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Thaumaturgy (/ ˈ θ ɔː m ə t ɜːr dʒ i / ⓘ) is the practical application of magic to effect change in the physical world. Historically, thaumaturgy has been associated with the manipulation of natural forces, the creation of wonders, and the performance of magical feats through esoteric knowledge and ritual practice.
Keith Thomas: "Spiritual magic or theurgy was based on the idea that one could reach God in an ascent up the scale of creation made possible by a rigorous course of prayer, fasting and devotional preparation." [6] Pierre A. Riffard: "Theurgy is a type of magic. It consists of a set of magical practices performed to evoke beneficent spirits in ...
Ritualization is a crucial process that transforms ordinary actions, behaviors, and events into rituals imbued with cultural, social or religious significance. Understanding the concept of ritualization and its various functions provides valuable insights into human societies and cultural practices.
The occult is a category of supernatural beliefs and practices, encompassing such phenomena as those involving mysticism, spirituality, and magic in terms of any otherworldly agency.
Ceremonial magic (also known as magick, ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) [1] encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it.
[3] Some of these scholars (e.g., W. Robertson-Smith, James George Frazer, Jane Ellen Harrison, S. H. Hooke) supported the "primacy of ritual" hypothesis, which claimed that "every myth is derived from a particular ritual and that the syntagmatic quality of myth is a reproduction of the succession of ritual act."
Similar rituals are attested in Ancient Egypt, for instance, on an ostracon dated to the twentieth dynasty (twelfth-eleventh centuries BCE). [2] Love spells and rituals have been found among the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians, and formulae used in them can be found in later time periods in the Near East among other peoples.
Learned magic or ritual magic is thought to be practiced by literate and clerical practitioners who rely upon magic books (later called grimoires) for their knowledge and practice. Learned magic also encompasses demonic magic and angelic magic based on the belief of heavenly angels and fallen angels (or demons).