Böcker av Stephen Skinner

A fictional retelling of a real life bank heist at the Bank of America in the heart of London's Mayfair in the 1970s.

The most complete history of Western divinatory geomancy in English plus detailed instructions for its practice.

''The Voynich Manuscript is the limit text of Western occultism. It is truly an occult book - one that no one can read.'' - Terence McKenna, ethnobotanist and mystic This complete edition of the Voynich Manuscript includes a fascinating and authoritative foreword and introduction by Dr Stephen Skinner, Dr Rafal Prinke and Dr René Zandbergen, who together detail all that is currently known about this mysterious medieval manuscript, the only book in existence that has been written in this particular language and alphabet - a language that nobody can read. Drawing on their extensive knowledge of the period, of other esoteric and alchemical works and of the curious history of the Voynich, they explore its relation to magic and alchemy, and what may be guessed about the meaning of its beautiful illustrations. This information, together with the images themselves, invites readers to form their own interpretations of this most famous of enduring mysteries.The elegant design of this Watkins edition is a fitting showcase for the manuscript's strangely beautiful cryptographic script and otherworldly illustrations, which include astrological, astronomy, herbal medicine and enigmatic drawings of naked women bathing.

This manuscript is a grimoire, a manual of practical magic, a sorcerers handbook. It is a composite grimoire drawn from a number of different sources. It is not the sort of grimoire which has a complete method of calling up a set register of spirits, like the Goetia, nor does it have a wide range of pentacles or talismans like the Key of Solomon. It is however quite special as it was also was a practising Cunning man's grimoire, a very interesting blend of learned and local village magic. It also contains a lot of critical astrological information (including its own set of astrological tables) which are an important part of magic, but which dont feature to a large extent in other grimoires. It goes way beyond Planetary days and hours, to detailed aspects of timing and also contains magical operations connected with the 28 Mansions of the Moon and image magic, which were usually absent from Solomonic grimoires. The 28 Mansions of the Moon belong to a different magical tradition which owes its origins to Arabic and Indian roots, rather than the Greek roots of Solomonic magic. This manuscript literally stands at the crossroads of several different magical streams.

In 1934-35, Gloster, Avro, Armstrong Siddeley, Armstrong Whitworth and others were taken over to create the Hawker Siddeley Group. The Group built some of the most important aircraft and missiles of the 1960s, 1970s and beyond. This title tells their story.