Magic School: Spellbound: A History of Magic

There’s an evening class course on the history of magic starting this October at Imperial College, in London. It offers to teach the true history of magic, witchcraft and occultism from ancient times to the present day. It runs on Monday evenings from 6pm to 8pm and the first class is on October 14.

Here is the programme:

Autumn term
1. Religion’s weird sister: defining magic
2. Voodoo dolls and cursing slates: effigy magic since ancient times
3. Stone circles and healing wells: magic and the landscape
4. Celtic folklore: fairies and curses
5. A ‘witch craze’? Witchcraft in Europe, c. 1400-1750
6. Obeah and Voodoo in the Caribbean
7. The cunning-craft
8. Shamans and shape-shifters
9. Grimoires: the history of magic books

Spring term
10. Mesmerism, spiritualism, and the Victorian occult revival
11. Devils and demons: jinn, exorcism and deliverance
12. Alas poor ghost: restless spirits and second lives
13. Cursed Britain: evil magic after the witch trials
14. Making a fortune: fortune-telling and tarot cards
15. Military magic: the supernatural during war and conflict
16. Curse of a continent? Witchcraft in modern Africa
17. From Brothers Grimm to Harry Potter: the power of the magical imagination
18. Traditional Chinese folk magic
19. New witchcrafts for a New Age? Baphomet and Satanism, wicca and hedge witchcraft
20. A global magical revival? Occultism today

The tutor is Tom Waters, a university history lecturer and the author of Cursed Britain: A History of Witchcraft and Black Magic in Modern Times. Fees for the entire course are from £210 to £395. Classes will take place at Imperial College’s South Kensington Campus. You can find the full details here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/evening-classes/autumn-spring-courses/october-courses-list/history-of-magic/

The photo at the top shows a 16th century picture of witches by Hans Baldung Grien

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