In the prehistoric era, and in historical ancient cultures, there was no clear line between magic and religion.
In the minds of the ancients, the world was ruled by light and dark spirits (deities), and in order to win their favor or protect themselves from their anger, knowledgeable people performed magical acts and rituals.
It was believed that magic is of three types: black, white and gray. The black one is capable of harming a person; white protects from evil forces; gray - a cross between black and white. However, in its pure form, various forms of magic are extremely rare.
Each primitive tribe certainly had its own "regular" sorcerer, who alone healed diseases using methods known to him, caused rain, enchanted a successful hunt and victory over a hostile tribe, punished fellow tribesmen who had violated the laws of their community with magic actions. The secret of witchcraft was inherited by the elite.
Perhaps it was only with the advent of Christianity that magic began to be attributed to "devilish" occupations, because it violated the will of divine forces. It was believed that a person who decides to resort to the services of magic takes Satan to his accomplices. This was the impetus for the beginning of the so-called "witch hunt".
Their LOOK is poisonous
Today, the original meaning of the concept of "witch" - the one who knows, that is, knows - is practically lost. But we are talking not only about magical continuity, but also about a whole system of cultural traditions.
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The most detailed information on the topic can be gleaned from the treatise "The Hammer of the Witches", written by inquisitors Jacob Sprenger and Heinrich Institoris and published in 1486. There, in particular, it is said: “If the soul inclines uncontrollably towards evil, as is the case in women in particular, then … their gaze is poisonous and corrupts … With God's permission or for some other hidden reason, the evil of the devil takes part here, if the women signed a contract with him."
Traditionally, witches gathered regularly for the Sabbath. There were monthly sabbaths held by small groups of witches. Major events took place on February 2, June 23, August 21 and December 21. The most significant are Walpurgis Night (April 30) and the night from October 31 to November 1 (the eve of All Saints Day).
It was believed that all self-respecting witches had the art of flying. This allowed them to make a magic ointment with which they smeared the body. However, the doctor Johann Weier from the Netherlands (16th century) believed that under the influence of this ointment, the witches only thought that they were flying, that is, a remedy made mainly of herbs was a strong drug.
In the Middle Ages, witches and sorcerers, as you know, were waiting for death at the stake. At best, hanging or drowning. The most famous "city of witches" is Salem (Massachusetts). In 1692, more than forty women accused of witchcraft were killed here. Today the city has several museums: the Witch Museum, the Witch Dungeon Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum.
The latter contains about 500 original documents of the trials of witches, as well as nightmarish instruments of torture. You can visit the house of Judge John Corwin, now known as the "House of the Witches", the Old Bering Point cemetery, where the murdered witches were buried, and also buy one of the many tours to the local "enchanted places". There are many who want to tickle their nerves.
Shamans between the dead and the living
Any activity related to witchcraft, divination, sorcery, etc. can be attributed to the field of magic. But traditionally, magicians are still called "specialists" of a higher level. It is believed that, in addition to the ability to perform miracles, they have a certain spiritual preparation, are able to penetrate into various dimensions and to one degree or another manipulate the reality of these dimensions. These include shamans.
The word "shaman" in Evenki means "expert", "wizard". In Altai it is called "kam", in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan - "bakshi", in Buryatia and Mongolia - "bee". Shamans are special people. They know how to talk to spirits.
Usually the shaman uses magic formulas and rituals that release bioenergetic forces. With their help, he can cure a disease or send it to people he dislikes, separate his soul from his body and send it to the land of the dead, maintaining a connection between living people and their ancestors.
During magic rituals, the shaman dresses in special clothes.
Among the Siberian peoples, this is usually a long shirt made of reindeer or seal skins, and for some tribes, of linen. It is worn over trousers with long boots. Various attributes that the shaman attaches to his attire - figurines of animals and people, copper and iron plates, bells, strips of leather or fur, ribbons, sticks - have a symbolic meaning. They seem to have their own soul, which also infuses the shaman.
A drum or tambourine is a constant shamanic attribute - rhythmic beats on it allow the shaman to enter a trance. Eskimos and South American Indians use a ratchet instead of a drum.
A researcher of bioenergetic phenomena, academician V. Kaznacheev and his associates became interested in the phenomenon of shamanism as a completely unique physical phenomenon.
The fact is that an integral part of shamanic practice is kamlanie - a ritual during which the shaman puts himself into a trance. Researchers have come to the conclusion that there is a special information-wave environment, with which the shaman comes into contact during the ritual. Studying shamanism can be an important step towards sensational discoveries in physics and medicine.
Sixth Sense
Most researchers are still inclined to believe that any magical activity is associated with the innate or developed ability of a person to feel the bio-energy information fields (aura) of other people, objects and the environment. No wonder the modern word "psychic" literally means "supersensitive."
The "sixth sense" is often associated with clairvoyance - the ability to receive information about the past, the future, as well as about hidden events. For a long time, techniques for entering an altered state of consciousness have been used for this. For example, in ancient Egypt, priests hypnotized slave boys for this purpose, and in ancient Greece oracular diviners were popular, in which deities were supposedly possessed in order to prophesy.
Nowadays, these phenomena have become the subject of very serious scientific research. In the early 1980s, the US government approached Harold Puthoff, a renowned physicist at the Stanford Research Institute. With his help, a plan for research in the field of extrasensory perception was developed.
Puthoff and his assistant Russell Targ brought in Ingo Swann, an artist and renowned medium, to collaborate. So, as a test, Swann was asked to see the planet Jupiter with his inner vision, and then depict the vision on paper. Swann drew rings around the planet, although at the time they were not yet known. A little later, the satellites Pioneer and Pioneer-10 were launched into Jupiter's orbit.
When photographs from satellites were compared to Swann's drawing, it turned out that the planet was indeed surrounded by gaseous rings. In 1981, Ingo Swann, together with a group of sensitives, developed a method of purposeful clairvoyance at a distance, called "coordination of remote observation."
In 1995, a documentary was shown on television, which used materials from the group's archives, which had already been declassified by that time. It said that psychics during the experiments not only demonstrated their abilities, but also developed them in those who wish.
This proves that most people are endowed with the so-called parapsychic gift from birth.