Magic (supernatural)

Magic, sometimes spelled magick, is the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed in the belief that they can manipulate natural or <a href="/facts/Supernatural/qSlTK0Ss">supernatural</a> beings and forces. It is a category into which have been placed various beliefs and practices sometimes considered separate from both religion and science.
Connotations have varied from positive to negative at times throughout history. Within <a href="/facts/Western_culture/rPbgAhzI">Western culture</a>, magic has been linked to ideas of the <a href="/facts/Other_(philosophy)/ar6kEVTe">Other</a>, foreignness, and primitivism; indicating that it is "a powerful marker of cultural difference" and likewise, a non-modern phenomenon. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic to be a sign of a primitive mentality and also commonly attributed it to marginalised groups of people.
<a href="/facts/Aleister_Crowley/Y8Dv7rAE">Aleister Crowley</a> (1875–1947), a British <a href="/facts/Occultist/G59eqens">occultist</a>, defined "<a href="/facts/Magick/pMwB3Svv">magick</a>" as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will", adding a 'k' to distinguish ceremonial or ritual magic from stage magic. In modern occultism and <a href="/facts/Modern_paganism/6RK8f29W">neopagan</a> religions, many self-described magicians and <a href="/facts/Neopagan_witchcraft/kbtGzw05">witches</a> regularly practice ritual magic. This view has been incorporated into <a href="/facts/Chaos_magic/wPeS5cw9">chaos magic</a> and the <a href="/facts/New_religious_movement/7Ttfr321">new religious movements</a> of <a href="/facts/Thelema/IlvjK0ex">Thelema</a> and <a href="/facts/Wicca/q623sLWu">Wicca</a>.

Magic (supernatural) open-in-new

Magic (supernatural)