Modern culture is dominated by science and technology, which for the most part offers an explanation for human behavior and the forces of nature. But it hasn’t always been like that. Words like “spell”, and “magic” do not have the same effect on us today as they had in the past; they are greeted with laughing and mockery, and they are linked to misleading illusionist’s tricks, or – more often – to swindlers’ scams. In the past, the role of the magician and shaman was highly respected in many cultures since these were people who were thought to control the invisible forces and interpret god’s will. Moreover, they were able to protect the king’s or the family’s power, and give stability to an empire.
Before starting with our analysis, we need to clarify the type of approach we adopted in preparing this, and other arguments, that deal with esoteric knowledge: it is a serious anthropological study, because magic, just like alchemy, divination, and complex astronomy, was historically not for entertainment or for pure amusement. It was part of the esoteric disciplines, for which knowledge wasn’t accessible to everyone but rather was passed down through generations of its practitioners.
So, what is the most common spell of all time? Abracadabra, of course!
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