The word magic is common in our
age; for me it’s more common than for others. But it means different things to
different people. Most view it as fantasy or fraud, only to be ridiculed.
Others hold to the tradition that it is the heart of all esoteric traditions
and is found in religious teaching. Here
are some of the ancient traditions that gave Western magic its roots.
Assyrian/Babylonian
Magic: So this is close to where it all began. Humans began with offering
prayers up to spirits or gods for protections. Incense, whispers and chants
were often used in conjunction to this. When they began to get results the
practice became more refined. They expressed the power in the natural word such
as stones and in the stars themselves. Gods were attributed to celestial bodies
and used in forms of magic. To them, magic was complete order, there were no
accidental happenings. Numbers played an
important part in their magic. In fact the tower of Babylon was built with
specific specifications. You traveled through seven steps, of stages of wisdom
and knowledge. One you finished the final stage you could obtain the eighth
stage, which was the eternal and divine.
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| Egyptian Wand showing the procession of gods |
Egyptian Magic: This was a major development in most Western
Traditions. It was practiced by priests and included the arts of spell casting,
divination, necromancy, making talismans and amulets, and magic in medicine.
The Egyptians believed that illness was the cause of demons and thus the cures
involved exorcisms. One of the most important parts of Egyptian magic was the
proper use of words and names of power.
Most incantation involved a string of names, not all of them in the same
language.
Greek and Roman Magic:
In a culture that thrived on gods, daimones (spirits), celestial
intelligences, and the dead, magic was rich in Greece and Rome. Their magic was
of sympathetic bonds that enabled magic at a distance. It was the Hermetic
principle “As above, so below” which means that the microcosm reflects the
macrocosm. Though all magic arts were
practiced, the Greeks devoted great attention to destiny, the prophecy of
oracles, and astrology. Both Greeks and Romans practiced divination and Oneiromancy,
the magic of dreams. Thurgia was an exalted form of magic that that had
religious overtones and was akin to ritual magic. Many practitioners believed
that through Thurgia, they could bring divine powers to earth and ascend their
souls to heaven.
Jewish Magic: Most of the magic was borrowed and
adapted from other cultures such as the Canaanites, Babylonians, and Egyptians
.Most of it was concerned with protection from demons and gaining blessings. Most
of the magic was attributed to the wisdom of King Solomon which was the basis
for the Key of Solomon, one of the most important handbooks for Western
Magic. Angels were belived to be the
ones who taught humans magic, mainly the Watchers. The magic was organized into
systems to conform to Old Testament laws forbidding sorcery. The names of God
and angels were incorporated into the incantations. This later became the
Kabbalah or Qabalah.
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| Symbol from the Key of Solomon |
There are many, many more magical
traditions out there. Many borrow and build on the others until we have what is
Western magic today. You can say that Wicca practices a mix between high magic
(ritual or ceremonial magic) and natural magic (magic using herbs, metals,
stones and such), while, from what I understand, orders such as the Golden Dawn
stick more to high magic.
Do you have a favorite magic
tradition?
Do you like stories about angels, demons, and the supernatural? Pick up a copy of "A Prescription for Delirium" available on
Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, and
Smashwords.
