Optical illusions, a magical melding of science and art, appeal to all ages. This lavish full-color book looks at both the science (the peculiarities of human vision that make illusions possible) and the art (famous deceptive images and their creators). Included are a wide variety of eye-fooling tricks, including those practiced by Mother Nature herself.

In the medieval period before Science had made its stamp on the world there were many practitioners of magic. Ceremonial Magic pre-Lodge magic variation, was considered the most powerful of all magic at that time, practiced from complex 'how to' manuals called grimoires. The grimoires were often annonymous or credited to unbelievable authorship such as King Solomon from the bible. Often people have attempted to trace the grimoire practices to earlier times to understand the mindset of the practitioners but there is no real clear origin that can be established which makes it near impossible. This book takes a unique look at visible appearance in the grimoires; drawing key qoutes and formulating them from the grimoires themselves in to the view of the Grimoire writers. What methods are there to make a spirit appear? Are they visions? Can a spirit become solid? These questions are discussed inside, by one of the current occult personalities pro visible and physical manifestation: Tolka Scrolls.

Fantasy and science fiction began in print, and from the first films to the latest blockbusters, print stories have provided the inspirations, the ideas, and in some cases the detailed blueprints. Adaption Studies has long been an area of intense debate in literature and film studies, but no single work has ever approached fantasy and science fiction texts as unique and important areas of inquiry by themselves. The Fantastic Made Visible with 16 fresh essays is the first book to do exactly that. From the earliest adaptations of Jules Verne, Robert A. Heinlein, and Shakespeare to recent films based on The Hobbit, Planet of the Apes, and The Hunger Games, this book offers a wide range of critical approaches and films from around the world.

An artistic periodical.

This anthropological investigation of dress featuring selected scholarly readings is ideal for courses focused on global perspectives and cultural aspects of dress.

In 1908, the ruler of the Balinese realm of Klungkung and more than 100 members of his family and court were massacred when they marched deliberately into the fire of the Dutch colonial army. The question of what their action meant and its continued significance in contemporary Klungkung forms the basis of Margaret Wiener's complex anthropolological history. Wiener challenges colonial and academic claims that Klungkung had no "real" power and argues that such claims enabled colonial domination. By focusing on Balinese discourses she makes clear the choices open to Balinese, both at the time of the Dutch conquest and in its narration. At the same time, she shows how these discourses, which revolve around magical weapons acquired from invisible agents such as gods, spirits, and ancestors, offer an alternative understanding of Klungkung's power. Moving between Balinese and Dutch narratives and between past and present, Wiener critiques colonial accounts by recounting Balinese memories and interpretations. Her attention to history and local situations illuminates the ways in which colonialism and orientalist scholarship have obscured the power of indigenous rulers and shows how Klungkung, once Bali's paramount realm, was relegated to a peripheral corner of the Indonesian nation-state. Both as a fascinating story and as a rich example of interdisciplinary scholarship, this book will interest students of colonialism, anthropology, history, religion, and Southeast Asia.

Semi-autobiographical, telling the story of two intertwined journeys an Earthly one and a spiritual one. In part an exploration of spirituality and paranormal phenomena (which in the German language is known as GRENZWISSENSCHAFT and may be translated into English as Borderline Science). Experimental work is involved. It deals with esoteric philosophy, parapsychology and transpersonal experience, also exploring the meaning and mystery of life itself.