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Law Of Contagion
The law of contagion is a superstitious folk belief that suggests that once two people or objects have been in contact, a magical link persists between them unless or until a formal cleansing, consecration, exorcism, or other act of banishing breaks the non-material bond. The first description of the law of contagion appeared in '' The Golden Bough'' by James George Frazer. Bonewits and Bonewits have claimed parallels in quantum physics. Benefits and dangers According to this law, contagion has both dangers and benefits. Benefits, for example, include that the holiness of a saint, god or other venerated figure confers benefits to relics, as do temples and churches, by virtue of their having religious rituals conducted within them. Psychics and mediums commonly utilize an object once owned by a missing or deceased subject as their "focus" for psychometry or clairvoyance or during séances. Dangers include, for example, a sorcerer or witch might acquire a lock of hair, nail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ritual Purification
Ritual purification is the ritual prescribed by a religion by which a person is considered to be free of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification may also apply to objects and places. Ritual uncleanliness is not identical with ordinary physical impurity, such as dirt stains; nevertheless, body fluids are generally considered ritually unclean. Most of these rituals existed long before the germ theory of disease, and figure prominently from the earliest known religious systems of the Ancient Near East. Some writers connect the rituals to taboos. Some have seen benefits of these practices as a point of health and preventing infections especially in areas where humans come in close contact with each other. While these practices came before the idea of the germ theory was public in areas that use daily cleaning, the destruction of infectious agents seems to be dramatic. Others have descri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychometry (paranormal)
Psychometry (from Greek: ψυχή, ''psukhē'', "spirit, soul" and μέτρον, ''metron'', "measure"), also known as token-object reading,Psychometry – Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association (2006-12-17) or psychoscopy, is a form of characterized by the claimed ability to make relevant associations from an object of unknown history by making physical contact with that object. Zusne, Leonard; Jones, Warren H. (1989). ''Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking''. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. pp. 193–194. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
True Name
A true name is a name of a thing or being that expresses, or is somehow identical to, its true nature. The notion that language, or some specific sacred language, refers to things by their true names has been central to philosophical study as well as various traditions of magic, religious invocation and mysticism (mantras) since antiquity. Philosophical and religious contexts The true name of the Egyptian sun god Ra was revealed to Isis through an elaborate trick. This gave Isis complete power over Ra and allowed her to put her son Horus on the throne. Socrates in Plato's ''Cratylus'' considers, without taking a position, the possibility whether names are "conventional" or "natural", natural being the "True name" ( ῇ ἀληθείᾳ ὄνομα, that is, whether language is a system of arbitrary signs or whether words have an intrinsic relation to the things they signify (this anti-conventionalist position is called Cratylism). Hellenistic Judaism emphasized the divine nat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the word'' totem itself is an anglicisation of the Ojibwe term (and both the word and beliefs associated with it are part of the Ojibwe language and culture), belief in tutelary spirits and deities is not limited to the Ojibwe people. Similar concepts, under differing names and with variations in beliefs and practices, may be found in a number of cultures worldwide. The term has also been adopted, and at times redefined, by anthropologists and philosophers of different cultures. Contemporary neoshamanic, New Age, and mythopoetic men's movements not otherwise involved in the practice of a traditional, tribal religion have been known to use "totem" terminology for the personal identification with a tutelary spirit or spirit guide. However, this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sympathetic Magic
Sympathetic magic, also known as imitative magic, is a type of magic based on imitation or correspondence. Similarity and contagion James George Frazer coined the term "sympathetic magic" in '' The Golden Bough'' (1889); Richard Andree, however, anticipated Frazer, writing of sympathy-enchantment ( de , Sympathie-Zauber) in his 1878 ''Ethnographische Parallelen und Vergleiche''. Frazer subcategorised sympathetic magic into two varieties: that relying on similarity, and that relying on contact or "contagion": Imitation Imitation involves using effigies, fetishes or poppets to affect the environment of people, or people themselves. Voodoo dolls are an example of fetishes used in this way: the practitioner uses a lock of hair on the doll to create a link (also known as a "taglock") between the doll and the donor of this lock of hair. In this way, that which happens to the doll will also happen to the person. Correspondence Correspondence is based on the idea that one can influ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychometry (paranormal)
Psychometry (from Greek: ψυχή, ''psukhē'', "spirit, soul" and μέτρον, ''metron'', "measure"), also known as token-object reading,Psychometry – Key Words Frequently Used in Parapsychology, Parapsychological Association (2006-12-17) or psychoscopy, is a form of characterized by the claimed ability to make relevant associations from an object of unknown history by making physical contact with that object. Zusne, Leonard; Jones, Warren H. (1989). ''Anomalistic Psychology: A Study of Magical Thinking''. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. pp. 193–194. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serial Killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three murders, others extend it to four or lessen it to two. Psychological gratification is the usual motive for serial killing, and many serial murders involve sexual contact with the victim. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that the motives of serial killers can include anger, thrill-seeking, financial gain, and attention seeking, and killings may be executed as such. The victims may have something in common; for example, demographic profile, appearance, gender or race. Often the FBI will focus on a particular pattern serial killers follow. Based on this pattern, this will give key clues into finding the killer along with their motives. Although a serial killer is a distinct classification that differs from that of a mass mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Experimental Psychology
Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, including (among others) sensation & perception, memory, cognition, learning, motivation, emotion; developmental processes, social psychology, and the neural substrates of all of these. History Early experimental psychology Wilhelm Wundt Experimental psychology emerged as a modern academic discipline in the 19th century when Wilhelm Wundt introduced a mathematical and experimental approach to the field. Wundt founded the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany. Other experimental psychologists, including Hermann Ebbinghaus and Edward Titchener, included introspection in their experimental methods. Charles Bell Charles Bell was a British physiologist whose main contribution to the medical and scientific c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voodoo Doll
The term Voodoo doll commonly describes an effigy into which pins are inserted. Such practices are found in various forms in the magical traditions of many cultures around the world. Despite its name, the dolls are not prominent in Haitian Vodou and not used in Louisiana Voodoo. The practise has been denounced and declared irrelevant to Voodoo religion by those in High Priesthood of Louisiana Voodoo. Depictions in Culture 20th-century link with Forces The link between this magical practice and Voodoo was established through the presentation of the latter in Western popular culture, enduring the first half of the 20th century. In this, the myth of this magical practice being closely linked to Voodoo and Vodou was promoted as part of the wider negative depictions of blacks and Afro-Caribbean religious practices in the United States. In John Houston Craige's 1933 book ''Black Bagdad: The Arabian Nights Adventures of a Marine Captain in Haiti'', he described a Haitian prisoner st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curse
A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, "curse" may refer to such a wish or pronouncement made effective by a supernatural or spiritual power, such as a god or gods, a spirit, or a natural force, or else as a kind of spell by magic (usually black magic) or witchcraft; in the latter sense, a curse can also be called a hex or a jinx. In many belief systems, the curse itself (or accompanying ritual) is considered to have some causative force in the result. To reverse or eliminate a curse is sometimes called "removal" or "breaking", as the spell has to be dispelled, and often requires elaborate rituals or prayers. Types The study of the forms of curses comprises a significant proportion of the study of both folk religion and folklore. The deliberate attempt to levy curses is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nail Clipper
A nail clipper (also called nail clippers, a nail trimmer, a nail cutter or nipper type) is a hand tool used to trim fingernails, toenails and hangnails. Design Nail clippers are usually made of stainless steel but can also be made of plastic and aluminum. Two common varieties are the plier type and the compound lever type. Many nail clippers usually come with a miniature file fixed to it to allow rough edges of nails to be manicured. Nail clippers occasionally come with a nail catcher. The nail clipper consists of a head that may be concave or convex. Specialized nail clippers which have convex clipping ends are intended for trimming toenails, while concave clipping ends are for fingernails. The cutting head may be manufactured to be parallel or perpendicular to the principal axis of the cutter. Cutting heads that are parallel to the principal axis are made to address accessibility issues involved with cutting toenails. History Before the invention of the modern nail clippe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have used malevolent magic against their own community, and often to have communed with evil beings. It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by protective magic or counter-magic, which could be provided by cunning folk or folk healers. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. In some regions, many of those accused of witchcraft were folk healers or midwives. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment. Contemporary cultures that believe in magic and the superna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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