Uses a multidisciplinary approach that combines psychology, biology, and astronomy with an appreciation of historical background. This book provides an encyclopaedic view of superstition, its definition and origins, and its mechanisms and practices.

The recent growth of eccentric cults, the pursuit of mystic practices, and a spate of books and television broadcasts on the occult all testify to a resurgence of irrational beliefs. Using a multidisciplinary approach that combines psychology, biology, and astronomy with a masterly appreciation of historical background, Felix E. Planer provides an encyclopaedic view of superstition - its definition and origins, its mechanisms and practices.