What is magic?

Magic originated from witchcraft in primitive society.

Witchcraft. A quasi-religious phenomenon. Fantasy originated in the early primitive society, relying on supernatural forces to influence or control objects. Unlike religion, early witchcraft did not involve the concept of gods or deify objects, but tried to influence and control them. Later, it was mixed with animism and ghost worship.

Witchcraft with the purpose of conspiring to harm people is usually called black witchcraft, as opposed to white witchcraft.

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origin

Magic originated from the history of witchcraft in primitive society. Due to the limitation of productivity and scientific knowledge in ancient society, people think that heaven rules all personnel, and the rulers of the world are dictated by heaven. They regard the changes of the sun, moon, stars, rain, snow, mountains, vegetation, birds, animals, insects and fish in nature as signs of disaster and good luck.

According to legend, some officials, such as He He, specialize in observing astronomy, observing the changes of time, observing good and bad luck, using divination to convey God's will, and offering sacrifices to eliminate disasters and pray. There are a large number of burnt animal bones used for divination in Longshan cultural site, which indicates that divination has begun at this time. There are many records of solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, rain and snow, and offering sacrifices to gods in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty.

The Zhou Dynasty believed that heaven and man were connected with each other, and people's actions could sense God, so that "God's will is impermanent" and people's monarch "respected morality and protected people" could "pray for eternal life in heaven". During the Spring and Autumn Period, people referred to the twelve stars and the twenty-eight nights in the sky as the "dividing line" corresponding to the positions of states and countries on the ground. Compared with the good or bad luck of states and countries, the variation of the stars makes the relationship between man and nature closer.

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