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Drury, Nevill “Magic and Witchcraft. From Shamanism to the Technopagans”. Thames and Hudson, London, 2003. Hbk, 240pp, Illus (col and b&w), bibliog, notes, index. ISBN 0-500-51140-3. rrp £19.95

On first sight this is a very inviting read. The text is clear and is amply complemented by the illustrations, including over 60 in colour. And further inspection reveals little for the average reader to complain about. The book is described, accurately, as an “overview”, that is, it is not a comprehensive or exhaustive examination of the subjects under discussion. Neither is it a strict chronological history. Instead the author takes chunks of the subject matter into what are, at times, totally self-contained chapters.

Drury starts the book by looking at shamanism, which he covers adequately and extends his coverage by encompassing related “medicine men” in cultures beyond the heartland of shamanism proper (Siberia and environs). Starting with shamanism can be deceptive as it implies that it represents the “origins” of magical practices, that is the active quest for personal transformation to harness a higher power. The problem is, however, that we lack any solid information as to just how “ancient” shamanic practices are in these cultures. And can one assume that they were the precursors for the next section, which covers magic in the ancient world? But not just any ancient world. Drury has decided in this book to limit his account to what he describes as the “western tradition” which excludes non-European cultures and practices.

The account of magic in the ancient Middle East and graeco-roman cultures is fairly basic but given the nature of the book that’s understandable. There’s a brief account of the medieval / early modern witch hunts and then Drury then casts his eyes over related subjects such as Gnosticism and the Kabbalah, Astrology, tarot cards and hermeticism. Again these chapters are fairly cursory and whilst they deal with subjects which have become associated with certain forms of “magic” one can wonder whether astrology and tarot cards really deserve the coverage as they can hardly be seen as having much to do with personal transformation and higher powers. Rather they are forms of divination, which have subsequently been used by some practioners for other purposes.

The teleological nature of the text becomes clearer as the chapters unfold as the next batch deal with the Freemasons and Rosicrucians, and their bastard offspring - the nineteenth century magical brotherhoods, which “culminated” in the formation of the Golden Dawn and its progeny.  Here Drury injects an uncharacteristic critical note by mentioning that the “foundation” documents of the Golden Dawn were almost certainly a complete forgery. But that, it seems didn’t stop the believers in constructing great hierarchies of levels for initiates, partly to gradually reveal the “mysteries”, but mainly, it would appear, to fill the pockets of the organisers. And so Drury reaches the apotheosis of the magical quest, Aleister Crowley, whose life and works are covered in some detail.

Crowley provides the link (although this has been disputed by some authors) to the creation of contemporary Wicca / witchcraft via Gerald Gardner. Drury covers this, taking in people such as Doreen Valiente, Alex and Maxine Sanders and then moves across the Atlantic to look at the mainly feminist goddess worshippers such Margot Adler, Starhawk and Z. Budapest. His next chapter may prove the most contentious, as it covers contemporary Satanism, in particular Anton LeVey’s Church of Satan and the spooky Michael Aquino’s Temple of Seth. LeVey’s roots in show business are brought to the fore, but Michael Aquino’s being, amongst other things a senior officer in the US miltary and an expert on Psychological Warfare seems to have gone missing. Given that so many pagans have made such an effort to distance themselves from accusations of devil worship and the like they won’t be thanking the author for sticking a chapter on Satanism right next to them in this book.

The book concludes with first, a look at what was described as the “archaic revival”, quite literally in some cases, where US academics have re-introduced what they describe as “core shamanism” back into societies in which some form of shamanism had been practiced but which had died out or been deliberately destroyed.  Finally Drury take us for a quick spin round the world of Technopaganism, which is informed by the confluence of the 60’s counter-culture and 70’s computer culture (and more recently 80/90’s rave culture music and drugs.) Quite what the long-term prospects are for this will have to be revealed. At present it seems to have peaked and is being absorbed and diluted into the mainstream culture.

So there we have it, a hodgepodge of practices and beliefs, some of which may have something to do with personal transformation (but by no means all are) and which may connect people to what they conceive are higher powers. (Here Drury is keen to point out that this may not mean any form of deities, but may be considered to be something internal to the seeker, or perhaps be related to a Jungian collective consciousness.) Overall it’s a pleasant book to read, the copious illustrations are well chosen (they’re not strictly tied into the text at all) and the general feel is of a well-assembled book. The notes and bibliography have something of the feel of an afterthought in as much as they are crammed into a tiny space at the end of the book and printed in a much smaller typeface, as if the publishers don’t really expect people to read them.

But overall this serves as an attractive introduction to the world of “higher” magic (that includes aspects of witchcraft, shamanism, divination and so forth). I doubt it will prove an essential purchase for those who have already been reading on these subjects for some time but for newbies, Drury’s book may well prove popular.

Recommended for beginners

7/10

Richard Alexander