In many esoteric traditions, there exists an iconic or linguistic corollary between the concepts of 'poisoner' and 'sorcerer', suggesting a sinistral magical kinship often interchangeable with witchcraft or maledictive magic. Indeed, the use of plant, animal and mineral toxins is a strand of magic originating in remotest antiquity and reaching the present day. Beyond its mundane function as an agent of corporeal harm, poison has also served as a gateway of religious ecstasy, occult knowledge, and sensorial aberration, as well as the basis of healing cures. Allied with Samael, the serpent of Eden whose Hebrew name in some translations is 'Venom of God', this facet of magic wends through the rites of ancient Sumer and Egypt, penetrating European Necromancy. Alchemy, the arcane the rites of the Witches' Sabbath, and modern-day folk magic survivals. This second edition of Veneficium, newly expanded, examines the intersection of magic and poison, collecting the authors early essays on this magical kinship, and exploring the toxicological dimensions of occult power

In today's increasingly electronic world, we say our personality traits are "hard-wired" and we "replay" our memories. But we use a different metaphor when we speak of someone "reading" another's mind or a desire to "turn over a new leaf"—these phrases refer to the "book of the self," an idea that dates from the beginnings of Western culture. Eric Jager traces the history and psychology of the self-as-text concept from antiquity to the modern day. He focuses especially on the Middle Ages, when the metaphor of a "book of the heart" modeled on the manuscript codex attained its most vivid expressions in literature and art. For instance, medieval saints' legends tell of martyrs whose hearts recorded divine inscriptions; lyrics and romances feature lovers whose hearts are inscribed with their passion; paintings depict hearts as books; and medieval scribes even produced manuscript codices shaped like hearts. "The Book of the Heart provides a fresh perspective on the influence of the book as artifact on our language and culture. Reading this book broadens our appreciation of the relationship between things and ideas."—Henry Petroski, author of The Book on the Bookshelf

Deborah and her beloved cat Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz, spent a lifetime together. The bond they shared was special - he was her companion through the best and worst of it all. So when the inevitable happened - the realization he was dying at 15 years of age and she would have to face the painful and difficult decision of helping to let him go, their relationship changed, causing Deborah to learn some invaluable lessons from him about life, love, grieving, and letting go. Told by Mr. Jazz himself, an ordinary cat by his own admission, Purr Prints of the Heart is a touching meow-memoir that will strike a chord with anyone whose heart carries paw-prints of love as he shares the story of his life from kitten hood to his final days on earth in the physical sense. Cleverly written in cat likeness with incredible insight, candor, charm, wisdom, and humor, Mr. Jazz takes the reader on a journey that is like a salve in book form to offer comfort to all who have had to deal with (or will have to deal with), the inevitable loss of a beloved pet. Replete with memorable moments of anticipation, outbursts of laughter, sighs of relief, sheer joy, and throes of grief, Mr. Jazz, carries a conversation with readers, putting them in real-life situations they can easily relate to and empathize with - from his days as a kitten that nobody wanted, to finally being adopted into a loving human and animal filled family that had its share of ups and downs, to his final months whereby his health was declining and he had to deal with things like frequent visits to the vet, being force fed food, resentment issues, litter issues, and the finality of coming to terms with the fact he was dying and needing to convince his beloved humans to let him go . The ending is a welcoming upturn, a refreshing reminder of the celebration of life and the indelible purr prints cats leave on our hearts and includes an invaluable "Coping With Pet Loss" section to help readers on all levels - emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and even physically to empower themselves with ways to positively honor the journey of the pet lost as well as ways to find the strength to heal and mend a broken heart.