Description |
1 online resource (227 pages) |
Contents |
Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Contents; List of figures; List of table; Preface; Prologue: a new template for magic; SECTION 1 Abridge of communication; 1 On the trail of the Rainbow Serpent; 2 Towards a place of connection; 3 Moving out of the hall of mirrors: the practice of magic; 4 Liberating magical imagination; SECTION 2 Lifting 'mind forg'd manacles'; 5 Healing Western cultural amnesia; 6 'Opposition is true friendship': integrating the psyche; SECTION 3 Working with magical consciousness; 7 Re-dreaming a common language of communication |
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8 All knowing is personal: participating with spirit worlds9 Working between two worlds: interactions of cultures and environment; Epilogue: coming full circle; Index |
Summary |
"Offering a new template for future exploration, Susan Greenwood examines and develops the notion that the experience of magic is a panhuman orientation of consciousness, a form of knowledge largely marginalized in Western societies. In this volume she aims to form a "bridge of communication" between indigenous magical or shamanic worldviews and rationalized Western cultures. She outlines an alternative mythological framework for the latter to help develop a magical perception, as well as giving practical case studies derived from her own research. The form of magic discussed here is not fantastic or virtual, but ecological and sensory. Magical knowledge infiltrates the body in its deepest levels of the subconscious, and unconscious, as well as conscious awareness; it is felt and understood through the connection with an inspirited world that includes the consciousness of other beings, including those of plant, animal and the physical environment. This is anthropology from the heart rather than the head, and it engages with the messy area of emotions, an embodiment of the senses, and struggles to find a common language of listening to one another across a void of differences. The aim is to provide a non-reductive structure for the creative interplay of both magical and analytical modes of thought. Passion is a motivator for change, and a change in attitude to magic as an integrative force of human understanding is the main thread of this work"-- Provided by publisher |
Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
Notes |
Print version record |
Subject |
Magic.
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Shamanism.
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Aboriginal Australians -- Religion
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Rainbow serpent.
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shamanism.
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Aboriginal Australians -- Religion
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Magic
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Rainbow serpent
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Shamanism
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Form |
Electronic book
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ISBN |
9781351628020 |
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135162802X |
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