the topic. The reader may have different view on it and the author respects the other thoughts also. The intention of the book is not to hurt any person or religion and if it had got hurt the author apologize to you for that.

Superstition

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400828775
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Superstition by : Robert L. Park

Download or read book Superstition written by Robert L. Park and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2008-09-22 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why the battle between superstition and science is far from over From uttering a prayer before boarding a plane, to exploring past lives through hypnosis, has superstition become pervasive in contemporary culture? Robert Park, the best-selling author of Voodoo Science, argues that it has. In Superstition, Park asks why people persist in superstitious convictions long after science has shown them to be ill-founded. He takes on supernatural beliefs from religion and the afterlife to New Age spiritualism and faith-based medical claims. He examines recent controversies and concludes that science is the only way we have of understanding the world. Park sides with the forces of reason in a world of continuing and, he fears, increasing superstition. Chapter by chapter, he explains how people too easily mistake pseudoscience for science. He discusses parapsychology, homeopathy, and acupuncture; he questions the existence of souls, the foundations of intelligent design, and the power of prayer; he asks for evidence of reincarnation and astral projections; and he challenges the idea of heaven. Throughout, he demonstrates how people's blind faith, and their confidence in suspect phenomena and remedies, are manipulated for political ends. Park shows that science prevails when people stop fooling themselves. Compelling and precise, Superstition takes no hostages in its quest to provoke. In shedding light on some very sensitive--and Park would say scientifically dubious--issues, the book is sure to spark discussion and controversy.

Studies in Popular Islam

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (4 download)

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Book Synopsis Studies in Popular Islam by : Samuel Marinus Zwemer

Download or read book Studies in Popular Islam written by Samuel Marinus Zwemer and published by . This book was released on 1939 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

How Did It Begin

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Publisher : HarperCollins Australia
ISBN 13 : 1743099231
Total Pages : 509 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis How Did It Begin by : R Brasch

Download or read book How Did It Begin written by R Brasch and published by HarperCollins Australia. This book was released on 2012-12-18 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why the story of the stork? Why blue for boys and pink for girls? Why is a kiss written as 'X'? Where did the Easter Bunny come from? Dr Rudy Brasch, with his wife Li by his side, made it his life's work to track down the meanings and origins of words and phrases, myths and customs. How Did It Begin? investigates courtesies and customs, the manners and rituals that are integral parts of particular careers and the seemingly odd traditions that surround our sports and festivals.

Believing in Magic

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019999692X
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (999 download)

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Book Synopsis Believing in Magic by : Stuart A. Vyse

Download or read book Believing in Magic written by Stuart A. Vyse and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-11 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this fully updated edition of Believing in Magic, renowned superstition expert Stuart Vyse investigates our tendency towards these irrational beliefs.

Encyclopedia of Superstitions

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Publisher : Open Road Media
ISBN 13 : 150405508X
Total Pages : 787 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (4 download)

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Book Synopsis Encyclopedia of Superstitions by : Edwin Radford

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Superstitions written by Edwin Radford and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2018-06-19 with total page 787 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “For the expert investigation of the human will to believe, we recommend The Encyclopedia of Superstitions.”—The New York Times Why is it said that breaking a mirror or walking under ladders will bring bad luck and misfortunate? Ever wonder why so many people throw salt over their shoulders after spilling it, or wish on shooting stars? The Encyclopedia of Superstitions holds the answers to these questions and more. This classic and captivating reference book catalogs the origins of hundreds of superstitious beliefs and includes a rich history of charms, spells, folklore, and rural remedies drawn from cultures around the world used to commemorate births, marriages, deaths, to ward off evil, or invite good fortune. Edwin and Mona A. Radford uncover why catching a falling leaf in autumn is believed to stave off colds all winter and explain the traditional Norse mythological roots of kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas. They explore the myriad of beliefs surrounding the moon or what spotting a rainbow portends and why. This thought-provoking collection provides a wealth of entertaining entries—stories that have the power to thrill, intrigue, and perhaps send a chill down the spine of even the most skeptical of readers.

New Testament Mythology and Other Basic Writings

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Publisher : Fortress Press
ISBN 13 : 9781451417883
Total Pages : 184 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (178 download)

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Book Synopsis New Testament Mythology and Other Basic Writings by : Rudolf Bultmann

Download or read book New Testament Mythology and Other Basic Writings written by Rudolf Bultmann and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aside from the fact that it is perhaps the single most discussed and controversial theological writing of the century, no one knowledgeable of Bultmann's work could doubt its basic importance for his entire contribution. Although the position is for which it argues was hardly new, having already taken shape in several of his theological essays written during the 1920s, it is nevertheless the classic formulation of this position and as such incomparable in the Bultmann corpus.

Curiosities of Superstition

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (187 download)

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Book Synopsis Curiosities of Superstition by : William Henry Davenport Adams

Download or read book Curiosities of Superstition written by William Henry Davenport Adams and published by . This book was released on 2020-03 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having dismissed the authority of the Puranas, he rested his faith on the Vedas, the oldest of the Hindu sacred books, in the conviction (an erroneous one) that the old creed of Hinduism was monotheistic, and the belief (a justifiable one) that the Puranas represented the degeneracy of a later age. Strange to say, he did not detect the Pantheism that overflows the Vedas: in the Upanishads or treatises attached to them, he fancied that he saw a pure Deism, and to diffuse this among his countrymen, he published numerous translations and organised a society of believers, who recited texts from the Vedas, and chanted Christian hymns. In 1830 he went further; founding a prayer-meeting, which proved the seed of what is now known as the Brahma Samáj. The building erected for the purpose of holding the meetings was, according to the trust deed, to be open to people of all sorts and conditions, "who shall behave and conduct themselves in an orderly, sober, religious, and devout manner, for the worship and adoration of the Eternal, Unsearchable, and Immutable Being, who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe, but not under and by any other name, designation, or title, peculiarly used for and applied to any particular Being or Beings by any man or set of men whatsoever." It provided also, in direct opposition to the practices of Hinduism, that no graven image, sculpture, carving, picture, painting, portrait, or likeness of anything, should "be admitted within the walls of this building;" that no animal sacrifices should take place there; that no eating or drinking, feasting or rioting, should be permitted; that evil speaking against the beliefs of men should be prohibited; and that no prayer, or sermon, or teaching should be allowed, unless it had "a tendency to the contemplation of the Author and Preserver of the Universe, or to the promotion of charity, morality, piety, benevolence, virtue, and the strengthening of the bonds of union between men of all religious persuasions and creeds."

Curiosities of Superstition

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (187 download)

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Book Synopsis Curiosities of Superstition by : William Henry Davenport Adams

Download or read book Curiosities of Superstition written by William Henry Davenport Adams and published by . This book was released on 2020-03 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having dismissed the authority of the Puranas, he rested his faith on the Vedas, the oldest of the Hindu sacred books, in the conviction (an erroneous one) that the old creed of Hinduism was monotheistic, and the belief (a justifiable one) that the Puranas represented the degeneracy of a later age. Strange to say, he did not detect the Pantheism that overflows the Vedas: in the Upanishads or treatises attached to them, he fancied that he saw a pure Deism, and to diffuse this among his countrymen, he published numerous translations and organised a society of believers, who recited texts from the Vedas, and chanted Christian hymns. In 1830 he went further; founding a prayer-meeting, which proved the seed of what is now known as the Brahma Samáj. The building erected for the purpose of holding the meetings was, according to the trust deed, to be open to people of all sorts and conditions, "who shall behave and conduct themselves in an orderly, sober, religious, and devout manner, for the worship and adoration of the Eternal, Unsearchable, and Immutable Being, who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe, but not under and by any other name, designation, or title, peculiarly used for and applied to any particular Being or Beings by any man or set of men whatsoever." It provided also, in direct opposition to the practices of Hinduism, that no graven image, sculpture, carving, picture, painting, portrait, or likeness of anything, should "be admitted within the walls of this building;" that no animal sacrifices should take place there; that no eating or drinking, feasting or rioting, should be permitted; that evil speaking against the beliefs of men should be prohibited; and that no prayer, or sermon, or teaching should be allowed, unless it had "a tendency to the contemplation of the Author and Preserver of the Universe, or to the promotion of charity, morality, piety, benevolence, virtue, and the strengthening of the bonds of union between men of all religious persuasions and creeds."

Curiosities of Superstition

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (187 download)

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Book Synopsis Curiosities of Superstition by : William Henry Davenport Adams

Download or read book Curiosities of Superstition written by William Henry Davenport Adams and published by . This book was released on 2020-03 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Having dismissed the authority of the Puranas, he rested his faith on the Vedas, the oldest of the Hindu sacred books, in the conviction (an erroneous one) that the old creed of Hinduism was monotheistic, and the belief (a justifiable one) that the Puranas represented the degeneracy of a later age. Strange to say, he did not detect the Pantheism that overflows the Vedas: in the Upanishads or treatises attached to them, he fancied that he saw a pure Deism, and to diffuse this among his countrymen, he published numerous translations and organised a society of believers, who recited texts from the Vedas, and chanted Christian hymns. In 1830 he went further; founding a prayer-meeting, which proved the seed of what is now known as the Brahma Samáj. The building erected for the purpose of holding the meetings was, according to the trust deed, to be open to people of all sorts and conditions, "who shall behave and conduct themselves in an orderly, sober, religious, and devout manner, for the worship and adoration of the Eternal, Unsearchable, and Immutable Being, who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe, but not under and by any other name, designation, or title, peculiarly used for and applied to any particular Being or Beings by any man or set of men whatsoever." It provided also, in direct opposition to the practices of Hinduism, that no graven image, sculpture, carving, picture, painting, portrait, or likeness of anything, should "be admitted within the walls of this building;" that no animal sacrifices should take place there; that no eating or drinking, feasting or rioting, should be permitted; that evil speaking against the beliefs of men should be prohibited; and that no prayer, or sermon, or teaching should be allowed, unless it had "a tendency to the contemplation of the Author and Preserver of the Universe, or to the promotion of charity, morality, piety, benevolence, virtue, and the strengthening of the bonds of union between men of all religious persuasions and creeds."

Jewish Magic and Superstition

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Author :
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN 13 : 0812208331
Total Pages : 393 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (122 download)

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Book Synopsis Jewish Magic and Superstition by : Joshua Trachtenberg

Download or read book Jewish Magic and Superstition written by Joshua Trachtenberg and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2012-10-08 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alongside the formal development of Judaism from the eleventh through the sixteenth centuries, a robust Jewish folk religion flourished—ideas and practices that never met with wholehearted approval by religious leaders yet enjoyed such wide popularity that they could not be altogether excluded from the religion. According to Joshua Trachtenberg, it is not possible truly to understand the experience and history of the Jewish people without attempting to recover their folklife and beliefs from centuries past. Jewish Magic and Superstition is a masterful and utterly fascinating exploration of religious forms that have all but disappeared yet persist in the imagination. The volume begins with legends of Jewish sorcery and proceeds to discuss beliefs about the evil eye, spirits of the dead, powers of good, the famous legend of the golem, procedures for casting spells, the use of gems and amulets, how to battle spirits, the ritual of circumcision, herbal folk remedies, fortune telling, astrology, and the interpretation of dreams. First published more than sixty years ago, Trachtenberg's study remains the foundational scholarship on magical practices in the Jewish world and offers an understanding of folk beliefs that expressed most eloquently the everyday religion of the Jewish people.