THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | OCCULTISM | MAGIC | CEREMONIAL | SOLOMONIC

Definition of Magic From AC Lemegeton

To: alt.pagan.magick,alt.magick,alt.magick.tyagi
From: nagasiva 
Subject: Definition of Magic From AC Lemegeton (was Usenet Dynamics ...)
Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 12:53:25 GMT

50010913 VI! om Hail Satan!

from Crowley's Lemegeton:
01#    "Magic is the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine Knowledge of
02#     Natural Philosophy, advanced in its works and wonderful operations
03#     by a right understanding of the inward and occult virtue of things;
04#     so that true Agents being applied to proper Patients, strange and
05#     admirable effects will thereby be produced. Whence magicians are
06#     profound and diligent searchers into Nature; they, because of 
07#	their skill, know how to anticipate an effect, the which to the 
08#	vulgar shall seem to be a miracle."

key phrases: 
	Knowledge of Natural Philosophy, 
	Agents applied to proper Patients,
	searchers into Nature, 
	anticipate an effect,
	to the vulgar shall seem to be a miracle.

these are quite few variable phrases to be interpreted in an 
understanding of the above. I'll attempt some rudimentary
analysis and hope to inspire some deeper discussion of this
definition.

(1)
ignoring first-letter cap significance, 'knowledge of natural
philosophy' implies that magic is comprehension-based, and
that this comprehension is not merely superficial. i.e. the
crafter of this definition excludes mere application of a
formula not understood as an example magic, the which would
be activity-based. as such one might say that modern hard
sciences might provide this comprehension and that technology
qualifies as the 'Agent' which may be applied to targets in
view of comprehended change (Patients). from this interpreta-
tion, Arthur C. Clarke's description of sufficiently advanced
technology being "indistinguishable from magic" would seem to
apply (except that Clarke's 'magic' has a different meaning
here which reduces it to the manipulation of appearances). 
i.e. magic is being equated with or approximated to science.

I would note that there is no necessary attention being paid
to the actual *cause* of change in the world here. in fact 
the astronomical predetermination of an eclipse by a mage
would be considered 'magic' and 'to the vulgar a miracle'
by the definition above.

from this interpretation I would say that what is being
described here is science rather than magic per se, and that
the Renaissance conception of magic as a precursor to science
is described well by the definition above. one may find such
concepts of magic described in books like "Renaissance Magic
and the Return of the Golden Age", by John S. Mebane.

(2)
as a general descriptor, knowing how the world works and
being able to apply stimulus to effect change in ways that
will seem miraculous to the unknowing is compatible with
most forms of magic, perhaps too generally stated. after
all, what has come to be known as 'sympathetic magic' takes
principles of affiliation and similarity (examine Bonewits'
Laws of Magic here with profit) and applies them through a
*symbolic* gesture (spell, ritual) of applied will and is
therefore a type of stimulus (until it becomes prayer) which
is intended to effect 'miraculous' change.

(Sum)
beyond this scientific and more general interpretation of
magic, I can see no specific alternatives, but welcome an
analysis in comparison with my own deriving such.

blessed beast!

nagasiva
-- 
emailed replies may be posted  -----   "sa avidya ya vimuktaye"   ----- 
"that which liberates is ignorance"  http://www.luckymojo.com/nagasiva.html
    hoodoo catalogue: send postal address to catalogues@luckymojo.com

Path: typhoon.sonic.net!not-for-mail
From: nagasiva 
Newsgroups: alt.pagan.magick,alt.magick,alt.magick.tyagi
Subject: Definition of Magic From AC Lemegeton (was Usenet Dynamics ...)
Organization: Sonoma Interconnect,Santa Rosa,CA(us),http://www.sonic.net
Lines: 77
Sender: yronwode@sonic.net
Message-ID: <9nqa7f$37u@bolt.sonic.net>
References: <5740c929.0109101109.476aece9@posting.google.com> <9njbt3$51e@bolt.sonic.net> <9njfjk$c3d@bolt.sonic.net> <5740c929.0109111224.36bb33c9@posting.google.com> <9npide$edn@bolt.sonic.net>
Reply-To: nagasiva@yronwode.com
X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.4 (NOV)
Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 12:53:25 GMT
NNTP-Posting-Host: 208.201.224.36
X-Complaints-To: abuse@sonic.net
X-Trace: typhoon.sonic.net 1000385605 208.201.224.36 (Thu, 13 Sep 2001 05:53:25 PDT)
NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 05:53:25 PDT
Xref: typhoon.sonic.net alt.pagan.magick:28590 alt.magick:262610 alt.magick.tyagi:29519

50010913 VI! om Hail Satan!

from Crowley's Lemegeton:
01#    "Magic is the Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine Knowledge of
02#     Natural Philosophy, advanced in its works and wonderful operations
03#     by a right understanding of the inward and occult virtue of things;
04#     so that true Agents being applied to proper Patients, strange and
05#     admirable effects will thereby be produced. Whence magicians are
06#     profound and diligent searchers into Nature; they, because of 
07#	their skill, know how to anticipate an effect, the which to the 
08#	vulgar shall seem to be a miracle."

key phrases: 
	Knowledge of Natural Philosophy, 
	Agents applied to proper Patients,
	searchers into Nature, 
	anticipate an effect,
	to the vulgar shall seem to be a miracle.

these are quite few variable phrases to be interpreted in an 
understanding of the above. I'll attempt some rudimentary
analysis and hope to inspire some deeper discussion of this
definition.

(1)
ignoring first-letter cap significance, 'knowledge of natural
philosophy' implies that magic is comprehension-based, and
that this comprehension is not merely superficial. i.e. the
crafter of this definition excludes mere application of a
formula not understood as an example magic, the which would
be activity-based. as such one might say that modern hard
sciences might provide this comprehension and that technology
qualifies as the 'Agent' which may be applied to targets in
view of comprehended change (Patients). from this interpreta-
tion, Arthur C. Clarke's description of sufficiently advanced
technology being "indistinguishable from magic" would seem to
apply (except that Clarke's 'magic' has a different meaning
here which reduces it to the manipulation of appearances). 
i.e. magic is being equated with or approximated to science.

I would note that there is no necessary attention being paid
to the actual *cause* of change in the world here. in fact 
the astronomical predetermination of an eclipse by a mage
would be considered 'magic' and 'to the vulgar a miracle'
by the definition above.

from this interpretation I would say that what is being
described here is science rather than magic per se, and that
the Renaissance conception of magic as a precursor to science
is described well by the definition above. one may find such
concepts of magic described in books like "Renaissance Magic
and the Return of the Golden Age", by John S. Mebane.

(2)
as a general descriptor, knowing how the world works and
being able to apply stimulus to effect change in ways that
will seem miraculous to the unknowing is compatible with
most forms of magic, perhaps too generally stated. after
all, what has come to be known as 'sympathetic magic' takes
principles of affiliation and similarity (examine Bonewits'
Laws of Magic here with profit) and applies them through a
*symbolic* gesture (spell, ritual) of applied will and is
therefore a type of stimulus (until it becomes prayer) which
is intended to effect 'miraculous' change.

(Sum)
beyond this scientific and more general interpretation of
magic, I can see no specific alternatives, but welcome an
analysis in comparison with my own deriving such.

blessed beast!

nagasiva
-- 
emailed replies may be posted  -----   "sa avidya ya vimuktaye"   ----- 
"that which liberates is ignorance"  http://www.luckymojo.com/nagasiva.html
    hoodoo catalogue: send postal address to catalogues@luckymojo.com

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races