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Occultopedia

Occultopedia

The Occult and Unexplained Encyclopedia  
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Magic

   
       

  
 

 


Alternatively spelled Magick.


The use of a certain ritual action to bring about the intervention of a supernatural force, either in human affairs or in the natural environment, for a specific purpose; the art of altering things either by supernatural means or through knowledge of the occult.

   
             

 
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Magic has existed universally since ancient times, and varies in form from primary rituals involving the well-being of an entire community, to minor, peripheral, private acts of magic.


All forms of magic are traditionally secret arts taught only to initiates, although in some cultures magical knowledge can sometimes be bought and sold or can be passed on through inheritance. A distinction is usually made between black magic, used destructively to bring misfortune or death, and white magic, which is used to ward off such attacks as well as to prevent natural calamities. In itself magic is not good or evil, it is the magician's intentions that make the difference.


  
          

 
 
 


The very earliest forms of magic were designed to produce some desired effect, such as rituals for successful hunting. This simple magic, also called sorcery, involved practices such as tying and untying knots, blood sacrifices, and sticking pins in wax images or little dolls or poppets. Sorcery is also called sympathetic magic — by imitating the desired result, it will happen in reality. Harmful sympathetic magic usually requires some personal effect of the victim, such as a lock of hair, a fingernail or article of clothing; it is also important that the victim be aware of the spell, which increases the likelihood of a successful result.

   
             

 
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Magical acts may be performed by individuals on their own behalf, or a magician with specialized knowledge of the rites that may be consulted. In some societies, associations of magical specialists exist. Magical practitioners may be called witch doctors, wizards, sorcerers, diviners, witches, warlocks, wise women, cunning women, and so on.


By the Middle Ages in Europe magical arts had become divided between low magic, such as sorcery, and high magic, which meant exploring the esoteric traditions of the Kabbalah and Hermetica, often through elaborate ceremonial magic (see Freemasonry, Order of the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians).

   
           

 
 
 
 


n ceremonial magic the aim of the ritual is to commune with God or a deity to achieve a higher consciousness. The spiritual and mystical elements of hermetic knowledge and the Jewish kabbalah were aimed at facilitating the communication between human beings, spirits and the Divine at different levels of spiritual consciousness.


Magic was discredited by the Scientific Revolution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but interest revived in the nineteenth century, and various occult societies and magical fraternities were established (see Crowley, Aleister). Modern neo-pagan witchcraft (or wicca), includes both low sorcery (but not black magic or blood sacrifice) and high ceremonial magic.

   
           

 
 
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The typical image of a magician is someone characterized by the figure of Merlin, a wizened old man in flowing robes, wearing a pointed hat covered in stars. Although many of us envision the wise old magician to be essentially good, in medieval times anyone labeled a witch or sorcerer would suffer the consequences.


Throughout history, there have been many who have claimed having secret knowledge resultant of great supernatural powers. Merlin, Abaris, Cagliostro, Crowley, amongst many others, are some of the most recognized in times gone by as skilled in the magical arts.

   
            

Wicca, Witchcraft & Magick Class:
The Essentials. Click HERE to Enroll

 
 
 


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Sources: (1) Spence, Lewis, An Encyclopedia of Occultism, Carol Publishing Group; (2)
Randi, James, An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, St. Martin's Griffin; (3) The Encyclopaedia Britannica Eleventh Edition Handy Volume Edition, Oxford University Press.
 

 
-- Further Learning

Copyright Info --
-- Videos and DVDs Bibliography --
-- Art and Graphics Basic Navigation --
-- Suggested Reading Additional Online Info --

  


       
Suggested Software:
 
Courses on Magical Arts:
 
 
 

 
-- Dream Interpreter CD-ROM: Spiritual, Psychological and Traditional Interpretations of Dreams.

-- Horoscope Interpreter CD-ROM
Generate and Analyze Horoscopes
.

-- The Book Of Shadows CD-ROM.

--
The URANTIA Book CD-ROM: The History of Earth.

-- Time Passages Astrology (PC & Mac).

--
Ultimate Divination 4 CD-ROM Set: Astrology, Tarot, Palmistry, I Ching.

-- Click HERE for more related software.

-- Click HERE for the best prices on top-selling software titles.
 


Suggested Videos:
 
 

 
-- Cracking the Code to the Extraordinary; Mystery Schools Ancient Knowledge and Self-Empowering Tools DVD.

--
Dark Mirror of Magick DVD (Record of an actual magical operation of historical significance).

--
Discovering Witchcraft: The Mysteries.

-- Haxan; Witchcraft Through the Ages DVD.

--
Healing the Luminous Body; The Way of the Shaman DVD.

--
In Search of History - Witchcraft.

-- Intention, Belief, Emotion, and Will; Consciousness and The Scientific Basis for Magick and Miracles DVD.

--
Of Men & Demons.

-- Secrets of Angels, Demons & Masons DVD.

--
The Magick of Solomon - A History of Western Magick DVD.

-- The Supernatural DVD Boxed Set - Witchcraft, Vampires, Nostradamus.

--
Witchcraft & Magick; Real Events and Infamous Myths DVD.

-- Click HERE for more related videos.

-- Click HERE for the best prices on top-selling DVD titles.
   
 

       
-- Handwriting Analysis Basics.

--
Understanding Parapsychology and the Paranormal.

-- Introduction to Paganism.

-- Magick Basics.


-- Wicca 101.

--
Wicca Witchcraft & Magick: The Essentials.

-- Click HERE for more new age and alternative beliefs courses.



Suggested Art prints and Posters:

         
Sorcerers Evoking a Hand Within a Circle of Fire
Sorcerers Evoking a Hand Within a Circle of Fire
Buy This Allposters.com
  Houdini
Houdini Giclee Print
Buy this poster
 
         
Seat in the Stalls: Faust
Seat in the Stalls: Faust
Andrew Howat
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  Dragon Spell
Dragon Spell Poster
Buy this poster
 
         
The Yellow Dwarf, The Sorcerer, c.1878
The Yellow Dwarf, The Sorcerer, c.1878
Walter Crane
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    The Sorcerer's Apprentice Accidentally Lets the Dragon out of the Bottle
The Sorcerer's Apprentice Accidentally Lets the Dragon out of the Bottle
Buy This Allposters.com
 
         
Wizard and Dragon
Wizard and Dragon Art Print
Rowe, Ken
Buy this poster
    The Sorcerer Elymas Struck Blind by St. Paul Before the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus
The Sorcerer Elymas Struck Blind by St. Paul Before the Roman Governor Sergius Paulus
Buy This Allposters.com
 
         

-- Click HERE for more related art prints and posters.
 
-- Click HERE for related magazines and periodicals.
 
 

Suggested Books:

      
     
-- A Book of Pagan Rituals.

--
Advanced Candle Magick: More Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose (Practical Magick Series).

--
An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present.

--
Ancient Maori Cosmologies from the Wairarapa.

--
Angel Magic: The Ancient Art of Summoning & Communicating With Angelic Beings (World Religion and Magic Series).

--
At the Heart of Darkness: Witchcraft, Black Magic and Satanism Today.

--
Basic Magick: A Practical Guide.

--
Beginner's Maori.

--
Circles of Power: Ritual Magic in the Western Tradition.

--
Collectanea Hermetica.

--
Evocation of Spirits (Truth About Series).

--
Fairy Folk Tales of the Maori.

--
Fundamentals of Hawaiian Mysticism.

--
Godwin's Cabalistic Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to Cabalistic Magick (Llewellyn's Sourcebook).

--
Goetic Evocation: The Magician's Workbook.

--
Hermetic Magic: The Postmodern Magical Papyrus of Abaris.

--
High Magic's Aid.

--
Huna: A Beginner's Guide.

--
Huna Code in Religions.

--
Iconography of New Zealand Maori Religion.

--
Land of the Long White Cloud: Maori Myths, Tales and Legends.

--
Magical Arrows: The Maori, the Greeks, and the Folklore of the Universe (New Directions in Anthropological Writing).

--
Magical Rites from the Crystal Well.

--
Making Magick: What It Is and How It Works.

--
Mastering Your Hidden Self: A Guide to the Huna Way.

--
Modern Magick: Eleven Lessons in the High Magickal Arts.

--
Natural Magic.

--
Paths of Wisdom: The Magical Cabala in the Western Tradition (Llewellyn's High Magick Series).

--
Practice of Magical Evocation.

--
Pragmatic Magics: Grimoire of Sorcery.

--
Praxis Spagyrica Philosophica Of Plain and Honest Directions on How to Make the Stone.

--
Ritual Practices to Gain Power: Angels, Incantations, and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism.

--
Summoning Forth Wiccan Gods and Goddesses: The Magick of Invocation and Evocation.

--
Summoning Spirits: The Art of Magical Evocation.

--
Summoning the Familiar: Powers and Rites of Common Life.

--
Summoning the Fates: A Woman's Guide to Destiny.

--
The Astronomical Knowledge of the Maori, Genuine and Empirical/Bound With 'The Maori Division of Time'.

--
The Bone People.

--
The Book of Black Magic.

--
The Candle Magick Workbook.

--
The Golden Dawn: A Complete Course in Practical Ceremonial Magic/Four Volumes in One (Llewellyn's Golden Dawn Series).

--
The History of the Celtic Religion and Learning: Abaris, the Hyperborian, Priest of the Sun.

--
The Magician’s Companion.

--
The Magician’s Reflection.

--
The Manual of Harmonics of Nicomachus the Pythagorean.

--
The Middle Pillar: The Balance Between Mind and Magic.

--
The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library: An Anthology of Ancient Writings Which Relate to Pythagoras and Pythagorean Philosophy.

--
The Ritual Magic Workbook: A Practical Course of Self-Initiation.

--
Tree of Life, a Study in Magic.

-- Click HERE for more related books.

-- Click HERE for the best prices on top-selling book titles.
 

 

  

Further info:

-- Magic.
-- Magician.
-- Wizard.
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