Description: An investigation into the scientific principles underlying the practice of magic.
Synopsis:
Recent discoveries in the fields of neurobiology and psychology have opened up new avenues of exploration into and explanation of the practice of magic, a field hitherto resistant to scientific analysis, due to the highly subjective nature of its practices. I have formulated hypotheses to explain the particular claims made by magicians as to the effectiveness of their rituals, as well as why such practices continue even in rational, materialistic societies skeptical and dismissive of them. I have presented traditional magical lore side by side with scientific explanations for that lore, as well as analyses of relevant philosphical issues. I have also provided a course of instruction designed to take the student through basic initiation in the practices of magic to proficiency in them. I have presented two traditional systems of magical practice (runic and cabalistic), from two rather different cultures, and compared them for the purpose of finding commonalities that would indicate the presence of real, analysable phenomena, divorced from simple cultural prejudices and superstitions. Hypotheses were formed from looking at these commonalities in the light of the results of the new neurobiological and psychological discoveries. I used my own experiences as well as those of other practicing magicians as a data pool. The practice of magic is no mere superstition or escapist fantasy. It is instead a badly misunderstood, embryonic science dealing with reprogramming the mind and altering the state of physiology to improve the functionality of its practitioners in highly specific and unusual ways. Contrary to the standard views of most modern sciences, the only differences between commonly accepted scientific understandings and occult lore are philosophical in nature. The seeming antagonism between the two schools of thought are rooted in a misunderstanding of each other's basic philosophies and languages. The practice of magic is a real phenomenon, though poorly understood, with real benefits to its practitioners.
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