ABSTRACT
By “magic” we understand words and acts performed by human beings, which are believed to bring about changes in the empirical world or to produce knowledge of hidden things in a supernatural way. The term “supernatural” refers to the nonempirical dimension of life, which is central to religious belief systems. The difference between the categories “natural” or “empirical” and the “supernatural” becomes clear when applied, for instance, to the human sense of “seeing.” If someone looks at a cow in a field in a natural way, the empirical information about the cow’s location and form is passed on to the brain of this person. If a person is believed to look at this beast in a supernatural way, the cow may be said to have been affected by the look, because of which it stops yielding milk. This way of “supernatural” looking is known as “casting the evil eye” or “bewitching.” The relation between cause and effect in magic is not dictated by laws of science but is part of belief systems; hence, magic is a religious concept. “Witchcraft” is magic performed by witches-people believed to be professionals in magic.
