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thanks for this 

"It seems to me though, from observation, that Neo-Pagans might like to spend more time ‘within’ a magic situation, than might ceremonial magicians, that neo-Pagans tend to see ritual (which is often equally termed ‘doing magic’) as something to experience for its own sake, to stay within, while ceremonial magicians seek results from the ritual"

toyin



On 30 January 2010 04:06, Caroline Tully <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Well, I didn’t really “say” anything much there, it was really Francis. I suppose there is disagreement on what “magic” is. I think it is a technology which one uses – or attempts to use – to cause a result, a means, not an end in itself, rather than something one would spend time “within”, as in a reverie – unless that was the result you were seeking? I suppose one can enjoy/experience/notice the process while it is occurring/being done, but I see it as a method to get from one place to another, rather than as something to stay within. Granted, I haven’t read Susan’s book either, yet. Nor am I an anthropologist or religious studies or esotericism scholar, I’m a Neo-Pagan/Ceremonial Magic practitioner who is doing a PhD in archaeology. My idea(s) about magic come from my non-academic study of magic as a practitioner and from observing other practitioners. It seems to me though, from observation, that Neo-Pagans might like to spend more time ‘within’ a magic situation, than might ceremonial magicians, that neo-Pagans tend to see ritual (which is often equally termed ‘doing magic’) as something to experience for its own sake, to stay within, while ceremonial magicians seek results from the ritual. But that’ just my observation.

 

~Caroline Tully.

 

From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of BJ Duncan
Sent: Saturday, 30 January 2010 9:56 AM


To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] The Anthropology of Magic (2009), reviewed

 

well said....



----- Original Message -----
From: "Caroline Tully" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 1:53:39 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: Re: [ACADEMIC-STUDY-MAGIC] The Anthropology of Magic (2009), reviewed


I agree with Francis on this:

“Magic is not ‘an aspect’ of anything. Magic is a process, a skill which can be exercised. And while it may be true that this skill is exercised in a state of alternative consciousness, that does not mean that the skill and the consciousness are one and the same.”

 

~Caroline Tully.