Spell Craft: Sympathetic Magic

Sympathetic magic can be defined as action taken on a representative of the target intended for a specific result that is manifested by chains of causality.

This is the most common form of magic practiced today. The sterotypical image of a practitioner with a poppet* is the most blatant image of sympathetic magic. However, if one uses anything to represent their target rather then the target itself, one is practicing sympathetic magic. As such, the candle burned to break a hex can be the image/representative of the target. The mechanism by which sympathetic magic works, I described earlier in my discussion of direct magic.

Sympathetic magic relies heavily upon the axiom 'Like calls to like' or as it has been more famously postulated: As above, so below. In some cases, one could argue that the action of sympathetic magic could be described as a measure of quantum entanglement on the Newtonian scale, but there has been no in depth study to determine if such a thing could be upheld. The principle, however, could be described as the ideological predecessor of the concept of quantum entanglement.

Examples of sympathetic magic includes:

• Poppet magic
• Most forms of candle magic
• Enchantments ala Macbeth

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* Known variously as voodoo dolls, spirit dolls, or mommets, the poppet is a doll in a human form that is frequently used as a 'stand in' for the target of a spell.

Spell Craft: Direct Magic

Direct magic can be defined as: action taken on the spiritual body of the target intended for a specific result that is created by way of immediate consequences of said action

Direct magic can be performed by various methods. They generally fall into two categories: physiological action and psycho-spiritual action. Physiological action is the method that requires physical activity to activate it. Thereby, if the magical act under taken requires one to touch the target, ingest a charmed item, or otherwise physically interact with the spell, this falls under physiological action. Under this heading would fall everything from incantations spoken whilst laying on of hands to the fine art of herbalism. 

Psycho-spiritual action requires that there is no physical contact. This would include trance inductions to manipulations of the bio-spiritual energy field (also known as the Aura) to the speaking of a blessing over an individual. If one does not have to physically interact with the spell components but are a direct recipient of the effects, this would constitute psycho-spiritual action.

Examples of direct magic include:

• Aura reading
• Laying on of hands (also known as faith healing)
• Trance work (a subset of guided meditation)
• All forms of herbal methods that require ingestion and/or application of an herbal preparation to the body
• Mediumship
• Psychometry (the receiving of psychic impressions upon handling an object)