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Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com
Definitions
Some food for thought for those of us who are fond of the word
magic.
"... as the symbolic background of magical techniques as well as their
deployment in official ceremonies shows, the transition between magic and
religion is very fluid. Since religious symbols are always a synthesis
between the visible and the invisible, they may be looked upon as signposts
in the search for religious meaning, or misinterpreted as ends in
themselves. In this sense each ritual may be either religious or magical,
conditional upon the intention of the participants.
Distinctionscan be made, as precise as the symbols and principles
employed allow, among various types of magic. Substitute Magic is based
upon the idea that a part substitutes for the whole, thereby reversing the
transcendental principle that the part may represent the whole. Man seizes
power over someone else by possessing parts of him, e.g. bones, hair,
nails, etc. Contagious magic obtains when the substitution of the part
for the whole is only partially realized and integrated into a scheme of
causal connection. By touching or wearing power-laden objects such as
relics, fetishes, sacred stones, amulets, etc. or even by assimilating them
as in the case of cannibalism, man integrates him-self and his deeds into
the efficacy of an invisible power structure. Sympathetic magic deals with
symbols and their supposed unity or sympathy with that which is
sympathized. It differs from substitute magic by the ideational character
of the substitution. Examples are the anticipation of a successful hunt by
striking a picture of the animal; the manipulation of pictures and figures
in general; the use of curse figurines or dolls; the deployment of arcane
formulas, both in connection with pictures and statues or independently
from them. In this latter instance, the practice of subjecting the
godhead, a ghost, or an individual to one's will by means of a name or
proper formula should also be mentioned. Gnoseological magic appears as a
more or less autonomous type when the instrumental function of knowledge
and reason becomes an end in itself. The knowledge of the right time, the
right setting, the godhead proper in a given situation, is in itself
sufficient reason to achieve the desired goal. The world of the sacred as
a means of orientation for the growth and meaning of the person turns into
a state of impersonal and mechanically effective anonymity. Ascetic
technique becomes its own end, effective by its very deployment.
As a technique of reaching goals by means different from those
required by these goals, magic is of particular significance for the social
life of a community. In this regard we have to distinguish between
official and private magic. Official magic obtains when public affairs are
treated by help of magical techniques, e.g., when a drought is counteracted
by the imitative act of sprinkling water, or when the office of a shaman
is a generally recognized institution. Private magic on the other hand is
a matter of individuals and/or exclusive groups who, often in deep secrecy,
use their knowledge and techniques in order to pursue their particular
goals....."
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From the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion.
.......... FROM RMPJ, 2/3/1987
816