Course Content: Witches, Zombies and Vampires
Lecture Focus: Principles of Magic
Early Antiquity: Classically Pagan religions; influenced by ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.
Late Antiquity (3rd Century Onward): Era of Hermeticism and Neo-Platonism; competition between Christianity and Paganism.
Dominance of the Church; late influence of St. Thomas Aquinas.
Revival of classical Greek and Roman thought, including Hermeticism and Neo-Platonism.
Continued suppression by the Church.
Beginning of "disenchantment"; rise of scientific methods led by figures like Francis Bacon.
Secret occult societies maintained Western Magic.
Continued "disenchantment" with ongoing esotericism.
Triumph of "disenchantment"; emergence of the Western Magical Revival aimed at "re-enchantment."
Core Text: Corpus Hermeticum, a collection of 17 texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus.
Emerged in Roman-controlled Egypt (approx. 100 CE to 300 CE); peak in the 3rd century.
Syncretic blend of Greek, Egyptian and other influences preserving Late Antiquity's magical and religious thought.
Context: Hellenized and Romanized Egypt with competition among multiple faiths and Pagan cults.
Key Hermetic Ideas:
Universe composed of four elements: air, fire, water, earth.
Importance of cardinal points in magic.
Magical correspondences: deities connected to planets, numbers, plants, etc.
Principles of sympathy, homeopathy, contagion in magic.
Emerged alongside Hermeticism in Egypt and the Near East.
Founded by Plotinus; emphasized the interconnectedness of the Universe and the concept of “The One.”
Developed ideas of a hierarchical universe leading down to humanity, influential on early monotheisms.
312 CE: Conversion of Emperor Constantine I to Christianity.
361-363 CE: Emperor Julian the Apostate's reign; brief reemergence of Paganism.
476 CE: Fall of Western Roman Empire; decline of Neo-Platonic and Hermetic thought.
Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499): Responsible for rediscovering the Corpus Hermeticum.
Integration of Hermeticism into Renaissance magic, faced opposition from the Catholic Church.
Symbol of repression: Execution of Giordano Bruno (1600).
Emergence of Esotericism and occult groups; influence continues despite suppression.
Preservation of Hermetic and Neo-Platonic thought through secret societies.
Formation of Rosicrucian Order (1614) and Freemasonry (1717).
1888: Founding of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Aleister Crowley's influence on the revival; unconventional lifestyle and major figure in Western occultism.
1904: Experience in Egypt; received messages from a disembodied voice, Aiwass.
Wrote the "Book of the Law" and established Thelema as a new religious framework.
Founded in 1895; Crowley took leadership in 1925, reformulating it to promote Thelema.
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
"Love is the Law, Love under Will."
"Every man and woman is a star."
Emphasis on intention (“Will”) and respect for others’ wills in magical practice.
Traditional forms of knowledge across cultures; principles organizing the universe based on symbolic connections.
Suggested unilinear evolution; viewed magic as pre-rational and ultimately false.
Magic as a precursor to science; internal logic of sympathetic magic connecting all phenomena.
Two key principles:
Homeopathy: Like causes like.
Contagion: Influence persists post-contact.
Distinction between magic and religion; magic as individualistic and anti-social.
Magic compensates for technological insufficiencies, particularly in high-risk situations.
Example: Trobriand Island fishermen engaging in more rituals for deep-sea fishing compared to lagoon fishing.
Magic as performative technology; ritual performance has theatrical elements.
Magic as a collective consciousness shared across cultures; representation of an interconnected world with symbolic meanings.
All phenomena linked; interconnected universe.
Magic operates within the bounds of natural laws; enhancement of natural tendencies is key.
Non-permanence of magical acts; simplicity increases success likelihood.
"As above, so below" philosophy; interaction between larger and smaller patterns in existence.
Meaningful coincidences in the context of magic and fate.
Knowledge improves control over phenomena; emphasizes the importance of names and words.
Phenomena considered alive and sentient; the existence of invisible entities can be communicated with.