In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

AC K NOW L ED GM EN TS The present book has been in the making approximately since the autumn of 2006. After several years of research and writing, thanks are due to a number of people who have helped out, inspired, and contributed in so many different ways along the way. First of all, my supervisor during the research for my MA degree at the University of Amsterdam between 2006 and 2008, Dr. Marco Pasi, now a colleague at the same institution, deserves a great deal of honor for guiding me through the early process of what evolved into this project. His critical comments on parts of my research have been very valuable, as have his suggestions leading to sources and new discoveries that would otherwise likely have been overlooked. Thanks are also due to other colleagues at the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents in Amsterdam, especially Prof. Dr. Wouter J. Hanegraaff, Prof. Dr. Kocku von Stuckrad (now at the University of Groningen), and Dr. Ulrike Popp-Baier, whose conversations and input in earlier stages have shaped my visions for this project. In addition I wish to thank Dr. Asbjørn Dyrendal in Trondheim, who has been a profound influence and motivation for many years, and my friends and colleagues Dr. Kennet Granholm, Jesper Aagaard Petersen, Joyce Pijnenburg, John L. Crow, for many enlightening conversations. Thanks also to Dr. Peter Forshaw, Tessel M. Bauduin, Eduard ten Houten, Joshua Levi Ian Gentzke, and Jason Rose, and to Martin Palmer and Forum Nidarosiae for giving the opportunity to try out my ideas in the summer of 2009. Parts of the research for this book would have been impossible without contact with knowledgeable people in the world of the occult. I am especially indebted to those well-placed gentlemen who kindly responded to my various inquiries, including Dr. Michael Aquino, Steven Ashe, Al Billings, Clive Harper, Dean Hildebrandt. Runar Karlsen is especially acknowledgedforgivinghispermissiontopublishpartsofhismagicalwork as an appendix to this book, and providing it with an introduction. I wish to thank friends and acquaintances who have shared their rare knowledge with me, and taken time to answer my questions, especially Kjetil Fjell and ix John Færseth. Ian Rons of The Magickal Review has been of great assistance, and I particularly thank him for supplying the Enochian characters used in Table 1.1 of this book. Acknowledgment is also due to the helpful and efficient staffs of the following institutions: the British Library, Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, the UvA university library, and the Amsterdam Theosophical Library. Finally, chapter 2 has been developed from an article originally published in the journal Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, while other parts of arguments presented in the book have been tried out in the journals Aries, The Pomegranate, and Chaos. Acknowledgment is due to the editors and anonymous peer reviewers who have helped refine my arguments at various stages. Finally, the support and constant encouragement of friends and family has been deeply appreciated. My final thanks go out to my parents, Frank and Wenche Asprem, my sister Nina and brother Isak, to Eva and Einar Asprem, and to my many good friends, both old and new. Finally, a special regard goes out to Hanne Kristin Berg, who was a source of much joy and inspiration during the period when this book started to take shape. Egil Asprem amsterdam, february 2011 x ack now ledgments ...

Share