If we are interested in magic, manifestation, spirituality, religion, psychology & science-
in different ways we are seeking the answer to:
"what is the cause of what happens?"
And how do we participate in the cause of what happens, how do we change things? A large subject that would require a book to explore.
I have written on "causality" & "theory of cause" in different ways in other places.
The point to make is that we as humans have lived in relation to the world through different paradigms of cause in different stages of our history.
Magic vs. Science then are two frameworks through which we understand how the world works & how we ourselves relate with the world, cause what happens & can change what happens.
"What happens" is governed by larger patterns within which we are embedded, collective & individual Sanskara, as it is called in Eastern traditions, where our imprinting drives our story-line & actions.
The interest today in wounding & trauma, is an example of finding causes in the psyche to change the effects manifesting through our emotional behaviours, changing our outcomes in the world.
Magic is sometimes defined as change in consciousness in accordance with Will, but not in contradiction with Natural Laws, & does not influence matter in a direct way (the relationship is a deep topic to undertake).
The Scientific paradigm is that of Reason. Through understanding the laws of Nature, we can command them, bring them under our Will, & use them to build human Culture. They no longer operate autonomously & spontaneously, we can use them non-spontaneously, purposefully.
Reason has become a God of sorts, humans the masters of Nature.
AN ANALYSIS OF FRANCIS BARRETT'S THE MAGUS AS INDICATIVE OF A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD OF ENGLISH MAGIC.
Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
The theories of cause-effect are of interest....
ā "Magicians believed human reason was insufficient when it came to scrutinizing divine mysteries: [scientific method] many occult qualities could only be discovered by the trial-and-error of practical experiment.?""
"During the English Renaissance, three dominant theories can be described to explain how magical effects operated, the theory of correspondences, the doctrine of subtle medium, and the theory of spiritual intervention."
ā "The theory of correspondences states that nature itself speaks to humankind in a language of more or less mysterious signs, which are there to be deciphered.
In this regard the power is in the operation; the magician merelg demonstrates the power which exists in nature.ā
- "The theory of spiritual intervention posits that non-material agents inhabit creation and can be used by the magician to bring about change through will.
Although the world is enchanted and the operator could effect change on the world though will, the Will is not his own but God's."
ā "Finally, the connection between the theory of
correspondences and theory of spiritual intervention is mediated by the doctrine of the subtle medium; the body is connected to the soul by means of spiritual links that bring life to the body, which is composed of the classical elements."
ā āMagicwas developing into something that would ultimately be based on the powers of the psyche: it is the mind that works magic.?
The doctrine of subtle mediums was transformed by modern magicians into an indeterminate otherworld linking the inner reality to a spiritual reality."
- "A conscious divine universe was replaced by an autonomous nature, thus changing the basic approach to magic.
In today's occultism, this approach rests essentially on training the imagination by means of visualization techniques, and spiritual entities, if they are used, are seen as expressions of oneself."
- "It was not until the late nineteenth century that it took on an institutional format.
Before the Occult Revival those that practiced magic still practiced aloneā¦ā
*This shift in the perception of magic and witchcraft can be linked in part to the scientific revolution.
As scientific rationalism became dominant in intellectual discourse, it contributed to the decline in popularity of magical practices in English society.
However, as we have seen, the moniker scientific revolution is slightly misleading
Publicly the edifice of scientific rationalism was the driver of intellectual discourse, but outside of urban intellectual circles magical practices persisted relatively unchanged, that is until the late eighteenth century."
- "Just as science diverged from a shared origin with magic and was poised to march seemingty unassailable towards modernity, magical practices and conceptions adapted to the new notions of instrumental causality."
