The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

160 magic
Strange things happen. The liminal realm is considered
to be a dangerous, unpredictable one. Individuals such
as magicians thus are dangerous because they work in
this uncertain world. As adepts, they are themselves the
agents of change and even chaos.
Magic Influences
The Western magical tradition is rich and complex,
evolving from a mixture of magical, mystical, philosophical,
and religious sources. It incorporates the low magic
of spells and divination, the dark magic of sorcery and
witchcraft, and the high magic of spiritual enlightenment
that is closer to mysticism than to spell casting. There are
several major streams of influence.
Egyptian magic Magic played an important role in ancient
Egypt, and the magic of the Egyptians became
important in the development of Western ritual magic.
Egyptian priests were skilled in magical arts of spell casting,
divination, necromancy, making of amulets and talismans,
procuring and sending of dreams, use of magical
figures similar to poppets, and use of magic in the practice
of medicine. Illnesses were believed to be caused by
a host of demons who controlled various parts of the human
body; thus cures involved EXORCISMs. The mummification
of the dead was done according to precise ritual
magic to ensure safe passage to the afterlife. The Egyptian
Book of the Dead is a magical handbook of preparation
for navigation through judgment into Amenti, the underworld
domain of Osiris, lord of the dead. In Hellenistic
times, Egyptian magic was mixed with classical magic.
Especially important to Egyptian magic was the
proper use of words and names of power. Some incantations
involved strings of names, some incomprehensible,
borrowed from other cultures.
Greek and Roman magic The Greek and Roman worlds
teemed with magic. Power was channeled from a host
of sources: deities, spirits called DAIMONes, celestial intelligences,
and the dead. Everything was connected by
sympathetic bonds, which allowed magical action at a distance.
The Hermetic principle that the microcosm reflects
the macrocosm (“As above, so below”) was espoused in
variations by Pythagoreans, Platonists, and Stoics.
All magical arts were practiced; the Greeks were especially
interested in destiny and devoted great attention to
the prophecy of oracles and to the fate forecast by the stars
in a horoscope. Both Greeks and Romans practiced numerous
forms of divination, especially lot casting and the
examination of signs in nature. Dreams were consulted,
especially for healing. Cursing one’s competitors and enemies
was routine in daily life. Incantations involved long
strings of magical words, often nonsensical, which had to
be precisely pronounced along with the correct gestures.
An exalted form of magic, theurgia, had religious overtones
and was akin to ritual magic. The Neoplatonists favored
theurgia, believing they could summon divine powers
to Earth and enable their souls to ascend to heaven.
In Natural History, Pliny asserts that all magic originated
in medicine, in the search for cures. The magical
workings of the heavens, especially the Moon, both
caused and cured illnesses. In addition, demons flying
through the air and shooting arrows stirred up poisonous
vapors that caused plagues and pestilence.
Jewish magic The early Jews were steeped in magical lore,
much of which was borrowed and adapted from the magical
practices of the Canaanites, Babylonians, Egyptians,
and, later, Hellenistic-Gnostic influences. Magic was not
organized into systems; rather, it was a collection of beliefs
and practices chiefly concerning protection from demons
and the procuring of blessings. As early as the first
century C.E., magical lore was attributed to the wisdom of
King SOLOMON. This lore provided the basis for the later
GRIMOIRE the Key of Solomon, the most important of the
old handbooks of Western magic.
According to Jewish lore, the magical arts were taught
to human by ANGELS, chiefly the WATCHERS, who fell from
God’s grace when they departed heaven to cohabit with
human women. The gift was dubious, for the Tanakh—
the Old Testament—condemns sorcery, the use of spirits
and various forms of magic, such as enchantment, shape
shifting, divination, mediumship, and necromancy.
Talmudic law reinterpreted sorcery. Magic requiring
the help of demons was forbidden and was punishable by
death. Magic that did not require the help of demons was
still forbidden but received lesser punishments. The distinction
between the two often was not clear. Later, the
use of mystical names of God and angels and verses of
Scripture were incorporated into incantations.
Magic was organized into systems around 500 C.E.,
about the same time as the development of Merkabah
mysticism, a precursor to the KABBALAH. Merkabah mystics
performed elaborate rituals of purification, contemplation
of the sacred and magical properties of letters and
numbers, the recitation of sacred names, and the use of
AMULETs, SEALs, and TALISMANs. The trance recitation of
long incantations of names was similar to the Egyptians’
“barbarous names,” in that many were corruptions of
names of deities and angels.
By the Middle Ages, Jewish magic depended almost
entirely on the use of names and interventions of spirits.
The Kabbalah, a body of esoteric teachings dating
to about the 10th century and in full bloom by the 13th
century, does not forbid magic but warns of the dangers
of it. Only the most virtuous persons should perform
magic and do so only in times of public emergency and
need, never for private gain. How strictly these admonitions
were followed is questionable. A practical Kabbalah
of magical procedures developed from about the
14th century on. Kabbalists were divided on the issue
of whether or not one could invoke demons as well as
angels.
Black magic is called “apocryphal science” in the Kabbalah.
It is strictly forbidden, and only theoretical knowl-