Magic

« Glossary Index
Magic is “the power of influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces.”
Magic has developed many common meanings, so using the word without qualification can lead to quite opposite intentions. For example, the original definition of the word is actually the correct word for healing prayer or prayer for help, or blessing someone, as these are metaphysical forces used with intent to change health and happiness, however today magic in the media is often portrayed as evil.
Here are some ways the word magic is used today :
  1. Magic is about trickery on the stage, eg a magic show that misleads an audience.
  2. Magic is entertainment, all good fun and just a learned skill and not supernatural at all.
  3. Magic is a superstition, a way of convincing oneself that something normal or statistically possible was in fact magic. Eg I lost my dog because I walked under a ladder or it was magic how I won the lottery
  4. Magic is to be feared – this is called black magic (intending harm or associated with fear)
  5. Magic is to be welcomed – white magic is another way of defining prayer (intending good for another)
Can you see how these usages of the word magic are confusing? Usages 1, 3 & 4 have a negative connotation, the others are positive.
 Western society has tended to view magic as a negative. For example you don’t hear people say that prayer is a word that means “magic in a positive light.” For this reason, mainstream Religions tend to shy away from using the word magic in favor of prayer or blessing.
The new age movement often uses the word ‘manifest’ instead of ‘magic’ for the purpose of positive supernatural influence, though manifest emphasizes mind and intent.
All these different meanings for magic cover such a wide range that the original word is fairly useless unless further defined.
Hopefully you can work out for yourself some ways to understand what magic means for you.
See also: luck
Full Glossary Index