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Articles on Magic

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Voodoo believers walk during the annual Voodoo festival Fete Gede at Cite Soleil Cemetery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery

What is Haitian Voodoo?

Voodoo is often seen as a practice involving magic. In Haiti, Voodoo is a religion born out of the struggle of slaves. And today, it is used as a form of healing and protection.
Illustrations from the Nuremberg Chronicle, by Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514)

Dealing with devil has long been a part of medicine

Reports of demonic possession are once again on the rise. But during the devil’s last apogee in early modern Europe, demonic afflictions were taken seriously by both priests and physicians.
Miniature of the duke of true love and his companions entertaining ladies. The Book of the Queen, c. 1410–1414, France (Paris), Harley 4431, f. 145 (Creative Commons)

The magic of love and sex

A scholar of medieval magic discusses the hope in magical techniques for finding love.
Syda Productions/Shutterstock

Tricking the brain: how magic works

Pretty much all of our perception is an illusion, whether we’re walking down the street or attempting to decode the latest card trick.
Pick a card, any card - and maybe a research paper too. Micah Taylor

The science of magic: it’s not all hocus pocus

Think of your favourite magic trick. Is it as grandiose as David Copperfield’s Death Saw, or is it as simple as making a coin disappear in front of your very eyes? These two very different tricks have…

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