magic(k)

Magic is the supposed use of unnatural or superhuman power by a person to try to control human actions or natural events. Magic often seems to achieve results, but the results actually have other causes. For example, a person might cast a magic spell to make an enemy sick. The enemy may learn about the spell, become frightened, and actually feel ill. People throughout the world have practiced magic from the dawn of history. But beginning in the 1600's, science has provided an increasingly greater understanding of the true causes of natural events. This increased scientific knowledge has reduced people's dependence on magic. But many people in non-industrial societies still believe in magic. Even in industrial societies, many people still trust in such forms of magic as astrology and fortunetelling. The word magic also refers to entertainment in which the performer does tricks of socalled magic. In such entertainment, neither the magician nor the audience believes that the performer has supernatural powers. For information on magical performances, see MAGICIAN.

elements of magic
The practice of magic includes special words, actions, and objects. Most magic involves a person called a magician, who claims to have supernatural powers. Magic words. To work most magic, the magician sings or speaks special words in a certain order. These words are called incantations or spells. Some spells form prayers to demons, spirits, or other supernatural forces. Many societies believe the magic will not work unless the magician recites the spells perfectly. Other magic words have no meaning, though they supposedly possess power when spoken by a magician. Magic actions accompany the words spoken in performing much magic. Many of these movements act out the desired effect of the magic. For example, a magician trying to make rain fall may sprinkle water on the ground. The magician's combined words and actions form a ceremony called a rite or ritual. Magic objects include certain plants, stones, and other things with supposed supernatural powers. Any such object may be called a fetish (see FETISH). But this term often refers to an object--for example, a carving or a dried snake-honored by a tribe for its magic powers. Many tribes believe fetishes have magic power because spirits live in these objects. Many people carry magic objects called amulets, charms, or talismans to protect themselves from harm (see AMULET). Many amulets and talismans are stones or rings engraved with magic symbols. The magician. In some societies, nearly everyone knows how to work some magic. In other societies, only experts practice magic. Magicians may be called medicine men, medicine women, shamans, sorcerers, or witch doctors (see SHAMAN). In many societies, magicians must inherit their powers. In others, any person may become a magician by studying the magical arts. Many societies believe magicians must observe certain rules and taboos (forbidden actions) for their spells to work. For example, they may be required not to eat various foods or to avoid sexual activity for a certain period before the ceremony.

kinds of magic
Many anthropologists classify magic as homeopathic or contagious, according to its basic principle. The Scottish anthropologist Sir James G. Frazer first described these

types in his book The Golden Bough (1890). Some people divide magic into black magic and white magic. Black magic harms people, but white magic helps them. Witches usually practice black magic. But a saint may cure a sick person using white magic. Homeopathic magic is based on the belief that like produces like. In this type of magic, also called imitative magic, magicians act out or imitate what they want to happen. They often use a model or miniature of whatever they want to influence. For example, a fisherman may make a model of a fish and pretend he is netting it. He believes this ritual will assure him a good catch. In some European folk dances, the dancers leap high into the air to make their crops grow tall. People once believed that yellow flowers would cure jaundice, a yellowish discoloration of the body. Many taboos come from homeopathic magic. People avoid certain harmless things because they resemble various harmful things. Among the Inuit (Eskimos), for example, parents have traditionally warned their sons against playing a string game, such as cat's cradle, in which children loop string around their fingers. They feared that playing such games might cause the children's fingers to become tangled in the harpoon lines they will use as adults. Contagious magic comes from the belief that after a person has had contact with certain things, they will continue to influence that person. The most common examples of contagious magic involve parts of the body that have been removed, such as fingernails, hair, and teeth. A person's nails and hair supposedly can affect the rest of that person's body long after they have been cut off. A person can injure an enemy by damaging a lock of hair or a piece of clothing from the victim. A magician can even cripple an enemy by placing a sharp object in that person's footprint. People who believe in contagious magic fear that an enemy can gain power over them by obtaining parts of their body. Therefore, they carefully dispose of their nails, hair, teeth, and even their body wastes. Witches and voodoo magicians often practice a type of homeopathic magic called envoutement. The magician makes a doll or some other likeness of an enemy. The magician harms the enemy by sticking pins into the doll or injuring it in some other way. In some societies, the doll includes a lock of hair or a piece of clothing from the enemy. This type of envoutement is a combination of homeopathic and contagious magic.

why people believe in magic

People turn to magic chiefly as a form of insurance--that is, they use it along with actions that actually bring results. For example, hunters may use a hunting charm. But they also use their hunting skills and knowledge of animals. The charm may give hunters the extra confidence they need to hunt even more successfully than they would without it. If they shoot a lot of game, they credit the charm for their success. Many events occur naturally without magic. Crops grow without it, and sick people get well without it. But if people use magic to bring a good harvest or to cure a patient, they may believe the magic was responsible. People also tend to forget magic's failures and to be impressed by its apparent successes. They may consider magic successful if it appears to work only 10 per cent of the time. Even when magic fails, people often explain the failure without doubting the power of the magic. They may say that the magician made a mistake in reciting the spell or that another magician cast a more powerful spell against the magician. Many anthropologists believe that people have faith in magic because they feel a need to believe in it. People may turn to magic to reduce their fear and uncertainty if they feel they have no control over the outcome of a situation. For example, farmers use knowledge and skill when they plant their fields. But they know that weather, insects, or diseases might ruin the crops. So farmers in some societies may also plant a charm or perform a magic rite to ensure a good harvest.

history

Ancient times. The use of magic goes back at least as far as 50,000 B.C. About that time, prehistoric people buried cave bears, probably as a magic rite. Scientists believe that much prehistoric art had magical purposes. Hunters, for example, probably used cave paintings of animals in rites intended to help them hunt the animals. Magic was important to the ancient Egyptians, who used amulets, magic figures, and rites. The ancient Greeks and Romans tried to tell the future from dreams. They also consulted priests called oracles, who interpreted advice from the gods (see ORACLE). According to one legend, the Three Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus were astrologers who located Him by magic use of the stars (see MAGI). The Bible has many references to magic, sorcery, and witchcraft. During the Middle Ages, nearly all Europeans believed in magic. The clergy considered magic sinful but believed in its power. The so-called science of alchemy included much magic (see ALCHEMY). Alchemists hoped to discover the philosopher's stone, a magic substance that could change iron, lead, and other metals into gold. They also sought the elixir of life, a miraculous substance that could cure disease and lengthen life. Many men joined a secret brotherhood called the Rosicrucians, an early version of the present-day Rosicrucian Order. The Rosicrucians studied magic lore and devoted themselves to curing the sick and helping people in other ways. The Masons, another secret group, also had elements of magic in their rituals. From the 1500's to the 1700's, belief in magic continued widespread. Even highly educated people believed in its power. The Swiss physician Philippus Paracelsus, for example, experimented with alchemy and believed in the power of talismans. Sir Isaac Newton, the famous English astronomer and mathematician, studied alchemy. Thousands of persons were tried and executed as witches during this period. Many forms of magic tried to predict the future. People believed a person's character could be described or the future foretold in various ways. These methods included studying the palm of a person's hand, facial features, or even the moles on a person's skin. Some people used tarot cards, a set of playing cards with special pictures, for fortunetelling. After about 1600, advances in science gradually weakened people's belief in magic. But as late as the 1700's, the Italian magician Count Allesandro di Cagliostro won fame for his powers. Cagliostro traveled through Europe selling love potions and elixirs of life. Magic today still plays an important role in the life of many ethnic groups. Even among modern peoples, magic has many followers with an interest in such subjects as astrology, fortunetelling, and witchcraft. For example, many people who have faith in astrology read their daily horoscope in a newspaper. Countless people believe in superstitions that involve forms of magic. Some persons carry a fetish, such as a rabbit's foot or a lucky penny. They believe these articles have magic power to bring good luck. Homeopathic magic appears in the superstition that a newborn baby must be carried upstairs before it is carried down. This act supposedly guarantees that the child will rise in the world and have a successful life. Magic also survives in much of today's advertising. The manufacturers of such products as gasolines and headache remedies boast of new, secret ingredients. Advertisements may indirectly suggest that a mouthwash or a toothpaste will magically transform an unpopular person into a popular one. Many people buy these and other products for the magic qualities suggested by such advertising. Contributor: Alan Dundes, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Folklore, University of California, Berkeley.
World Book Encyclopedia

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