MAGIC + SPELL = ?

What we believe in is a reflection of social processes; so is what we consider rational or irrational. Believing in the unqualified ability of economics and technology to solve all problems is linked to rational systems having been mythologized and exaggerated. In turn, what is irrational, such as high-risk speculation or herd behavior1
in financial markets, is denied. Believing in technology and optimization results in philosophies such as trans-humanism, which are aimed not only at joining human beings and technology,
but also at adapting human beings to algorithmic
systems through quantification. But parallel to
the mythologizing of rational systems, there has
been a boom in fantasy novels, science fiction,
stories about monsters, vampires and ghosts. In
an increasingly complex world, characters who
represent the mysterious seem to be thriving.
The irrational and the rational run parallel to one
another and they intersect, with the relationship
between the two constantly under discussion, a
discussion being modified by the minute.

REASON AS LIBERATION AND POWER

During the Enlightenment (1650–1800), reason as
a universal source of judgment was the means of
emancipation, the key to becoming free of absolutist regimes and the Christian-Catholic system of rule. Reason, education and the development of science formed the basis of technical, cultural and political progress; this basis justified the concept of free citizens independently determining their own lives. Reason was the instrument for emancipating oneself from prevailing powers.
Just as human beings replaced God as the center
of the universe during the Renaissance (15th and
16th centuries), during the Enlightenment and
the French Revolution, the absolutist model of
power as a God-given right was unseated. Reason, science and the idea of universalism formed
the foundation for a better, self-determined life.
But the modernity based on these ideas has also
resulted in oppressive regimes being established
in the name of progress. The failure of the principles of the Enlightenment under the Nazi regime was examined by the Frankfurt School (Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno) in the work Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944). According to the authors, the once mythical attitude toward the world was made rational by attempts to control nature, but the Enlightenment itself returns to the realm of myth if it emerges in the form of supremacy (instrumental reason). Instead of freeing us from dependency or the constraints of nature, reason has been instrumentalized as a means of power by forcing us to adapt to economics and technology. It no longer has to do with rational acts of the individual, but with
manipulation in the name of rationality, or how new myths arise.
Mythologizing economic and technical progress
has been used – and will continue to be used – to legitimize, among other things, violence and
financial gain. Post-humanist research based on post-colonial and gender minority theories is being undertaken to discover the consequences of cultures of dominance in their various forms of oppression and exploitation, ofZnt, as well as of standardization. What is criticized above all are the opposing pairs nature/culture, subject/
object, human/animal, human/technology, etc.,
which are seen as polarizing and thus as classifying and circumscribing the «other.» 

HYBRID BEINGS

In contrast, advocates of speculative realism assume that a reality exists without reference to human thought – a «being» that is simply so, without cause (Quentin Meillassoux). Here, reality is not dependent on human thought,
consciousness or discourse; people are no longer
the focal point, but are actors in one of many
possible realities. Objects, animals and technology are given at least the opportunity, if not the
agency of efficacy. This is also related to ideas
close to animism. For example, in Rosi Braidotti's
concept of post-humanism, the word zoe (meaning, in ancient Greek, life in a vegetative sense)
plays a decisive role. Braidotti understands this
as the dynamic, self-organizing structure of life.
Here, zoe refers to the capability and tendency
of living matter to form new assemblages by
combining with other living systems, even with
non-anthropocentric elements. Braidotti ties this
to her concept of «nomadic subjectivity,» which
has to do with a non-unified subjectivity and
its relationality. In post-humanism, contrastive
pairs such as human and animal are annulled; as
a means for eliminating the «other,» equality is
claimed for all living beings and their potential
joined forms.»2
The hybrid beings currently popping up everywhere in "lm and literature reflect this disapproval of the concept of the «other.» Cyborgs
internalize the other in the form of technology,
connecting humans and technology and making
technology their own. Featured in this year's
Oscar-winning "lm The Shape of Water, a love
story set in the Cold War, is a hybrid creature –
half fish, half man. The healing/psychic creature
from the Amazon is being held in a military lab,
maltreated as a research object, with both superpowers wanting to use or kill it for their own
purposes. Due to being its being defined as «other,» the hybrid being is degraded to an object of
exploitation that can be killed at any time – the
creature's only value is its possible strategic role.
The hero of the Japanese anime series GeGeGe
no Kitarō also advocates abolishing the dichotomy between the human world and that of spirits.
Himself half human and half spirit, he fights for
the joining or reconciliation of people and ghosts.
If the irrational and the rational become equal,
possibilities arise for non-hierarchical relations or
new value systems. This sounds good at first, but
it also contains the potential problem of the two
no longer being distinguishable from one another,
or of one pretending to be the other.

MYTHS AND LEGENDS

The reason there are so many characters and
stories representing mysterious things is to
provide fictitious patterns for explaining the
inexplicable. Fairy tales, sagas, legends, myths,
etc. are examples of how fictive narratives or
imaginative figures offer explanations, meaning,
identity, community, etc. Through the repetition
of narratives, individuals/heroes/stars or natural
phenomena are embellished, collective events are
fictionalized, crimes are covered up, narratives
of power and ideologies are formed, etc. In addition to the myths and legends rooted in the past,
there are myths of the present (the American
Dream, conspiracy theories, fake news, etc.) and
those of the future (science fiction).
But how do myths and logical reason relate to
each other and what does this have to do with
belief systems? How are the cards defining this
relationship currently being reshuffled?
Through their narratives, myths create fictional
knowledge, in contrast to scientific explanations
that must be replicable. Mythical narratives are
based on intangible collective memories that
change over time. They are composed of a mix
of tradition, depictions in movies or other media,
collective and individual experiences. Legends
can glorify or unmask, they offer rumors, false
reports and propaganda, they are biased. How
of the gods. On the other hand, people want
to be afraid, as any lover of horror films knows.
Fear is an expression of vulnerability, it can be
read as a symptom of uncertainty or insecurity.
To what extent is any action marked by faith
(in whatever) or by certainty and knowledge?
And to what extent is it marked by sacrifice or
denial? The irrational involves that which cannot
be calculated or controlled, in both a positive and
negative sense. One tries to be in rational control
of as much as possible, with all the positive and
negative results.
WHEN MAGIC TAKES SHAPE
The expression «magic formula» or «magic
spell» reflects the symbolic link between the
rational and the irrational. A formula in the scientific realm is an abbreviation for a mathematical,
physical or chemical relationship or rule. Formulas thus represent the transformation of a relationship into an expression in a symbolic language
that is precisely systematized. If a formula is
understood as a performative act, such as by an
experimental physicist, this theoretical notation
is translated into actions; the act and the formula
become one, the formula is performed. By means
of formulas, that which has been given symbolic
names becomes calculable and can be used and
thus manipulated. In contrast, irrationality stands
for unpredictability. Magic therefore designates
supernatural results, magical manipulation that
is not subject to the laws of nature; it represents
those things that cannot be explained.
By writing the magic word «abracadabra» in a
geometric triangular form (Schwindeschema),
speech is turned into a spell that conjures up the
irrational. The individual letters of «abracadabra»
are written in a special arrangement in which the
number of letters is decreased in each line, thus
forming a triangle that offers protection from
adversity or disease. By chanting the spell, illness should disappear, just as a word disappears
after it has been uttered, or as the letters in the
«abracadabrangle» become fewer towards the
bottom. The performative character is thus in
the foreground. By chanting the spell, its power
is summoned so the healing process can begin.4
The word is a formula for the magic coupled with
the act of speaking.

Sabine Winkler
Translation from the original German:
Cynthia Peck
1 The expression “animal spirits” is used to describe irrational elements in economic and financial affairs, such as unreflected instincts, emotions and herd
behavior, which can lead to fluctuations in financial markets. John Maynard
Keynes recognized already in 1936 that both speculation and animal spirits
carry potential risks and can cause instability. He coined the expression in his
book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.
2 Cf. Rosi Braidotti, Posthumanismus: Leben jenseits des Menschen, 2014,
Frankfurt a. M.: Campus Verlag.
3 Schwindeschema: a pattern for arranging words in which a word is first written out completely, and then the same word continues to be written under
the previous line, but each time without the final letter, until only one letter is
left.
4 The origin and meaning of the word abracadabra is not clear. "Perhaps the
word goes back to 'Abra ka-Dabra in Aramaic, which means ‘it vanishes like
the word.' Also 'Abda ka-Dabra ('it perishes, as does the word ') is a possibility. By making a certain word ‘vibrate,’ it was believed, for example, that pain
could be relieved.” Karl Erich Grözinger: Jüdisches Denken. Theologie – Philosophie – Mystik. Vol 2: Von der mittelalterlichen Kabbala zum Hasidismus,
Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2005, p. 322.
ever, narratives based on fiction can also create
social communities. One form of contemporary
legend building, if you will, is fake news, which
circulates in the echo chambers of social media
channels, where narrative and user profiles are
not only produced and reproduced, but also become legendary (in the sense of urban legends).
Fiction and pretending are no longer perceived as
such, but are considered real or true. When manipulation is internalized as a form of reporting, it
disappears as such in the consciousness. In this
way, ghosts of the past are reactivated, ghosts
that are hard to get rid of.
Legends and myths can spread opinions for or
against something (resentment/prejudice). They
can create identities, increase fear or hope, or
have a disciplinary effect. Especially origin and
lineage narratives, or legends about the founding
of nation states are attributed meaning that has
only to do with identity politics. Among other
things, myths transform wars or calamities into
stories of victory; real or fictional persons are
stylized as heroes or allies, as are sometimes
gods, spirits or forces of nature. Real events
can be part of myths, or myths can refer to real
events that have been mythologized. In particular, systems of authority are often legitimized by the supernatural or the divine.

HAUNTED RELIGION:
SPIRITS AND THE SPIRITUAL

Ghosts are the attempt to give form to what is
not understood, as for example the yōkai, supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. More complex explanations of systems or meanings
are embedded in mythical narratives or legends.
But how does the spirit world relate to religion?
Religions are populated by multitudes of supernatural figures and forces, from the Holy Spirit to angels, demons, saints, etc. Religions adopted
figures and stories from the worlds of gods
and spirits of earlier or other belief systems, or
declared them enemies. Those who did not conform to the Christian faith were punished with death, evidenced by the Inquisition, the burning of witches, the persecution of Protestants, etc.
Anything that did not fit in was seen as a threat
to the system of power and punished as magic
or blasphemy. Religions are institutionally organized faith structures that prescribe rules and are
hierarchical, that discipline societies, define value
systems and establish communities through
rituals. A religion becomes powerful the moment
someone believes in it and consequently modifies
their behavior or subordinates their own agency
to it. Especially monotheistic religions are based
on established dogmas in which the influence of
other religions, natural mythologies or local rites
was not only disavowed, it was often actively
damned.
It is different in Japan, where various Buddhist
teachings and institutions are characteristically
combined with native deities and spirits (kami).
A 19th-century Meiji-era law ordered the separation of Kami and Buddhas, creating categories
of deities and spirits. It was a system that could
not prevail, however, and it was repealed after
World War II. The diverse deities and spirits are
not perceived as contradictory; Buddhism and
Shintoism permeate and complement each other.
It is not delimitation and exclusiveness that are
in the foreground of religion, but regional gods,
forces of nature or even divinized ancestors.
The connecting element is the belief that the deities can grant benefits (riyaku) in this or the next
life. They are responsible for protection, healing,
comfort, etc., but they also instill fear, or reflect
anxieties or burdens. Fears can represent the
conviction of one's own powerlessness and at
the same time, reflect belief in the omnipotence
of the gods. On the other hand, people want
to be afraid, as any lover of horror films knows.
Fear is an expression of vulnerability, it can be
read as a symptom of uncertainty or insecurity.
To what extent is any action marked by faith
(in whatever) or by certainty and knowledge?
And to what extent is it marked by sacrifice or
denial? The irrational involves that which cannot
be calculated or controlled, in both a positive and
negative sense. One tries to be in rational control
of as much as possible, with all the positive and
negative results

WHEN MAGIC TAKES SHAPE

The expression «magic formula» or «magic
spell» reflects the symbolic link between the
rational and the irrational. A formula in the scientific realm is an abbreviation for a mathematical,
physical or chemical relationship or rule. Formulas thus represent the transformation of a relationship into an expression in a symbolic language
that is precisely systematized. If a formula is
understood as a performative act, such as by an
experimental physicist, this theoretical notation
is translated into actions; the act and the formula
become one, the formula is performed. By means
of formulas, that which has been given symbolic
names becomes calculable and can be used and
thus manipulated. In contrast, irrationality stands
for unpredictability. Magic therefore designates
supernatural results, magical manipulation that
is not subject to the laws of nature; it represents
those things that cannot be explained.
By writing the magic word «abracadabra» in a
geometric triangular form (Schwindeschema3
),
speech is turned into a spell that conjures up the
irrational. The individual letters of «abracadabra»
are written in a special arrangement in which the
number of letters is decreased in each line, thus
forming a triangle that offers protection from
adversity or disease. By chanting the spell, illness should disappear, just as a word disappears
after it has been uttered, or as the letters in the
«abracadabrangle» become fewer towards the
bottom. The performative character is thus in
the foreground. By chanting the spell, its power
is summoned so the healing process can begin.4
The word is a formula for the magic coupled with
the act of speaking.

Sabine Winkler
Translation from the original German:
Cynthia Peck

1 The expression “animal spirits” is used to describe irrational elements in economic and financial affairs, such as unre!ected instincts, emotions and herd
behavior, which can lead to fluctuations in financial markets. John Maynard
Keynes recognized already in 1936 that both speculation and animal spirits
carry potential risks and can cause instability. He coined the expression in his
book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money.

2 Cf. Rosi Braidotti, Posthumanismus: Leben jenseits des Menschen, 2014,
Frankfurt a. M.: Campus Verlag.

3 Schwindeschema: a pattern for arranging words in which a word is first written out completely, and then the same word continues to be written under
the previous line, but each time without the final letter, until only one letter is left.

4 The origin and meaning of the word abracadabra is not clear. "Perhaps the
word goes back to 'Abra ka-Dabra in Aramaic, which means ‘it vanishes like
the word.' Also 'Abda ka-Dabra ('it perishes, as does the word ') is a possibility. By making a certain word ‘vibrate,’ it was believed, for example, that pain
could be relieved.” Karl Erich Grözinger: Jüdisches Denken. Theologie – Philosophie – Mystik. Vol 2: Von der mittelalterlichen Kabbala zum Hasidismus,
Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2005, p. 322.

FAITH, MOUNTAINS AND
«PROGRAMMED STONES»
«FAITH MOVES MOUNTAINS.» (THE BIBLE)
«THERE IS INDEED THE INEXPRESSIBLE.
THIS SHOWS ITSELF; IT IS THE MYSTICAL.»
(WITTGENSTEIN)

We could not get up in the morning and go
through the day without faith: faith that we can
get our work done, can make ourselves somehow
understood to the people around us, will receive
help and overcome difficulties, that everyone
will follow the traffic laws ... that our world will
function, despite the fact that the TV, radio and
newspapers are constantly reporting disaster.
(Maybe we just ignore them because we're stuck
in our own «social media bubble» where we find
only what we want to believe – right down to
fake news.)
Faith is an existential act. It is a daily investment
in our life and its constructions of meaning. This
starts with a certain amount of self-confidence,
in addition to hope and belief in the world. Saying
yes gives us energy to keep going. Our everyday
hustle and bustle is brightened by spiritual moments: Suddenly seeing Fuji-san or some exuberant cherry blossoms, hearing a lovely voice or admiring the beauty of a mathematical equation....
This has nothing to do with religion. Religion only
becomes part of the picture when we link our
faith to religious contents and add the dimension
of practices: prayers, rituals, religious festivals.
In our open, pluralistic societies, however, already
about a quarter of the population is putting together «patchwork religions»: Christian customs,
yoga, Bach flower extracts, Āyurveda ... anything
that is good for me is ok. A role is played in this
by genuine interest in foreign beliefs, by lifestyle
trends and the rejection of a strict corset of
beliefs, as well as other things. From a cultural
evolutionary point of view, this is nothing new. –
There is a boom in «life wellness fairs,» which
offer products for therapy and self-healing: Reiki,
Āyurvedic hand diagnostics, energy models based
on «healing stones» and «programmed crystals»
that supposedly regenerate spaces and people...
One might laugh at the cloudy-esoteric language
of energeticists, but let's take a look at ourselves:
rings on our fingers, charm bracelets, neck amulets made of stones, an omamori in the pocket...
And we believe in their power because they are
charged with an emotional value. There are magic
numbers; the evil omen of Friday the 13th; the
football oracle (Paul the Octopus); card reading;
elaborate astrological horoscopes; communication
with the dead; crossing your fingers: good luck!
There is more – funny, harmless, but of course
also much that can be abused.
Superstition, nothing but superstition, one says
disparagingly. In fact, this is a defensive term,
because when saying someone is superstitious,
people always think of others whose rituals are
alien to them. (I thought Voodoo is just a weird
cult, but it's a recognized religion with 60 million
followers.) At the same time, magical thinking,
which in ancient times was important for our
survival in the wild, has been preserved in our
everyday lives and in religion. Japanese women
who want to get married visit the Izumo Taisha
shrine, Christians visit pilgrimage sites, sprinkle
themselves with holy water and place the skull of
a saint on their heads to be cured of headaches.
60% of all Germans believe in the existence of
angels....
Famous ethnologists such as James Frazer or
Claude Levi-Strauss concluded from their research that magic can be equated with religion,
that both are cultural techniques. Magical think-
ing seeks signs, it sees analogies and correlations
and recognizes causality in them (stilling the flow
of red blood with red plants; after an injury with a
knife, not taking care of the wound but hiding the
«evil» knife ... principles of causality). – Statesmen in ancient Rome tried to read the future by
studying the flight of birds and acted accordingly.
– Magic is a pre-form of knowledge; it is not
based on deception. It is always presumed that
there is a meaning: everything has been made
for us; we just have to discover it and receive its
power. The belief in higher powers is of evolutionary psychological importance. It is a kind of
preventive technique in the sense of «evil cannot
harm me.»
If we catch ourselves in our everyday lives doing
some «magical thinking,» then we may say that
irrationality can be used rationally. I conjure up
happiness – completely in the sense of a selffulfilling prophecy.
Even firm atheists like Daniel Dennett, an
American philosopher, admit that religious faith
is irrational but useful for life: for communities,
for their social equilibrium, their stability. As an
evolutionary system, the (religious) spiritual has
been an engine for achievements in civilization
such democracy, autonomy, free press, science.
But that is something we are supposed to forget
nowadays, everything is done by our brain with
its trillions of mini-robots, which are more or less
well networked... Our brain is responsible for
everything: pain, emotions, consciousness, «free
will»...
First and last things: Who are we? What is meaning? Why is there life and not nothing? Is there
life after death? Religious reasoning and religious
mediation are forms of attempting to tell the truth
about our existence and its coming to an end (or
not). Indeed, the greatest challenge for human
beings is death. I believe that among the truths
about our existence, there are some that can only
be said in religious language. Which truths? No
one can determine which one, since expressing
religious experiences is even a linguistic problem.
Such statements quickly sound banal. Maybe by
stuttering they can sound true.
Belief is knowledge that cannot be proved. We
also cannot prove that God does not exist...
Buddhism, as a kind of philosophy of life without
God, doesn't have this problem. A religion of
experience promising inner and external peace, it
offers a way beyond words and thoughts – yoga
and meditation for example – with the goal of
finding internal tranquility. By offering liberation
from our over-strained ego, it has even become a
global urban phenomenon, an attractive «fashionable religion»...

Unfortunately, there is no room here for the
«Spaghetti Monster» worshiped in «noodle services» by «Pastafarians.» Or would someone like
to become a member of that satirical religion?

Karin Anna Ruprechter-Prenn
Translation from the original German:
Cynthia Peck

 

abrakadabra

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