Is Magic Real Or Illusion And Should One Believe In It ?

Rituals And Different Types of Magic

Magic is a practice that allows one to summon entities, angels or demons, and to cast spells from specific rituals usually found in a grimoire. The most popular forms of magic are necromancy, which focuses on zombies and the undead, and shamanism which allows the magician to interpose between the spirit world and the living world. Another popular form of magic is ceremonial magic, called theurgy or demonism (goethe) according to the type of conjured entity.

The Grimoire

First appearing around year 1250 and greatly condemned by the Catholic Church, the Grimoire is a magic book that contains recipes, incantations, descriptions of supernatural entities as well as indications that the magician must follow during rituals. The most famous and ancient grimoires are The Key of Solomon and the Necronomicon, but there are others such as The Sixth and the Seventh Book of Moses and the Little Albert. In the past, having a grimoire in one's possession was a sign of witchcraft and more often than not led directly to the stake.

Conjuration and ritual

The conjuration or magic ritual is an exercise that requires great preparation, both physical and spiritual, which is absolutely crucial for the success of the spell. Depending on the ritual, the magician must first submit to fasting or bathing and recite prayers to promote the magic flow. Most rituals also involve gathering several ingredients; it may be dress, dagger, wand or in the case of voodoo ritual some hair belonging to the victim. Each new ritual requires new ingredients, it is impossible to reuse those of previous rituals. Before conjuration, the magician must paint on the ground a magic circle accompanied by symbols that will serve to protect him from invoked evil spirits. The rest of the ritual depends greatly on the kind of magic practiced and each step indicated in the spellbook must be conscientiously respected to ensure success of the invocation, under penalty of serious repercussions on the magician who can suddenly find himself gripped by madness or even dismembered.

The result of conjuration

The magician who conjures entities such as angels, spirits and demons generally seeks to use the powers of these entities for very specific purposes, such as healing diseases or causing nightmares. Sometimes, in the case of higher demons, invocation requires human sacrifice and even self-mutilation of the magician.

Types of magic

Traditionally, there are two different types of magic, depending on the magician's intention: white magic and black magic. White magic is for benevolent purposes while black magic is mostly used to inflict suffering on others and to cast curses. But from a ritual point of view, the two forms of magic are almost identical. The demarcation between black magic and white magic is sometimes blurred and the magician must use his judgment.

Voodoo magic and dolls

Practiced for the first time in West Africa, voodoo magic then moved to America and Asia, where it gained tremendous popularity. Voodoo is frequently associated with ritual dances as well as skulls and bones and for this reason is closely related to black magic and necromancy. The voodoo magician usually has bad intentions and seeks to inflict pain and suffering on his victim which sometimes requires animal and human sacrifices made during public ceremonies.

A form of voodoo magic uses wax dolls (cloth or clay) to exert power over a particular person. In order for the ritual to succeed, the doll must incorporate elements belonging to the victim: nails, secretions, hair ... Ingredients must be mixed with the clay used to prepare the doll or sewn when it is a rag doll. Voodoo dolls are sometimes used during love spells but generally what happens to the doll is reflected directly on the person to whom it is linked. Destroying the voodoo doll immediately causes the death of the victim.