Intimacy and Ritual: A Study of Spiritualism, Medium and Groups — Occult Philosophy

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Intimacy and Ritual: A Study of Spiritualism, Medium and Groups

Name: Intimacy and Ritual: A Study of Spiritualism, Medium and Groups
Price: 135.00 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780367338084

✍️ Skultans, Vieda

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4.6

(1 review)

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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

Vieda Skultans' seminal 1974 work offers an empathetic exploration into the spiritualist movement in a South Wales community. Through dedicated participant observation and intimate interviews, Skultans reveals how spiritualism functions as a vital therapeutic resource and a robust problem-solving framework for its adherents. The study meticulously details spiritualist practices, beliefs about the spirit realm, and critically examines how it interprets illness and misfortune, often linking physical ailments to deeper social disquiet. This book ultimately portrays spiritualism not merely as a belief system, but as a powerful coping mechanism offering significant rewards to its members.

Skultans, Vieda

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Occult Philosophy

🏛 Routledge 📅 2019 📖 116 pages 📔 Hardcover ISBN: 9780367338084

Fun Fact

Skultans' 'Intimacy and Ritual' remains a crucial anthropological text, offering a deeply empathetic yet rigorously academic look at spiritualism's functional role. It excels in humanizing its subjects, revealing the profound social and therapeutic dimensions often overlooked in more superficial accounts. Those seeking a practical guide to spiritualist practice will be disappointed, as this is a scholarly analysis, not a how-to manual. However, for anyone interested in the social psychology of belief, illness narratives, and alternative healing modalities, this book is an indispensable and enlightening read, cementing its status as a classic in the field.

📝 Description: Intimacy and Ritual: A Study of Spiritualism, Medium and Groups

Originally published in 1974 Intimacy and Ritual is a sympathetic study of spiritualist activities and their relation to the practitioners' secular lives. The book, in particular, looks at the therapeutic function of spiritualism. Based on the author's fieldwork as a 'participant observer' among spiritualists in a South Wales town, the research covers spiritualists services and meetings as well as interviews with spiritualists in their own homes. The book gives an accurate account of spiritualist doctrines and beliefs about the spirit world. The book postulates that spirit possession always relates to illness and shows how this is often the physical counterpart of social malaise. Throughout the study, spiritualism is seen in terms of the coping techniques and the rewards which it offers its members. The book shows that spiritualism is more highly regarded as a problem-solving source than the formal care-giving organizations, such as psychiatrist hospitals and the social work agencies. Healing activities are interpreted as a symbolic enactment of male and female roles ideally conceived, and spiritualist messages offer symbols and explanations of illness and misfortune.

💎 Expert review

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💎

Esoterica Books editorial team

Occult literature desk

Skultans’ work is a rigorous academic examination that may feel dense to casual readers seeking mystical secrets or practical ritual guides. It lacks the narrative flair of popular occult literature, focusing instead on structural analysis and interview data. Those looking for immediate spiritual guidance or dramatic supernatural accounts will likely find it dry and overly clinical. However, for scholars and serious students of esoteric sociology, it remains an essential primary source. The text demands patience but rewards with a deep, empathetic understanding of why spiritualism persists as a vital social institution in modern Wales.

✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

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Why this book is worth reading

Readers seeking to understand the sociological underpinnings of spiritualism will find this text indispensable. It is particularly valuable for those interested in how marginalized communities construct meaning amidst social change. The book offers a compassionate lens through which to view mediumship not as mere superstition, but as a sophisticated coping mechanism. Individuals studying the intersection of physical health and social disquiet will gain profound insights into how spiritual frameworks provide solace. It serves as a crucial resource for historians of religion and psychologists alike, revealing the human need for connection and explanation in uncertain times.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —

⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.6/5

★★★★★

If you're drawn to the anthropology of religion, the sociology of healing, or the historical role of alternative spiritual practices, this book offers profound insights. It's essential reading for anyone interested in how belief systems function as coping mechanisms and sources of meaning in…

Reader rating

4.6

Based on 1 reviews

Esoterica Books editorial team

Skultans’ work is a rigorous academic examination that may feel dense to casual readers seeking mystical secrets or practical ritual guides. It lacks the narrative flair of popular occult literature, focusing instead on structural analysis and interview data. Those looking for immediate spiritual guidance or dramatic supernatural accounts will likely find it dry and overly clinical. However, for scholars and serious students of esoteric sociology, it remains an essential primary source. The text demands patience but rewards with a deep, empathetic understanding of why spiritualism persists as a vital social institution in modern Wales.

❓ Frequently asked questions

No, this is an academic study. While sympathetic to its subjects, Skultans maintains an analytical distance, focusing on understanding spiritualism's social and psychological functions rather than advocating for its doctrines.

The author conducted extensive fieldwork as a 'participant observer' within a South Wales spiritualist community. This involved attending services and meetings, alongside in-depth interviews with spiritualists in their home environments.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Therapeutic Power of Spiritualism

Skultans delves into how spiritualist activities, particularly mediumship and group gatherings, provide a unique form of therapy. She illustrates how these practices offer emotional release, comfort, and a sense of understanding for individuals grappling with personal struggles, positioning spiritualism as a significant source of psychological and spiritual healing for its practitioners.

Beyond Conventional Support

The book highlights spiritualism's role as a preferred alternative to formal care-giving institutions like hospitals and social work agencies. Skultans argues that for many, spiritualism offers more accessible and effective problem-solving strategies, providing a community and belief system that addresses needs unmet by mainstream services, particularly in times of crisis.

Illness and Symbolic Meaning

A key insight is how spiritualism reinterprets illness and misfortune. Skultans demonstrates that spirit possession is often understood as a manifestation of underlying illness, frequently linked to social or psychological distress. Spiritualist messages provide symbolic explanations and frameworks for understanding these afflictions, offering a path to healing through ritual and belief.

📜 Historical context

Published in the mid-1970s, this work emerged at a time when academic studies of alternative spirituality were gaining momentum. Skultans’ approach, rooted in participant observation, was a pioneering method for understanding such communities from within, challenging prevailing dismissive views of spiritualism and cementing its place as a legitimate subject of anthropological inquiry.

📚 Glossary

Spiritualism
Medium
Participant Observation

📔 Questions to reflect on

Consider a time in your life when formal institutions failed to provide adequate support. How might an alternative system, like the spiritualism described, have offered different coping mechanisms?
Skultans links spirit possession to illness and social malaise. Reflect on how your own cultural background interprets illness. Are there symbolic meanings attributed to sickness beyond purely biological explanations?
The book emphasizes the rewards and coping techniques offered by spiritualism. What are some of the 'rewards' or forms of comfort that you seek from your own belief systems or communities when facing hardship?