Belief In Witchcraft, Magic Serves 'Basic Human Need,' Profe

From http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 143613.htm

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2007) — People believe in magic for all sorts of reasons, Anne-Maria Makhulu said, including a deep-seated human desire for equality. Halloween is a time for children to dress up as witches, ghouls and goblins, but historically witchcraft was serious business, according to a Duke University professor.

Though people today might view witchcraft as mere superstition, it’s evident from anthropological literature that, for some people, the practice has served a basic human need, said Anne-Maria Makhulu, an assistant professor of cultural anthropology who studies the ongoing practice of witchcraft in Africa.

"We live in a bewildering world where we don’t have a lot of control. And we can imagine doing things through magic that we can’t do as ordinary human beings," said Makhulu, who is teaching a course this semester on magic and capitalism.

During the early Christian period, Halloween, despite its pagan origins, came to be associated with the veneration of saints and for a time was marked alongside the celebration of those who had been granted sainthood. Today, by contrast, Halloween is largely associated with ghosts and monsters and other popular figures of horror, such as "Jason" from "Friday the 13th."

People believe in magic for all sorts of reasons, Makhulu said, including the desire to accrue wealth or advance in life, but the belief also says something about a deep-seated human desire for equality.

"When people say they believe in magical forces, they believe in magic that can make the world equal and just in circumstances where it’s not," Makhulu said. For some, "witchcraft is about recuperating what is ethical, just and moral."

"We need enchantment in our lives because our world has become disenchanted," Makhulu said. "We need faith that promises something bigger and better than what we have."

Adapted from materials provided by Duke University.

I dont believe in magic whatsoever

Ask yourself what people do believe in that is supposedly rational, yet has no basis in actual fact. :idea:

Magic isnt rational IMO, but im sure there are plenty that believe in it, just as there are plenty that believe or not believe in the existence of higher powers.

I believe some mushrooms are magic

I believe in majik. I believe the imagination to be the most powerful force known to man and I still believe in human kind.

"I believe for every drop of rain that falls a flower grows." is an exaggeration, but the essence of the statement has truth. :wink:

Let me drop a hint where I'm going here:

Eye of toad, ear of bat, scratch my nose to please the cat.

I think belief is a dangerous thing.

I also think that magic does exist, and that it is the realisation of our dreams.

I just wish it was always labelled superstition, and people were always willing to acknowledge its true origins and significance.

I went on a Halloween Cemetary walk last night and learned that the "Curse of the Narrows" caused two bridges two fall in our harbour, and supposedly it should happen a third time. City officials actually held a Mi’kmaq ceremony in the 50s to 'break' the curse so the new steel suspension bridge wouldn't fall down.

How this nonsense - in all its forms - has any place in our society is beyond me.