Research Guides: RLG319: Magic, Astrology, and Religion: Finding Books

Sample Books: Magic

Magic in the Modern World (ONLINE) by Edward Bever (Editor); Randall Styers (Editor)
ISBN: 0271077778
Publication Date: 2017-04-18
A collection of essays that explore how the modern world defines itself in opposition to magic and superstition, how modern "proponents" of magic legitimize their practices by embracing esotericism and supernaturalism, and lastly, how people today embrace various forms of magic.
The Search for the Absolute (ONLINE) by Jeffrey H. Williams
ISBN: 1681737787
Publication Date: 2020-03-26
This book seeks to show how science evolved from religion and magic, in response to a need to understand Nature.
Magic: the Basics (ONLINE) by Michael D. Bailey
ISBN: 1317610679
Publication Date: 2017-07-28
Magic: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to magic in world history and contemporary societies. Presenting magic as a global phenomenon which has manifested in all human cultures, this book takes a thematic approach which explores the historical, social, and cultural aspects of magic.
Witchcraft and Magic: Contemporary North America (ONLINE) by Helen A. Berger (Editor)
ISBN: 1283211440
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
In original essays the book explores both religions that incorporate magical or occult beliefs and practices and contemporary responses to these religions in North America and the Caribbean.
Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 6 (ONLINE) by Willem De Blecourt; Jean La Fontaine; Ronald Hutton
ISBN: 1283197413
Publication Date: 1998-01-01
Witchcraft continues to play a role in the modern European imagination and in its cultures. This book brings together studies of its most important modern manifestations. The volume includes a major new history of the origins and development of English 'Wicca', an account of satanic abuse mythology in the Twentieth Century and a survey of the continued existence of traditional witchcraft.
The Cambridge History of Magic and Witchcraft in the West (ONLINE) by David J. Collins (Editor)
ISBN: 0521194180
Publication Date: 2015-03-02
An interdisciplinary overview of the theory and practice of magic in the West.

Of particular interest is chapter 20 - "New Age and Neopagan Magic" discusses these contemporary approaches to magic, how each movement defines magic, and how that informs the worldviews of its practitioners.

Sample Books: Astrology

Astrology, Science and Culture (ONLINE) by Roy Willis; Patrick Curry
ISBN: 1859736874
Publication Date: 2004-02-01
This book tackles the question of why astrology remains so popular in the modern day by combining the disciplines of philosophy, science, anthropology, and history.
Astrology and Popular Religion in the Modern West (ONLINE) by Nicholas Campion
ISBN: 1409435156
Publication Date: 2012-08-15
This book explores an area of contemporary religion, spirituality and popular culture: the phenomenon of astrology in the modern West, locating modern astrology historically and sociologically in its religious, New Age and millenarian contexts,

Of particular interest is chapter 6: “The Writing of Heaven: New Age Astrology,” which discusses astrology in the context of the New Age movement and the 21st century.
Astrology (PRINT) by P. G. Maxwell-Stuart
ISBN: 9781445607030
Publication Date: 2012-06-15
This book traces astrology's chequered history and notes that modern research suggests it should be taken much more seriously than people usually suppose.

NOTE: this book is only available in print at the E.J. Pratt Library. You can request it be delivered to UTM through Intercampus Delivery.
A Scheme of Heaven (PRINT) by Alexander Boxer
ISBN: 9780393634846
Publication Date: 2020-01-14
Although recognized as pseudoscience today, horoscopes were once considered a cutting-edge scientific tool. At once critical, rigorous, and far ranging, A Scheme of Heaven recontextualizes astrology as a vast, technological project--spanning continents and centuries--that foreshadowed our data-driven world today.

NOTE: this book is only available in print at the E.J. Pratt Library. You can request it be delivered to UTM through Intercampus Delivery.

Finding books at the UTM Library

The UTM Library, and the U of T Library system more broadly, has a massive collection of both print and e-books you can access for your research; learning how to navigate the catalogue and how to find print books and access e-books will save you time in accessing the information you need.

While many titles are available in both formats, there will be times when a particular book may only be available in print. Some e-books will have multiple links to access on different platforms, and some platforms are more user friendly than others.

Use the resources below to learn how to locate a print book in the UTM Library, how to distinguish print from e-books in the UTM Library catalogue, as well as how to access and download e-books.

Finding a Book in the Library
UTM Library guide to help you find a print book at the UTM Library

Finding and Requesting Books at Other U of T Libraries

There will be times when you will come across books that are very relevant to your topic, but may only be available in print at other U of T Libraries. In these cases, you can request them to be delivered to UTM through the Intercampus Delivery service, rather than having to take a trip to another campus.

This video explains how to request a book from the Library catalogue: