WHAT IS MAGIC? – AEPALIZAGE

A reference to the many definitions of magic

by Nemesis Fixx

The list is presented here in the order of how I encountered them from the many sources about the web – not in order of their importance, relevance, correctness nor date of conception. In the future versions, it will be desirable to order these definitions based on their conception or development in time. I have tried to quote the definitions from my sources verbatim, though for some few cases, I found the need to paraphrase of clarifying phrases where necessary to have a clear definition structure. In these cases I insert my own text in [ ] oritalics.

The Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will (Crowley or Thelema)
The art of affecting the manifest through the unmanifest, The manifest is all that can be seen, touched, perceived, manipulated, imagined, or understood [and] the unmanifest is none of these things. (Truth about Ritual Magic, Donald Tyson)
The science and art of causing change (in consciousness) to occur in conformity with will, using means not currently understood by traditional Western science. (Modern Magick by Donald Michael Kraig)
The movement of natural (but little understood) energies from the human body and from natural objects to manifest change. (Dreaming the Divine, Scott Cunningham, Llewellyn Publications)
The science of the control of the secret forces of nature. (S. L. MacGregorMathers)
A comprehensive knowledge of all nature (Francis Barrett) [That] work [involving] transformation, and [where] the first transformation is the shift of perception. (Marion Weinstein)
A force that combines psychic energy with the powers of the will to produce „supernatural“ effects, cause change to occur in conformity, and control events in nature (Gerina Dunwich)
The movement of natural (yet subtle) energies to create positive change. (Scott Cunningham)
The art of effecting changes in consciousness at will. (William Butler)
The science and art [dealing] with a body of knowledge that, for one reason or another, has not yet been fully investigated or confirmed by the other arts and sciences. (P. E. I. Bonewits)
Using the power of the mind to nudge probabilities. (Janina Renee)
An organized wish that carries with it energy to manifest in reality.
(Barrie Dolnick) Making something that you want happen, creating your own reality, words and actions affecting physical reality (and) a seemingly unnatural happening brought about by human means. (Raymond Buckland)
Whatever the other guy doesn’t understand. (Rick Johnson)
The sub-conscious manipulation of long wave E.M. fields in order to effect a change in the physical medium through the use of ritual. (Rick Johnson)
The art of changing consciousness at will (Diane Fortune)
The art of sensing and shaping the subtle, unseen forces that flow through the world, of awakening deeper levels of consciousness beyond the rational. (The Spiral Dance, Starhawk)
Something you do – as a science; by observing, analyzing and inducing or deducing results empirically, as an art by synthesizing new results from experience, emotion and the intellect. (Oraia Helene)
The Science and Art of causing Change, on a material as well as a spiritual level, to occur in conformity with Will by altered states of consciousness. (Frater V.: D.:, Secrets of Western Sex Magic)
Causing reality to conform to will. (Phil Hine, „Undoing Yourself with Chaos Magic“, Rebels and Devils)
The art of changing the focus of consciousness at will. (Robert Anton Wilson, The Earth Will Shake)
The systematic cultivation of enhanced consciousness or non-ordinary awareness & its deployment in the world of deeds & objects to bring about desired results. (Hakim Bey, T. A. Z.)
An open minded attitude, a blend of interest and dedication, which allows each honest mage to observe, to learn, to adapt, and to invent unique ways of changing identity and reality from within. (Jan Fries, Visual Magick)
A set of techniwues and approaches which can be used to extend the limits of Achievable Reality. (Phil Hine, Condensed Chaos)
The Highest, most Absolute, and most Divine Knowledge of Natural Philosophy, advanced in its works and wonderful operations by a right understanding of the inward and occult virtue of things; so that true Agents being applied to proper Patients, strange and admirable effects will thereby be produced. (The Goetia of the Lemegeton of King Solomon)
A means of unifying Desire and Belief (Austin Osman Spare, Two Tracts on Cartomancy)
Causing change by directing energy with one’s will. (Kerr Cuhulain, Full Contact Magick)
The enhancement of the probabilites/likelihood of a desired outcome/result. (Peter Carroll, PsyberMagick)
A psychological branch of science, dealing with the sympathetic effects of stones, drugs, herbs, and living substances upon the imaginative and reflective faculties – and leading to ever new glimpses of the world of wonders around us, ranking it in due order of phenomena and illustrating the beneficence of The Great Architect of the Universe. (Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie)
Change in situations or events in accordance with one’s will, which would, using normally accepted methods, be unchangeable. (Anton Szandor LaVey, The Satanic Bible)
The socially unauthorized use of the will and imagination to partake in the powers of the universe. (S. Jason Black & Christopher S. Hyatt, Pacts With The Devil)
[willing] something to occur which under ordinary circumstances would not occur. (Christal Dawn and Stephen Flowers, Carnal Alchemy)
The art of belief. (ludrikos muttleyos, on chaoskaos) The manipulation of symbols, words, or images, to achieve changes in consciousness. (Alan Moore)
Essentially, advertising to your unconscious. (Gordon White)
The ability of attracting [the desired], without [directly] asking [for it]. (Austin Osman Spare, The Book of Pleassure (Self-Love) )

REFERENCED SOURCES (META-REFERENCES)

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