Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/757

MAGIC. 675 MAGIC. Tims a shaman is a man of mighty orenda; when a hunter slays, his orenda baffles that of the game. Orenda may be stored in charms, amulets, medicines : and in the forms and colors of all things there are magic properties {orenda) which the observant person notices, and gaining knowledge thereof becomes a seer. It is manifest that here we have a theory in which religious elements (philosophy of life) and natural magic are intimately commingled; and, indeed, such is usually the case with primi- tive peoples. At the same time, the relation of ?arly magic to religion is a matter of some dis- agreement. On the one hand, it is held that magic and magical practices precede the develop- ment of religious conceptions, or mythologies, which arise later as allegorical interpretations; on the other hand, magic is taken to be a degenerate and perverted form of religious practice. Both theories have justification. The great body of primitive magic is the so-called sympathetic magic based upon the idea that like afl'ects like, and is not to be discriminated from fetishism and other elemental forms of worship. A supersti- tion as widespread as the human race and as ancient as its records leads to the fashioning of images of enemies for the sake of mutilating them in the belief that these enemies will suffer like mutilation. In Europe in the Middle Ages waxen images were melted before a fire and it was supposed that the person represented would similarly waste away. Savage fetishism carries this principle to the extreme, any trifle which has once been possessed by a man being esteemed ever after to retain a potent influence over him ; thus it is related of a South Sea island king that he offered the greater part of his property for the return of a lock of his hair stolen by his enemies. Such is the theory of early magic, and it is evi- dent that the same theory persists wlien the Chinese sticks nails into an idol recalcitrant to his prayers, although with him it is conceived to be a superhuman spirit that sufl"er3, not an- other man. Indeed, the use of images in all religious worship must have acquired its first meaning from the idea of a magical sympathy or rapport. Xevertheless, among the most primi- tive peoples mythology seems to be preserved in distinction from magic, and even if the conception of worship did arise from the latter it is not clear how the idea of divinities could have done so. iloreoer, we have many evidences of religions degenerating into demonological superstition, with belief in magical control, and this might give a fair account of the whole evolution. Historically, however, there is no evidence as to which had precedence. In the most ancient times botli Egypt and Mesopotamia had devel- oped, together with complex mythologies, elabo- rate systems of magical practice. All such prac- tices fall into three main divisions: Sympathetic magic, including most that passes for witchcraft, sorcerj-. enchantment, and healing magic; divina- tion, including astrology, clairvoyance, necro- mancy, and the many forms of the reading of signs: and wonder-working, or thaumaturgy — jugglery, enchantment and demon control, mira- cles. From remote times all of these forms were present, but in general the Persian and Medean Magi appear to have excelled in the first, as did the Chald.neans in astrologv* and the Egyptians in thaumaturgy. In each country, as is the case among savages, the magician was also physician and priest. The practice of magic was primarily religious, but it also embodied whatever scientific knowledge the age possessed. Thus, especially in magic aimed to cure disease, there were many rites and ceremonies to be performed, all thought to be of a religious nature, but often including the administration of a healing drug or other beneficial treatment. At the same time there were formulae for exorcising the demon of disease, which priest as well as layman rigidly believed to be essential to the cure. On the other hand, there were many deceptive tricks, especially among the Egyptians and classic peoples, made possible by the possession of rudimentary knowledge of phys- ics and chemistry or by legerdemain and other forms of juggling. Such were the apparitions of gods and demons produced by the use of con- cave mirrors; such were the speaking statues and many of the oracles; such, very likely, the tricks of the priests who measured arms with Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. Both in Egjpt and ilesopotamia the purposes of magic were as manifold as the happenings of human life. In Egypt have been discovered hun- dreds of magical recipes ranging from invoca- tions of divinities and lures for happiness, friends and fortune, to spells for causing gold to rust, for separating man and wife, and for mui-dering by occasioning sleepless nights until the victim dies. Indeed, the Egyptians were not content to limit their magic to this world; the famous "Ritual of the Dead" is a series of incantations supposed to carry the soul safely through the perils of under-world journeying. Chaldaean incantations abound in passages showing the many kinds of baneful magic feared by the Mesopotamians, which the incantations were designed, of course, to ward ofl^. These are often long and monotonously exact enumerations, it being essential that the language of the spell should leave no loophole for unincluded ills or demons. Thus: "The wizard has charmed me with the charm, has charmed me with his charm; the witch has charmed me with the charm, has charmed me with her charm ; the sorcerer has bewitched me with the spell, has bewitched me with his spell; the sorceress has bewitched me with the spell, has bewitched me with her spell ; he who enchants images has charmed away my life by an image; he has taken the enchanted philter, and has soiled my life with it, he has torn my garment and dragged it in the dust of my feet. May the god Fire, the hero, dispel their enchantments." (Lenormant.) Amulets and talismans were used in great pro- fusion by all ancient peoples, sometimes carved in the form of protecting divinities, sometimes engraved with magical inscriptions, and usually eeremonially prepared according to minute speci- fications. They were either of general value, as when wearing of a magic ring procured prosper- ity; or of specific usefulness, as when an image of a certain demon was applied to a part of the body, supposed to be suffering from that demon, to effect a cure. Frequently they were designed as protection from the evil eye. which all ancient peoples believed to be peculiarly sinister, and for this purpose they were often made in imi- tation of eyes. Especially in later antiquity certain semi-scientific designs were conceived to possess magical powers. Thus the pentagram, probably adopted first by the Pythagoreans as a sign of fellowship and to commemorate its dis-