An illuminating journey into the history of the paranormal and how it has shaped our world. Nostradamus . . . channeling . . . Atlantis . . . divination. Most serious people consider such topics nonsense. But look again. Writing with intellectual verve and a deeply critical mind, religious thinker Richard Smoley explores and reconsiders the supernatural in history and today. We are often conditioned to think of the Judeo-Christian tradition as the only valid, historically accurate, and rational spiritual philosophy. Occultism, magic, and the esoteric are, by contrast, considered illegitimate, delusional, and lacking in intrinsic worth. Supernatural challenges this prejudice, revealing that Western occult traditions are richer and more historically impactful than most of us imagine. The book reveals hidden diamonds and neglected ideas that characterize the magical tradition in the West. For any reader, at any level of experience, who has ever been curious about an arcane subject - from psychical powers to secret societies - here is a book that gives a complete yet precise, critical, yet serious, and always respectful account of topics from the unseen world. Supernaturalis a brilliant primer to the occult and magical traditions of the West. 'I have a standing rule- I read anything Richard Smoley writes.'Larry Dossey, M.D.'Smoley . . . is adept at unknotting the paradoxes of spiritual traditions and making new connections across centuries and languages.'Library Journal'He is one of the liveliest, most intrepid, and most gifted explorers of the spiritual landscape writing today.' Ptolemy Tompkins, author of Paradise Fever