If you believe in the power of magic, you are not alone. Throughout history, humans have been captivated by the idea that there is a mystical force at work in the world, capable of bending reality and defying the laws of nature. Magic, in its various forms, has been a part of cultures all over the world. From ancient civilizations to modern societies, people have turned to magic for different reasons. Some seek it for entertainment and escapism, while others view it as a source of spiritual connection and empowerment. Believers in magic often see it as a way to access hidden knowledge and unlock the potential within themselves.

Do you believe in magic?

I’m not sure exactly when or where I learned it. Was it overt, clearly stated in some book or class? Or did I more intuit it, sniff it out?

Magic is a bad theological term. Avoid it whenever possible.

I suspect this has to do with our Reformational roots. Magic was associated with the dark arts, the occult, paganism. And maybe just as much, it brought to mind hocus pocus, Catholic sacramentalism. Besides, we are humanists, learned people, gatherers of knowledge. None of this “eye-of-newt”* stuff for us.

Increasingly, however, I am drawn to the term magic.

I want to believe in magic. In our current context, I notice that “magical” is a favored, sacred adjective. Is that the power of Disney? Friends return from a European riverboat cruise and describe it as magical. A ceremony honoring an injured veteran or a retiring teacher. A dog reunited with its owner. A descant in the closing hymn of worship.

Magical! All of it. Joy, beauty, thrill, power, amazement. Something ineffable. Something apparently unquantifiable. Something holy, or nigh unto it.

We might conjecture that our attraction to magic is pushback on our coldly technological world. Magic consoles us, telling us that there are things beyond measure and analysis. With AI, for example, we want to hold on to the idea there is something essentially, mysteriously human that no computer will ever be able to learn. But we fear that perhaps we are simply neural networks all the way down. Can baseball be fully understood with sabermetrics or are there intangibles and magic X factors?

Is magic just a fizzier, funner (yes, I know that’s not a recognized word, but I’m on a campaign to make it one) term for what we used to call “god of the gaps”? It covers those inexplicable gaps until science is able to explain them?

+ + Magical Thinkers + +

In all honesty, it was writers and names who appear with some frequency here on the Reformed Journal that caused me to ponder magic and notice how I use and live the term.

In Tom Boogaart’s writings, I often hear him lamenting that we now live in a disenchanted universe — desecrated by our own doing. Glory, the holy, God — each has been deemed ancillary or unnecessary. Of course this has major repercussions for the way we live with and care for non-human creation. But the implications go much beyond that.

Interestingly, if I’m hearing Tom, he lays this disenchantment less at the feet of science and more at our barren understanding of the sacraments. How can we live in an enchanted world where God’s glory is among us if there is nothing enchanting in our sacraments? (As Daniel Meeter has observed, for modern, American Protestants miracles can happen everywhere except in church. “Uncle Lou’s leg grew longer. I found my car keys. My neighbor beat cancer.” But, the Lord’s Supper is merely a memorial, an object lesson!)

Then recently Jason Lief brought Jacques Ellul into the conversation on The Reformational, Jason’s substack newsletter. If I’m reading Ellul-through-Lief accurately, our world hasn’t been demythologized at all. The intensity of our conflicts and the vehemence of our rhetoric display that we are fighting about “holy” things, no matter how “secular” the issue might appear. All of our wars are still “wars of religion.”

For Ellul, then, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of freedom from all these religions — an iconoclastic smashing of the idols that claim to be magical. As followers of Jesus, we don’t have to win the latest wars of religion, but instead trust that Jesus has already undone all the empty magic of the world.

Boogaart, and many others, want to bring back magic — or at least re-sacralize the world. Ellul and friends say that Christ has released us from all the false magic around us. I’m not convinced they’re as much at odds as it might appear. Is Ellul possibly calling upon us to trust in Narnia’s deep magic? I don’t know.

+ + Magical Thinking + +

Still, I am thinking about magic — and noticing the magic I live with and hope for.

1. A few summers ago, we encouraged the children in our congregation to look for the “Green Man”** and even had a reproduction gargoyle. Some people worried we were preaching paganism. Our aim wasn’t to bring back pixies and sprites, but instead to cause the kids to watch for and enjoy the wonder of creation.

2. Like Abraham, I sometimes bargain with God in my prayers. On the news I’ll hear that food and supplies for 20,000 are headed to some crisis where 50,000 are in dire need. I’ll pray, “God, what if those supplies stretched to aid 40,000? Who’d be the wiser? Seems like you’ve done this sort of work before. Well, okay, how about at least 30,000?” Or I’ll pray, “God, what if all the bullets manufactured today would have an undetected defect that would cause them to miss their target? Or if all the missiles launched today would be duds? Okay, what if you’d make only 25% defective or duds? I’ll even take five percent!” Does it work? I don’t know, but sometimes I still pray like that.

3. I’m relatively convinced that partaking of the Lord’s Supper actually makes me a better person. A long term study has proven difficult. But short term, its impact appears to last until about Tuesday afternoon, sometimes even into Wednesday.

4. I’ve written about how I wonder if the large stone or metal crosses found in the town square of almost every French village aren’t merely cultural artifacts from days gone by, but somehow silently radiate the love of God. The teeny sign of the cross I discreetly thumb on my grandchildren’s foreheads at farewells. The minister’s raised hands at the benediction. All of these things “do something.”

Do I truly believe this?

Yes, kind of, more or less, depending on the day. It’s magical thinking, no doubt. I’m not claiming it proves anything or could ever be proven. But to disprove it is difficult, too. I’m simply saying I want to believe in magic.

* I was today years old when I learned that “eye of newt” is not a bodily part of an amphibian, but another name for mustard seed. So perhaps Christians do go in for eye of newt.

** It’s only conjecture, possibly even magical thinking, but was King Charles III inspired by our children’s times in worship to adorn the bottom of his coronation invitations with the Green Man. We’ll never know for sure.

The Power of Magic

Magic has always been part of the human story: Magic is part of the rituals of shamans; the ancient Egyptian priesthood; Moses worked magic before Pharaoh’s court; magic is weaved into to the cosmic chess game of Greek mythology. Magic reconnects us to the experience of wonder.

Magic is a part of everyday life; we just miss it because we have our blinders on. As we age, we start to label things, build boxes for every idea, and ultimately we lose that sense of wonder. The laws and categories we develop determine what we can think: we are enclosed. But when something amazes us, and we see magic, we recover the original state of bliss.

Believers in magic often see it as a way to access hidden knowledge and unlock the potential within themselves. They believe that by tapping into this supernatural power, they can shape their own destiny and influence the world around them. Whether through spells, rituals, or charms, these individuals find solace, hope, and a sense of control in their magical practices.

What is magic?

“Magic is a way of living, ” wrote Carl Jung.

Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung explored magic via his inner work, what he called active imagination. This process allowed Jung to connect with his unconscious and observe the wisdom of the body in the form of natural images. In the Red Book, Jung wrote two essays on magic. The first was “The Gift of Magic.” In it, he enters into a dialogue with his soul:

Jung: “What should I do with magic?”

Soul: “Magic will do a lot for you.”

In the second essay “The Magician,” his inner search brings him to the doors of the Self.

Jung writes, “After a long search I found the small house in the country fronted by a large bed of tulips. This is where Philemon, the magician, lives with his wife, Baucis.”

Jung: “Philemon, old magician, how are you?”

Philemon: “My boy, you have learned something about magic?”

Jung: “I must admit that this is somewhat surprising. I had imagined magic as being somewhat different.”

Philemon: “Well, this shows you how little you understand about magic and how incorrect your notion of it is.”

Jung’s exploration of magic continues as he reflects on the difficulty to understand magic. Jung writes, “One cannot understand magic. One can only understand what accords with reason. Magic accords with unreason…everything that works magically is incomprehensible, and the incomprehensible often works magically.”

Defining “magic” is impossible because magic exists in the now; it elicits wonder and brings us to the experience of bliss.

The word “magic” points to all-ness. “As above, so below” could be called one of the oldest magic concepts. It hints at the idea that the universe is in sympathy with everything else. That all things, by the mere fact of their belonging to the same system, are one.

When technology gets closer to magic or the experience of wonder, that’s when we know we are looking at something that will transform us. As Arthur C. Clarke famously wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Magic hints at the quantum potential of things. A wave of possibility.

Alan Moore, comic book writer and magician, says, “ I believe that magic is art and that art, whether that be music, writing, sculpture, or any other form, is magic. Art is, like magic, the science of manipulating symbols, words or images, to achieve changes in consciousness…Indeed to cast a spell is simply to spell, to manipulate words, to change people’s consciousness, and this is why I believe that an artist or writer is the closest thing in the contemporary world to a shaman.”

Magic is not confined to a single tradition or belief system. It encompasses a wide range of practices, including witchcraft, shamanism, divination, and alchemy, among others. Each of these practices offers its own unique approach to harnessing the power of magic. Skeptics may dismiss magic as nothing more than superstition or make-believe. They argue that there is no scientific evidence to support its claims and that it is merely a product of human imagination. Yet, for those who believe, magic is a deeply personal and transformative experience. The power of magic lies in its ability to inspire wonder, challenge the status quo, and bridge the gap between the seen and the unseen. It encourages us to question our assumptions and explore the mysteries of the universe. Magic speaks to our innate desire for something beyond the mundane, something that transcends the limitations of the everyday world. Whether magic is real or not is ultimately a question of personal belief. For some, it is a way of life, a guiding force that helps them navigate the complexities of existence. For others, it is simply a source of enchantment and fascination. Regardless of where one falls on the spectrum, the power of magic lies in its enduring ability to capture our imagination and remind us that there is still much we do not yet understand..

Reviews for "The Magic of the Natural World: How Belief in a Higher Power Shapes our Relationship with Nature"

1. John - 2/5 - While the concept of "If you believe in the power of magic" seemed promising, I was ultimately disappointed with this book. The plot was confusing and lacked depth, leaving me feeling disconnected from the story. Additionally, the characters were poorly developed and their motives were unclear. Overall, I found the writing to be underwhelming and was hoping for a more engaging read.

2. Sarah - 1/5 - I was extremely let down by "If you believe in the power of magic." The storyline was predictable and unoriginal, offering nothing new or exciting to the genre. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the characters. Furthermore, the pacing was inconsistent, dragging in some parts and rushing through others. I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating and well-crafted magical story.

3. Mark - 2/5 - "If you believe in the power of magic" lacked the spark and enchantment I was hoping for. The writing was mediocre, with clichéd phrases and repetitive descriptions. The plot felt disjointed and meandering, making it hard to stay engaged. Additionally, the world-building was weak, leaving me wanting more details and clarity. Overall, I was disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to fans of the fantasy genre.

Unleashing the Power of Magic: How Belief Can Ignite Personal Transformation