Oriental Magic
Encyclopedia
Oriental Magic, by Idries Shah
, is a study of magical practices in diverse cultures from Europe and Africa, through Asia to the Far East. Originally published in 1956 and still in print today, it was the first of this author’s 35 books. The work was launched with the encouragement of the anthropologist
, Professor Louis Marin, who in his preface to the book stressed its “scholarly accuracy” and “real contribution to knowledge”.
Magic
had long been considered outside the discipline of academic study, but Shah’s approach, which involved five years of study and field work, was – very unusually for the 1950s – multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural. His documented material came from archaeology
, anthropology
, history
, religion
, and psychology
, as well as from artefacts, obscure manuscripts, and an impressive range of expert informants, who made (often unpublished) specialist material available to him. As a result, the secrecy and obfuscation around magical operations and practitioners was defused by the author’s informed, dispassionate approach to the array of arcane information he had assembled, some of it printed for the first time.
Oriental Magic seems also to have been a clearly stated invitation for magic in general to be investigated as any other subject in the West would be, with coolness, objectivity and scientific method. The book in itself can be seen as providing a ground plan for future researchers, signalling useful directions their investigations might take, and specifying topics which might yield to further study.
to Japan
. Among much else, these include a conspectus of Jewish, Tibetan
, Arabian, Iran
ian and India
n magic, an account of Sufism
and its origins, legends of the sorcerers, examples of alchemy
, talismans and magical rites found in the cultures studied, and topics such as love magic
, the witchdoctors of the Nile Valley, the ‘singing sands’ of Egypt
, subcutaneous electricity, and the prehistoric sources of Babylonian occult practices. There are also personal accounts of, for instance, Shah’s ‘training’ under a Ju-Ju witch doctor, a demonstration of Hindu
levitation, and translations of what were considered secret alchemical and magical formulae.
Shah finds that magical origins in High Asia
have influenced communities halfway across the world, and that the westward drift from that original source might explain the great similarity in magical beliefs, practices and terminology in places as diverse as China
, the Near East
, Scandinavia
and Africa
. The type of witch-doctoring (shamanism) practised in the east, for example, is duplicated among the Finns, the Sami, and even the American Indians
.
The author tracks distortions from original sources, winnows fact from supposition, allows for alternative explanations of phenomena, such as physiological and psychological responses which are separate from the apparent “magic”, and shows how much dross has accumulated around many of the practices he inspects. But he suggests there also remains a residue of what, in magical terminology, could be called “pure gold”, and that some of this “gold” is likely to reflect hitherto little-understood forces “which may very possibly be harnessed to individual and collective advantage”.
At the time of first publication, The Times Literary Supplement
described it as containing a “wealth of illustrative material” for which the lay reader might be grateful. The religious periodical, Hibbert Journal, called it “fascinating and illuminating”, with “a great deal of interesting information” , and said that “the accounts of personal experience in the Sudan
and Tibet
were “especially … fascinating”. Time & Tide, a general circulation weekly, said it was “a most interesting collection of facts concerning magical practices and their history”, with “an admirable bibliography” and also …. “heaped with various jewels” … [which] “should provide a rich source of data for psychologists, anthropologists and psychical research”. The scientific journal Nature
said Shah’s approach was “a point of view of which too little has been heard in the past”, and recommended the work as “valuable and entertaining reading”. Contemporary Review called it “a serious work of considerable anthropological interest.” Professor Louis Marin wrote: “Oriental Magic deserves to find a wide audience of educated readers”.
In a review in the Journal of Bible and Religion (1958), Swami Akhilananda of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society in Boston
, Massachusetts
, wrote that Shah had been "the first to write on Oriental Magic as it is presented in this fascinating book." He praised the breadth of the book's coverage, noting that it covered many different religious traditions, and commented on the fact that Shah had evidently travelled widely to collect his source material.
Reviewing the book in the Journal of Asian Studies
(1958), Alan J. A. Elliot wrote that "Shah obviously has a profound personal interest in the occult, and has gone to very great lengths to collect a great amount on interesting information. His method of exposition is, however, most likely to appeal to the reader without a strongly developed scientific interest in the subject." Elliott considered the book too short to do justice to the wide range of practices and traditions it sought to cover, spanning all of Europe
and much of Africa
and Asia
; nevertheless he concluded Oriental Magic was a "well-written and interesting book", and a "contribution to the study of the occult, whatever the source of a student's interest in the subject may be."
Idries Shah
Idries Shah , also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi , was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.Born in India, the descendant of a...
, is a study of magical practices in diverse cultures from Europe and Africa, through Asia to the Far East. Originally published in 1956 and still in print today, it was the first of this author’s 35 books. The work was launched with the encouragement of the anthropologist
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, Professor Louis Marin, who in his preface to the book stressed its “scholarly accuracy” and “real contribution to knowledge”.
Magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
had long been considered outside the discipline of academic study, but Shah’s approach, which involved five years of study and field work, was – very unusually for the 1950s – multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural. His documented material came from archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, as well as from artefacts, obscure manuscripts, and an impressive range of expert informants, who made (often unpublished) specialist material available to him. As a result, the secrecy and obfuscation around magical operations and practitioners was defused by the author’s informed, dispassionate approach to the array of arcane information he had assembled, some of it printed for the first time.
Oriental Magic seems also to have been a clearly stated invitation for magic in general to be investigated as any other subject in the West would be, with coolness, objectivity and scientific method. The book in itself can be seen as providing a ground plan for future researchers, signalling useful directions their investigations might take, and specifying topics which might yield to further study.
Content
The author examines a vast accumulation of materials on human beliefs, magical practices and ceremonies, from North AfricaNorth Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Among much else, these include a conspectus of Jewish, Tibetan
Tibetan culture
Tibetan culture developed under the influence of a number of factors. Contact with neighboring countries and cultures- including Nepal, India and China - have influenced the development of Tibetan culture, but the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinctive local...
, Arabian, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n magic, an account of Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
and its origins, legends of the sorcerers, examples of alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, talismans and magical rites found in the cultures studied, and topics such as love magic
Love magic
Love magic is the attempt to bind the passions of another, or to capture them as a sex object through magical means rather than through direct activity. It can be implemented in a variety of ways, such as written spells, dolls, charms, amulets, love potions, or different rituals.Love magic has...
, the witchdoctors of the Nile Valley, the ‘singing sands’ of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, subcutaneous electricity, and the prehistoric sources of Babylonian occult practices. There are also personal accounts of, for instance, Shah’s ‘training’ under a Ju-Ju witch doctor, a demonstration of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
levitation, and translations of what were considered secret alchemical and magical formulae.
Shah finds that magical origins in High Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
have influenced communities halfway across the world, and that the westward drift from that original source might explain the great similarity in magical beliefs, practices and terminology in places as diverse as China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. The type of witch-doctoring (shamanism) practised in the east, for example, is duplicated among the Finns, the Sami, and even the American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
.
The author tracks distortions from original sources, winnows fact from supposition, allows for alternative explanations of phenomena, such as physiological and psychological responses which are separate from the apparent “magic”, and shows how much dross has accumulated around many of the practices he inspects. But he suggests there also remains a residue of what, in magical terminology, could be called “pure gold”, and that some of this “gold” is likely to reflect hitherto little-understood forces “which may very possibly be harnessed to individual and collective advantage”.
Reception
Oriental Magic has been in print for more than 50 years. The Book Exchange, referring to its re-publication in 1968, said the book had “come to be regarded as essential reading for those concerned with research in the fields of human beliefs”.At the time of first publication, The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
described it as containing a “wealth of illustrative material” for which the lay reader might be grateful. The religious periodical, Hibbert Journal, called it “fascinating and illuminating”, with “a great deal of interesting information” , and said that “the accounts of personal experience in the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
were “especially … fascinating”. Time & Tide, a general circulation weekly, said it was “a most interesting collection of facts concerning magical practices and their history”, with “an admirable bibliography” and also …. “heaped with various jewels” … [which] “should provide a rich source of data for psychologists, anthropologists and psychical research”. The scientific journal Nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
said Shah’s approach was “a point of view of which too little has been heard in the past”, and recommended the work as “valuable and entertaining reading”. Contemporary Review called it “a serious work of considerable anthropological interest.” Professor Louis Marin wrote: “Oriental Magic deserves to find a wide audience of educated readers”.
In a review in the Journal of Bible and Religion (1958), Swami Akhilananda of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, wrote that Shah had been "the first to write on Oriental Magic as it is presented in this fascinating book." He praised the breadth of the book's coverage, noting that it covered many different religious traditions, and commented on the fact that Shah had evidently travelled widely to collect his source material.
Reviewing the book in the Journal of Asian Studies
Journal of Asian Studies
The Journal of Asian Studies is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for Asian Studies, covering Asian studies. The journal was first established in 1941 as The Far Eastern Quarterly, obtaining its new title in September 1956...
(1958), Alan J. A. Elliot wrote that "Shah obviously has a profound personal interest in the occult, and has gone to very great lengths to collect a great amount on interesting information. His method of exposition is, however, most likely to appeal to the reader without a strongly developed scientific interest in the subject." Elliott considered the book too short to do justice to the wide range of practices and traditions it sought to cover, spanning all of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and much of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
; nevertheless he concluded Oriental Magic was a "well-written and interesting book", and a "contribution to the study of the occult, whatever the source of a student's interest in the subject may be."