I often get comments from magic practitioners suggesting or outright saying that the scientific world does not research esoteric practices with an open, enquiring mind but is rather based on the assumption that 'magic is not real'. Now, what 'real' means might be more within the realm of philosophy, but we can probably agree that this is here an operative term that indicates, in common parlance, something that is verifiably occurring in the tangible world. Science is a massive umbrella that encompasses many disciplines, some within the area of natural science and others concerning Humanities and social sciences. All these disciplines will tackle the study of magic from a very different angle and seek answers to diverse research questions with adequate methodology. In the study of religions, the most common perspectives are historical, anthropological, ethnographic, and sociological, all of which treat occult beliefs and practices with the utmost respect. Here the aim is not proof a causal link between a magic ritual and its effect (this pertains more to natural sciences) but rather the history of a tradition, the meaning-making associated to beliefs and practices, the impact holding certain beliefs has on one's life and on the community, and so on. In my experience so far, I've seen nothing but fascination on the part of Religious Studies scholars when approaching esoteric practices, beliefs and the history of traditions. Luckily, it's not the 19th century anymore and the Frazers and Tylors are long surpassed in favour of a more inclusive and understanding approach, rooted in fascination and not in biased judgement. I talk about this in a past video of mine. Here's the link, in case you're interested https://youtu.be/qgpJHjc6mw8 Tell me your thoughts in the comments! #science #magic #academic #witchcraft #esotericism #ismagicreal #ismagicfake https://www.instagram.com/p/CnhlUu9rrmd/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
