This class, The History of Magic from the Renaissance to the Present, continues where The History of Magic: From Prehistory through the Middle Ages left off! In the second part of the survey, we will expand the scope of inquiry to consider both Europe and the Americas. Beginning in the Renaissance, we will look at magicians from the court alchemist to the local wise woman. We’ll examine the effect that the Reformation had on European magicians, the proliferation of grimoires, the witch-hunting frenzy, and charges of demonism leveled at and between members of various churches. Finally, we’ll look magic in the New World, including the migration of European magical beliefs to the the colonies, where they mingled with African and Afro-Caribbean magical systems to produce new forms of magic like voodoo and hoodoo. Last, we’ll consider the rise of Paganism in its various modern forms: Wicca, Druidism, and other esoteric occult systems.