The art that purports to control or forecast natural events, effects, or forces by invoking the supernatural.
Throughout the course of time, human perception of magic and those who practice it has changed significantly. The first form of magic, as i would believe it, belonged to those who had powers of healing, elders, ritualists and medicine men, those who used them to cure ailments and sicknesses. These were the men who sang chants and blessed warrior for the oncoming battle. This small community of men who knew their ways with herbs and the art of rejuvenation, were revered and respected and sat near the head of a tribe's hierarchy. At first, they were sought out as healers. But soon, their influence grew to more than just bandages and potions, people started seeking them for advice, whether it be economical or political. They grew to become, the spearhead of a village.
The institution of man changed with the arrival of religion. Nations began to form, but not let by the previous elders and healers, but men of god. Concordantly with the rise of religion, ironically, science grew as well. Though, much of it's ideology in current days are contradictory, at that period of time, the pursuit of science was backed up by religion, as science was knowledge, and knowledge was gold. Soon, practitioners of the old arts of healing became ostracized, rejected by society, for their use of unexplainable methods healing with chanting and spirit channeling. If science could not explain what they did and how they did it, it must be the work of the devil. So, a sad end came to those which were once so very much exalted in society. They were labeled as witches, witchdoctors, their art, tagged as voodoo and black magic. Only one end would come of this, they were all rallied and burned at the stakes, with no proper trail.
"People fear what they do not know".
Speed forward a few hundred years to March 24, 1874, to the birth of one of the world's most known magician/illusionist/escape artist, the great, the mystical, the magical, the bedazzling, jaw dropping, the most wow inducing magician(debatable) who walked this earth, Harry Houdini. Yet again, as the earlier portion of my post suggests, the perception of society towards magic changes throughout time. Now, the idea of a magician was not of one who could heal your sickness, or read ancient manuals of blessings. Nay, they are now the entertainers of people, as much as opera and orchestra, they grew into a part of society. It became a weekly event which gathered the masses into one large auditorium, to witness before their eyes, the impossible made possible. Production, Vanishing, Transformation, Restoration, Teleportation, Escapology, Levitation, Penetration, Prediction. With this newly created niche in society, magicians were now able to find a way to earn a living of their craft. There was no fear of imprisonment or punishment for practicing it. It no longer came to be a taboo. And that was when, the stature of magicians were yet again reclaimed.
Please leave your feedback, if you liked it, if you hated it, if you felt like gorging your eyes out =)
I accept all comments with open arms.
No comments:
Post a Comment