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Jealous wives November 4, 2008

Posted by egabriel in History of Magic.
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However Dido soon comes to realize that the love magic is not powerful enough to bring Aeneas back to her. So she kills herself in her despair, which adds to the power to her curse. Dido had sealed and extended her curse through her suicide. Aeneas was protected by his gods and remained safe. But, according to Virgil, Dido’s use of magic and her curse lingered on leading to Rome’s near crushing defeat by Carthage many centuries later. This demonstrates quite clearly that the Romans shared the Greek’s view of magic as being dangerous and untrustworthy.

The Romans in fact went further then the Greeks in their condemnation and fearfulness that they generate around their concept of magic. Some examples of are found in the writings of Seneca, the philosopher and playwright, and his nephew, Lucan. Seneca selects some of the most gruesome Greek myths for dramatic treatment and he greatly adds to the negative connotations already applied to the theme of magic, necromancy and the like – where it is given by the mythical tradition and sometimes even where there is little negativity indicated towards magic. From dialogue between wife of the Hercules Deineira and her nurse we learn that it is quite common for jealous wives to consult a witch. It turns out, the nurse, very conveniently, is a witch herself. A great hero such as Hercules should not be able to be influenced by magical means, but in the end he is overcome by the deadly concoction that the evil magic user passes on to Hercules, through deceiving Deianira into the belief that she is giving Hercules a love charm.

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Rich and unusual myth system September 12, 2008

Posted by egabriel in Supernatural.
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According of the beliefs of the ancient Celts, October 31 is the last day of the bright half of the year. The next day also marked the beginning of winter, which the Celts often associated with death. The Celts believed that on October 31, the boundary separating the dead from the living. It needs to say, that Celts have a rich and unusual myth system. The spirit world, the residence of the dead, was accessible through burial mounds. These mounds were opened twice during the year, making the beginning and end of summer spiritually resonant.

Throughout the centuries, most Christians see Halloween as a harmless holiday in which some of the old traditions are celebrated by the mainstream culture, although in a different manner. They hold the view that the tradition is far from being “satanic” in origin or practice and that it holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children. It is, in fact, a valuable life lesson about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors.