Magic: Real or Not?

[Stoney Pony 100]

i wish that would be awesome, but im afraid magic is only in Equestria, middle earth and Skyrim. ive always wondered about the occult and stuff like that if there is any reality in it but i would never try myself.

[Aaramus 449]

Of course it exists... how do you think they made the Harry Potter films? JK Rowling recorded the real life events in a book then they made a documentary...

 

Anyway, I do believe that it exists although not really in the fantasy style that we've grown accustomed to. I love street and card magic, it is really intriguing and very entertaining. You get some magicians who manage to pull of these amazing bits of magic that truly boggle the mind to point where magic seems like the only explanation for it. I spent a lot of time in my childhood trying to learn various bits of magic and I actually regret not taking the skills I learned into my teenage years. 

I think real life magic is more about impressing and wowing people rather than it being used in the way that fictional stories like Harry Potter portray it to be used.

[Gabriel Smith 53]

Magic? In a sense, yes - but it's not exactly wizards and hats and pulling bunnies out of hats.

 

It is my opinion that there is indeed a powerful, primal force out there, one that remains largely untapped. It probably doesn't help that I live in England, one of the former Celtic nations. The Greeks had three headed dogs, the Norse had giants, the Celts were mainly about Faeries and Spirits.

 

It also probably doesn't help that I swear one of my previous accommodations was infact haunted. Occasionally, unexplained noises could be clearly heard, such as people walking down stairs - when nobody was on them. In addition to all of the above, the Reaper himself has tried to claim me many times, and still attempts to do so on the occasion.

 

Also, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic".

[--Thunder Bolt-- 534]

 

 

 

well one reason is becuse of a magic seal i know and have bin trying to research and have gotten some info from a friend which this is what i got from him 

 

if i am correct it is the symbol of the israeli witches why are you looking for this seal used to seal spirits, demons, dragon spirits and angels why would it come to your attention

The strings of fate bend to no mortal so what this force is it is non existent therefore inmortal for that which has not been born cannot die why has fate disturbed bones long since picked clean, tell me what will happen when the seal is open. The most terrible demons have been sealed away by that seal if broken. I am mortal meaning i will die and means i am not all seeing and even i am manipulable by whispers in my ear. What is on the horizon is none of my business but this matter is now out of my eventually fading mortal hands

it requires the blood of seven witches, pure of heart both to open and close the seal many demons were sealed like mialzabub,leviathan and behemoth but a dragon was sealed among them mistaken for a demon his name was blud uf ancin which means blood of the ancients. He was a dragon that was fighting the demons but got sealed by mistake. The demons corrupted the dragon over time though his will was strong the demons whispered and whispered until the dragon listened and joined there ranks. Think of the seals as seperate pockets of reality but connected each seal connects to all the others but they only hold one living or undead creature at a time.That is all i know.

 

and i know Montangnamagica that there are side affects but it all depends on certain things

 

 

 

 

 

This sounds vaguely like the Goetia or the Lesser Key of Solomon.  The basic legend is that King Solomon sealed 72 demons in a brass vessel, and employed various spells and rituals to make them do his bidding.  The legend dates to Europe in the Rennaissance and late Middle Ages, with no evidence connecting it to a historical King Solomon.  The grimoires putatively contain the spells and rituals Solomon used.  These things do "exist," in that there are manuscripts (grimoires) containing descriptions of rituals, spells, and exhaustive preparations that must be made to perform them (how to make and ritually purify the components and magical tools used, etc.).  The question is, do they work as described?  The answer is almost certainly 'no.'  These manuscripts have been known for centuries (and they were in turn based on older systems, such as the Jewish kabbalah and Greek Hermetic magic), yet no bungler has unleashed the demonic horde, nor has anyone demonstrably become immensely powerful or wealthy through their use.  In other words, the anticipated consequences (what we would expect to see in reality) of this sort of thing working do not appear in the real world.

 

On the othe hand, if you take a more modest definition of "magic," such as "magic is the art and science of changing consciousness in accordance with Will" or "one person's magic is another person's engineering," then a case for its reality can be made.  Consider the Placebo Effect.  It has been thoroughly demonstrated that if a physician provides a patient with an inert pill (like a sugar pill, called a "placebo") as if it is medicine, that it can sometimes actually work to treat the patient's malady.  The patient's belief that the pill is medicine is apparently enough to make it work as such, to a degree.  This has been demonstrated convincingly enough that no medical test of a new medicine is considered valid if it does not "control" for the Placebo Effect, i.e., if the new medicine cannot be shown to work better than a placebo. 

 

For a pharmaceutical researcher, the PE is an obstacle to be overcome, but for a mage, it is her/his bread and butter.  The complex symbolic correspondences of astrology, geometry, gematria, etc., the need to acquire difficult-to-obtain components, the psychodrama of ritual and incantations in arcane languages, etc. are all crafted to focus the mage's consciousness into a state of belief (i.e. generate and enhance the PE as much as possible) and depending on the ritual, place the mage in altered states of consciousness.

 

As the PE and other demonstrable factors (such as the effects of hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming, etc.) indicate, magic can "work" (have real effects) even if it does not tap into any Forces Unknown to Physics.  As for this "seal" you're talking about, I don't see any valid reason to have anything to do with it.  If there's nothing to it, then you're wasting your time.  In the exceedingly
unlikely event that it's real as described, you would be toying with malevolent entities far older, wiser, and more experienced with this sort of thing than you and your friend.  Take that line about using the blood of seven witches who are "pure of heart" to open and close the seal.  What does that mean, exactly?  That's a classic Monkey's Paw loophole.

 

"Behold, I close the Seal and return thee to thy confinement!"

 

The demons chuckle.  "There ssseemsss to be a problem with the blood of Tina Jacobson," one of them says.

 

"She is a virgin!  She's only ten!  By the Keys of Enoch and the Sigil of Solomon, I bind thee!"

 

"Yessss...but ssshe is alssso the meanessst girl at her ssschool.  RAAAAAR!"  *omnomnomnom*

 

Thus endeth the career of another bright but over-eager Magician's Apprentice.

 

Then there is the third possibility, of "magic" working as described above.  Performing a ritual sufficiently intense to convince yourself that you're working with demons could be dangerous even if the demons themselves don't exist.  A Nocebo Effect can cause real physical harm (possibly up to and including death, see the linked article) in the same way that a placebo can have real physical effects.

 

If you are interested in the practice of magic, I suggest starting with Brain Magick by Philip H. Farber.  It seems to be on a fairly sound scientific footing (no blatantly bogus claims that I have been able to find), and the exercises it has involving "entities" center on ones that you create rather than malevolent concepts created by other people.
 

 

[Mana 9]

Although I would love to believe that magic does exist and it would be possible to wield it... No. There is no proof backing up that magic DOES exist.

[wilfrerocks867 3]

It's possible. Have you heard of the multiverse theory? I believe that since the universe is endless, there could be other parallel universes in it, and you can connect to them using wormholes as pathways. And in those universes could be more galaxys. And in those galaxys could be planets. And on one of those planets, magic could exist. So, i believe that magic is somewhat real.

[HunterScars 505]

im sorry if i cant see it smell it touch it see it with my own eyes  or back it up with scientific evidence then it doesn't exist sorry my personal opinion  

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

It could exist. I've seen enough weird stuff to know that humans don't understand everything in the universe. Magic very well could be real. 

[Scootalove 10,684]

I know in science terms, it says that Magic is scientifically impossible for it to exist. But, there could be a way that it could exist.

[Viking 60]

I think magic is real. Maybe not obvious stuff or simple parlor tricks. Telekinesis I think could happen since everything does produce some electromagnetic stuff and if you can control it then that could be called magic. And on a personal level I would like to do that, and ice powers. I like throwing ice.

[♞RedLotus♞ 359]

There are alot of talented people out there who can cure diseases or injuries with a very special type of medicine. They have a certain gift that they use to heal other people. I believe this is true, for I have live and experienced this before. Another story that I remember was that my dads godmother had this very unnatural power. One day she was walking on a deserted plain because she had to go to the city and buy food (she lives in the rural side of cuba) and a car had passed her so she tried to ask for a ride but they ignored her and kept moving on. She then said "forget them, there tires will burst anyways." and soon enough they got a flat tire. Very impressive.

[DragonAlex97 5]

has anyone ever tried energy fighting if you don't know what is is i can tell you if you want and if you have do you want to try to fight me i find energy fights vary fun

[CT-1138 3,180]

As my sig suggests, I partly believe in magic, mostly the magic of love. Although the feeling of "love" is perfectly explainable in scientific form as a volition mixture of chemicals in the brain, there's something about love in of stelf that seems to transcend science or logical reasoning.

[Venomshank 120]

FINALLY!!!

 

Well, first off, I've looked into the science behind the ponies.

That did not feel right to type.

Anyway, he horn is most likely a cone of cartilage or thin bone which houses an extra chapter of the brain. In this area, the neurons would be empty slots, with no purpose other than to conduct electricity. And, of course, where you have electricity there is electromagnetism! So the horn is essentially a conduit for producing electromagnetic fields,

and when you do that you can:

-move things (we see them levitating stuff)

-manipulate cells, perhaps causing them to multiply at a hyper rate (rarity's wings, twilight growing baby spike)

-synthesize matter by rearranging all the atomic particles (we see them make stuff pop out of midair)

-teleport things (need I say more?)

In short, magic is just made from a big magnet the unicorns have stuck on their heads.

Friendship is the only true magic.

:3 we all know that :3

[Finesthour 7,286]

Well, uh, I play Magic the Gathering sometimes. Does that count as magic if I believe I am summoning things? :3 /sarcasm

 

Other than that, not at all. Magic is all about fooling the perception of our minds.

[Despair 114]

I don't believe in magic and spell and all that voodoo stuff. As others have said before me, "magic" is a type of science that is yet to be understood. If you believe in it, go have a ball. I believe there is a scientific explanation for everything even if we don't know that explanation yet. But if you know how to shoot fire out your hands, you must share with us your secret!

[DragonAlex97 5]

i havent even tryed anything with fire yet iv bin working with energy i have gotin fire to move a little with no air current before

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

There are three kinds of magic, hoaxes, magic, and magik.

 

Hoaxes are either made up from scratch or based on true events. Hoaxes are lies being sold as magic. Special effects and Hollywood magic fall into this category.

 

Magic refers to stage magic slight of hand. These events cannot be explained by the viewer, but are the result of illusions and gadgets. This category is separate from hoax because the event is real and immediately visible, even if it is a trick.

 

Magik is the truest version of magic, and what I think your question refers to. Magik is science that science does not understand. Magik causes real change and has an effect on the universe. There is reason and order to magik, it is not all powerful or even easy. An example of this would be technology, if you took a flashlight back in time 2000 years, it would be considered magikal. Magik has been practiced longer than historical record has been kept, and is still practiced to this day. The effects are real, but they are not supernatural. Magik is only capable of yielding results that are natural and possible, but generally improbable.

[Red Diamond 549]

Magic tricks that defy the law of physics? Impossible.

 

The swinging card in the air trick? It's attached to an unnoticeable string.

 

Chris Angel turning an 8 year old to an 18 year old? She could've sneaked away unnoticed, and a random girl with characteristics is the replacement.

 

Being in air? Well there are cords to levitate you upward.

 

tl;dr magic is bs

Edited September 14, 2013 by Light Azure

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

I don't hold such a belief in our universe, but I am strongly convinced that it exists in alternate universes which we may visit one day.

[K.K. Slider 391]

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke

 

With that said, your standard high fantasy-type magic existing? Nope.

[Fluttershutter 2,170]

No, there are a lot of things that are unexplained but spells, mind powers, prayer, it's all pseudoscience. I used to be really into that stuff but it's just wishful thinking.

[Silverhoof 2,840]

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke

 

With that said, your standard high fantasy-type magic existing? Nope.

 

No, there are a lot of things that are unexplained but spells, mind powers, prayer, it's all pseudoscience. I used to be really into that stuff but it's just wishful thinking.

My argument in a nutshell.

 

Magic might be fun to contemplate, but its best use is a literary shortcut for storytellers.

The concept is as seductive as the darkside: magic is quicker, easier, not as hard as doing real work.

 

We live in a world where things are only accomplished by hard work. Sorry. There is no Magic.

[Starlight Sky 374]

"Magic" is one of my favorite words. It captures the notion of, "the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts". The way things behave can be largely assayed, but these esemplastic experiences often produce an unaccounted "spark". Such is the power synergy.

 

Once I've mastered math to a higher degree, I hope to create such magic. These forums are a perfect example of that. A crazy compilation of code that creates a cohesive community.

 

As far as spells go, anything is fair game. Nothing in this world can be proven 100% since certain laws cannot be experienced, only observed. Based on what we know though, that form of magic doesn't exist under the current circumstances.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Starlight Sky

[MichaelxXxTrixie 433]

Magic doesn't exist. Not anymore at-least.

 

Back in ancient times when gunpowder, steel, and so much more were all new things to the world. People use to think those things were forged out of some sort of sorcery and had magic properties. Now we know for a fact there is nothing magic about them.

 

We can also confirm that "Magic Items" an example being Sage has no magical properties about it. It's just a plant and we can scientifically measure that. 

 

Magic is basically things we don't understand, however in this day and age we have a nice grasp on reality. So some events that go unexplained aren't always classified as magic.

 

I do feel though that there is something about the brain and about the universe that could qualify as 'magic' but isn't really magic if that makes sense. Like spirit and all that stuff exists just in a different manner than what people say it is. No supernatural stuff like telekinesis and claims of that sort.