How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age by Theodore Schick, Jr. and Lewis Vaughn, foreword by Martin Gardner


Yet another book about thinking that I am about to deacquisition for sloppy thinking. Ironic isn't it? I will give two examples. The authors make much of the idea that Babylonian astrologers did not survey people about personality traits to determine the efficacy of astrology. If they had actually studied the history of astrology, they would have known that the current personality trait style of astrology was not what early astrologers did. They were more concerned with the fate of nations--predicting storms, quakes, floods, invasions and so forth, predicting events in the ruler's life that might affect the nation: will he have heirs, will he die in battle, etc. The contemporary emphasis on intangibles such as personality is a reaction to the rise of scientific criticism of astrology rather than part of the original mission.

Homeopathy is another subject that the authors have apparently not bothered to inform themselves about. I have read accounts of trials of homeopathic remedies that really ignore the basis of the treatment. For instance, the researchers may decide to gather a reasonable number of people who have a common cold and give half of them THE homeopathic remedy for the common cold. There is no such thing. Anyone who has had more than one cold in their life knows that what we lump together as colds can run different courses. Some start with a sore throat, turn into a chest cough and gradually clear up. Some start with copious runny mucus, a red nose, postnasal drip, etc. For a homeopathic practitioner these are two different conditions that would require different remedies. And even two people with the same general symptoms might receive a different remedy depending on their food cravings, sleep patterns, psychological state or previous history of receiving remedies. The authors, following general science, dismiss higher potency (more diluted) remedies as having nothing of the original substance in them. Well, no one educated in the theory would claim they do. Homeopathic theory says that the energy pattern of the original substance has been transferred and increased by agitation. Since modern science refuses to try to detect or measure the theorized energy patterns this explanation is dismissed as nonsense. Dismissing a system because you don't understand its principles is like dismissing literature in a foreign language.

I thoroughly approve of teaching people how to approach novel or mysterious claim; how to detect flaws in logic and arguments, but distorting the actual history and theory of claims you are testing is not the way to do it.

This collection of essays covers a range of topics, reflecting the changing interests of the author and the different publications in which the essays originally appeared. Two essays discuss the little known divination method of geomancy. This is not to be confused with ley lines or feng shui. It is not a method of reading earth energies but rather a method, resembling the I Ching in that it uses a binary system, of constructing figures which are then read in relation to the question asked. "The method of judging question according to Peter de Abano . . ." is a translation of a medieval handbook of the art, giving an idea of how it was originally constructed and used. "The forgotten oracle" explains the method in more modern language. Another pair of articles discusses the art of fencing. Although fencing is not usually regarded as a spiritual practice, Greer's researches suggest that the Renaissance emphasis on newly recovered esoteric geometry converted sword fighting from a natural extension of the human body to an art based on mathematical principles and the kind of relationship between the practical and spiritual found in Eastern martial arts. "Geometries of the sword" and "Swordsmanship and esoteric spirituality" give the details of these researches.

Of the remaining essays the one of most value to the general reader is "Magic, politics, and the origins of the 'mind-body problem'" In the modern world, one of the major philosophical problems is to explain how mind and body are related to one another. Since this is a problem for our top thinkers we tend to assume that such has always been the case: that humans have always experienced themselves as a material body somehow inhabited by a mind, soul, spirit, etc. Greer's essay does not review the arguments around this concept itself but rather discusses the history of political, religious and social alliances that led to the victory of one world view over its competitors. Of course, as soon as one thinks "this idea is taught because this group of people gained more power" one must realize that economic or social power is not a reliable test of ideas about the nature of the world.

Other essays explain the working of a magical lodge, with ideas later expanded into a book on the subject; the Hermetic art of training the human memory; the influence of hermeticism on utopian ideas; the influence of Pythagoras on Western magic; and various examinations of the Golden Dawn system of magic. The individual essays have bibliographies and the book contains an index.

Aeon Books, London 2020
978-1-91280-718-5
tpb 269p.

America Bewitched: the Story of Witchcraft after Salem
Owen Davies
Oxford UP, 2013
978-0-19-957871-9

The Salem Witch Trials occupy a place in the American psyche somewhat out of proportion to their actual historical importance. They seem to provide a psychic landmark, the boundary between a dark and irrational past and an enlightened and scientific present and future. But, as Owen Davies makes clear, Salem was not the end of witch beliefs in America, it was only the end of state sanctioned violence against those believed to be witches. As other authorities have pointed out, the belief that certain persons are able to injure or kill humans or livestock or to cause bad weather, accidents, or other harm to neighbors through supernatural means is nearly universal. The colonists of Massachusetts brought their beliefs with them from Christian England. Later waves of immigrants brought their own versions of witchcraft beliefs. These communities included the Spanish colonists in the Southwest, as well as every other nationality that immigrated: Germans, Scots, Irish, Italians, Greeks, Russians and so on. Although the later waves of immigration took place after the educated elite of most of Europe had rejected magical world views, many immigrants were from areas in which the new scientific views had not become supreme, and retained beliefs of long-standing.

A second strand of supernatural beliefs was waiting when the Europeans arrived. Most of the Native tribes had some equivalent of witch in their belief systems. As in Europe there was sometimes overlap between those skilled in herbal and magical lore who used their skills for healing and those with the same skills who used their powers for personal gain or unmotivated animosity. There were also native practitioners who specialized in detecting or curing witchcraft, as well as those filling religious roles that Europeans were frequently unable to distinguish from magic, good or evil.

The third strand came with the Africans imported as slaves. Although less able than the Native Americans to maintain and practice their religions, the slaves did bring herbal and magical knowledge which became mingled with the European and Native beliefs. Some aimed hostile magic at masters, others defended themselves and their community from the oppressive system. Some, such as the famous Marie Leveau offered magical services to white clients as well as black.

Davies proceeds to trace the history of both the beliefs in witchcraft and the violence such beliefs begot. The post-Enlightenment legal codes gave no recourse or relief for people who believed that they had been bewitched. Police would not make arrests, nor would courts hear cases since the law did not recognize the possibility that a person's illness or the death of their livestock or failure of their business was caused by the ill wishing of another. Instead, accusers might find themselves in court, defending actions against slander. At the extreme lay lynch law. In an isolated community an accused witch might be beaten, killed or run out of town. In an area in which believers were the minority, the attackers would end up in court, on trial for assault or murder. Davies gives details of numerous cases in both rural areas and cities; heterogeneous communities and ethnic enclaves; and areas of conflict between cultures such as Native Americans or Hispanics vs. Anglo or other European immigrants. These are sad tales of people desperately convinced that there must be some cause for the illness or bad luck plaguing them or their families. What physicians could not diagnose or cure could fit the traditional pattern of attack by a witch. Those who perceived themselves to be victims would sometimes plead or offer money, appeal to the police or to neighbors. Most accused would deny responsibility, although there were some cases in which the accused had claimed or even paraded uncommon powers, threatening and taunting victims.

One interesting turn that Davies traces is the use of the insanity plea. Defense attorneys in some cases have successfully argued that the killer's belief that the victim was a witch is an insane delusion deserving treatment rather than execution or penal imprisonment. In some cases, even expressing belief in the powers of witches has caused people to be labeled insane and a menace to the community.

Davies concludes his work with an examination of the modern witchcraft revival, both serious forms such as Wicca and popular culture manifestations such as the television show "Bewitched "and the commercialization of Salem, Massachusetts.

This book does not give details of magical practices. It is about the results that such beliefs have had in the social history of America. It is a useful reminder that American history is not a simple tale of the march of enlightenment and science with beliefs and practices abandoned by the elite retiring quietly to the halls of history museums. _America Bewitched_ will be of interest to anyone fascinated by social history in general and by the history of the occult in particular.

Davies is a British scholar, a professor of Social History at the University of Herefordshire. He has written several other books on magical topics, including _The Haunted: a Social History of Ghosts_ and _Grimoires: a History of Magic Books_. He is editor of _The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic_ (Oxford UP, 2017)

The first thing to be made clear is that, in this work, Dr. Hutton is dealing only with belief in witches who are practitioners of maleficium: magic that harms humans and their property. He admits in a introductory note that there are currently at least four different usages of the word "witch" in English: 1) the worker of magical harm, as above, 2) any worker of magic, although beneficial magicians are sometimes distinguished as "good" or "white", 3) practitioners of a particular nature-based Pagan religion and 4) as a symbol of independent female authority. In reference to those people labeled "white witches" or "cunning folk" he choses to use the term "service magician." This term also encompasses the medicine men and witch-doctors of non-Western societies.

Hutton demonstrates through references to history and ethnographies that many societies believe in and fear witches. These range from hunting and gathering cultures to the sophisticated nation states of Early Modern Europe. Nor was the Witch Hunt era of European history unique in the number of victims. Witch-hunts in Republican Rome and surrounding cities may have claimed more than 5000 victims. However some other cultures have no concept of witchcraft and do not fear it. Hutton notes that such cultures usually believe in others sources of unexpected and unexplained misfortune: demons, fairies or angry ghosts.

This work is too detailed to easily summarize, and any serious student of the subject will want to read the work itself. Hutton surveys the work of earlier historians and examines the work of historians in Continental Europe, much of which is unknown to British or American readers. Of particular interest to some will be Hutton's refutation of earlier theories on the origins of witch beliefs. For example, he examines the recorded practices of shamanism and concludes that the public performances typical of shamanistic rites are quite different from the secret practices attributed to witches. He does note some overlap in beliefs in the far North of Europe, where the different cultures are in contact.

Another item of interest is his conclusion that the use of the quartered (four directions) circle as a locale for magical workings seems to have originated in Christian Europe around the 12th Century. The pentagram (five-pointed star) became an important symbol, both for Christians and for magicians at about the same time, although it had been known and used in decoration in many times and places.

Hutton devotes a chapter each to the subjects of witches and fairies, witches and animals and witches in Celtic nations. Each of these chapters contains matter of interest. Animal familiars, by Hutton's account, are peculiar to English areas. Magicians in other cultures may have spirit helpers that take on animal forms, but the concept of a small animal with a magical function seems to appear in only a minority of witch trials, confined to Early Modern England. Fairies may be claimed as the teachers of magic or may be feared as magical entities to be feared in their own right. The latter seems to be the case in the Celtic areas known for their low incidence of witch trials. Misfortunes that were blamed on witches in neighboring areas, such as dry cows, crop failures, failures at butter making, sour beer and so forth, are blamed on fairies by the Irish and some Welsh and Scots.

_The Witch_ includes extensive end notes, a bibliography of material not directly cited, an index and a section of illustrations. The later includes the first known portrayal of a witch riding a broom, from a French manuscript of the 1440s. Although academic books are frequently overpriced, $30 for a quality hardcover of over 350 pages is actually quite reasonable. I recommend this work for libraries and for individuals with a serious interest in the subject.

The Witch: a History of Fear, From Ancient Times to the Present
Ronald Hutton
New Haven, NJ: Yale UP, 2017
978-0-300-22904-2

Probably the first thing that should be said about this book, for those unfamiliar with the history of the Inquisition, is that the Roman Inquisition should not be confused with various national inquisitions, including the notorious Spanish Inquisition. The Roman Inquisition, as one might expect, was under the almost direct control of the Pope and tended to reflect the most advanced theories and doctrinal concerns of the Church at any given time. Additionally, one must realize that the inquisitions did not deal exclusively with matters of witchcraft or magic. In Spain, for example, there was greater concern over former Jews and Muslims who were suspected of having lapsed from their newly adopted Christianity to their former beliefs and practices.

Rainer Decker is among the first generation of scholars granted access to the Archive of the Holy Office. The archive contains actual trial transcripts and related documents as well as the detailed minutes of administrative meeting. This material clarifies the role of the Catholic Church in the prosecution of witches and magicians.

_Witchcraft and the Papacy_ is a scholarly book, likely to be available mainly in university libraries and of interest largely to the serious student of the history of witchcraft. Decker cites many individual trials, as well as papal decrees on the subject. He uses this material to trace changes in the attitude of the Church, of individual popes and of the surrounding society.

Since the book deals mainly with Italy and other areas under direct papal control there is little material that applies to the history of witchcraft in England. Nevertheless modern Wiccans may be interested in descriptions of the types of magic being practiced at the time, and the history of changes in attitudes toward the prosecution of magical crimes.

Decker explains that Church law had consistently ruled that first time offenders should be treated gently: allowed to abjure their heresies and given penance and instruction rather than punishment. Only those who relapsed were to be turned over to the secular arm for execution. Decker emphasizes that the greatest number of executions for witchcraft took place after secular governments took over the prosecutions, since these courts were not bound by the more strict procedural rules of the Inquisition. Further, secular authorities were more likely to be swayed by popular opinion and to see witches as members of a conspiracy against society. For example, the legal code of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, promulgated in 1532, specified death by fire for magic intended to harm. Early trials allowed for evidence to be challenged by the defendant, as in other criminal trials, but by the late 1500s witchcraft had come to be considered such a threat, a crimen exceptum, that ordinary rules of evidence should be ignored.

The major point that Decker seeks to establish is that areas under the direct control of Rome did not succumb to the hysteria that lead to tens of thousands of deaths in parts of France, Germany and Alpine areas. The major reason was that the Roman Inquisition was skeptical of testimony by witches that they had traveled in the body to sabbats. If the memory of the event was a delusion created by Satan, as the Canon Episcopi had stated, there was no reason to believe a prisoner who claimed to have seen other known individuals at the sabbat. In the absence of other evidence, such as a previous reputation as a witch, the named parties would not be arrested and tortured. Therefore the cascade of arrest, accusations and further arrests and accusations could not occur. Judges were also admonished to verify physical evidence of malificium. For example, if a woman was accused of having caused a death the judge was to ascertain that the person named had actually died and that the cause of death appeared to be magic. They were also told to separate the accused in jail; to avoid leading questions; to record questions and answers exactly; and to ask whether past enmity existed between accused and accuser. In addition, defendants were allowed an advocate and advocates were provided for poor suspects.

Decker is concerned that past historians have misunderstood the role of the Church and the motives of its leaders in the prosecution of witches. He asserts that the popes of the 17th century could have been ignorant of much that happened in Germany, given the disturbance and war caused by the Reformation, and if aware would have been unable to control secular trials, even in territories that remained Catholic. The Catholic areas of Switzerland were relatively close to Rome, yet the Church had difficulties controlling local courts. Decker documents a case in the mid 1600s in which the Inquisition seized control of fifteen Swiss children aged from eight to twelve who had been convicted of witchcraft. The Church acted to save the children from execution by resettling them in Milan, with good Catholic families who would assure their livelihoods and education.

In later chapters Decker examines the type of magical offenses most frequently tried and the punishments given. One woman who was brought before the Inquisition in Venice was variously accused of love magic, healing by magic, and possession of copies of the Key of Solomon (possibly for sale). She was arrested and tried three separate times over the course of thirty years, given prison sentences that were gradually reduced to home arrest, and only died when she fell while fleeing a fourth arrest. The most severely punished magic was that involving the sacraments: stealing consecrated hosts or using holy water or consecrated oil in spells could result in severe sentences of imprisonment or galley service. Necromancy and summoning demons was also a serious offence; but these forms of magic were more likely to be performed by men, sometime, in fact, by clergymen. The last execution carried out by the Roman Inquisition was in 1761, for the crime of impersonating a priest. The prisoner was strangled in prison, the body burned privately and the ashes buried in a churchyard, thus disappointing the public of the spectacle of a public burning.

Despite his defense of the Church from inaccurate and prejudiced charges by past historians, Decker does not claim that no injustices were done in its name. He cautions against substituting a rosy legend for the so-called “black legend” of the past. He also explains that while the Enlightenment caused the cessation of prosecutions for magical crimes when the rulers no longer believed such crimes were possible, the Church still officially believes that demons exist and that magic is possible.

The material in this book is detailed and complex, ranging across six centuries and a multitude of official pronouncements and arguments on the subject. This review has touched only on the highlights, and while I hope to have done justice to the author’s core argument, a full reading of the evidence he produces will yield a clearer picture of the issues. I did find the chronology confusing at times as the thread of exposition on the official papal policy toward witchcraft became mingled with treatment of other related crimes and problems, such as demonic possession.

I recommend this book for serious students of the history of magic in Europe. It contains extensive notes and a bibliography of both manuscript and printed sources. Of course many of the sources are in Latin, German or Italian, as are Decker’s other published works. We can hope that more such research in the archives will result in greater understanding of this area of history and that the resulting scholarship will be made available in English.

Witchcraft and the Papacy: An Account Drawing on the Formerly Secret Records of the Roman Inquisition
Rainer Decker, translated by H. C. Erick Midelfort

Under the Midnight Sun
by Keigo Higashino
Translated by Alexander O. Smith with Joseph Reeder
Minotaur, November 2016

A pawnbroker is killed in Osaka, Japan. Experienced police detective Sasagaki leads the
investigation, which peters out when a likely suspect dies.

The scene shifts to a group of middle school students which includes the victim’s son, Ryo Kirihara, and the daughter of one the pawn shop customers. There are a series of apparently unconnected incidents as the group moves on into high school. Computer crime in particular is a recurrent theme, with Ryo involved in a plot to make and sell counterfeit Mario Brothers games.

For long periods, the novel will focus on a new character or group and new crimes that involve them. Computer hacking and sale of industrial secrets affect some. Others find love affairs foiled. Characters marry and divorce. The Japanese economybooms and declines. Some characters have secure positions as heirs to family owned companies or comfortable positions as salarymen in corporate Japan. Others live on the edge of the economy as temporary office workers or running small businesses out of converted apartments.

Through it all, Yuhiko Nishimoto Karasawa moves as a mysteriously glamorous young
woman with an uncanny ability to make money. The reader soon notes that persons who are
obstacles to her plans mysteriously come to grief, yet she never seems to be directly
involved.

Almost twenty years after the original murder, detective Sasagaki is retired, but still intent on the case. He returns to the scene and re-interrogates those involved. People, including the dead man’s widow, are willing to be more open with him since the statute of limitations has expired. This element is obviously quite different from American mysteries, in which there is no statute of limitations on homicide. The Japanese law has been altered recently as well. Eventually, Sasagaki learns two facts that enable him to solve the case, and he moves to assist in an arrest, with evidence that the suspect has committed other crimes that can be punished.

The leisurely pace of this novel and the large number of characters set it apart from most western mysteries. Actual detection or police procedure takes place on only a few pages. One might almost regard it as a novel with mystery elements. However, the tension builds as more people die and more lives are affected. The author portrays various levels of Japanese society, from the comfortably well off who send their children to exclusive private schools to single mothers barely making the rent of tiny apartments. Higashino, a native of Osaka, describes the regional differences between his hometown, in the warmer south of Japan, and Toyko: cuisine, accents, levels of prosperity, and climate, making it clear that Japan is not as homogeneous as westerners may assume.

Keigo Higashino is an award-winning writer who has served as president of the Mystery
Writers of Japan. An English translation of his _The Devotion of Suspect X_ was nominated
for a 2013 Edgar Award. In addition to dozens of novels, he has published collections of
short stories and essays. Several works have been adapted as films and television dramas,
including one film, _The Secret_, in French.