Magic Symbols
of the World talismans * charms * fertility symbols Hardcover book with Dust Jacket by Pearl Binder Reprinted 1973 © Copyright The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited 1972 " A conductor's baton invokes virility; a decorous waltz generates magic power; and lipstick protects the mouth from evil influences. Just three statements from an often provocative, always lively, survey which throws up startling parallels between the centuries-old experience of peasant culture and we of the supposedly-sophisticated, fully-automated, twentieth-century world. In this book Pearl Binder reveals many of the ways in which ordinary people have guarded themselves against the dangers of tomorrow, people who, like the common folk throughout history, have immediate and fundamental concerns:
the next harvest, the next rainfall, the next meal.
She tells of patterns and symbols they have evolved to bring comfort and reassurance in their struggle to tap the great forces of nature and shows how each stage of life and each circumstance is hedged about with magic protection. So a spiral painted on the door of a Hindu hut eases a mother's labour; a border at neck, sleeve and hem protects the body from evil spirits; a curve at the corner of a Japanese roof repeals a flying demon; a powder compounded from tiger flesh becomes a potent aphrodisiac; and a jewel in the mouth of a Chinese corpse prevents its spirit from escaping to wander balefully. This is an intensely personal book.
Using her own collection as a springboard, Pearl Binder has given us a stimulating, world-wide account of the magic symbols of the common people in all their resourceful, unbounded and audacious imagination. 35 line drawings, 123 illustrations in black and white and 38 in full colour. " Table of Contents includes: " What is magic ? Symbols of fertility Gods as symbols Magic protection of body and dwelling Magic protection of family and livelihood Death and after-life Conclusion Acknowledgments Index " This book is in good condition with some edgewear and light discoloration around the edges of the cover.
The dust jacket is worn and torn and has the inside flaps clipped off.
No torn or ripped pages. | 
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