Entertaining the Devil in Connecticut

Entertaining the Devil in Connecticut

      There have been several cases of witch hunts throughout history, even here in the U.S. During the 1600s, there were several cases of witch hunts, several trials where women and men were convicted of performing sorcery and black magic, and many were sentenced to death. Most if not all cases were bizarre, but the reason why many witches were hung was because people were looking for scapegoats, as the new settlers in New England were suffering from epidemics, natural disasters, and Indian attacks. All of these stresses forced people to take their anger out on someone, and they chose the "witches". This is very similar to what the people today in Connecticut and other parts of the United States, this time people are feeling the stress of cultural change and new technology, and they fear the government for being the cause of this change and feel that the government's mysterious ways are evil and threatening.

      People have looked for scapegoats throughout history when they come into times of stress, for example during the Black Death people sought out to destroy different groups of people who thought that caused the plague, like Jews and witches. There are several parallels between now and back then, there is terrorism in place of Indian attacks, there is the failing economy as the epidemic, and there are still several natural disasters not only in the U.S but also throughout the world, the biggest and most recent one being the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti. All of these events could cause the blame to fall on something, and according to the author, it is now the U.S government, which could make sense, as he makes a point of the bombing of Oklahoma City. This article does not directly answer my essential question, but it does bring an interesting point of view towards it, although the government today does not really associate with magic and sorcery the witches did, it does bring out an interesting point in human nature, and also in the history of magic. It shows that people fear what they do not understand, and when change comes and new ideas of things arrive, people assume the worst of turn and put the blame on something or someone.

      After reading this article, the question that I have is, are there any other examples of this throughout history? Although this article also puts into perspective a new view of magic today, are there any other examples of this happening (other than obviously the witch trials that occurred in New England during the 1600s)?

Citation: 
Ryan, Bill. "Entertaining the Devil in Connecticut." The New York Times. N.p., 16 July 1995. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/16/nyregion/
entertaining-the-devil-in-connecticut.html?src=pm>.

      

       

Magic Demystified

Magic Demystified

        Magic is seen by people as trickery, simply "stage illusion", while others think of it as evil witchcraft and sorcerers. Neither of these suppositions are true. In truth, magic is real and widespread. It is not dangerous, and it is everywhere we are. Magic has been used by ancient cultures all over the world for thousands of years. The earliest cave drawings are believed to have been some sort of magical ritual to ask for the spirits of animals to help in the hunt. The earliest agricultural communities performed several rituals that they believed would help in the harvest. Today magic can be seen through religious rituals, such as the Christian Baptism and Communion, or simply as superstitions, such as making a wish while blowing out the candles of a birthday cake. Still, magic is simply a way of thinking and being. It is described by Donald Michael Kraig in his book Modern Magick, "Magick is the science and art of causing change...to occur in conformity with will, using means not currently understood by traditional Western science." Basically, the universe is a huge energy matrix, and magicians can manipulate that energy and cause ripples all over it, so they can produce effects on opposite sides of the globe. There are also several types of magic, such as druid magic, ritual magic, sex magic, and shamanism. Druid magic focuses on the natural world. Ritual magic focuses on ceremonies to gain access to higher realms. Sex magic channels erotic energy to produce special effects. Shamanism focuses on interacting with nonphysical beings, such as ancient ancestors or animal spirits.
        This article describes magic as a way of thinking, as something that is actually real and exists. In fact, the article refers to it as "magick", spelling it with a k so that it won't be confused to stage magic. However, it does not limit magicians to having to belonging of a specific religion. This article gives me insight as to what some people, not just the author but also several references made in the article, think of magic today. Before I had thought of it only as stage magic, thinking that only before was when it was considered on a deeper, spiritual level.
        The question that I have after reading this article is, are there other people that feel this way about magic? Although there were several references to books that feel that way, what about the rest of humanity? Or do people today only think of magic as stage illusion? Although as children we were always taught to believe in magic, that was more for a sense of hope, such as the fairy tales and Disney movies. Are there others who still practice magic the way it is described in the article?

Citation
Alexander, Skye. "Magic Demystified." 10-Minute Magic Spells. Nov. 2002: 1-13. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 18 Feb 2012.

Essential Question

     

Essential Question

        Magic has always been a favorite topic of mine. When I was little (around 2005), I had the pleasure of seeing David Copperfield performing live here in Miami. Approximately two years ago, on a rainy April afternoon, I decided to search the web to learn myself some magic tricks, so I could show my friends a couple of them. Over that coming summer, those couple of magic tricks changed to sleights and illusions, and my knowledge kept increasing, until I started performing for friends every day. Although my interest has kind of dulled the last couple of weeks, I still perform several tricks for anyone that asks.

         Magic is a broad topic, going from the theatrical performance people associate it with today to religious rituals thousands of years ago. The question that will drive the research of this topic is this, how has magic changed throughout history to the way we see it today? Today we see it as a form of entertainment, what about hundreds of years ago? What about thousands of years ago?