Book of Magical rites
written by Amity Fox
by Amity Fox Sacred magical rites identify in various cultural history as divination forms and ceremony, aswell as cultural traditions and customary practices in history. The modern ceremonial magic or high magic is the topic of the next book in this series, entitled Book of Meditation on High Magic. In the biblical texts, the gifts of the three wise kings at the birth of jesus after following a bright star christ as gold, frankincense and myhrr.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
8
Reads
689
Praxis of magic through history
Chapter 5
Sacred archaic rituals being held in honour and dedication of magic come in many forms. Divination has many forms and from the most ancient magical history books, almost every ancient culture through antiqity had methods of interpretating unpredictable outcomes determined by omens as rites.
Ritual as a practice is ancient itself, so much so it is a spiritual awakening. -650 B.C. - References to magic are abundant in the ancient Greek myths among the classical founding pagan cultures of Europe, connected to the neighbouring Egyptian and Persian ones. Often centered around women of divine origin, nymphs and priests, from Ariadne to Calypso, Circe to Medea, Hermes to Hecate, magic, divination and necromancy are widespread and intertwined with cthonic Gods and monsters, oracles and heroes.
50–300 A.D. - The Acetabularii performed the Cups and balls in ancient Rome using stones and small vinegar cups (hence the name Acetabularii). The Acetabularii are a group of magicians specializing on the cups and balls effect.
400–1000 - The Dark Ages; little is known about the history of magic, but much of it was associated with the occult and magic as entertainment is not prominent.
1000–1500 - The Middle Ages where much magic was associated with the occult and witchcraft. The growing trading nature of society allowed some street or circus performers to make a living out of old classics such as the cups and balls and in fact more modern ideas such as cheating by short changing via sleights with coins and other small objects.
, is reflective of Neo-Paganism, and makes use of much of the magical practices of Stregoneria but does not include elements of Catholic-based folk magic, which displaced the pre-Christian enchanted worldview in Italian culture.
Stregoneria is the modern word in Italian that is commonly translated into English as the word witchcraft. In the Italian dictionary—Vocabolario della Lingua (Nicola Zanichelli, 1970)—stregoneria is defined as a magical practice intended to produce harm or illness. The statement that stregoneria refers to a harmful magical practice is supported by ethnologist Elsa Guggino, who states that words related to stregoneria are always used disparagingly to describe someone practicing malevolent magic (Stregoneria: The "Old Religion" in Italy from Historical to Modern Times, by Marguerite Rigoglioso, 2000). This is also noted by scholar Gary R. Varner, in his book Charles G. Leland: The Man & the Myth, in which he states that the word strega (witch) is a disparaging term used to denote those who practice black magic, and that the term "maga" is used to denote those who practice white magic and healing.
Anthropologist Sabina Magliocco, in her article titled "Spells, Saints and Streghe: Folk Magic and Healing in Italy," remarks that "At one time, many villages had a number of folk healers who could cure a variety of illnesses, They ranged from those who cured with herbs, magic formulas and prayers to professional sorcerers who were called in serious cases of magical attack. In practice, however, these practitioners overlapped, since almost any illness could be judged to be the result of a magical working. Folk healers seldom referred to themselves as streghe (although their neighbors might call them such), but as fattuccchiere, "fixers," maghi (masculine plural; singular mago), maghe (feminine plural; sing. maga), "magic-workers."
In contrast to the academic and historical evidence some modern practitioners of Stregoneria claim that the term is an umbrella for the Folk Magic practices of Italy. The use of the word Stregoneria to describe Italian Folk Magic is common mostly among Italian-American practitioners. Practitioners of Folk Magic traditionally would usually be called something along the lines of fixers, healers, or those who help, but to be called a witch would be a direct insult. Virtually all practitioners would have considered themselves Roman Catholic and witches in Italian folklore and Roman Catholicism are traditionally connected to the devil.
Practices of Stregoneria include making Brevi, or charm bags, and healing the Malocchio Although Stregoneria does indeed make use of a variety of Catholic practices, due to the use of magic Stregoneria, unlike Benedicaria, tends to be more at odds with the teachings of the Catholic Church, blending Catholic and Pre-Christian traditions.
Ritual as a practice is ancient itself, so much so it is a spiritual awakening. -650 B.C. - References to magic are abundant in the ancient Greek myths among the classical founding pagan cultures of Europe, connected to the neighbouring Egyptian and Persian ones. Often centered around women of divine origin, nymphs and priests, from Ariadne to Calypso, Circe to Medea, Hermes to Hecate, magic, divination and necromancy are widespread and intertwined with cthonic Gods and monsters, oracles and heroes.
50–300 A.D. - The Acetabularii performed the Cups and balls in ancient Rome using stones and small vinegar cups (hence the name Acetabularii). The Acetabularii are a group of magicians specializing on the cups and balls effect.
400–1000 - The Dark Ages; little is known about the history of magic, but much of it was associated with the occult and magic as entertainment is not prominent.
1000–1500 - The Middle Ages where much magic was associated with the occult and witchcraft. The growing trading nature of society allowed some street or circus performers to make a living out of old classics such as the cups and balls and in fact more modern ideas such as cheating by short changing via sleights with coins and other small objects.
, is reflective of Neo-Paganism, and makes use of much of the magical practices of Stregoneria but does not include elements of Catholic-based folk magic, which displaced the pre-Christian enchanted worldview in Italian culture.
Stregoneria is the modern word in Italian that is commonly translated into English as the word witchcraft. In the Italian dictionary—Vocabolario della Lingua (Nicola Zanichelli, 1970)—stregoneria is defined as a magical practice intended to produce harm or illness. The statement that stregoneria refers to a harmful magical practice is supported by ethnologist Elsa Guggino, who states that words related to stregoneria are always used disparagingly to describe someone practicing malevolent magic (Stregoneria: The "Old Religion" in Italy from Historical to Modern Times, by Marguerite Rigoglioso, 2000). This is also noted by scholar Gary R. Varner, in his book Charles G. Leland: The Man & the Myth, in which he states that the word strega (witch) is a disparaging term used to denote those who practice black magic, and that the term "maga" is used to denote those who practice white magic and healing.
Anthropologist Sabina Magliocco, in her article titled "Spells, Saints and Streghe: Folk Magic and Healing in Italy," remarks that "At one time, many villages had a number of folk healers who could cure a variety of illnesses, They ranged from those who cured with herbs, magic formulas and prayers to professional sorcerers who were called in serious cases of magical attack. In practice, however, these practitioners overlapped, since almost any illness could be judged to be the result of a magical working. Folk healers seldom referred to themselves as streghe (although their neighbors might call them such), but as fattuccchiere, "fixers," maghi (masculine plural; singular mago), maghe (feminine plural; sing. maga), "magic-workers."
In contrast to the academic and historical evidence some modern practitioners of Stregoneria claim that the term is an umbrella for the Folk Magic practices of Italy. The use of the word Stregoneria to describe Italian Folk Magic is common mostly among Italian-American practitioners. Practitioners of Folk Magic traditionally would usually be called something along the lines of fixers, healers, or those who help, but to be called a witch would be a direct insult. Virtually all practitioners would have considered themselves Roman Catholic and witches in Italian folklore and Roman Catholicism are traditionally connected to the devil.
Practices of Stregoneria include making Brevi, or charm bags, and healing the Malocchio Although Stregoneria does indeed make use of a variety of Catholic practices, due to the use of magic Stregoneria, unlike Benedicaria, tends to be more at odds with the teachings of the Catholic Church, blending Catholic and Pre-Christian traditions.
