The story of magic

The Oxford English Dictionary defines magic in the traditional sense as follows:

Magic: A so-called magic spell. It communicates with the gods through incantations, rituals, etc., and in turn controls human life and natural phenomena. It has always played a role in influencing the course of history and creating extraordinary natural phenomena.

But this commentary, like the others, does not make people feel more satisfied—after all, everyone understands the same thing differently.

Even in the 20th century, when science was developed, some appearances of everyday life were once considered magical phenomena. In the next century, it may not be that time at all, and the supernatural phenomena that we think are incredible today may all be explained from a scientific point of view. But we can't do that yet. We can understand the intense pleasure that magic can bring, which can be explained by physiology or psychology, but in the realm of magic, it is still full of mystery and fascination. Modern magicians use a variety of ideas to interpret magic. The 19th-century French magician Eliface Lévy and the famous modern British magician Allister Crowley believed that magic was a way to release the magic liliang possessed by magicians, but they never used the term "willpower" to describe magic, because they repeatedly emphasized that the "will" in "willpower" means "to use one's own will to manipulate oneself and others".

In the 20th century, the concept of magic had begun to fade for most people; However, magic has played an important role in human life for thousands of years, and was one of the three paths that early people explored and understood shijie. The other two paths are science, that is, empirical research, and religion.

In the past and now, magic is largely based on facts, but often wears a mysterious, bewildering mask. For example, shamans claim that they can fly freely in the air like birds. And there are quite a few people who can provide conclusive evidence. They are convinced that they have this superpower. Now we know that wizards can "fly" because of the use of magic ointments (flying ointments). Most of these magic ointments contain exciting or hypnotic substances, and the effects of these substances, combined with the psychological state that wizards are in, make them believe that they can fly. So they "flew". And believing in yourself to fly, is this magic?

There are some wizarding spells in history that seem to have been fulfilled on the surface. Until modern times, there are still some indigenous spells on shijie that can kill people. However, psychologists will prove that it is because of people's belief and fear of mantras that spells work. And the spell itself has no magic at all. One writer once wrote that his grandfather remembered finding a medicine bottle containing urine, hair, and nails in the wall of a cowshed in North America. It is said that the cattle production in this barn has always been low. We can't help but wonder if these cows will know the spell. Could it be the effect of magic again?

In life, people tend to dream about what their future spouse will look like. This may sound so mysterious that one might even wonder if there really is a magical Liliang ruling over us. However, psychologists remind us that we may unconsciously form requirements (physical appearance or personality) for him or her before we meet our current spouse, and perhaps this is what makes us focus on finding someone who has this kind of inspiration for us, according to almost formed requirements. Is this also magic?

Magic also seems to be associated with intuition, extrasensory. And scientific research has gradually become interested in extrasensory. In fact, the Inquisition was supposed to burn Yuri Geller, the fickle guy who lost a lot of his magic because he was too ostentatious. What he does is in the same vein as the work of Crowley and Lévy - and it is also through "willpower" that ordinary people cannot achieve.

There are some traditions that we still observe until now. For example, sprinkle a layer of salt on your shoulders and avoid walking under ladders. Regardless of whether these traditions make sense or not, such superstitions are just innocuous games. The liliang of the earth is very powerful, and we are gradually becoming aware of the existence of this liliang. Even though elves and fairies do not live deep in the mountains and forests, the inherent aura of living beings still prompts us to respect nature. Passionate about protecting nature. So, the green movement is not entirely based on the belief that we will die if we don't protect nature, but also on a sense of reverence for nature. In matters concerning nature, we must recognize the nature of nature.

Religion and witchcraft have always been intertwined and inseparable. As E.M. Butler noted in his book The Ritual of Witchcraft (1949), religion would not have been possible without the foundations of witchcraft and magic, and likewise witchcraft and magic would not have been given significance without some of the roots of religion. The famous anthropologist Sir James Fraser (1854-1941), in his book The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion, argues that among the various ways in which man manipulates nature, magic reigns primacy, followed by religion. Religion does not emphasize the control and use of our invisible and invisible liliang like magic, but seeks a way to persuade and pray for it, and this is the difference between religion and magic. ()

Traditional Christianity believed that magic was in sync with the development of the Christian creator God, as well as many gods, during the period of its continuous development, and that it was not until the birth of Jesus that Christianity and magic parted ways, each taking very different and irreconcilable paths. Since then, anyone who has equated Christianity with magic has been unreasonable at least and blasphemous to the gods. Agnostics and rationalists, on the other hand, have always believed that all religions are inextricably linked to magic: that there is essentially no difference between belief in the efficacy of prayer and belief in the effectiveness of incantations. We will value the Spell Ritual of the Wizards' Conference and the Prayer of the Anglican Prayer Book equally, because both are fanatically faithful to their beliefs, and we cannot take sides.

By the end of the 19th century, the development of modern science jishu made the truth of magic gradually known. In 1877, the voice of the great inventor Thomas Edison came out of a loudspeaker, just through a series of transmissions from various mechanical devices. Similarly, in 1900 R.A. Versenden heard the voices of distant friends through a device called "radio". Back in the 17th century. Bishop Joseph of Italy was already able to fly to an altitude of 40 meters with his flying device.

In 1880, Otto relied on his own glider to fly like a bird. In 1903, the first aircraft with a power plant took to the skies.

Reputedly. The devout believers and the clairvoyants could see the true body of the saint from miles away. In London in 1936, people could sit at home and look at screens singing and dancing in studios miles away. In the same way, when we first see electric lights, cameras, and X-rays, we think we are in a magical situation. Most of us have seen computers. Having learned about its unimaginable, even magical, functions, we accepted that it wasn't a wizard, even though we might not have known how it worked at the time. There are no supernatural abilities either, just the product of technological development.

In the 7th century, all of the above were considered inconceivable. With the help of scientific explanations of magic, people realized that magic was only supernatural. In 1901, a famous scientist declared that it was absolutely impossible for Marconi to send information from Italy to the United States across the ocean through the air, just as one could never stand on the surface of the moon. However. A few years later, in the face of the facts, he had to marvel that "it was as incredible as magic".

In the 90s of the 20th century, we discovered a system for evaluating magic, with visions such as ghosts on one end, many claiming that they had seen or dealt with them, leading people to think they were "real", and at the other end of the system, practical magic, which is said to be gradually attracting the attention of scientists. These practical spells also contain such phenomena. As Li Li calls the "mosaic of prospecting rod usage" - it detects the water source underground by using a device similar to a small wooden stick or pendulum to discover the metal present around it. Although few people take this "magic detection" seriously, few people will completely deny its usefulness.

If the search for water and mineral deposits is outside the scope of scientific explanation, then others do not seem to be lightly relegated to the category of "magic", which are more or less connected to science, such as telemedicine, predicting the retrograde movement of stars and celestial bodies, controlling one's own or others' will, predicting the future, and the aura photographs of objects in Kirlian...... However, most of the evidence for its authenticity is as confusing as anecdotes. In addition to this, our personal emotional or intellectual factors also prevent us from seeing the "evidence" in front of us.

After all the excuses, the result of the review of magic is exactly what Hamlet famously said, "There are many things in heaven and on earth that you cannot feel, and they are not as you see, Horatio, and even more than you see in your dreams." It would be difficult, or impossible, to explain some of these phenomena. And these unanswered mysteries are precisely the most magical and fascinating parts.

WeishenmeSome special combination of numbers always accompanies us - in our license plate numbers, house numbers, phone numbers, and our credit card numbers? WeishenmeSome people can influence the treatment just by putting their minds on the patient? WeishenmeSome special herbs are very effective, but science cannot explain them? weishenmeBefore something happens, some people can make precise predictions?

One day we will know the answer. Science now seems to be visibly holding back from tradition to delve into in-depth research, and perhaps the main reason for this phenomenon is that scientists are ashamed to be ridiculed as absurd. But some courageous, wise scholars have realized that: ()

In the space that humanity has touched, it is impossible for science to explain every aspect of our lives. However, when the research of some scientific institutions touches on the supernatural, or areas that modern science cannot understand, it is still considered unseemly, and even said to be a blasphemy against science. And scientific research entities such as the Paranormal Science Investigation and Review Committee (CSICOP) even have a very strong subjective color.

It is only when science gets rid of its existing limitations and begins to treat the magic phenomena that actually exist in good faith that some mysterious magical phenomena can be explained. Magic is a fascinating subject. Now, we approach it with full skepticism and subvert the doctrines of some obsessives. Our discoveries have forced us to admit the assertions of some magicians: the universe is not just as amazing as we think, it is even more mysterious than we think.

In the preamble, we would like to mention such a point. We may be sued for ignoring or misrepresenting black magic or for downplaying its content. Over the past few decades, there have been many reports in the media about demonic possession or the use of human sacrifices in witchcraft rituals, and they often make sense. While lawsuits are often filed on the basis of these appearances, they ultimately fail after an in-depth and extensive investigation.

It must be remembered that whatever belief in nature's magic, it has a huge impact on the human spirit - and it has been proven to be. Unfortunately, however, those who indulge in witchcraft also believe in the magic of nature, and they are fanatically eager to control this invisible liliang in an attempt to use it for their own illegitimate ends. (To be continued.) )