Magic and Divination Chapter 7 Baseball Magic n

+ Magic and Divination Chapter 7

+ Baseball Magic n Remember the article “Baseball Magic”? n Why is magic used in baseball? n What are taboos and fetishes?

+ Baseball Magic n Remember the article “Baseball Magic”? n Why is magic used in baseball? n n Because it relies mostly on chance n People want to feel in control What are taboos and fetishes? n Taboos are strictly forbidden actions or items n Fetishes are obsessions with ‘lucky’ objects

+ Introduction n What do you think of when you hear the term magic? n Our idea of magic is illusion, because it alters perceptions n Magic consists of activities and rituals that alter or control the supernatural

+ Introduction n Early anthropologists thought that magic was separate from religion because it did not involve spirits n Many thought it was a pseudoscience, used to make sense of their world n Many thought that magic would ‘evolve’ into religion

+ Introduction n Science is empirical: n It is observable, repeatable, testable n Involves hypotheses and theories n Does magic? No n But magic helps people make sense of their world; it involves trying to directly control aspects of their environment for a specific outcome n It is part of religion

+ The World of Magic n Magic: methods that allow a person to interact with supernatural and bring out specific outcomes n Some types: n Sorcery: usually seen as evil n Witchcraft: can be good or evil

+ Sorcery vs Witchcraft n Magic and Sorcery can use objects n Frazer’s 2 principles: n Imitative: n Represent a person n Voodoo doll, effigy n Contagious: n Use items that were in contact with person

+ Witchcraft n Witchcraft: use of psychic power to cause harm to others n Uses mind n Accusations are patterned because idea that sorcerers and witches only harm those they don’t like n Salem Witch Trials

+ Rules of Magic n James Frazer n Law of Sympathy n Magic depends on association between 2 things n It has 2 parts: n Law of Similarity and n Law of Contagion

+ Rules of Magic n Law of Similarity n Things that are alike are the same n Homeopathic or Imitative magic n Law of Contagion n Things that were once in contact continue to be connected n Contagious magic

+ Law of Similarity n This assumes that there is a causal relationship between similar things n Image Magic: making an image that represents someone and then injuring or killing the image to really harm the person n Voodoo dolls

+ Homeopathic Magic n Example is doctrine of signatures n In homeopathic or traditional medicine, people believe that there are natural signals in the plants showing people how to use them n Some think these were left by God

+ Homeopathic Magic n Example: n plants used to treat problems with blood are red n those for stomach are yellow (bile) n plants with white sap are used for nursing mothers.

+ Contagious Magic n Based on idea that things that were once in contact stay connected (hair, nails, clothing…) n Example: rabbit’s foot for luck n People also believe that an illness can be transferred onto an object in order to heal people n Tying a caterpillar on a child’s neck to cure whooping cough n New Guinea: put salve on arrow wound and on arrow so the injury transfers onto the arrow n However, enemy can counter this by repeatedly plucking bow to make injury worse

+ Function of Magic n Magic can be used in times of danger or in times of uncertainty n Connected n Example: to rituals, including those for good luck professional baseball players

+ Why Magic Works n Most things are not cause-and-effect, but actually coincidence n However, humans like to feel that they can control outcomes n Ideas of good and bad luck

+ Why Magic Works n Tyler looked at why it seems magic never fails Magic attempts to bring about things that would have happened naturally n Rain rituals (eventually it will rain!) n People are very stubborn in changing their beliefs, even with evidence that they do not work n People do not ask for impossible things from magic n

+ Why Magic Works n If the magic doesn’t work, people say that the ritual was not performed correctly n Or someone was doing counter-magic n People also have selective memory We forget a lot that happens to us n Successes are remembered and failures forgotten more often n

+ Why Magic Works n Self-fulfilling n People make things happen because they believe they will happen n Example: death magic n Person is so convinced of and worried about dying that it can lead to death

+ Magic in Society (Examples) Azande n Magic involves using objects, mostly plant materials called medicines n The object houses power and the ritual will release the power n Use doctrine of signatures n Example: plants with milky sap used to help a mother nurse her baby n Other uses: hunting, against sorcery, find love, cure diseases, avenge a murder n Rituals can often be personal and done in private

+ Magic in Society (Examples) Fore n Believe the disease kuru is caused by sorcery (we now know it is caused by eating brains at funerals) n Sorcerer would take remnants of someone (hair, nails, excrement) and bury it in cold ground. They he would beat it and recite a spell that would cause kuru n Example of contagious magic n To prevent this, people hide all their possible remnants

+ Magic in Society (Examples) Wicca n Neo-Pagan: revival of a pre-Christian practice n See their magical knowledge as a continuation of practices that were pushed underground by Christianity for many centuries. n Core of the ritual is movement of energy n n Practitioner builds up energy in body and releases it at just the right time Based on the worldview that there is power in all things n n Rituals awaken power and direct it toward a goal Use crystals, herbs, oils, images, etc. Closely connected to nature Supplements practical actions

+ Divination n Attempts to find out the unknown and to manipulate supernatural to get future information n Sees the world as things that interconnect n Magic is manipulating these connections

+ Forms of Divination n Inspirational: involves spiritual experience (ex. Possession) n Also known as natural or emotive n Noninspirational/Artificial: magic, reading natural events, using oracles (a device for seeing future)

+ Divination Forms n Inspirational divination involves an individual having direct contact with a supernatural being Usually through ASC n Possession n Prophesy n Mediums n n Ordeals involve a painful and dangerous test, usually to prove innocence Putting hand into burning oil n Salem witch trials: trial by water (innocent drown, witches do not and are then burned) n

+ Divination Forms Example of ordeal: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=0 i. Fsvhxso. Gs (minutes 1 -16 only)

+ Forms of Divination n Fortuitous: happens without conscious effort n Deliberate: happens because someone sets out to do them n There are different combinations of these types

+ Forms of Divination n Fortuitous Noninspirational: omens, ornithomancy (birds) n Fortuitous Inspirational: necromancy, possession, prophesy, mediums, oneiromancy n Deliberate Noninspirational: astrology, flipping a coin, magic 8 ball, Ouija board, palm reading, tarot cards

+ Divination Example n https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Nd. La 9 y. Yt_jw

+ Techniques of Divination n Oneriomancy: interpreting dreams Differ by culture n Can be seen as spirit guiding you in dreams n

+ Techniques of Divination n Examples: n To see apes in your dream represents dishonesty, maliciousness, and lies. n To dream of a seal represents your good humor and ability to entertain others. n A dream in which you are toothless indicates your failure to succeed. n To dream that you fall and are frightened represents that you do not have balance or power in your life. n To dream that you are flying with ease and enjoying the view indicates that you are dealing with circumstances well.

+ Techniques of Divination n Necromancy: divination through contact with the dead (commonly ancestors) n Omens are frequent n Ornithomancy: reading the flight of birds n Tasseomancy: reading tea leaves n Palmistry: reading lines of palm of hand n Phrenology: n Mechanical n reading shape of head divination: manipulate objects Ouija board, tarot cards

+ Divination Example n Azande n Most oracles common is iwa, or rubbing-board oracle Small wooden board with a ‘female’ and ‘male’ pieces n Only an oracle after rubbed with medicines and buried in ground n As lid is moved across surface, a smooth motion is ‘no’ and sticking is ‘yes’ n Used to get fast answers to common questions n

+ Divination Example

+ Divination Example n Azande n Dakpa oracles is termite oracle Used for more important questions and takes longer to answer n Two sticks are places in termite mound overnight n More reliable (no human error) n n Benge, the poison oracle, is most important oracle Used in legal matters and in times of crisis n Feed poison to chickens and watch reaction to get answers n Poison is hard to find and chickens cannot be eaten n

+ Divination Example n Astrology n Foundation is that movement of planets and stars influences humans’ lives n Began in Babylonia for the good of the community n Spread n Led to Greece, Rome, and Egypt to the zodiac

+ What’s Your Sign? n Read your sign description. n Is it accurate? n Do you think your sign governs your actions or events in your life?

+ Discussion n 1. Define and give examples of homeopathic magic and contagious magic. n 2. Do we consider items like Ouija boards and Magic 8 balls as religious devices in the US? Why or why not? Do they work? Explain. n 3. What is your opinion of your horoscope? Would you consider this a religious practice? Explain. n 4. Is divination a harmless hobby (like astrology or fortune telling)? Or can it have negative consequences? Explain your answers.