Re: Belief in magic and witchcraft
Andrew P. Bajorinas (BajoriAP@Perkin-Elmer.com)
Wed, 15 Nov 1995 19:47:45 GMT
x@satisfied.apocalypse.org (Xochi Zen) wrote:
> I'm looking for texts that treat witchcraft from a skeptical
>perspective. It's hard to believe that educated people still believe
>in this sort of thing as something more than manipulation by subtle
>psychological methods - when I say "witchcraft" I'm referring to
>things like "spell casting", death spells, etc. I am _not_ referring to
>the nature-worshipping religion itself... just the idea that one can
>effect changes via supernatural intervention or some other unseen force
>unknown to science. Actually, I shouldn't be surprised given the success
>of religion in general (Christianity, for example, is just as "occult"
>as any other group/practice with that label attached to it - supernatural
>interventions, prayer, a being outside of space and time, etc.)
I think many are working with the "positive visualization effect".
Others are working with that effect without knowing the mechanics of
why their "rituals" work.
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| Andrew P. Bajorinas | These opinions are my own and |
| BajoriAP@Perkin-Elmer.com | not those of my employer. |
| Sr. Engineer |-------------------------------|
| Perkin-Elmer Corp, Norwalk, CT | A cat is not a wavefunction. |
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