Magic

From: stephen.yambor_at_cyberia.com
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 96 09:59:37


I have been trying to catch up with some old digests and recently ran across Martin Crim's fine submission "Omens and Oracles" copywrite 1992 in #340. At the risk of bringing up old threads, i just can't stop myself from picking the following nit.

   In the aforementioned article, under the heading of "Doctrine of Signs", M.C. mentions that magic uses a principle of sympathy in which 1. mandrake and ginseng can affect people because of the similarity of their appearance with the human form and 2. a man's hat bears a part of his magic.

   IMHO, my studies of RL magic have always mentioned TWO principles of magic. The first is the principle of sympathy in which mandrake and ginseng affect human beings because of the sympathetic nature of their appearance with the human form, as Messr. Crim reliably states. The second, however, is the principle of CONTAGION which states that certain items retain the power or aura of the people or places that they touch. This priinciple would more accurately describe the situation where a person's hat would retain some power over the person because of the contagious nature of contact. This is the principle upon which some so-called voodoo relies, where a piece of personal property is used in the voodoo doll, such as a lock of hair, to establish the link between the doll and its subject.

    Just needed to add my two pence worth. - -- Steve 8^)

*If I want your opinion, I'll beat it out of you.*


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