The recent growth of eccentric cults, the pursuit of mystic practices, and a spate of books and television broadcasts on the occult all testify to a resurgence of irrational beliefs. Briefly, superstition is defined as an irrational belief that serves to palliate fear. The motivating fear here is that of future events. Superstitions covered in this section include astrology, ESP, fortune-telling, and all forms of prophecies.
Planer traces all such superstitions to a fear of hostile forces.
As a subgroup of Magic, Planer examines Religion. He identifies the driving force here as the fear of supernatural sanctions and discusses the relationship between religion and magic, the evolution of major world religions, and religion as it relates to sin, cruelty, and moral evil. Written in simple, concise language, devoid of technical jargon and with a warming strain of humor, Planer looks at the quirks and fears that motivate mankind's beliefs. Reasonable and intelligent.