﻿Is magic a superstition though? What’s the difference – if any - between a superstitious
and a magical endeavour? Let’s see…
[Music]
Hello everyone, I’m Angela and welcome back to my channel!
Your online resource for the Academic Study of
Magic and Magic-practising religions and traditions.
First off, allow me to thank everyone who has generously donated to my crowdfunding campaign.
I’m happy to say we’re halfway through our target and I’d really appreciate it if you’d consider
helping me get there. Once I get enough funds to get my new laptop, I’ll make a special video
to thank you, giving a shout-out to all of my donors! Now let’s move on to the topic, shall we?
Today, I’ll be discussing with you the matter of superstition and Magic. Is Witchcraft a
form of superstition? Is there any difference between the two? In order to analyse the matter,
I’m going to contextualise it by utilising data from my doctoral field research with the Italian
Folk Witchcraft, which I systematised as The Tradition of Segnature. This may also apply
to other forms of Witchcraft in other countries and cultural contexts and I encourage you to let
me know in comments if that’s the case and what are your experiences and thoughts on the matter.
As discussed at length in a previous video, the practices associated with the Tradition of
Segnature are quite popular and, although those who seek help from
vernacular witches may or may not admit it publicly, the large majority of Italians
are aware of their presence on the peninsula. There is still a stigma associated with these
practices, which retain a degree of secrecy and are deeply known only among those who belong
to the related communities. This stigma is due to the contrast with the dominant religious system
as well as the idea that such practices are a form of superstition. My work on the field
uncovered this recurring idea when asking non-practitioners and people opposed to such
practices whether they knew anything about vernacular Witches in their area. ‘It’s just
a superstition!’ (è solo una superstizione), many have replied, surprised I was even
interested in studying such a phenomenon. This led me to wonder how can superstition
be positioned in relation to witchcraft and whether the two show similarities or not.
According to Ernst Riess, the Latin term superstitio sees its precursor in the Greek
δεισιδαιμονία, which literally means ‘fear of demons’. Although at first, it designated a devout
worshipper of the Gods, it acquired the meaning we associate today with ‘superstition’ around the
end of the fifth and the beginning of the fourth century before the common era when Menander used
the term with this connotation in one of his comedies called Δεισιδαίμων and translated
as ‘The Superstitious Man’. As for the Latin noun superstitio, it first appears in Cicero, while its
related adjective superstitiosus sees an earlier appearance in literature through the works by
Plautus to refer to a man with prophetic powers. Later, superstitio became used by the Romans to
designate any foreign religion, such as the Jewish and Christian faiths (Riess, 1895, pp. 40–41).
In contemporary Italy there are two main meanings popularly attributed to the term superstition,
one is a semantic signifier while the other is a justification. Superstition can mean
an irrational fear, not associated to imminent tangible threats, which result in performing
acts and gestures associated and believed to ward off misfortune or propitiate luck.
Another popular use of the term among Italians is the one I will define as a justification
of activities which do not fit into the dominant rationalistic paradigm.
In such a case, a person may show an interest in horoscopes, get a Tarot reading or seek help from
a Witch and still avoid public scorn by declaring ‘It’s just a superstition!’ to imply that it is a
game really, rather than something the person endorses as part of their belief system.
This is connected to another idea, that is pretty common amongst Italians, which is
that of Non è vero ma ci credo translatable as ‘It’s not true but I believe in it,’ which is
a common answer Italians would give when asked how come they engage in practices of this sort.
According to field data derived from interviews and discussions with and among my informants,
superstition and belief are two different things. While Superstition is seen as a passive abiding
by external conventions, irrationally associated with avoiding threats or attracting luck, belief
is instead an active stance the person takes, which can be challenged and reshaped through
personal experience and even lead to further investigate a person’s understanding of the world.
So, the three main themes underlying the conceptualisation of superstition
are; fear, ignorance, and passive conviction or behaviour.
When such elements are put in relation to
the magical practice, they are deemed incompatible with it for Witchcraft is led by active beliefs
based on experience and maybe hence subject to being reshaped accordingly.
Also, Witchcraft is employed to dispel fear and threats through active empowerment,
rather than by being overpowered by them and reiterate automatic gestures and rites mindlessly.
On this note, in Italian Folk Magic, superstizione is being used as a way to distinguish between
an authentic magical act - based on a genuinely orally transmitted tradition - and a groundless
conviction which is believed to be both false and alien to what the Tradition of Segnature
encompasses. It is very common within these communities, as my field data confirms,
for someone to ask a Healer or a Witch whether an act or a gesture, they have heard of, falls under
the realm of the Segnature. For instance, they often inquire about popularly known superstitions
such as whether it is true that the four-leaf clover brings luck or that a black cat crossing
your way leads to misfortune. To such questions the answer is usually, ‘That’s
only a superstition, an ignorant/false conviction. It’s not a Segnatura’!
For the Italian vernacular Witches, superstition becomes then an evaluating trope, a way of
delineating the boundaries of what is versus what is not a Segnatura. This appears especially useful
within the realm of Folk Magic, which is strongly linked to the cultural framework and the folklore
of the local area, easily mistakable as superstitions unless the healer highlights
the difference between the two. And a difference is indeed there, as Witchcraft is deemed as an
active and empowering practice to better the life of those within the community. These vernacular
practices are not mindless customary acts but traditional rites guided by a ‘power’ that is
believed to have passed down through generations aided by the help of spirits and deities.
To sum it up, superstition can be defined as a passive compliance to automatic gestures led by
fear and ‘ignorance’, to quote my informants. It’s an instrument to dispel the fear of the unknown
and bad luck through unquestioned yet apotropaic acts. Since it cannot be seen as an actively
endorsed idea, it’s not subject to being shaped upon individual beliefs nor is it linked
to working with spirits or deities. Its very nature, devoid of a strong commitment to belief,
allows superstition to be also used as a justification for people interested in Astrology,
Tarot cards - and other such activities - who don’t want their ‘rationality’ to be challenged.
On the other hand, Witchcraft is an active and empowering activity, which upholds a belief system
purposely endorsed by its practitioners. Even when its practices are passed down from generations,
they bear a theoretical-spiritual-religious framework which can be reshaped and adapted
by new generations in accordance with their belief system as well as their current times.
Before wrapping this video up, allow me to publicly welcome to the Inner Symposium
my new Patrons; Chance Dixon,
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