From astrology to divination, and alchemy to spoon-bending, this is an examination of magic and its scientific bases, and of "magical" phenomena. The personalities caught up in the intersection of superstition include Emmanuel Swedenborg, Madame Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley and Harry Houdini.

There was a time when science and the occult happily coexisted under the same roof, one scarcely discernible from the other in method and practice. This is the story of how they parted company, and why one was relegated to the darker side of history while the other has come to bask in the limelight of mainstream belief. From astrology to divination, and alchemy to spoon-bending, thee book is an examination of magic and its scientific bases, and of "magical" phenomena. The personalities caught up in the intersection of superstition include Emmanuel Swedenborg, Madame Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley and Harry Houdini.