Dear Leo,
In my book _Witching Culture: Folklore and Neopaganism in America_ (2004), I discuss the use magic in a ritual to heal a woman who had cancer (pp. 136-8). Despite the severity of her illness, she experienced a remission and lived another 10 years.
Anna Fedele's new book _Looking for Mary Magdalene: Alternative Pilgrimage and Ritual Creativity at Catholic Shrines in France_ (OUP, 2013) describes a number of healing experiences as a result of pilgrimage. This isn't an ethnography of traditional Catholic pilgrimage, but of its transformation and infusion with New Age beliefs and worldviews.
U.S. anthropologist Michael Winkleman has studied the use of shamanic drumming techniques to heal drug addicts and sufferers of PTSD; he's published a number of articles on that, but no single ethnography.
That's just a start; I'm sure there's more out there.
Best of luck with your research,
Sabina
Sabina Magliocco
Professor
Department of Anthropology
California State University - Northridge
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________________________________________
From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dr Leo Ruickbie [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, June 17, 2013 3:39 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] Therapeutic Uses of Magic
Dear List,
I'm following up on some of the results of my PhD that, though
interesting, were not at the time central to my thesis. Through
in-depth interviewing I found that the people in my survey - witches,
pagans, druids, shamans, etc. - generally reported that practising
magic had changed their lives for the better in a number of
significant ways.
Framing this in terms of the therapeutic uses of magic, I wondered if
anyone had come across any particularly vivid accounts of magical
healing. I've just started wading through the literature, but what I
haven't found yet is a reliable and detailed description of a
diagnosed medical condition being healed through magical ritual,
particularly Western European magic. Any ideas?
All the best,
Leo
--
Dr Leo Ruickbie, PhD, MA, BA(Hons), Associate of King's College
Member: European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism,
Gesellschaft für Anomalistik, Parapsychological Association, Societas
Magica, Society for Psychical Research, The Ghost Club
Author: Witchcraft Out of the Shadows (2004, 2011); Faustus: The Life
and Times of a Renaissance Magician (2009); A Brief Guide to the
Supernatural (2012); A Brief Guide to Ghost Hunting (forthcoming)
Website: http://www.ruickbie.com
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