Bill Platypus's
Occult Paperbacks
A strange brew this week, comPounded of palpitations and Profit, superstition and sales. Perhaps no area of publishing has so large a potential audience as that of the occult, but it is still a subject which is avidly Pursued by more specialist houses. I'll -begin with one of , these. Lakeland Press are publishing a book by Hal Lindsey with the less than intriguing title of Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth (50p). I feel a little guilty about including tri.us within an occult column, since it is more or less a religious tract upon familiar themes. tt modernises the context of these themes, and adds a few anecdotes upon the way, but concludes with a conventional revivalist and evangelical tone. Nothing wrong with this, of course, but 1 had hoped for more argument and example of the arch-fiend.
A more balanced appraisal is offered in The Occult: A Christian View (Oliphants 75p), by Roger C. Palms. But its balance Is exactly what makes it dull. Mr Palms, known in that homely American nomenclature as a campus chaplain ', regurgitates the received wisdom of our more enlightened leaders. That the occult is an attraction to those lost within the barrenness and impersonality of modern science, materialism and everything else nowadays. If we read
about the occult, I think a writer has a duty to make it interesting.
Which is exactly what Kathryn Paulsen does in The Complete Book of Magic and Witchcraft (Signet 45p). Ms (forgive this, but I don't know whether its Mrs or Miss) Paulsen begins with a short historical and theoretical account of magic, but she soon gets into the real thing. The magic ceremony, complete with conjurations, is fully detailed. It is followed by a fascinating glossary of the various accoutrements of witchcraft: magical herbs, spells, talismans and incantations. Every page has a lurid and alluring fact. Did you know, for example, that the right hand of a murderer severed during an eclipse of the moon will induce deep sleep? Strange, ain't it? And on a similar theme, also from Signet, is Inside Voodoo (45p) by Marcus Bloch. I had always thought that revelation of secret rites was punishable by death or something even deadlier, but Mr Bloch seems to have got away with it so far. It is written in the form of personal narrative, and it tells the story of Mr Bloch's adventures — if that is not too weak a word — in mysterious Haiti. It might convince even the most sceptical — if not of the ' truth ' of magic at least of its efficacy.
Sphere Books have been re
cently republishing occult material under the imprint of Abacus paperbacks. I have here Zolar's The Encyclopaedia of Ancient and Forbidden Knowledge(90p). Zolar is, as you might guess from the rather quaint name, an astrologist who has made his fortune. His book is not exactly encyclopaedic. more introductory. It has chapters entitled 'The Mysteries of Sex' and 'Mind Power' and is a readable guide to such things. My own attention begins to flag in the face of such exhaustive and comprehensive work, but for the enthusiast it will be a treasure-chest. As it was for Zolar, I imagine. And for all you astrology nuts, Platypus was born at 9.15 p.m. on October 5, 1949. Send the correct answer on a postcard to this address. Another famed astrologer is Jeanne Dixon, and Sphere Books have recently published My Life and Prophecies (35p). She has obviously great faith in her abilities as clairvoyant and prophet, and 1 am told that she has a fair run of successes. But Ms Dixon includes a few within this book, which have not stood
the tim.t of time. She might more aptly be entitled astrologer royal since she takes an esta blishmentarian position on most matters of moment. On affairs other than those of state, I will remind those who are interested that Barbara Streisand and Ethel Kennedy are both supposed to remarry. And that David Frost " will receive a tempting offer from his homeland," but that he will decline it. We can thank our lucky stars.
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