MAGIC
Posted by anthonynorth on April 2, 2007
Supposed dark talents such as possible in witchcraft are often known as low magic – magic, in effect, for the people. The aristocrats of magic are said to be the great occult adepts. Typical was Aleister Crowley, once dubbed the ‘Wickedest Man in the world’. Born in England in 1875 to fanatical Plymouth Brethren parents, they are believed to have done him untold damage, his mother even classing him as the beast from the Book of Revelation. By 1898 he joined the infamous magic circle, Golden Dawn, eventually falling out with them.
An erotic poet and adept, in 1903 he married Rose Kelly who he eventually abandoned. But with her help he is said to have invoked the Egyptian God Horus’s messenger, Aiwass, who dictated Crowley’s ‘The Book of the Law’ laying down much modern occult practice. This, his drug dependency, and his setting up of a sex magic cult in Sicily in the 1920s made him one of the most controversial figures of his time. Dying in 1947, it is my opinion he did untold damage to the place of the occult in the modern world.
The occult, a word meaning hidden, is about Magic; a process through which an adept attempts to change the world in accordance with his will through ritual. Early magicians wrote up their rituals in coded books known as ‘grimoires’.
During such ritual, the idea is to unite the microcosm (the adept) with the macrocosm, or God-head, thus manifesting entities. In effect, this is saying that the person becomes as one with a god, or other universal deity. Such an ability was immortalised in the words of mythical magician Hermes Trismegistos, the father of Hermetic philosophy, when he spoke of ‘as above, so below,’ meaning that the small can be as one with a universal whole.
Accepting that the consciousness of the adept plays a vital role in magical ritual, the anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski gave a more up to date understanding of magic in the early 20th century when he spoke of the practice having three functions (to produce, protect or destroy) and three elements (spells, rites and the use of consciousness to produce an altered state). But from where does the idea of magic come from?
One of the earliest known magicians was Simon Magus …
This essay has now moved to Anthony North’s new website. Read more of it here, including his own theories and more data on Cabala, Gnosticism, Dt John Dee, Eliphas Levi, Abramelin the Jew, Cornelius Agrippa, Dr Faust and more.
© Anthony North, November 2002
BEYOND THE BLOG 
CHARLIE said
Curious to know where you got the information on Simon Magus? Thanks
anthonynorth said
Here’s a few quotes from url below:
http://altreligion.about.com/library/texts/bl_meadmagus.htm
Theodoretus (Hæreticarum Fabularum Compendium, I. i.). Text: Opera Omnia
(ex recensione Jacobi Simondi, denuo edidit Joann. Ludov. Schulze); Halæ, 1769.
‘But the divine grace armed great Peter against the fellow’s madness. For following after him, he dispelled his abominable teaching like mist and darkness, and showed forth the rays of the light of truth. But for all that the thrice wretched fellow, in spite of his public exposure, did not cease from his working against the truth, until he came to Rome, in the reign of Claudius Cæsar. And he so astonished the Romans with his sorceries that he was honoured with a brazen pillar. But on the arrival of the divine Peter, he stripped him naked of his wings of deception, and finally, having challenged him to a contest in wonder-working, and having shown the difference between the divine grace and sorcery, in the presence of the assembled Romans, caused him to fall headlong from a great height by his prayers and captured the eye-witnesses of the wonder for salvation.’
Homiliæ. Text: Bibliotheca Patrum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum Selecta,
Vol. I. (edidit Albertus Schwegler); Tubingensis, Stuttgartiæ, 1847.
‘Aquila and Nicetas then go on to tell how Simon had confessed to them privately his love
for Luna (R. II. viii), and narrate the magic achievements possessed by Simon, of which
they have had proof with their own eyes. Simon can dig through mountains, pass through
rocks as if they were merely clay, cast himself from a lofty mountain and be borne
gently to earth, can break his chains when in prison, and cause the doors to open
of their own accord, animate statues and make the eye-witness think them men, make
trees grow suddenly, pass through fire unhurt, change his face or become double-faced,
or turn into a sheep or goat or serpent, make a beard grow upon a boy’s chin, fly
in the air, become gold, make and unmake kings, have divine worship and honours paid
him, order a sickle to go and reap of itself and it reaps ten times as much as an
ordinary sickle’
‘So end the most important of the legends. To these, however, must be added others of a like nature of which the scene of action is laid at Rome in the time of Nero. {73} I have not thought it worth while to refer to the original texts for these utterly apocryphal and unauthenticated stories, but simply append a very short digest from the excellent summary of Dr. Salmon, the Regius Professor of Divinity in Dublin University, as given in Smith and Wace’s Dictionary of Christian Biography.{74}’
‘The Greek Acts of Peter and Paul give details of the conflict and represent both apostles as having taken part in it. Simon and Peter are each required to raise a dead body to life. Simon, by his magic, makes the head move, but as soon as he leaves the body it again becomes lifeless. Peter, however, by his prayers effects a real resurrection. Both are challenged to divine what the other is planning. Peter prepares blessed bread, and takes the emperor into the secret. Simon cannot guess what Peter has been doing, and so raises hell-hounds who rush on Peter, but the presentation of the blessed bread causes them to vanish.’
‘In the Acts of Nereus and Achilleus, {75} another version of the story is given. Simon had fastened a great dog at his door in order to prevent Peter entering. Peter by making the sign of the cross renders the dog tame towards himself, but so furious against his master Simon that the latter had to leave the city in disgrace.’
‘Simon, however, still retains the emperor’s favour by his magic power. He pretends to permit his head to be cut off, and by the power of glamour appears to be decapitated, while the executioner really cuts off the head of a ram.’
Research further and you’ll find even more.
Levi said
Ah, you forget the Three Magi who came to Jesus when He was born. At the very least, you could’ve mentioned their order, from which the word ‘magic’ was derived in the first place.
anthonynorth said
Yes, there’s a lot I had to miss out due to space available. Notable absentees are Merlin, Abramelin the Jew, and, yes, the Magi; and I could have written loads on Faust. I might write separate posts on them some time.
tdavidb said
Great article here, I’ve come across bits and pieces of such information in my own reading but you make it really accessible.
rpatrkev said
Oh, Yea
SarahC said
wow, there’s alot of work and investigation gone into that post. it made for very interesting reading, well done
Dani said
This is an amazing article, thanks for taking the time to research and write this
Kamran said
Even Dr Eriksson would not be able to induce hypnosis if the subject were alert and warned, so u cannot call it magic because according to traditional definitation magic must be able to harm/affect the subject although the subject is expecting and warned.
anthonynorth said
Hi Kamran,
I think the point I’m making is that psychological phenomena could explain what we think is Magic.
Of course, it’s not as simple as that, but a suitable position to begin an attempt at understanding.