Originally Posted 1/30/16; Updated 8/2018

“(Magick’s) fundamental conception is identical with that of modern science; underlying the whole system is a faith…”  Aleister Crowley

Magick From Thelemapedia

Belief in various magical practices has waxed and waned in European and Western history, under pressure from either organized monotheistic religions or from skepticism about the reality of magic, and the ascendancy of Scientism.

Scientism From Thelemapedia
Scientism has been defined as “an exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all areas of investigation.  
From Wikipedia
Scientism is belief in the universal applicability of the scientific method and approach and the view that empirical science constitutes the most “authoritative” worldview or the most valuable part of human learning – to the exclusion of other viewpoints. Accordingly, philosopher Tom Sorell provides this definition of scientism: “Scientism is a matter of putting too high a value on natural science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture.”It has been defined as “the view that the characteristic inductive methods of the natural sciences are the only source of genuine factual knowledge and, in particular, that they alone can yield true knowledge about man and society”.

THE MAGICAL THEORY OF THE UNIVERSE
The knowledge of exoteric science is comically limited by the fact that we have no access, except in the most indirect way, to any other celestial body than our own. In the last few years, the semi-educated have got an idea that they know a great deal about the universe, and the principal ground for their fine opinion of themselves is usually the telephone or the airship. It is pitiful to read the bombastic twaddle about progress, which journalists and others, who wish to prevent men from thinking, put out for consumption. We know infinitesimally little of the material universe. Our detailed knowledge is so contemptibly minute, that it is hardly worth reference, save that our shame may spur us to increased endeavour. Such knowledge

Knowledge is, moreover, an impossible conception. All propositions come ultimately back to “A is A”.
as we have got is of a very general and abstruse, of a philosophical and almost magical character. This consists principally of the conceptions of pure mathematics. It is, therefore, almost legitimate to say that pure mathematics is our link with the rest of the universe and with “God”.

Now the conceptions of Magick are themselves profoundly mathematical. The whole basis of our theory is the Qabalah, which corresponds to mathematics and geometry. The method of operation in Magick is based on this, in very much the same way as the laws of mechanics are based on mathematics. So far, therefore as we can be said to possess a magical theory of the universe, it must be a matter solely of fundamental law, with a few simple and comprehensive propositions stated in very general terms.

The Apologia for this System is that our purest conceptions are symbolized in Mathematics. “God is the Great Arithmetician.” “God is the Grand Geometer.” It is best, therefore, to prepare to apprehend Him by formulating our minds according to these measures.

By “God” I here mean the Ideal Identity of a man’s inmost nature. “Something ourselves (I erase Arnold’s imbecile and guilty ‘not’) that makes for righteousness;” righteousness being rightly defined as internal coherence.

The Queen’s Conjuror: The Science and Magic of Dr.Dee
By Benjamin Woolley.
http://www.economist.com/node/540820
Henry Holt; 410 pages; $25.
HarperCollins; £15.99The Queen’s Conjuror Something new under Cassiopeia

WHAT is the relationship between science and magic? The two were once closely linked: such eminent researchers as Tycho Brahe, Nicolaus Copernicus, and Johannes Kepler all dabbled in astrology and other mystical activities alongside their more orthodox scientific pursuits. The late 16th century was a time of upheaval—cosmology was being redefined, the new world colonized, new stars and comets were appearing in the sky—and the search for knowledge took many forms. The astronomers who confirmed a supernova in the constellation Cassiopeia also pondered its astrological meaning. It is in this context, argues Benjamin Woolley, that the occult activities of John Dee, a mathematician, philosopher and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I, should be seen. Rather than unscientific, Dee’s seances with angels and spirits were one of the many ways he tried to fathom the secrets of the universe.

Dee’s thirst for knowledge drove him to assemble one of the finest libraries in Europe, and throughout his life he nurtured the dream of establishing what would today be termed a research institute. His wide-ranging expertise meant he was regarded as an authority on matters ranging from calendar reform to navigation, cartography and the likelihood of the existence of the fabled north-west passage to China. He was also learned in cryptography, astronomy and the nascent science of optics. (That said, Mr Woolley slightly overdoes his claim that Dee prefigured work done later by Galileo and Newton.) But from his undergraduate days at Cambridge, when he staged a play whose impressive special effects were attributed to black magic, Dee was stalked by the accusation that he was meddling with diabolical forces. Which, indeed, he was.

Very interesting video of John Dee can be viewed HERE.   Queen Elizabeth’s Magician -John Dee (2002)

For much of his life, Dee conducted seances or “actions” in which he communicated with the spirit world through a medium, or “skryer”, who spoke on their behalf. Dee’s most gifted skryer was a mysterious young man called Edward Kelley, through whom Dee variously attempted to discover the location of buried treasure, the secrets of the original language spoken by Adam in the garden of Eden, and clues to the future course of European politics.
Because of his boundless curiosities, and because he moved between the worlds of science, mysticism, religion, politics, and espionage, Dee proves an ideal character around whom to tell a number of intriguing stories. His fortunes rose and fell precipitously during his career; he went from being penniless to being a valued royal counselor and back again several times, and was imprisoned, denounced and deceived for his pains along the way.

Mr. Woolley paints a subtle and sympathetic portrait of his subject, siding neither with the “hard-headed rationalists” who dismiss Dee as a fool nor with the “muddle-headed mystics” who regard him as a Merlin-like wizard or an English Nostradamus. It is a shame that Dee was not born a century later, as he would have thrived in the scientific revolution. After all, Mr. Woolley argues, Dee’s main interest was magic, which is traditionally divided into natural magic (obeying natural laws) and supernatural magic (involving supernatural forces). The word “magic”, in other words, is a term which includes understanding the world and exploiting that understanding. The modern term for this is science. Source

Hermeticism, also called Hermetism, is a religious, philosophical, and esoteric tradition based primarily upon writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus (” Great”). These writings have greatly influenced the Western esoteric tradition and were considered to be of great importance during both the Renaissance and the Reformation. The tradition claims descent from a prisca theologia, a doctrine that affirms the existence of a single, true theology that is present in all religions and that was given by God to man in antiquity.
Much of the importance of Hermeticism arises from its connection with the development of science during the time from 1300 to 1600 AD. The prominence that it gave to the idea of influencing or controlling nature led many scientists to look to magic and its allied arts (e.g., alchemy, astrology) which, it was thought, could put Nature to the test by means of experiments. Consequently, it was the practical aspects of Hermetic writings that attracted the attention of scientists.
Isaac Newton placed great faith in the concept of an unadulterated, pure, ancient doctrine, which he studied vigorously to aid his understanding of the physical world. Many of Newton’s manuscripts—most of which are still unpublished – detail his thorough study of the Corpus Hermeticum, writings said to have been transmitted from ancient times, in which the secrets and techniques of influencing the stars and the forces of nature were revealed. Source: Wikipedia

Studies in Occultism by H. P. Blavatsky – Theosophical University Press Online Edition    Excerpts shown below, see the full article by clicking the link:
Black Magic in Science

Thousands of years ago the Phrygian Dactyls, the initiated priests, spoken of as the “magicians and exorcists of sickness,” healed diseases by magnetic processes. It was claimed that they had obtained these curative powers from the powerful breath of Cybele, the many-breasted goddess, the daughter of Coelus and Terra. Indeed, her genealogy and the myths attached to it show Cybele as the personification and type of the vital essence, whose source was located by the ancients between the Earth and the starry sky, and who was regarded as the very fons vitae of all that lives and breathes. The mountain air being placed nearer to that fount fortifies health and prolongs man’s existence; hence, Cybele’s life, as an infant, is shown in her myth as having been preserved on a mountain. This was before that Magna and Bona Dea, the prolific Mater, became transformed into Ceres-Demeter, the patroness of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Animal magnetism (now called Suggestion and Hypnotism) was the principal agent in theurgic mysteries as also in the Asclepieia — the healing temples of Aesculapius, where the patients once admitted were treated, during the process of “incubation,” magnetically, during their sleep.

This creative and life-giving Force — denied and laughed at when named theurgic magic, accused for the last century of being principally based on superstition and fraud, whenever referred to as mesmerism — is now called Hypnotism, Charcotism, Suggestion, “psychology,” and whatnot. But, whatever the expression is chosen, it will ever be a loose one if used without a proper qualification. For when epitomized with all its collateral sciences — which are all sciences within the science — it will be found to contain possibilities the nature of which has never been even dreamt of by the oldest and most learned professors of the orthodox physical science. The latter, “authorities” so-called, are no better, indeed, than innocent bald infants, when brought face to face with the mysteries of antediluvian “mesmerism.” As stated repeatedly before, the blossoms of magic, whether white or black, divine or infernal, spring all from one root. The “breath of Cybele”

 The Forbidden Universe uncovers a story that has been suppressed for centuries: that an ancient magical tradition holds the key to the true origins of science.  PicknettPrince.com   Source

In 1543, from his deathbed, the astronomer Nicolas Copernicus published his great world-changing work, setting out the sun-centered model of the cosmos. For most historians, this marks the start of the Scientific Revolution, but this book charts an alternative story, which begins with the rediscovery of long-lost Egyptian documents: the writings of the legendary sage, Hermes Trismegistus, or ‘thrice-great Hermes’.

The astonishing secrets of the Hermetica cast their magic over many of the greatest minds in history. Although barely acknowledged today, the Hermetic revival not only fuelled the Renaissance but also launched the revolution in early scientific thinking that formed the bedrock of the Enlightenment. As Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince prove in this brilliantly argued history, all the pioneers of science – Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Kepler, Galileo, Bacon, Leibniz and even Isaac Newton – owed their world-changing achievements to forbidden occult beliefs.

Setting the record straight presents a whole new perspective on many great events of the era – not least the true story of Galileo’s rocky relationship with the Church. His persecution was not, as is usually claimed, simply due to him championing the heliocentric theory, but was, in fact, a sign of the terror with which the Vatican viewed Hermeticism. It posed a huge threat, challenging both the Church’s teachings about mankind and its political power base because of the Hermetica’s influence over the hearts and minds of not just philosophers and artists, but also kings and emperors. The Hermeticists taught that a wide acceptance of the heliocentric theory would be the trigger for a religious and political revolution. If and when people were allowed to believe that the earth orbits the sun, and not the other way round as they taught, then – to them – all hell would break loose. They could not let this happen, so they threatened Galileo with the usual agonizing death of heretics.

Part Two of The Forbidden Universe takes the story to the present day, contending that the view of the universe emerging from the latest scientific discoveries, particularly of quantum physics and cosmology, can be seen to vindicate the ancient Hermetic belief in an evolving, living, conscious universe. Far from being merely a historical footnote, Hermeticism hold the key to humanity’s future.

There is something else, some great irony and even a cover-up on the part of today’s scientific orthodoxy. The fact is that, although staggering to many, science itself has proven beyond doubt that the dazzling array of fine-tunings of the laws of physics and biochemistry that has enabled life to arise in the universe cannot be ascribed to chance. Therefore, science itself implies the existence of a designer…

However, it must be stressed that while this shows that life has been created and is meaningful, it neither proves the existence of the biblical God nor the truth of the account of creation in Genesis.

Yet totally in denial, scientists have rushed to embrace the totally speculative multiverse theory – which by its very nature can never be proven – rather than admit that they themselves have demonstrated that the universe has been designed. This is not science. 

Historian Dana Rovang Explores the Odd Partnership of Science and Magic
Author: Christopher Weber
It was a scene worthy of J.K. Rowling. A young American student, Dana Rovang, walked nervously down a London alley and knocked on a door marked in astrological signs. It opened. Rovang entered and disappeared down a spiral staircase.
That mysterious door, as well as the treasures behind it, belonged to the Magic Circle, one of the semi-secret societies dedicated to the history and lore of magicians. Rovang, then a University of Chicago Ph.D. candidate in the history and philosophy of science, was there to plumb the Magic Circle’s archives for occult knowledge normally off limits for scholars.

These days, magic is considered a form of anti-science, the foe of the clear, demonstrable, openly explained “tricks” known as experiments. But in science’s infancy in the 1700s, it was a prime tool of magicians, a means of generating cutting-edge illusions. And magicians were proselytizers for this emerging field.

London was ground zero for this odd partnership, and so it was only natural that Rovang went there to trace its origins. Her first inklings of this blurring of the lines between science and showmanship came from reading about Michael Farraday’s demonstrations of electricity at the Royal Institution. “He was putting on these spectacular shows in order to garner public interest in science,” Rovang explains. “I thought to myself, ‘This is magic. He’s putting on a magic show.’”

In the Magic Circle archives, in 2011, she examined some of the earliest instructional texts on magic tricks going back to the sixteenth century. These outlined how magicians could use optics and engineering to achieve surprising results. The librarians at the Magic Circle also provided helpful guidance about an elusive London magician, Jonas, who flourished in the 1770s. Jonas did most of his tricks with cards and coins, but he was the first London magician to use phrases like “Mathematical and philosophical experiments” in his advertisements.

At the time, the Committee on the Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science was part of the University’s Division of Humanities, but in 2005, it shifted to the Division of Social Sciences. Along with the Nicholson Center for British Studies, the Committee helped fund Rovang’s London trip, and another she made to Austin, Texas, to examine magicians’ manuscripts up to 300 years old, including ones in the personal library of Harry Houdini.

“Magicians are naturaly historians,” says Rovang. “History is an extension of their craft. A lot of the tricks are very proprietary. Their intellectual property is the spin they put on their magic tricks. They have to know the lineage of a trick in order to make sure they’re doing something new.”

“I love the spirit of collaboration of working with magicians.”
That collaboration continues, even though Rovang recently graduated. A prominent Chicago magician, Jay Collen, read and edited some of her dissertation chapters. Rovang is currently turning portions of her dissertation into articles that may form the basis of a book. The article on the little-known Jonas will fill a significant void in the histories of London, science, and magic — literally. Rovang recently sent to London her “payment” for use of the Magic Circle archives: a bound copy of her dissertation, now deposited in the occulted stacks.
University of Chicago – Social Sciences News

The Beginnings of Science 
Science, as it is known today, is of relatively modern origin, but the traditions out of which it has emerged reach back beyond recorded history. The roots of science lie in the technology of early toolmaking and other crafts, while scientific theory was once a part of philosophy and religion. This relationship, with technology encouraging science rather than the other way around, remained the norm until recent times. Thus, the history of science is essentially intertwined with that of technology. Practical Applications in the Ancient Middle East

The early civilizations of the Tigris-Euphrates valley and the Nile valley made advances in both technology and theory, but separate groups within each culture were responsible for the progress. Practical advances in metallurgy, agriculture, transportation, and navigation were made by the artisan class, such as the wheelwrights and shipbuilders. The priests and scribes were responsible for record keeping, land division, and calendar determination, and they developed written language and early mathematics for this purpose. The Babylonians devised methods for solving algebraic equations, and they compiled extensive astronomical records from which the periods of the planets’ revolution and the eclipse cycle could be calculated; they used a year of 12 months and a week of 7 days, and also originated the division of the day into hours, minutes, and seconds. In Egypt, there were also developments in mathematics and astronomy and the beginnings of the science of medicine. Wheeled vehicles and bronze metallurgy, both known to the Sumerians in Babylonia as early as 3000 B.C., were imported to Egypt c.1750 B.C. Between 1400 B.C. and 1100 B.C. iron smelting was discovered in Armenia and spread from there, and alphabets were developed in Phoenicia.

Exploring Magick Through Science
by MIKE SENTENTIA on MAY 12, 2011
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