Magic

Magic or sorcery are terms referring to the alleged influencing of events and physical phenomena by supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means. They can refer to cultural complexes of beliefs and practices that believers can resort to in order to wield this supernatural influence; and also, to similar cultural complexes that seek to explain various events and phenomena by supernatural means.

The term magic in its various translations has been used in a number of ways:

In the context of parapsychology, magic is often defined as the study and application of psychic forces or energy.
From the point of view of many established religions, for example Christianity, magic is often used as a pejorative term for Pagan rituals, with the implication that they involve sinful, blasphemous or idolatrous practices. The magic and religion article deals largely with this aspect.
 
Among occultists, magic is a fairly neutral term which has some varied connotations, such as white magic and black magic. The famous occultist Aleister Crowley chose the spelling magick to distinguish "the true science of the Magi" from all its "counterfeits," such as stage magic. Today many use that spelling in the same or otherwise similar way, often to connote a Pagan, Wiccan, or Hermetic system of beliefs and ritual practises.

Magic and Religion

The conceptual relationship between religion and magic is similar to the relationship between "religion" and Paganism, whereas "religion" refers to a system of established beliefs, and "magic" and "Pagan" are labels used by people within that system to describe beliefs and practices that conflict with or are outside of that system.

From the point of view of adherents of Christianity, the terms "magic" and "wizardry" connote beliefs which are held to be false beliefs or heresy. In this sense, the term 'magic' is typically outdated, although in the direct quotation of religious scripture it may have some limited usage in modern times.

Originally referring to the older Zoroastrian Magi (i.e. sages, priests), the term "magic" became a negative term, and among the followers of the Israelite religion was recorded into Western history with its denigrating meaning. All descendants of the younger Abrahamic faith and its traditional culture of belief inherited this use of the term. In times of antiquity, practitioners of other religions were accused of practicing magic, even the adherents of Christianity and Islam, particularly when they were still burgeoning faiths.

In the Middle Ages, what we now call "the sciences" began to develop, partially through alchemy. Alchemy attempted to codify specific methodology for the mechanical achievement of tasks which most considered to be important, such as the healing of illnesses and the making of wealth (gold etc). Whereas religion advocated a faith-based deference to matters of spirit, alchemy played a significant role in developing human curiosity about the natural world into a systemic structure of beliefs and practices. It is from alchemy that our modern concept of wizardry and magic come from; as a kind of melding of spirituality and methodical and professional investigation into the mysterious or "arcane."

Theories of Magic

In an age where the existence of magical forces is no longer taken for granted, believers in magic are likely to be asked, "How does magic work?"

A survey of writings by believers in magic shows that adherents believe that it may work by one or more of these basic principles:

• Natural forces that cannot be detected by science at present, and in fact may not be detectable at all. These magical forces are said to exist in addition to and alongside the four fundamental forces of nature: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force.
• Intervention of spirits similar to these hypothetical natural forces, but with their own consciousness and intelligence. Believers in spirits will often see a whole cosmos of beings of many different kinds, sometimes organized into a hierarchy.
• A mystical power, such as mana or numen, that exists in all things. This power is often said to be dangerous to people. Sometimes this power is contained in a magical object, such as a stone or a charm, which the magician can manipulate.
• A mysterious interconnection in the cosmos that connects and binds all things, above and beyond the natural forces.
• Manipulation of symbols. Adherents of magical thinking believe that symbols can be used for more than representation: they can magically take on a physical quality of the phenomenon or object that they represent. By manipulating symbols (as well as sigils), one is said to be able to manipulate the reality that this symbol represents.
• The principles of sympathetic magic of Sir James George Frazer, explicated in his The Golden Bough (third edition, 1911-1915). These principles include the "law of similarity" and the "law of contact" or "contagion." These are systematized versions of the manipulation of symbols. Frazer defined them this way:
  If we analyse the principles of thought on which magic is based, they will probably be found to resolve themselves into two: first, that like produces like, or that an effect resembles its cause; and, second, that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed. The former principle may be called the Law of Similarity, the latter the Law of Contact or Contagion. From the first of these principles, namely the Law of Similarity, the magician infers that he can produce any effect he desires merely by imitating it: from the second he infers that whatever he does to a material object will affect equally the person with whom the object was once in contact, whether it formed part of his body or not.
• Concentration or meditation. A certain amount of restricting the mind to some imagined object (or will), according to Aleister Crowley, produces mystical attainment or "an occurrence in the brain characterized essentially by the uniting of subject and object." (Book Four, Part 1: Mysticism) Magick, as defined previously, seeks to aid concentration by constantly recalling the attention to the chosen object (or Will), thereby producing said attainment. For example, if one wishes to concentrate on a God, one might memorize a system of correspondences (perhaps chosen arbitrarily, as this would not affect its usefulness for mystical purposes) and then make every object that one sees "correspond" to said God.
  Aleister Crowley wrote that ". . . the exaltation of the mind by means of magical practices leads (as one may say, in spite of itself) to the same results as occur in straightforward Yoga." Crowley's magick thus becomes a form of mental, mystical, or spiritual discipline, designed to train the mind to achieve greater concentration. Crowley also made claims for the paranormal effects of magick, suggesting a connection with the first principle in this list. However, he defined any attempt to use this power for a purpose other than aiding mental or mystical attainment as "black magic".
• The magical power of the subconscious mind. To believers who think they need to convince their subconscious mind to make the changes they want, all spirits and energies are projections and symbols that make sense to the subconscious. A variant of this belief is that the subconscious is capable of contacting spirits, who in turn can work magic.
  Many more theories exist. Practitioners will often mix these concepts, and sometimes even invent some themselves. In the contemporary current of chaos magic in particular, it is not unusual to believe any concept of magic works.

Religious ritual and magical thinking

Viewed from a non-theistic perspective, many religious rituals and beliefs seem similar to, or identical to, magical thinking.

Related to both magic and prayer is religious supplication. This involves a prayer, or even a sacrifice to a supernatural being or god. This god or being is then asked to intervene on behalf of the person offering the prayer.

The difference, in theory, is that prayer requires the assent of a deity with an independent will, who can deny the request. Magic, by contrast is thought to be effective:

• by virtue of the operation itself;
• or by the strength of the magician's will;
• or because the magician believes he can command the spiritual beings addressed by his spells.

In practice, when prayer doesn't work, it means that the god has chosen not to hear nor grant it; when magic fails, it is because of some defect in the casting of the spell itself. It is no wonder that magic tends to be more formulaic and less extempore than prayer. Ritual is the magician's failsafe, the key to any hope for success, and the explanation for failure.

A possible exception is the practice of word of faith, where it is often held that it is the exercise of faith in itself that brings about a desired result.

Religious attitudes towards magic

Indigenous traditions

Appearing from aboriginal tribes in Australia and New Zealand to rainforest tribes in South America, bush tribes in Africa and ancient Pagan tribal groups in Europe and the British Isles, some form of shamanic contact with the spirit world seems to be nearly universal in the early development of human communities. The ancient cave paintings in France are widely speculated to be early magical formulations, intended to produce successful hunts. Much of the Babylonian and Egyptian pictorial writing characters appear derived from the same sources.

Although indigenous magical traditions persist to this day, very early on some communities transitioned from nomadic to agricultural civilizations, and with this shift, the development of spiritual life mirrored that of civic life. Just as tribal elders were consolidated and transformed into kings and bureaucrats, so too were shamans and adepts devolved into priests and a priestly caste.

This shift is by no means in nomenclature alone. While the shaman's task was to negotiate between the tribe and the spirit world, on behalf of the tribe, as directed by the collective will of the tribe, the priest's role was to transfer instructions from the deities to the city-state, on behalf of the deities, as directed by the will of those deities. This shift represents the first major usurpation of power by distancing magic from those participating in that magic. It is at this stage of development that highly codified and elaborate rituals, setting the stage for formal religions, began to emerge, such as the funeral rites of the Egyptians and the sacrifice rituals of the Babylonians, Persians, Aztecs and Mayans.

Magic and the Magi

Magical beliefs and practices are common in many cultures and religions. The word magic comes from the beliefs and practices of the Magi (singular, Magus), Persian priests and scholars, followers of Zoroaster, who were credited by the classical world with mastery of astrology and other arcane arts.

In Judaism and Christianity

Officially, Judaism, Christianity and Islam characterize magic as forbidden witchcraft, and have often prosecuted practitioners of it with varying degrees of severity. The traditional theologies of these religions have held that the apparent effects of magic are either delusional or the result of fallen angels manipulating nature on behalf of the sorcerer, hence witchcraft has often been seen as a type of pact with demonic beings.

Unofficially, Jewish and Christian mystics have practiced varying forms of magic for hundreds of years. Jewish folk stories often feature wonder-working rabbis and sages as protagonists, whose powers more or less resemble magic.
 

In Islam

Muslims, followers of the religion of Islam, believe in magic, and forbid practice of it (Siher). Siher translates as sorcery or black magic. Muslims believe that two Angels taught sorcery to mankind in order to test their obedience to refrain from it. Magic is considered an unforgivable sin; one for which there is no forgiveness.

And they follow that which the devils falsely related against the kingdom of Solomon. Solomon disbelieved not; but the devils disbelieved, teaching mankind sorcery and that which was revealed to the two angels in Babel, Harut and Marut. Nor did they (the two angels) teach it to anyone till they had said: We are only a temptation, therefore disbelieve not (in the guidance of Allah). And from these two (angels) people learn that by which they cause division between man and wife; but they injure thereby no-one save by Allah's leave. And they learn that which harmeth them and profiteth them not. And surely they do know that he who trafficketh therein will have no (happy) portion in the Hereafter; and surely evil is the price for which they sell their souls, if they but knew. (al-Qur'an 2:102)

However, whereas performing miracles in Islam is reserved for a prophet ("Nabi"), some schools of thought within Islam believe in a form of metaphysical training in which the seeker can obtain the power to perform miracle-like events (called "keramat"). This is however not regarded as magic but rather psychic power. During the golden age of Islam, there was an influx of Hermetic and Chaldean thought due to the translation of many texts into Arabic. Magic based on angels, properties of the 99-Names of Allah, verses from the Quran, and the power of the Arabic letters became accepted as an alternative to sorcery between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. One of the most famous books of this era was the Shamsu al-Ma'aref al-Kubra, by Ahmed al-Buni. This book was later banned by orthodox Muslims as heresy, but continues to be read and studied. This kind of magic was called, instead of Siher (Sorcery), Ilm al-Hikmah (Knowledge of the Wise), Ilm Shem Yah (Study of the Divine Name), and Rouhaniat (Spirituality). For example, in Islamic tradition, as well as in Judaism, King Solomon, could communicate with the animal kingdom. That is believed to be God given, a miracle and not regarded magic. But then we read of a mysterious person in the circle of people around Solomon by the name of Asef ben berkhia, who is said to have been able to outperform the angels with his knowledge of the Divine Names. Magical power through Divine blessings ("keramat" e.g.) is therefore attainable by man; it is iktisabi, to put it properly.

Many Muslims, especially during the middle ages, believed in these esoteric sciences such as Alchemy and Astrology, where a student under the proper master (pir) could obtain this knowledge. The Persian scientist Biruni, for example, is said to have been famed for his knowledge of using Astrology to foretell the near future with astrolabes.

Whereas the Persian magi were believed to use Agate stones to influence the weather, Muslims believe in wearing the Agate ring for protection and longevity, among other benefits. Stones of the sort are thought to influence mood. And whereas weavers of flying carpets are written to have been persecuted in medieval Persia, the presence and even ability to communicate with genies ("jinn" in the Qur'an) is openly acknowledged.

In Hinduism

It has been long accepted by many that Hindu India has been the land of magic, both supernatural and otherwise. Hinduism is one of the few religions that has sacred texts like the Vedas that talks about both white and black magic. The Atharva Veda is a veda that deals with mantra that can be used for both good and bad. The word mantrik in India literally means magician since the mantrik usually knows mantras, spells and curses which can be used for or against forms of magic. Many ascetics after long periods of penance and meditation are supposed to attain a state where they attain supernatural powers. However many choose not to use them and instead transcend beyond physical powers into the realm of spirituality. Many siddhars are said to have done wonders and miracles that would have been impossible to perform.