All About History

All About History is the stunningly realised new magazine from the makers of How It Works and All About Space. Featuring beautiful illustrations, photos and graphics depicting everything from ancient civilisations to the Cold War, All About History is accessible and entertaining to all and makes history fun for the whole family.

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Book of Spells

MAGIC WORDS • Incantations come in many forms, and can be used to grant wishes, enact magical transformations, or even seal the fate of rivals

MAGICAL THINKING • Magic has a long and venerable history that has been entwined with and had an important influence on both religion and science for centuries, and still resonates with people today

Magic through the ages

RITES OF THE ANCIENT MAGES • The idea of magic grew out of prehistoric cultural practices, before evolving in the cradle of civilisation

FEAR OF A BLACK MAGIC • Sorcery was viewed with fear and superstition in the medieval West, while Eastern civilisations began to explore its arcane expertise

DISENCHANTMENT AND A NEW AGE • The Age of Reason may have obscured them, but magical traditions were just waiting to be rediscovered

VARIETIES OF MAGIC • Within the world of magic we find many types of mystical practices, each with their own histories and powers

CEREMONIAL MAGIC • If you think magic is just chants and spells and hocus-pocus rites, then you are thinking of ceremonial magic

THE MAGIC OF NATURE • In nature there are wonders and powers that defy understanding, and humans have sought to harness these forces for millennia

SHAMANISM • Shamans – those with the power to contact spirits – come in many types and offer many routes to spiritual realms

THE ATHARVAVEDA • One of the foundational texts of Hinduism offers to fulfil believers’ desires – if they use the spells it contains

GREEK MAGICAL PAPYRI • Every year more of the myths, hymns, spells and rituals of ancient magic are rediscovered as fragile papyri come to light

THE EMERALD TABLET • A hidden formula to create gold? A key to enlightenment? Is this arcane text alchemical obfuscation or mysterious magic?

HERMES TRISMEGISTUS AND THE HERMETICA • Through sharing his teachings. Hermes Trismegistus inspired generations of alchemists, philosophers and occultists in many different ways

CYPRIANUS AND THE BLACK BOOKS • The secret books of magic and knowledge that captured all of the wisdom important to the people of Scandinavia

THE MERSEBERG CHARMS • The only surviving German pagan spells recorded in Old High German hint at a wider magical culture

ANGLO-SAXON METRICAL CHARMS • Whether to ward off a wen or protect yourself from a swarm of bees, the Anglo-Saxons had a spell for everything

THE CARMINA GADELICA • The folk wisdom of Gaelic Scotland contains spells for any eventuality – but is it all it seems?

MAKING MAGIC • Just how are spells thought to work? Find out about the use of signs, symbols, correspondences and spell words, and discover how you can use them to enhance your casting power

THE FOUR ELEMENTS • Spellcraft’s division of all things into fundamental elements is an ancient and influential idea

THE LORE OF EARTH • Earth is the source of growth, nature and life, but also the domain of darkness, stillness and death

THE LORE OF AIR • Air is symbolised by the wind and the starry sky, representing mind, intellect and lightness of being

THE LORE OF FIRE • The element of fire is a double-edged sword: warm and nourishing when contained, but also rampant and deadly when it runs wild

THE LORE OF WATER • Water is a symbol of life, cleansing and healing, but many stories tell of terrifying sea creatures wreaking havoc on the...