Introduction Flashcards
What is the Tripartite Structure, and what is it comprised of?
different ways of viewing and applying knowledge to the world
Made up of Religion, Science and Witchcraft
How is religion typically viewed?
as a categorical construction or concept that people apply to various actions, ideas, productions, etc..
How is science typically viewed?
the pursuit and application of knowledge through experiment and observation for identification and description
Religion vs Spirituality
- religion is more communal while spirituality is more individual
- religion is more structured while spirituality is a bit more fluid
Religious Rituals vs Magic
Magic has human intervention while miracles only come from god; people can’t make it happen they can only ask for it to happen through
religious rituals can only have a positive result while magic can have positive and negative results
Religious is more respected
Do religious rituals utilize magic?
Yes, prayers are similar to incantations/manifestation
both include worshipping a powerful figure or figures such as gods or deities
notion of the Eucharist (sacrament)
What is the Myth of Disenchantment
science and technology have gotten rid of the belief in magic as the more things can be explained the less people would believe in magic
What is a witch?
depends, the definition is in accordance with how it was labelled at the time
Where does the word witch come from?
The Latin words Wicca and Wicce, which stem from the verb Wiccian (to cast a spell)
What are the two classes of magic
High Magic and Low Magic
What is High Magic
also known as intellectual magic, comes from the belief and study of the cosmos, as well as the study of the relationship between people and the planets/stars/minerals/etc..
What is Low Magic
used as a means to achieve something practical
What are the two distinctions in witchcraft
- Witchcraft as a preternatural power; magic inherited through bloodline
- Witchcraft as a set of magical techniques that can be taught or learned
What are E.B Tylors two universal principles of culture
- Psychic uniformity: not everything impractical can be attributed to religion as we don’t know what happened in the past
- Pattern of intellectual evolution: primitive culture evolved to monotheism but this is problematic as cultures don’t evolve at the same time
What is magic connection according to Tylor
people can connect to each other through distance through physical objects that represents the person (ex: lock of hair)
What is symbolic connection according to Tylor
something that resembles something else
ex: treating jaundice with gold
What did James George Frazer believe primitive thinking is governed by
Magic and Religion
What are the two parts of sympathetic magic as described by James George Fraser
Principle of Similarity
Principle of Contagion
What is the Principle of Similarity
- magic that connects things on the principle of similarity
a. something that represents the person
What is the Principle of Contagion?
magic through contact, which connects to the principles of attachment
What assumption was magic built upon
that proper ritual would guarantee success
Why did people start turning away from magic and towards gods and religion?
they realized that magic ritual didn’t assure their desired outcome and began to recognize the natural world’s uncertainty
It was also easier to explain the uncertainty if it was a higher being controlling it and not people
What is the occult?
things that dont fit the established claims of science or religion
What are some common definitions of the Occult?
Something beyond the range of ordinary knowledge
Something secret
Something pertaining to magic/astrology or other alleged sciences which use the knowledge of secret elements
