This work is a retrospective introduction to the study of modern metaphysics. The present volume is intended as an introduction to a more complete treatise. The reader will not find in these essays anything beyond an attempt at a classification of facts. Olliver's object is to explain the origin of magic and witchcraft and must necessarily examine the origin and growth of religious systems. Contents: introduction; religious symbolism; Kabala; sexual worship; Devil myth; sorcery and witchcraft; witches' sabbat; pseudo-morphic phenomena; divination, its various forms; alchemy, its chemical aspect; white magic and initiation; some aspects of modern metaphysics; bibliography. Illustrated.