The Universality Of The Magical Beliefs Which Have Existed Throughout Europe From The Time Of The Romans To The Present Has Been Hidden By A Focus On The Sensational Aspects Of Magic, And On Witch Trials In Particular. The Magical Universe Shows How Magical Beliefs And Practices Permeated All Aspects Of Work And Of Family Life, And Profoundly Influenced The Approach Of Men And Women To Health And Healing, Birth, Marriage And Death. Magic Offered The Hope Of Protection In A Dangerous And Uncertain World, If The Correct Rituals Were Observed. Magical Beliefs Borrowed From And Were Incorporated In Church Rites. Such Beliefs, Shared By The Powerful As Well As The Poor, Lasted Remarkably Late In Many Rural Areas And Have Still Not Completely Vanished. Beliefs And Practices Used To Permeate All Aspects Of Work And Family Life, And Profoundly Influenced The Approach Of Men And Women To Health And Healing, Birth, Marriage And Death. Magic Offered The Hope Of Protection In An Uncertain World. I. Agriculture. 1. House, Work And The Land -- 2. Calendar Customs And Agrarian Saints -- 3. The Weather -- 4. Livestock -- Ii. The Life-cycle. 5. Human Fertility And Marriage -- 6. Conception And Pregnancy -- 7. Childbirth : Delivery And First Days -- 8. Childbirth : Omens And Strange Births -- 9. Baptism, Godparents And Naming -- 10. Mother And Child -- 11. Death And The Dead -- Iii. Disease And Healing. 12. Illness, Doctors And Religion -- 13. Folk-healers And Magical Cures -- Iv. Divination And Signs. 14. Divination And Signs -- V. The Elements Of Magic. 15. Magical Power : Persons, Spirits And Animals -- 16. Magical Power : Things, Words And Gestures -- 17. Magic And Religion. Stephen Wilson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [495]-532) And Index.