Elements in Magic aims to restore the study of magic, broadly defined, to a central place within culture: one which it occupied for many centuries before being set apart by changing discourses of rationality and meaning. Thinking with magic has been integral to people’s activity for millennia, and continues to be so across many fields of thought and action. Without studying this magical propensity and its implications, we understand only part of the whole human experience. Elements in Magic intends to expand the purview of magical studies so as to reflect the exciting new work that is now being done across, but also beyond, the fields of in which it is already a recognisable component. That magic can denote and include different things in differing disciplines and contexts is part of its cultural meaning and significance, and the series will embrace this diversity in both its contributions and its contributors. Understood as a continuing and potent force within global civilisation, magic is imaginatively approached here as a cluster of activities, attitudes, beliefs and motivations which include topics such as alchemy, astrology, divination, exorcism, the fantastical, folklore, haunting, supernatural creatures, necromancy, ritual, spirit possession and witchcraft. An unprecedented range of scholars and methodologies is intended to lead to an extensive Elements library which offers a nuanced understanding of magical cultures, from prehistory to the present. 

Series Editor:  Marion Gibson

Marion Gibson is Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures and Director of the Flexible Combined Honours Programme at the University of Exeter. 

[email protected]

Magical form of multicoloured circle (photo credit: oxygen)