The Spirit Book - (Real Unexplained! Collection) by Raymond Buckland (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Never say die!

Can the living communicate with the dead? Many believe that spirits are constantly about us and that it is possible, through a variety of means, to speak to them and to have them speak to us. The Spirit Book: The Encyclopedia of Clairvoyance, Channeling, and Spirit Communication looks at these methods of communication, their history, and the personalities involved throughout the past three hundred years of this eternal quest.

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. Drawing on decades of research, writing, and transcendence, he describes sundry methods of channeling, events associated with Spiritualism, including séeacute;ances 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. This comprehensive reference also reports on investigations of contemporary manifestations, including electronic voice phenomena and spirit appearances on TV screens, plus channeling, fraud, psychic research, and possession. Containing more than 500 entries and 100 illustrations, this fun, fact-filled tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.

Review Quotes

"...
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

"Students
of the goofily strange will go for this 'encyclopedia of
clairvoyance, channeling and spirit communication.'" -
PEOPLE magazine

"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

About the Author

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.