What Science And Witches Have To Say About Whether Magic Is 'Real'
There's an age-old question about the validity of magic.
T.Den_Team / Shutterstock Ask any witch who casts spells and you will be told that not only is magic genuine, but it's inside of everyone who wants to try witchcraft.
Everyone has felt magic in their life. Magic is the energy you can’t explain. Magic creates an increase in your heart rate. When you experience unfathomable excitement and power, it's real... and it's also magic.
Is magic real?
While some may not believe it to be true, magic, also known as "magick," is, in fact, real. When magic is defined as a noun, it is described as supernatural powers to predict or influence events.
People who possess magic may feel it when they are young, playing with their imaginary friends and exploring a world it seemed grown-ups no longer were able to see. Others feel it as an adult when they find the ability to create life through art and science.
Magic is always around us, yet not many are aware of the unexplained pulls they feel.
For so long, the world has viewed magic as nothing more than a sleight of hand or dismissed it as something unstable women perform. There are so many cheap and negative connotations with the word that it’s been erased as a tangible thing.
But what would magic look like in our world? It would be about the same as it always has!
Magic has been around you since you were born and has been prevalent since the dawn of time. Magic may not look as you have been taught to view it.
We don’t see witches across the sky on their broomsticks, hexing children so they can devour them and obtain their youth and beauty. Witches don’t look like the Sanderson sisters, awakening curses of Salem and plaguing the people.
In actuality, modern-day witches can be found scrolling through the internet and talking to covens via chat room instead of secret meetings in the woods. (Don’t get me wrong, wooded coven meet-ups are still a thing!) Witches are collectors of crystals, masters of meditation, and harbingers of change.
What we are finding as we dive deeper into witchcraft is there is no true definition of what magic is; it is unique to the individual practitioners and holds a different meaning to all those who practice.
Magic is real because it is a way to create change in your life. It is a useful resource to heal from old wounds and to manifest the life you desire.
By pouring yourself into a spell, creating a ritual for yourself, you are changing your energy and intentions. You are creating another reality where you can achieve all you know you can, without anyone else telling you otherwise.
Spell work is a way to demand the difference you wish to see in your world without waiting for things to happen.
To me, I have always viewed magic as something that lives within me, that I can feel around the world, and uncover in others. I believe everyone and everything possesses its own magical essence, whether or not you are in tune with this energy.
Just like we aren’t hyper-focused on the organs and matter that we are composed of, we don’t always recognize the magic within our souls. So, I would encourage you to look inward on unexplained luck that you’ve had in your life.
Recall the spark of the first time your lips met the lips of someone you love. Think about the spark in a child’s eyes. These are all little magical moments.
Is witchcraft real?
Witches practice magic in many different ways. There’s the most commonly thought of, which is spell work. There are healing practices, magic in dance ceremonies, use of divination like tarot, and scrying spheres.
It can be channeled through many forms; it is up to the discretion of the user and typically advised that you choose what speaks to you the most.
Magic and witchcraft are both real because it's about surrendering into what your gut is tugging you to follow.
Much like anything people wish to master, it takes practice to keep up with your magical energy. Coming into a daily routine, incorporating your forms of practice, can create a stronger connection with the divine.
What does science say about whether or not magic is real?
When people think of magic, they may assume that science led to the end of witchcraft; in fact, the opposite is true. Modern science resulted in more curiosity about magic and belief, though studies have yet to concretely determine the legitimacy of magic.
According to John Beckett, author and former Vice President of CUUPS Continental (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans), attempts to prove the reality of magic were “denied, ridiculed, and suppressed” because “the whole idea of magic is heresy to institutional science.”
Beckett cites Dean Radin, PhD’s book, “Real Magic: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Science, and a Guide to the Secret Power of the Universe,” as evidence that magic is, in fact, real and must exist.
In one chapter of Radin’s book, one of the experiments performed included giving people in a double-blind study chocolate that may or may not have been blessed by Buddhist monks. Results found that those who ate the “blessed” chocolate had significantly improved moods.
Another experiment had 12 mediums decide whether a person was alive or deceased based on a photograph, which determined the mediums had 53.% percent accuracy; here, the “odds against chance” were 250 to 1.
So what does this mean? While there is certainly a long way to go to prove in the scientific community that magic is real, there’s no doubt that there are things we cannot simply explain away using logic.
Is magic good or bad?
While outdated notions about witches and magic are associated with evil or curses, magic isn't good or bad; it's simply a tool. It's also about the intention put into the magic.
For example, if someone is using magic to harm someone, that individual is in a dark place; however, that doesn't mean the tool of magic itself is bad. And that person who inflicted pain using magic might expect spiritual blowback.
Can anyone practice magic?
Real magic is not exclusive to witches; anyone can experience this energy! The term is not exclusive to those who practice, as this energy belongs to everything in the universe and not just one.
People are welcome to explore it, and if it doesn’t end up resonating or feeling right, it is their choice to find a different path.
Real magic is meant to be uncovered and examined, played with, and experienced. It is the tool everyone has access to and the superpower lying dormant in us all.
For myself, I like to practice rituals using tarot and a scrying mirror. At times, I have incorporated pendulums and Reiki as well, as I find these are highly energetic tools to connect with this influence.
I pray, but it is not required for those who find it uncomfortable to surrender power to anyone other than themselves. I have scheduled spell work that I perform monthly, but I try not to rely strictly on spell work so as to not tarnish my potency.
This is just one of the endless ways a witch could practice magic.
Tea Jones is a tarotist, psychic, and certified Level III Reiki Master Practitioner who writes about spirituality, witchcraft, tarot, and divination.