lunes, 4 de julio de 2011

Magic


Many Wiccans believe in magic, a force they see as being capable of manipulation through the practice of witchcraft or sorcery. Some spell it "magick", a variation coined by the influential occultist Aleister Crowley, though this spelling is more commonly associated with Crowley's religion of Thelema than with Wicca. Indeed, many Wiccans agree with the definition of magic offered by ceremonial magicians,[36] such as Aleister Crowley, who declared that magic was "the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will", whilst another prominent ceremonial magician, MacGregor Mathers stated that it was "the science of the control of the secret forces of nature".[36] Many Wiccans believe magic to be a law of nature, as yet misunderstood or disregarded by contemporary science,[36] and as such they do not view it as being supernatural, but being a part of the "super powers that reside in the natural" according to Leo Martello.[37] Some Wiccans believe that magic is simply making full use of the five senses that achieve surprising results,[37] whilst other Wiccans do not claim to know how magic works, merely believing that it does because they have observed it to be so.[33]
"The point [of magic in Witchcraft] is to make the "bendable" world bend to your will... Unless you possess a rock-firm faith in your own powers and in the operability of your spell, you will not achieve the burning intensity of will and imagination which is requisite to make the magic work."
Wiccans cast spells or workings during ritual practices, often held inside a sacred circle, in an attempt to bring about real changes in the physical world (these rituals are further explained in the "Ritual practices" section below). Common Wiccan spells include those used for healing, for protection, fertility, or to banish negative influences.[39] Many early Wiccans, such as Alex SandersSybil Leek and Doreen Valiente, referred to their own magic as "white magic", which contrasted with "black magic", which they associated with evil andSatanism. Sanders also used the similar terminology of "left hand path" to describe malevolent magic, and "right hand path" to describe magic performed with good intentions;[33]terminology that had originated with the occultist Madame Blavatsky in the 19th century. Some modern Wiccans however have stopped using the white-black magic and left-right hand path dichotomies, arguing for instance that the colour black should not necessarily have any associations with evil.[40]
The scholars of religion, Rodney Stark and William Bainbridge, claimed, in 1985, that Wicca had "reacted to secularisation by a headlong plunge back into magic" and that it was a reactionary religion which would soon die out. This view was heavily criticised in 1999 by the historian Ronald Hutton, who claimed that the evidence displayed the very opposite, that "a large number [of Wiccans] were in jobs at the cutting edge [of scientific culture], such as computer technology."[33]

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