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Natural magic in the context ofRenaissance magic is that part of theoccult which deals withnatural forces directly, as opposed toceremonial magic which deals with the summoning of spirits.[1] Natural magic sometimes makes use of physical substances from the natural world such as stones or herbs.[1]
Natural magic so defined includesastrology,alchemy, and disciplines that we would today consider fields ofnatural science, such asastronomy andchemistry (which developed and diverged from astrology and alchemy, respectively, into the modern sciences they are today) orbotany (fromherbology). TheJesuit scholarAthanasius Kircher wrote that "there are as many types of natural magic as there are subjects of applied sciences".[2]
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa discusses natural magic in hisThree Books of Occult Philosophy (1533),[1][3] where he calls it "nothing else but the highest power of natural sciences".[1] The Italian Renaissance philosopherGiovanni Pico della Mirandola, who founded the tradition ofChristian Kabbalah, argued that natural magic was "the practical part of natural science" and was lawful rather than heretical.[4]
The dictionary definition ofnatural magic at Wiktionary.
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