Magic is all around us. A recent global survey found that more than 40% of adults believe that magic, especially witchcraft, works. As children, magic pervades our growing minds (Harry Potter; Sabrina, the Teenage Witch; Disney’s Magic Kingdom), and peaks each year on Halloween. As adults, we curse, carry charms, engage in wishful thinking, pursue rite and ritual, heed superstitions, and so on.
What is this pervasive magic? In his wide-ranging essay in this Fall 2024 issue, author Richard Smoley defines it as “creating effects through means that are generally regarded as supernatural.” This includes both white magic, whereby the practitioner aims eventually to achieve union with the Divine, and black magic, aimed at making one an entity independent of the Divine.
These varieties of magic, embedded in most spiritual traditions, as well as other kinds ranging from shamanism to divination, are explored vigorously in this issue. We differentiate magic, which requires a human agent, from the miracles or grace that may come apart from our bidding, as well as from traditional science—although quantum physics, as noted by scholar Edward Bruce Bynum here, seems at times a form of magic. Among the issue’s highlights are a visit by memoirist Rebe Huntman to a Santeria ceremony in Cuba; Parabola editorial director Tracy Cochran’s consideration of the transformation of the Buddha into the Christian Saint Josaphat; an exuberant celebration from Kabbalah expert Gilla Nissan of the Hebrew number seven; a dramatic encounter with a solar eclipse, from author Lee van Laer; a look at a cosmic law behind real magic from professional magician Steffan Soule; and, magic of a sort, advice from Qigong master Robert Peng on harnessing the energies of the body.
Irish poet W. B. Yeats, once a member of a magical society, wrote: “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” As if in response, a half century later author Roald Dahl added, “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
Parabola mourns the passing of Lillian Firestone at the age of 93. She was a pillar of the magazine for many years; a tribute to her contributions is in this issue.
—Jeff Zaleski
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