Defining Magic: A Reader (Critical Categories in the Study of Religion)

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Owing to its ability to generate desirable affective states, William Mazzarella (2017) surmises, magic makes reality more enjoyable and pleasureful – even the mundane encounter with a packet of leaflets is experienced with delight – and this has positive repercussions on a sorcerer’s self. Greco-Egyptian papyruses from the 1st to the 4th century ce, for example, include magical recipes involving animals and animal substances, along with instructions for the ritual preparations necessary to ensure the efficacy of the spells. Far from being seen as problematic, eclecticism in ritual is often proudly declared, an emphasis on creativity and bricolage understood as empowering (Magliocco 1996: 99; 2006). The vocabulary and concept of magic have a distinctly Western genealogy: the word comes from the Greek mageia, which, in ancient Greece, was used to describe the priests ( magav) of the arch-inimical Persian Empire (Graf 1995; Bremmer 1999). Recent interpretations (Stephens 2002; Silverblatt 2004) suggest that the reasons for this lie in an attitude of scepticism and inquisitiveness as well as a novel bureaucratic rationality, which began to pervade early-modern European society.

In this ancient sense, the word was associated with practices that were outlandish because they were foreign. Apparently irrational beliefs’ may appear much less outlandish once considered as parts – and expressions – of broader social and cultural logics.

Also in the high Middle Ages the demonization of Muslims and Jews contributed to the suspicion of the "other. In other words, we must consider that anthropology as an academic discipline has greatly contributed to establishing what counts as magic and what does not in today’s mainstream consciousness, including amongst many practitioners of magic.

This conspiracy theory of demonic magic contributed to the early modern "witch craze” that occurred at a time of growing tension between magic, religion, and nascent science. He allowed his music to be prominently sampled by rappers – What You Won’t Do for Love became Do for Love by Tupac, the music in My Flame became Sky’s the Limit by The Notorious BIG, and Open Your Eyes became The Light by Common (produced by the late great J Dilla) – all of which immortalised his work for a younger generation.When it comes to ritual, for instance, ceremonial magic allows ample scope for creativity compared to mainstream religious organizations: ceremonies change over time and magical milieus borrow from multiple traditions such as mythology, folklore, academic literature, and pop culture. g, the witches’ sabbath, a midnight assembly in fealty to the Devil); moreover, this oft-reprinted volume is responsible for the misogynist association of witchcraft with women that becomes the dominant characteristic in the early modern period.