Spirit Possession
Spirit Possession

Author: Éva Pócs

Publisher: Central European University Press

Published: 2022-05-31

Total Pages: 556

ISBN-13: 9633864143

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Possession, a seemingly irrational phenomenon, has posed challenges to generations of scholars rooted in Western notions of body-soul dualism, self and personhood, and a whole set of presuppositions inherited from Christian models of possession that was “good” or “bad.” The authors of the essays in this book present a new and more promising approach. They conceive spirit possession as a form of communication, of expressivity, of culturally defined behavior that should be understood in the context of local, vernacular theories and empiric reflections. With the aim of reformulating the comparative anthropology of spirit possession, the editors have opened corridors between previously separate areas of research. Together, anthropologists and historians working on several historical periods and in different European, African, South American, and Asian cultural areas attempt to redefine the very concept of possession, freeing it from the Western notion of the self and more clearly delineating it from related matters such as witchcraft, devotion, or mysticism. The book also provides an overview of new research directions, including novel methods of participant observation and approaches to spirit possession as indigenous historiography

Spirit Possession and Exorcism
Spirit Possession and Exorcism

Author: Patrick McNamara Ph.D.

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2011-04-26

Total Pages: 413

ISBN-13: 0313384339

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This two-volume text reviews spirit possession throughout history, analyzes case studies from a cognitive neuroscience perspective, and examines rites for exorcism. From the beginning of civilization to the present day, and across all major religions and cultures, there have been documented cases of people seemingly overtaken by an unseen entity. The invading force—whether good or bad—appears to replace the possessor's soul with the spirit's own persona, resulting in mystifying symptoms such as levitation or other supernatural feats, speaking in tongues, and even horrific and inexplicably accelerated physical distortion and deterioration. This is a two-volume chronological history and examination of spirit possession that addresses its phenomenological, psychological, and neurobiological aspects, and its effects on societies. Volume one reviews spirit possession from the upper Paleolithic era to modern times, while Volume two focuses on case studies and rites of exorcism.

Believe Not Every Spirit
Believe Not Every Spirit

Author: Moshe Sluhovsky

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-11-15

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0226762955

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From 1400 through 1700, the number of reports of demonic possessions among European women was extraordinarily high. During the same period, a new type of mysticism—popular with women—emerged that greatly affected the risk of possession and, as a result, the practice of exorcism. Many feared that in moments of rapture, women, who had surrendered their souls to divine love, were not experiencing the work of angels, but rather the ravages of demons in disguise. So how then, asks Moshe Sluhovsky, were practitioners of exorcism to distinguish demonic from divine possessions? Drawing on unexplored accounts of mystical schools and spiritual techniques, testimonies of the possessed, and exorcism manuals, Believe Not Every Spirit examines how early modern Europeans dealt with this dilemma. The personal experiences of practitioners, Sluhovsky shows, trumped theological knowledge. Worried that this could lead to a rejection of Catholic rituals, the church reshaped the meaning and practices of exorcism, transforming this healing rite into a means of spiritual interrogation. In its efforts to distinguish between good and evil, the church developed important new explanatory frameworks for the relations between body and soul, interiority and exteriority, and the natural and supernatural.

The Science of Spirit Possession (2nd Edition)
The Science of Spirit Possession (2nd Edition)

Author: Terence Palmer

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2014-11-10

Total Pages: 375

ISBN-13: 1443871036

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Spirit possession, attachment, poltergeist activity and the negative impact of obsession, infestation and harassment on psychological health, together with the methods of dealing with it, are contemporary issues that demand serious scientific research and academic study. Essential reading for anyone who is presented with the problem of identifying and dealing with negative spirit influence, whether they are a health professional, a service user or a research scientist, this book presents a complementary approach that is built upon the theoretical concepts and experimental methods of Frederic Myers, together with modern research findings in quantum theory and neuro-imaging.

Ecstatic Religion
Ecstatic Religion

Author: I. M. Lewis

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9780415305082

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First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Soul Possession (Novella)
Soul Possession (Novella)

Author: Maya Banks

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2013-05-07

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 1101572744

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New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks walks the sizzling knife-edge between danger and desire as one woman with a killer in her shadow finds protective rapture with the two men with a need to save her... The hottest thing about a man in uniform is imagining him out of it. For gorgeous Jessie Callahan this was all part of the ritual—a flirty little game indulged in with the two sexy-as-sin detectives she always saw at the same bar with the same naughty little glint in their eyes. Then one night, the game changed. Rick and Tru took it one step further and made a tantalizing proposition. To their surprise, Jessie said yes. To both of them. It was a night of total abandon none of them would ever forget. But with it, a risk none of them could have imagined. Because when Jessie suddenly becomes the target of a serial killer, the game changes once again. And Jessie’s two detectives will risk everything to have her back in their arms—and in their bed... Includes a preview of Fever Soul Possession previously appeared in Men Out of Uniform

Drawing Down the Spirits
Drawing Down the Spirits

Author: Kenaz Filan

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2009-04-13

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1594779287

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An insider’s view of the inner workings and prevalence of spirit possession in our modern world • Provides practical techniques for preparation, safety, aftercare, and aborting harmful possessions • Reveals the forms of ritual possession present throughout the world--including Uganda, Nepal, Korea, Bali, Greece, Turkey, Scandinavia, and France Drawing Down the Spirits presents an insider’s view of the inner workings, sacred traditions, and prevalence of spirit possession existing in our modern world. Spirit possession is an integral part of shamanism as well as many neo-pagan forms of worship that draw down deities or invite spirit possession. However, spirit possession is not for the unprepared. In Drawing Down the Spirits, Kenaz Filan and Raven Kaldera, both initiated and experienced in shamanic and Vodou traditions, present the practical guidance needed to participate in ritual possession. Addressing the benefits and the dangers that await the naive, Filan and Kaldera show that there is no such thing as a guaranteed “safe” possession because spirits have their own agenda--and they are much more powerful than we are. The authors provide a variety of techniques to prepare for possession and abort possession and to promote the safety of the possessed as well as the spirits and witnesses present. With a wide-ranging look at the historic forms of ritual possession found throughout the world--including Uganda, Nepal, Korea, Bali, Greece, Turkey, Scandinavia, and France--the authors also include numerous firsthand accounts collected from witnesses of modern spirit possession.

Handbook of Contemporary Religions in Brazil
Handbook of Contemporary Religions in Brazil

Author: Bettina Schmidt

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-09-19

Total Pages: 566

ISBN-13: 9004322132

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The Brill Handbook of Contemporary Religions in Brazil provides an unprecedented overview of Brazil’s religious landscape. It offers a full, balanced and contextualized portrait of contemporary religions in Brazil, bringing together leading scholars from both Brazil and abroad, drawing on both fieldwork and detailed reviews of the literatures. For the first time a single volume offers overviews by leading scholars of the full range of Brazilian religions, alongside more theoretically oriented discussions of relevant religious and culture themes. This Handbook’s three sections present specific religions and groups of traditions, Brazilian religions in the diaspora, and issues in Brazilian religions (e.g., women, possession, politics, race and material culture).

Counseling and the Demonic
Counseling and the Demonic

Author: Rodger K. Bufford

Publisher: W Publishing Group

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 9780849905995

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This book on counseling and the demonic by Dr. Rodger Bufford is part of the notable Resources for Christian Counseling series, a series which seeks to combine the best insights from psychology with strict adherence to biblical truth.

Spirit Possession in Judaism
Spirit Possession in Judaism

Author: Matt Goldish

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 494

ISBN-13: 9780814330036

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This extraordinary collection of essays is the first to approach the phenomenon of spirit possession among Jews from a multidisciplinary perspective. What beliefs have Jews held about spirit possession? Have Jewish people believed themselves to be possessed by spirits? If so, what sorts of spirits were they? Have Jews' conceptions of possession been the same as those of their Christian and Muslim neighbors? These are some of the questions addressed in these thirteen essays, which together explore spirit possession in a wide range of temporal and geographic contexts. The phenomena known as spirit possession are both very widespread and very difficult to explain. The late Raphael Patai initiated study of spirit possession as found in the Jewish world in the post-Talmudic period by taking a folkloric and anthropological approach to the subject. Other scholars have opened up new avenues of inquiry through discussions of the topic in connection with Jewish mystical and magical traditions. The essays in this collection expand the variety of approaches to the subject, addressing Jewish possession phenomena from the points of view of religion, mysticism, literature, anthropology, psychology, history, and folklore. Scholarly views and popular traditions, benevolent spirits and malevolent shades, exorcism, social control, messianic implications, madness, literary structure, and a host of other topics are brought into the discussion of spirit possession in Jewish culture. This juxtaposition of approaches among the essays in this volume, some of which analyze the same texts in different ways, creates a broad foundation on which to contemplate the meaning of spirit possession.