sympathetic magic
Like affects like
Sympathetic magic is the belief that things connected by resemblance or contact can influence each other.
A voodoo doll works on this principle—harming the effigy harms the person it represents.
Burning a photograph, burying a lock of hair, or stabbing a wax figure all assume a mystical link between symbol and subject.
The concept appears in anthropology and folklore studies: Frazer's Golden Bough catalogs sympathetic magic across cultures.
Sculpted human representation
- voodoo dollEffigy used for hexes
- poppetSmall magical figure
- simulacrumImitative stand-in for reality
- wax figureSculpted human replica in paraffin
clay figure · likeness · corn dolly · representation · model · figurine · drawing · portrait
Effigy used for hexes
- effigySculpted human representation
- poppetSmall magical figure
- fetishIrrational devotion to something
- hairFibrous scalp covering
fingernails · blood · clothing · personal effects · relic · photograph · footprint · shadow
Magical protective charm
- amuletWorn protective token
- charmAttractive personal quality
- fetishIrrational devotion to something
- totemSpiritual clan symbol
relic · medicine bag · horseshoe · evil eye · hamsa · rabbit foot · lodestone · mandrake root
effigy
Sculpted human representation
- voodoo dollEffigy used for hexes
- poppetSmall magical figure
- simulacrumImitative stand-in for reality
wax figure · clay figure · likeness · corn dolly · representation · model · figurine · drawing · portrait · mimesis
voodoo doll
Effigy used for hexes
hair · fingernails · blood · clothing · personal effects · relic · photograph · footprint · shadow · true name
talisman
Magical protective charm
totem · relic · medicine bag · horseshoe · evil eye · hamsa · rabbit foot · lodestone · mandrake root · four-leaf clover
incantation
Spoken magical formula
- invocationCalling upon higher authority
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
offering · libation · chant · spell · curse · blessing · hex · conjuration · binding · banishing
voodoo
Folk magic, often Caribbean
shamanism · animism · totemism · witchcraft · sorcery · necromancy · paganism · Wicca
sympathetic magicscientific method
Structured process for investigation
natural law · biomechanics · chemical reaction · Newtonian physics
sympathetic magicempiricism
Knowledge through observation
skepticism · naturalism · reductionism · materialism · logical reasoning
sympathetic magicapplied science
Problem-solving through research
technology · engineering · medicine · surgery · industrial process
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