Modern Magic
Maximilian Schele de Vere (1820–1898)
First published: 1873
Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York
Subject: Witchcraft, occultism, divination, spiritual phenomena and mysticism.
Length: The original edition runs to approximately 466 pages.
Modern Magic is a fascinating nineteenth-century exploration free of humanity's enduring belief in magic and supernatural powers. It examines witchcraft, dreams, ghosts, divination, spiritual possession and other phenomena that people of the period associated with forces beyond ordinary perception.
For anyone interested in the history of witchcraft, traditional magical beliefs and the development of modern occultism, this book offers a valuable glimpse into how these subjects were understood before the rise of many twentieth-century Pagan and Wiccan movements.
Importantly, it is a historical study of magical beliefs and supernatural phenomena, rather than a modern practical handbook for witches. Its value lies in its accounts of beliefs, traditions and theories, as well as in the author's attempts to interpret them.
Who was M. Schele de Vere?
Maximilian Schele de Vere was a scholar, linguist and professor who lived from 1820 to 1898. Born in Europe, he became an academic in the United States and was associated with the University of Virginia, where he taught modern languages.
His scholarly background is significant because Modern Magic approaches occult subjects through the perspective of an educated nineteenth-century observer. Rather than simply presenting a collection of spells, Schele de Vere attempts to organise reports of unusual experiences and magical traditions into a broader account of human beliefs about the unseen world.
The book appeared during a period of considerable fascination with spiritualism, mesmerism, psychic phenomena and the possibility that science might eventually explain experiences previously regarded as supernatural.
Schele de Vere's approach reflects this tension between religious belief, scientific curiosity and the desire to discover whether extraordinary claims contain any genuine insight.
What does the book contain?
The original book is divided into ten chapters. Here is a guide to its main subjects, following the contents of the 1873 edition.
Chapter I — Witchcraft
Schele de Vere explores historical beliefs about witches, accusations of sorcery, the Devil, witch trials and the persecution of alleged practitioners. He discusses the influence of religion and superstition and considers whether unusual experiences might explain some traditional accounts of witchcraft.
Chapter II — Black and White Magic
This chapter examines the moral division between benevolent and harmful magic. It explores the idea that magical practices could be used to help or harm, reflecting the religious and ethical frameworks through which nineteenth-century writers interpreted occult activity.
Chapter III — Dreams
Dreams are considered as possible sources of unusual knowledge and experiences. The chapter is of interest to readers exploring historical beliefs about prophetic dreams, the unconscious mind and the boundary between ordinary thought and supernatural interpretation.
Chapter IV — Visions
The book considers visions and extraordinary perceptions, including the possibility that people may experience things beyond the normal senses. These accounts reflect the period's interest in religious visions, altered states and psychic phenomena.
Chapter V — Ghosts
This section explores apparitions and the belief that the dead may remain connected to the living. It is particularly relevant to the history of ghost stories, spirit communication and the development of nineteenth-century spiritualism.
Chapter VI — Divination
Divination is examined as a means of obtaining knowledge about events or circumstances that are otherwise hidden. This is one of the most relevant chapters for readers interested in the historical background of fortune-telling and occult methods of interpretation.
Chapter VII — Possession
Schele de Vere considers beliefs about spirits or other forces taking control of a person's body or behaviour. His discussion belongs to a long history of religious explanations for unusual mental and physical experiences.
Chapter VIII — Magnetism
This chapter addresses the nineteenth-century concept of animal magnetism, associated with Franz Anton Mesmer, and the belief that invisible forces could influence the body or mind. It provides historical context for the development of mesmerism and hypnotism.
Chapter IX — Miraculous Cures
The author examines claims of extraordinary healing, including the relationship between faith, spiritual influence and physical recovery. These discussions should be read as historical accounts rather than medical evidence.
Chapter X — Mysticism
The final chapter turns towards mystical experience and humanity's relationship with spiritual reality. It brings together many of the book's central concerns about the soul, hidden powers and the possibility of knowledge beyond ordinary experience.
What does Schele de Vere believe about magic?
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is its underlying philosophy.
In the preface, Schele de Vere argues that extraordinary phenomena should neither be dismissed automatically nor accepted without examination. He wants readers to distinguish potentially meaningful experiences from deception, exaggeration and mistaken interpretation.
He also advances a distinctly religious explanation for magical powers: he believes the human soul possesses abilities that cannot be reduced entirely to the physical body. He speculates about the soul's survival after death and the possibility of communication between the living and the dead.
This makes the book more than a catalogue of superstitions. It is an attempt to construct a theory of magic within the intellectual and religious outlook of its time.
However, Schele de Vere's claims about supernatural powers are historical beliefs, not scientifically established facts. His explanations sometimes reflect assumptions that modern historical scholarship, psychology and medicine would question.
What does the book say about witches and witchcraft?
For modern practitioners of witchcraft, the first chapter is particularly interesting.
Schele de Vere discusses the changing image of the witch through European history. He refers to the Greek goddess Hecate, classical and medieval traditions, Christian demonology, witchcraft accusations and the persecution of alleged witches.
He recognises the terrible injustice inflicted on many accused people, describing how religious authorities and courts used accusations of witchcraft to justify cruelty and executions. Yet he does not completely reject the possibility of supernatural magical powers, so his interpretation remains shaped by the beliefs of his own century.
His account should therefore be read critically. For example, the historical record does not support treating the European witch trials as evidence that accused people genuinely possessed supernatural powers. Nor should the experiences described in witchcraft accusations be confused with the beliefs and practices of today's Pagan and Wiccan communities.
The chapter is nevertheless valuable for understanding how nineteenth-century intellectuals tried to reconcile historical witchcraft, religious doctrine and emerging ideas about human consciousness.
Is Modern Magic connected with Wicca and modern witchcraft?
Not directly in the sense of being a Wiccan instructional text.
The book was published in 1873, decades before Gerald Gardner's emergence as a central figure in the development of modern Wicca during the mid-twentieth century.
It does, however, explore subjects that remain relevant to modern witchcraft:
Divination: the historical interpretation of hidden knowledge and future events.
Spirits and ghosts: beliefs about the dead and communication between worlds.
Magical ethics: distinctions between beneficial and harmful magic.
Mysticism: spiritual experience and the soul's relationship with the divine.
Altered states: dreams, visions and experiences understood as transcending ordinary consciousness.
Folklore and historical witchcraft: how beliefs about witches developed and were used to explain unusual events.
Modern Wiccans and other contemporary practitioners may find useful historical context in these subjects, but the book does not provide a modern Wiccan ritual framework, a standard Wheel of the Year, or a systematic course in spellcraft.
Is the book worth reading today?
I would recommend it particularly to readers who enjoy the historical and intellectual side of occultism.
Best reasons to read it
It is a primary source from the nineteenth century.
It brings together witchcraft, divination, spiritualism and mysticism in one volume.
It reveals how an educated writer of the period interpreted supernatural claims.
It offers historical material for comparing older magical beliefs with contemporary Pagan practices.
Things to bear in mind
Its language and assumptions are dated.
Some historical claims and statistics require checking against modern scholarship.
Its supernatural theories are speculative rather than scientifically demonstrated.
It is more descriptive and philosophical than a practical guide to performing magic.
Where can you read it?
The original text is available free online through Project Gutenberg, which provides a searchable version of the 1873 book.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38448
Final thoughts
Modern Magic by Maximilian Schele de Vere is an important historical source for anyone exploring the development of Western occult thought. Its particular strength is the way it brings together witchcraft, divination, apparitions, spiritual possession and mysticism under one broad investigation of the supernatural.
For a modern witch, its greatest value is not necessarily what it teaches about practising magic, but what it reveals about the history of magical beliefs, the changing image of the witch, and the nineteenth-century search for an explanation of humanity's spiritual experiences.
