Simon the Magus January 11, 2009
Posted by egabriel in History of Magic.Tags: spirit, practice, texts, book, magic, magician, power, canonical, apocryphal, apostle, cures, exorcisms, gift, attitude, professional, movement, rejection
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Simon is the name of a magician mentioned in the Christian canonical book of Acts and in apocryphal texts. Simon the Magus is presented as a person deeply impressed by the apostle Peter’s cures and exorcisms. Especially, Simon was stunned by the gift of the Spirit that came from the apostles’ laying on of hands. Therefore, he believed and was baptized. But then Simon asks the apostles to sell him their special gift so that he can practice it too. This seems to represent the attitude of a professional magician.
So, for Simon, the power of this new Christian movement is a kind of magic that can be purchased – perhaps a common practice for magicians in parts of the Roman empire. The Apostles response to Simon was emphatic in its rejection. The early Christian church drew a strong line between what it practiced and the practices of magicians and magic users.
The encounter of Odysseus with the Titan Circe November 4, 2008
Posted by egabriel in History of Magic.Tags: act, ancient, beautiful, books, companions, components, control, culture, dangerous, definition, description, distance, divine, fact, figure, form, greek, herb, history, island, literature, magical, operation, practice, secret, secretive, story, wand, woman
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As a web analyst, who completed many types of research on ancient history, I think that the earliest description of a magical operation in Greek literature was on The Odyssey. This is one of my favorite books. In the Odyssey we meet a definition of magic as a practice aimed at trying to locate and control the secret forces of the world. The Odyssey describes the encounter of Odysseus with the Titan Circe. In the story Circe’s magic consists in the use of a wand against Odysseus and his men while Odysseus’ magic consists of the use of a secret herb called moly to defend himself from her attack. All three necessary components are present: the magic wand, the use of a magical herb and Hermes, the divine figure that reveals the secret of the magical act.
In the story Circe is presented as being in the form of a beautiful woman when Odysseus meets her on an island. In this encounter Circe uses her wand to change Odysseus’ companions into swine. This suggests that magic is often associated with practices that go against the natural order, or against wise and good forces. Circe too is representative of a power that had been conquered by Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.
Furthermore she had been banished to the island after having murdered her husband. She is thus quite dangerous: secretive, opposed to the gods, a semi-divine power left over from the older god culture of the Titans. However the internal fact that Odysseus has first to visit her before she becomes a threat suggests that she has a relatively harmless power if one keeps to a distance.
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The use of spirit mediums October 24, 2008
Posted by egabriel in History of Magic.Tags: ancient, circle, class, components, cultural, curious, documents, expectations, influence, instances, magi, magic, magicians, mediums, mysterious, origin, papyri, power, practice, priests, religion, reputation, research, ritual, sources, spells, spirits, symbols, tools, wands, word
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I was always curious about the origin of the word magic. Through my research for local funeral home directory I learned, that the prototypical “magicians” were a class of priests. These priests were known as the Magi of the ancient religion Zoroastrianism. The reputation of Magi in ancient Persia together with that of Ancient Egypt influenced to a great degree Hellenistic religion. The ancient Greek mystery religions had strongly magical components, and in Egypt, a large number of magical papyri, in Greek, Coptic, and Demotic, have been recovered. These sources contain early instances of much of the magical lore that later became part of Western cultural expectations about the practice of magic, especially ceremonial magic. For example, among all, they contain early instances of the use of “magic words” said to have the power to command spirits. They also first describe the use of “magic” wands and other ritual tools. In these documents we also encounter the use of a magic circle to defend the magician against the spirits he is invoking or evoking and the use of mysterious symbols or sigils thought useful to invoke or evoke spirits.
These ancient documents also in details tell about the use of spirit mediums. For example, many of the spells call for a child to be brought to the magic circle to act as a conduit for messages from the spirits. In the time of the Roman emperor Julian, marked by a reaction against the influence of Christianity, there was a temporary a revival of magical practices. And, of course, all those practices mentioned, above, happily moved into our horror movies and became a great part of sci-fi thrillers and even action movies.
How it progressed in the United States September 19, 2008
Posted by egabriel in History of Astrology.Tags: articles, astrological, astrology, attempt, books, columns, complex, concepts, contention, controversy, descriptions, factor, forecasts, interest, journalists, magazines, materials, modern, newspapers, period, points, popular, position, practice, public, readers, result, serious, sun, war, writings
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The serious and complex writings on astrological practice and concepts in America progressed into a new period of popular. Many complex astrological materials were simplified to attempt to carve a clear line through points of contention and controversy.
Great public interest in astrology made publishers realize that millions of readers were interested in astrological forecasts and the interest grew ever more intense with the advent of America’s entry into the First World War. The war heightened interest in astrology. Journalists began to write articles based on character descriptions and astrological forecasts were published in newspapers based on the one and only factor known to the public: the month and day of birth, as taken from the position of the Sun when a person is born. The result of this practice led to modern-day publishing of Sun-Sign astrology columns and expanded to some astrological books and magazines in second half of the twentieth century.
How it was in the beginning September 19, 2008
Posted by egabriel in History of Astrology.Tags: astrologer, astrological, astrology, celebrities, distribution, forecasts, horoscope, interest, journals, papers, popular, practice, precedent, readings, texts
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In the first half of twentieth century a great surge of popular interest in astrology took place in the US. A very popular astrologer Evangeline Adams from New York City helped quench the public’s thirst for astrology readings with many accurate forecasts. Adams was even arrested and charged with illegal fortunetelling in 1914. But the case was dismissed when Adams correctly read the horoscope of the judge’s son provided with just his birth date. Her acquittal set a precedent, establishing that astrologers can practice freely and was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
The wave of interest towards astrology even increased by wide distribution of astrological journals, text, papers, and textbooks throughout the United States. Astrologers became celebrities, like, for example, Alan Leo, Sepharial, Paul Cheisnard and Charles Carter.
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