Natural magic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Renaissance magic. (Discuss) |
Natural magic in the context of Renaissance magic is that part of the occult which deals with natural forces directly, as opposed to ceremonial magic , in particular goety and theurgy, which deals with the summoning of spirits. Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa so uses the term in his 1526 de vanitate. Natural magic so defined thus includes astrology, alchemy, and disciplines that we would today consider fields of natural science, such as astronomy and chemistry (at the time not conceptually separated from astrology and alchemy) or botany (herbology).
[edit] References
- Charles G. Nauert, Magic and Skepticism in Agrippa's Thought, Journal of the History of Ideas (1957), p. 176.
