WHY THIS BOOK? (see Description) - 2024 Real Magic, by P.E.I Bonewits (Philip Bonewits), 1972, expanded edition with 24-page bibliography

Paperback, good condition, tight binding , completely clean, NOT ex-library, NO former owner's name, NO inscription, NO bookplate, NO underling / highlighting, approx 4 1/4 by 7 inches, 271 pages, published by Berkley Medallion. Pages are yellowed with age for a 50 year old paperback.

WHY THIS BOOK? There are hundreds of books on the occult and magical ritual. The author of this book presents an original and rational outline of the underlying theories of magic including poltergeists, zombies, tantra, tarot, parapsychology, clairvoyance, telepathy, and astral projections in a scholarly and readable presentation.

This is NOT a debunking but an enlightened and rational examination and how-to book (Bonewit and his wife practised Wicca). The first to ever receive a degree in Magic from the University of California (Berkeley, of course), Bonewits had amassed an impressive and unique bibliography of sources. This edition and printing for sale here is the only edition and printing of this book to have this expanded 24 page bibliography (not the 1971 first printing or the later reprint).

Buyer Beware - condition is a big deal with used books and this book for sale here is in the condition as pictured and described - best to ask other sellers that do not post pictures with their listing, or use a "Stock Photo," or use generic condition descriptions, to provide photos of the actual book before you make a purchase.

Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits (October 1, 1949 – August 12, 2010) was the first holder of a B.A. degree in Magic from U.C. Berkeley, 1970. His goal was to modernize and scientize M/magic(k) of all kinds. An ordained SubGenius, he was an American Druid who published a number of books on the subject of Neopaganism and magic. He was also a public speaker, liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founded the Druidic organization Ár nDraíocht Féin, as well as the Neopagan civil rights group, the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League.

Berkeley Student Will Graduate With Bachelor of Arts in Magic
The New York Times
June 1, 1970, Page 24

BERKELEY, Calif., May 31 (UPI)—Among June graduates at the University of California is Isaac Bonewits, who will receive a bachelor of arts in magic.

The degree for “studies in the field of magic” is the first of its kind ever granted the university.

Mr. Bonewits, 20 years old, believes in magic, which he defines as “phenomena which occur which do not yet fit in with any of the known laws of the universe.”

He believes that someday what is now considered magic will be understood as perfectly natural phenomena. “If you were to go back to the year 1600 and use a flashlight, every body would say you were a magician,” he said in an interview.

From reading science fiction Mr. Bonewits got interested in parapsychology — extrasensory perception, spells and fortune telling. This led him to study the occult mysteries and magic. He proposed to his university advisers the idea of majoring in magic in a program of individual study.

“They were a little hit surprised,” he said, “but when they noticed I had a very strong and difficult list of courses and that I had a B-plus average, they agreed,”

Mr. Bonewits's courses were in psychology, anthropology sociology, various religions, folklore and mythology. He plans to go on and possibly become a Ph.D. magician.

“Magic is like medicine,” he said. “It is both an art and a science. I'm not studying it as something dead and historical. I'm studying it as something that has been very badly confused and mixed up over the years but still has application today.”

Mr. Bonewits said he has had some experiences himself “for which I could not find any other explanation.”

“Magic is always the last explanation. I am willing to take fraud, error, hallucination or anything else for an explanation. You go through all these things and sooner or later you find a few occurrences that Just don't fit in.”

Witchcraft Held As Nothing to Fear
New York Times
By Rebecca Reisner
Nov. 25, 1990

THE white two-family house on a quiet suburban street here looks like any other. But neighbors of Deborah Lipp and Isaac Bonewits might be surprised to learn that the couple who live inside have a shrine to the Goddess of Witchcraft in their living room and cast spells.

Ms. Lipp and Mr. Bonewits say they practice witchcraft, or Wicca, as its adherents call it, which few outsiders know exists and even fewer understand.

Like many other followers of Wicca, which is also known as paganism or neo-paganism, the married couple are concerned about the public's misconceptions about the faith. Wiccans place an emphasis on seasonal celebrations and stress the importance of the relationship between nature and human beings.

"Neo-paganism refers to any of the recently revived religions having to do with ancient pre-Christian religions," said Mr. Bonewits, a lecturer and writer on the occult who also works as a computer consultant. "We are polytheists. We worship gods and goddesses."

But because it is a part of the occult, some people have confused Wicca with Satanism, wrongly accusing Wiccans of espousing evil and performing sadistic rituals, Ms. Lipp and Mr. Bonewits say.

"What really upsets us are people who willfully call us Satanists when they know it's not true and try to incite others against us," Ms. Lipp said. "There are fundamentalist Christian police groups who have collected mailing lists of known neo-pagan groups and distributed them as names of 'known Satanists.' "

Ms. Lipp says that as high priestess of a small coven of witches, she knows firsthand that the magic practiced by the witches carries no malevolence toward others.

"Magic is making use of psychic powers," Ms. Lipp said. "We use magic for healing. We helped the business of one of our friends. She wasn't making enough money each month to cover the rent. Then we did a spell. She made more and more money each day after the spell -- there were more people coming into her store."

Ms. Lipp said she believed that with magic "there are no guarantees." She said: "You cannot violate the rules of nature. All you can do is bend them a little. We've had a couple of spectacular successes and also a couple of notable failures. If a doctor loses a patient, no one says medicine doesn't work."

Ms. Lipp, 29 years old, and Mr. Bonewits, 41, say New Jersey's witches experience less harassment than those in many other parts of the country.

"There's more of a problem in the Midwest," Ms. Lipp said. "New Jersey has a much more urbane, sophisticated population."

The Rev. J. Gordon Melton, director for the Institute for Study of American Religions at the University of California at Davis, agreed.

"Any place Wiccans go, they have to keep a fairly low profile," Mr. Melton said. "But you can get lost in an urban complex, and generally people in an urban complex don't care."Estimate of 7,000 to 10,000

Ms. Lipp estimates the state's Wiccan population at 7,000 to 10,000, and Mr. Melton estimates that there are about 30,000 to 50,000 witches nationwide, although some Wiccan groups believe the number to be as high as 200,000.

The threat to Wiccans is real but not overwhelming, Mr. Melton said.

"You have both the secular and evangelical Christian movement organized to fight Satanism, but Satanism doesn't really exist on any grand scale in this country," he said. "If they're unable to find their local Satanist, they'll turn upon Wiccans."

Ms. Lipp and Mr. Bonewits say Wiccans need to take a step they have long avoided -- organizing into large congregations.

"We need to grow as a religion," Ms. Lipp said. "We have to think about owning our own land and having our own temples. We have to learn how to handle money."

The idea is controversial, Mr. Bonewits said, because many Wiccans fear that such organizations would lead to corruption and because a large number of witches prefer to practice alone.

Unity in the neo-pagan community has been impressive on occasion, however, and to bolster it would mean greater protection of religious freedom, Ms. Lipp and Mr. Bonewits said.

"The Helms amendment in 1985 tried to remove tax-exempt status from any religion that involved witchcraft," Ms. Lipp said. "Wiccans really rallied together and called their Congressmen. It made politicans realize we're out there." Informal Gathering Places

Currently the many occult shops throughout the country tend to serve as informal 2024 gathering places for Wiccans, the couple said.

Vinny Gaglione of Nutley and Ted Obaytek of Paterson are the co-owners of Spellbound, a Bloomfield occult store. They said that when they opened one and a half years ago, an occult investigator employed by the state paid a visit to them to make sure that they were not Satanists.

Mr. Gaglione said that for him, going into business was a matter of fate.

"I was in a bar and I couldn't decide what to do -- either open a store or keep working," he said. "I said, 'Goddess decide for me.' The next day I got laid off from my job at I.T.T."

Mr. Gaglione, 33, a former freelance artist, and Mr. Obaytek, 41, a jewelry maker, say they both practice witchcraft and became interested in the occult as teen-agers.

"Almost everyone in the craft is instinctively drawn to it," Mr. Gaglione said. "When I read the book 'Witches' by Erica Jong, it gave a name to everything I believed in."

They started the business with $4,000, and Mr. Gaglione and Mr. Obaytek say that today they have an inventory worth more than $100,000 and have expanded into wholesale. The store is filled with special potions, candles, minerals and other accouterments used in magical ceremonies, but books are the big sellers, they say.

"The average Wiccan reads about 50 books a year," Mr. Gaglione said. "They're avid readers. They're also big proponents of recycling because nature is so important in worship."

One thing witches are not enthusiastic about, they said, is forming large, organized Wiccan groups.Agreement Hard to Find

"I wouldn't want any part of it myself," Mr. Obaytek said. "Where could you find Wiccans who agree? Our only law is, 'Do as I will and that it harms none.' "

"The lack of organization is what's enticing," Mr. Gaglione said. "Our temple is anywhere where there's a tree or a lake."

Some of Spellbound's customers use pseudonyms in Wiccan circles, "staying in the proverbial broom closet" among their professional colleagues, Mr. Gaglione and Mr. Obaytek said.

"I would never admit being a witch," said a schoolteacher, 23, who shops at Spellbound and spoke on condition of anonymity. "I know it would affect my career adversely."