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Rating: 
Summary: THE OCCULT (RANDOM HOUSE, INC./1971)
Review: As far as the history part goes, Wilson's book is a fascinating documentation of occultism starting with primitive shamanism and progressing through century after century of magicians and mages and adepts from Dee to Dion Fortune, Cagliostro to Crowley while touching upon almost every aspect of supernatural phenomenon. But whereas Christian beliefs teach that the occult and all its branches and manifestations are demonic in origin (or at the very least draw real demonic spirits to the ones who engage in such practices as divination, ritual magick, invoking of spirits, psychic mediums who open themselves up to any spiritual contact like a human ouija board, and astral projection), Wilson argues that the occult is a way to get in touch with the deepest part of subconscious self as well as the Jungian "collective unconscious" or universal energy/psychic ether that he contends we can manipulate or tap into thus enabling us to discern the future and relive past lives (yes, he also argues in favor of reincarnation). As a Christian I must speak according to the mainstream theological point of view which Wilson conveniently pushes to the back burner (so to speak) especially when you read of all these weird supernatural things happening to all these people who deliberately ignore the warnings of God in regards to participating in these rituals. Of course, it would be perfectly fine to engages in such occultic practices if there weren't real entities out there trying to kill you. And even if you don't believe in such fallen/demonic/angelic entities, why take the chance? Why risk opening such a Pandora's Box that you can't control (or which these entities make you think you can control) and which could very well destroy you (mentally, physically, and spiritually) as well as those you love? Instead of believing the pseudo-psychological mumbo jumbo of men why not just accept the truth that there is a God and that there is a macro-world of angels and demons that we cannot see? Why is this so hard to believe? We can believe in a micro-world of invisible-to-the-naked eye organisms yet refuse to believe in a macro-world of God and Satan, angel and demon, faithful and rebellious even though we can see the positive and negative results of these forces every single day throughout the entire world. A simple comparison of the evil practices of Aleister Crowley (and the horrible results of his self-centered philosophy of "do what thou wilt" which has left a trail of insanity and death highlighted by Crowley's own struggle with heroin and sexual disease) to the life and character of Jesus Christ (and his example of love, peace, goodness, faith, kindness, self-control, humility, compassion, righteousness, holiness, and truth under God) gives a perfect example of all that is wrong with the occult. The three star rating is for Wilson's "HISTORY", not his philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING HISTORY/ MUMBO JUMBO PHILOSOPHY
Review: As far as the history part goes, Wilson's book is a fascinating documentation of occultism starting with primitive shamanism and progressing through century after century of magicians and mages from Dee to Dion Fortune, Cagliostro to Crowley. While touching upon almost every aspect of supernatural phenomenon. But whereas Christian beliefs teach that the occult and all its branches and manifestations are demonic in origin (or at the very least draw real demonic entities to the ones who engage in such practices as divination, ritual magick, invoking of spirits, psychic mediums, astral projection, etc.), Wilson argues that the occult is a way to get in touch with the deepest part of the subconscious self as well as the Jungian "collective unconscious" or the universal energy/psychic ether that he contends we can manipulate or "tap into" thus enabling us to discern the future and relive past lives (he argues for reincarnation too). And what is the purpose in trying to connect with this supernatural/dormant natural ability? To become God-like of course!!! Yes, to become God-like!!! Which is just what we need down here: more ego-inflated, I-am-God chanting, its-my-way-or-the-highway immoral amoralists who deny God, deny the creation, and who are willing to believe that all of these weird supernatural things happening to them is actually a manifestation of the subconscious and/or the energy of the universe and/or any other pseudo-psychological/philosophical mumbo jumbo you care to name instead of just accepting the fact that there is a God and there is a macro-world of angels and rebel spirits (demons) that we cannot see with the human eye (even die-hard satanists at least admit that much). Why is this so hard to believe? We can believe in a micro-world of invisible-to-the-naked-eye organisms (sub-atomic particles, bacteria, etc.) yet refuse to believe in a macro-universe of God and Satan, angels and demons, faithful and rebellious even though we can see the good and evil results of these forces every single day throughout the entire world. As a Christian I must speak according to the mainstream theological point of view which Wilson conveniently pushes to the back burner so to speak. A simple comparison of the evil practices of Aleister Crowley (and the horrible results of his self-centered philosophy of "Do what thou wilt" which includes insanity, death, and his own physical health problems with heroin and venereal disease) to the life and character of Jesus Christ (and his example of love, peace, goodness, faith, kindness, self-control, humility, compassion, righteousness, holiness, and truth under God) gives a perfect understanding of all that is wrong with the occult. The three star rating is for Wilson's history, not his philosophy.
Rating: 
Summary: An unbiased investigation
Review: Colin Wilsons investigations into arcane matters span over several decades of his life. I don't believe this is the best of his works, but it's the best survey of the history of the occult in his library of contributions. A reader seeking an honest examination of best available facts and history probably won't find a better place to begin than with this one.I believe Poltergeist is probably his best, but the range of investigation is far narrower.
Rating:
Summary: An unbiased investigation
Review: Colin Wilsons investigations into arcane matters span over several decades of his life. I don't believe this is the best of his works, but it's the best survey of the history of the occult in his library of contributions. A reader seeking an honest examination of best available facts and history probably won't find a better place to begin than with this one. I believe Poltergeist is probably his best, but the range of investigation is far narrower.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Wilson's most engaging researches..
Review: Having read quite some books written by C.Wilson, i know that going through the ones where he's conducting research is always a great experience.
"The Occult" is famed for being probably the premiere book on its subject: the history of magic, its definitions, the paranormal, the limits of human powers and the analysis of the "hidden powers" humans possess, certain forays into specific areas (like clairvoyance, means to achieve it, etc.) , loads of examples from throughout history on people who've influenced this field, as well as a comprehensive review of views that prevail over all these areas.
This is without the slightest doubt a gripping book. Even if you have only a surface interest on all this, Wilson has a way of pulling totally into the matter, absorbing you and letting you get to the very depths of it.
But if you happen to actually care about this field -and it's indeed a field where imagination can really gallop wild- then this book is quintessential to start from.
The market is saturated with books that deal with the "occult" or specific areas of it, but before you should even bother with any of these you should start here. Alone the vast list of sources that will be introduced to you is enough to make the book nothing else than a treasure.
But its main asset is that Wilson approaches the subject with his usual hardcore seriousness and efficiency, and lets remember, this is a topic where charlatanism is often the rule. But it's the scientific approach that puts C.Wilson ahead of the pack. The gathering of evidence through exhaustive reading of anything regarding the issue, the evaluation of it, the personal analysis as well as that of others, the comparisons thereof, the analytical history of the subject.
I find it hard to believe that one would read this and emerge the same person. Close to impossible I would say.
Believing that this book researches the very probable future of human evolution, an evolution that might be very much nearer than most of us think and which has tremendous implications about what we could become, i think the "Occult" is an absolute must.
I listed down over 20 books for immediate reading after this one, books that i found reported in it. Not to mention that i found interest in areas that i hadnt suspected as being as intriguing as Wilson revealed them to be.
If you decide to buy this book be warned that it's a hefty 800 page volume, but be also informed that it's the fastest 800 pages you'll ever read as the author is one of the most easy to comprehend researchers i've read. Many others confirm this as well as you can find out by browsing through reviews of Wilson's books here in Amazon.
Powerhouse stuff...
Rating:
Summary: The essential Colin Wilson
Review: One cannot read Colin Wilson without coming away with a slightly - or much-altered view of the universe, and in fact, life in general. Wilson's profound insights lead to optimism, and a deep appreciation for the truly magical - even when it stands on the emerging bedrock of quantum mechanics. In my library, this text will most certainly be as dog-eared and underscored as his others.
Rating:
Summary: The essential Colin Wilson
Review: One cannot read Colin Wilson without coming away with a slightly - or much-altered view of the universe, and in fact, life in general. Wilson's profound insights lead to optimism, and a deep appreciation for the truly magical - even when it stands on the emerging bedrock of quantum mechanics. In my library, this text will most certainly be as dog-eared and underscored as his others.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, Informative, Well Written..But............
Review: Very Gullible!.In this book, one of Mr. Wilson's most accessible, we learn of witches, ghosts, magic and spells, demons, offbeat cults, and a lot more for much of recorded history. Very entertaining, and makes a great Halloween gift, but the only problem is that Mr. wilson, despite his great intellect and writing skills, seems to fall for about every humdrum and humbug rumor about his subject without subjecting it to serious, objective evaluation. Myriad cases are described throughout this excellent and entertaining book, but perhaps the best is the Flying, Levitating St. Joseph, in which the author simply accepts all supposed witnesses from nearly 400 years ago with not a shred of skepticism. Other similar cases abound. So read this book with at least a minimal sense of rational doubt!
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