Charakterystyka magii we współczesnym świecie

Abstract

Magic – a word that a contemporary person mostly associates with fantasy books or computer games. It is a term which has lost the power of its meaningful tradition during the development of a rational society, but has it really? In the following work the author attempts a scientific analysis of magic today, in the contemporary world, in which magic seems to be absent, and even if it is present, then it is mostly associated with the art of illusion. However, the truth turns out to be different than the above conjectures. Magic is performed today, just like it has been for hundreds, thousands of years of human’s existence. These practices have been present since time immemorial constituting a no-go area destined only for some chosen individuals. Today the fundamental assumption has not changed dramatically. Magic still constitutes knowledge only for the chosen, yet the mass interest in the phenomenon has been gradually increasing. The reasons for the above are also discussed in the following study. The author tries to present an etymological outline of the issue, also entering deeper in his deliberations into the sphere of specialist magic divisions on account of goal, means, etc. More important and “popular” theories as well as magical approaches, symbolism and magical objects are also discussed. All this is done to warn the contemporary reader against the dangers of this kind of practice and also to point to the delusion of power, divinity that magic indeed provides.