Questions and curiosities about technology in ancient times:
Some researchers believe that the myths about alien gods arriving from the stars are true. Legends and myths are based on real events, even if these are usually heavily exaggerated and distorted. At the heart of the myths lies the idea that people once flew and had contact with “gods”.
India is a fascinating place: the first settlements there existed more than 11,000 years ago, and it is also the source of descriptions of the oldest devices. A Sanskrit text said to be 8,000 years old describes flying machines called vimanas. These machines must have had jet propulsion, as the drawings and the descriptions of how they behaved in the air suggest. The description resembles a spacecraft. The texts list the metals from which the craft was built and write about electricity, sources of energy, the pilots and their strange clothing, and the weapons they carried on board. There were even flight manuals like those we have in aircraft today. Supposedly these craft could be steered by the mind – something the world’s armies are now trying to master.
The Book of Flight states that vimanas used gyroscopes, electricity and mercury in their propulsion systems. Liquid mercury is a good conductor of electricity, and scientists have already studied such vortices and the possibilities of mercury and electricity.
Gyroscopes and related instruments are used in aircraft, rockets and submarines. Scientists believe that a mercury vortex is not a good fuel for engines. It is possible, then, that the ancients did not fully understand what it was, and since they knew this metal (mercury), that is how they described it.
Legends of air travel were known in North Africa and the Middle East. One source is the holy book of the Ethiopians from the 2nd century: the Kebra Nagast, one of the most important texts of antiquity, whose title means “The Glory of the Kings”. It states that King Solomon had a flying machine. In that part of the world it was called a flying carpet. In the Middle East there were tales of flying carpets that flew mainly to Solomon’s hill, where they landed. Also significant is the fact that Tibetan writings speak of Solomon flying across the sky. It is said that he drew up a map of the world while flying in his craft.
Some old maps show the world as it might have looked during the Ice Age. We know the Piri Reis map, but there are also the maps of Oronteus Finaeus and Mercator, which show Antarctica in detail several centuries before it was discovered.
In the Bible we can find a passage that seems to describe an aircraft. The Book of Ezekiel describes a flying chariot with wheels within wheels, moved by angels. Historians argue that the prophet was referring symbolically to Israel’s enemies. Other researchers see it as further evidence of ancient aircraft. In the 40 pages of the second part of the book we find the results of hundreds of measurements of a gigantic structure in which God’s chariot had previously landed.
In the 1970s a NASA engineer, Josef Blumrich, set out to disprove this theory. After several months of research he concluded that what Ezekiel had seen was indeed a spacecraft.
Ancient civilisations erected massive temples and enormous buildings, just as we do today. Their stones, sometimes weighing several hundred tonnes, would be a challenge even for today’s builders. And yet they were cut, transported, lifted and set in place. How? Were hammers and chisels used, as archaeologists believe today, or did ancient civilisations know technologies that were later forgotten?
Giza is home not only to the pyramids but also to other buildings beside them, such as temples. You don’t have to be an engineer to see that something doesn’t add up. While the pyramids were built of blocks weighing two or three tonnes, the much smaller temples were built of blocks weighing 100–200 tonnes (as much as 100 cars weigh today). The question arises: how on earth were they moved? Perhaps the builders had equipment that made it less difficult than it seems to us. But then, where did they get such machines?
The three largest stones ever cut by human hands are in the Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek in Lebanon, each weighing close to a thousand tonnes. In a nearby quarry there is an even larger block, weighing 1,200 tonnes. To move it today we would need 21 cranes.
The Egyptians must have had advanced technology to build their great temples and pyramids.
In South America, Puma Punku is a vast temple complex in the mountains of Bolivia. Archaeologists date it to 200 BC. The people who lived there knew neither writing nor the wheel, and yet they managed to create one of the most extraordinary structures in the world. The place defies logic. What is shocking is not so much that the stone blocks fit together perfectly, but that such an ambitious project required an excellent knowledge of mathematics. Yet someone in antiquity was able to build it. Today, a project like this would require computers.
If the ancients had tools capable of creating the pyramids and other great buildings, where did those tools go? Archaeologists have found nothing of the kind so far.
Electricity, sophisticated tools, heavy machinery, space exploration – are these recent inventions, or did they exist in antiquity and are we simply rediscovering them?
And if so, did our ancestors invent them themselves, or did they come to us from outer space?
A dictionary of magical terms:
- Magic – A – Magic – B – Magic – C
Magic, witchcraft – practices intended to influence people, objects, events or physical phenomena by paranormal or occult means, which in principle cannot be verified by the scientific method and conflict with a rationalist approach.
These terms may also refer to the practices someone uses in order to exert such influence, and to the beliefs that explain the many events and phenomena within the sphere of magic.
Some magicians reject traditional rituals in favour of techniques inspired by psychology or NLP. However, because no connection can be established between the means used and any effect, the effectiveness of magical acts and the existence of the supernatural forces magic postulates remain a matter of faith. Magician, sorcerer, shaman – a person who practises magic. They use various gestures and spells, utter incantations and perform other ritual acts intended to give them power over supernatural forces, which they believe will grant them the ability to change reality. The term also covers a person with a religious role based on a formalised, institutional ecstatic bond with superhuman beings, ancestral spirits, demons or gods.
Origin
The word “magic” comes from the Magi (Old Persian maguš, Greek μάγος), the astrologer-priests of Zoroastrianism from the people of the Medes. In the Hellenistic period, the Greek μάγος (magos) could be used as an adjective, but the adjective μαγικός (magikos, Latin magicus) is also attested from the 1st century (Plutarch), typically in the feminine, in the phrase μαγική τέχνη (magike techne, Latin ars magica), “the magical art”. The word “magic” entered English at the end of the 14th century, from the Old French magique.
White magic versus black magic
There are many differing views on the difference between white and black magic. Most modern magicians, especially in Western culture, do not assign a colour to any kind of magic, arguing that magic is merely a tool and that how it is used depends solely on the magician’s will (it is the magician who may be “black” or “white”, not the tool). On the other hand, in Siberia, for example, there is a strict division between “white” and “black” shamans, which is generally determined entirely by their origins. And while in parts of medieval Europe the division was strict, in other parts it was far less clear-cut. The way magic was understood at the time – for example, as drawing on demonic forces (which were originally ambivalent in the beliefs of the Greeks or the Slavs, say) or on divine ones – also points to different approaches to classifying it. Consequently, the refusal of some modern witches, magicians and shamans to distinguish between types of magic cannot be attributed solely to the character of modern Western culture (the ideas of individual freedom, liberalism and democracy).
In popular culture, white magic is usually magic used for good ends and by good means, whereas black magic serves evil, is used for wicked purposes and is usually associated with dark methods. A similar approach is found in the Wiccan religion, where magic is divided into white and black according to the principle “Do what you will, so long as your actions harm no one”: acts that harm no one count as white magic, and those that cause harm as black magic. According to Aleister Crowley, white magic is any act of the magician performed in accordance with his Will (which is not the same as doing whatever you like – see Thelema). All other magical acts that go against the Will he regarded as black magic. Interestingly, although Crowley championed the philosophy of Will (his own, after all) and so should not have used any magic but white, his house in Scotland had two separate rooms, one for white magic and one for black, which he also practised. Because the boundaries drawn by these terms are not always precise, the term “grey magic” has also appeared, meaning magic that balances on the border between the two.
Models of how magic works
The idea of magic has accompanied humanity since the dawn of history. Different peoples tried in different ways to explain the phenomena in the world around them and then to influence them for their own benefit. That is why the magical practices known today are so diverse: they postulate markedly different principles of how reality works and different methods of influencing it. They can, however, be grouped into several models of how magic works:
The spirit model
This is probably the oldest model of magic, found above all in shamanism. It assumes the existence of an Otherworld inhabited by spiritual beings such as spirits, demons and angels. Depending on the particular magical system, the magician either enters the Otherworld (usually only with the mind, through trance or ecstasy) and performs magical acts while travelling through it, or creates an enclosed space (such as a circle) in which he invokes the spirit world or its inhabitants. In the latter case, the spirit either carries out the tasks entrusted to it, acting on the material world from the Otherworld, or possesses the magician, who thereby gains additional powers.
All magical acts are in fact performed by spiritual beings, and the magician must persuade them to do so or force them to obey his will. This is done through prayers, promises of service, taking on particular taboos, and even intimidation by means of spells or the spiritual “superiors” of the being in question.
Examples of magical systems that use this model include shamanism, theurgy and goetia. Among its advocates are Solomon and John Dee, and, more recently, Aleister Crowley.
The energy model. This model is probably only slightly newer than the spirit model. It assumes that the visible world is permeated by an all-pervading life energy, known by different names in different cultures: prana, qi, ki, mana, and in Europe vis vitalis, vril, magnetic fluid and so on. According to this model, the processes of the visible world are the result of these subtle energies at work, and magical acts consist in manipulating the flow of energy so as to produce the desired effect on a large scale. As in the previous model, a magical trance is used here too, quieting the logical part of the mind so that the magician perceives and acts purely intuitively.
This model is used above all by Eastern magical and occult systems: Huna, most forms of yoga, traditional Chinese medicine and Feng Shui, Reiki, and also the martial arts, especially T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Chi Kung (Qigong). In the Western tradition it first appears in Mesmer’s concept of animal magnetism and then in Blavatsky’s Theosophy. It was popularised on a wide scale by the New Age movement.
The psychological model
Strictly speaking, this model does not explain how magic works; it merely holds that the subconscious is responsible for magical effects and that it can be programmed to bring about desired changes. This programming is achieved through the use of symbols and autosuggestion in a state of mind that Buddhists call samadhi and chaos magicians call gnosis.
A magician working with this model does not need spiritual beings or subtle energies in magical practice – programming mental states into the psyche is enough. In practice, however, magicians using this model often accept the existence of spirits or energies, which supposedly allows them, for instance, to charge sigils with energy in order to strengthen or speed up their effect.
The best-known magician to use this model was Austin Osman Spare, whose sigil magic is essentially an inversion of Freud’s theory of complexes. The magician focuses his intention on a sigil – a graphic or sound symbol he has created – and then forgets it (that is, removes it from consciousness). The sigil, however, remains in the subconscious, where it forms a kind of artificial complex that begins to influence the magician’s actions in much the same way as ordinary fears pushed down into the subconscious.
The psychological model of magic first became popular in the English-speaking world, and in the 1970s it became the dominant magical paradigm in Western culture. Its followers included Israel Regardie, Dion Fortune and Peter Carroll.
The information model
This is the newest model of magic, dating from the late 1980s. It is based on the assumption that there is a cosmic energy that can be shaped by information, and that information is separate from mass and energy but can combine with them.
Magicians who use the information model (sometimes called “cybermagicians”) do not use magical trance in their practice, which sets them apart from other magicians. Rather, in a normal state of mind, they use the centres where information is stored and processed (the brain and the chakras along the spine). They believe that with their help they direct the flow of information, which shapes cosmic energy in the desired way. Unlike in other systems of magic, information here is not used up but copied between energy systems.
So despite its modern image, this model appears to derive from the energy model. Besides practical knowledge of programming and administering IT systems, a cybermagician should also be proficient in meditation and in some technique for developing the energy system, such as yoga.
The theory is very young and still being actively developed, particularly by the Illuminates of Thanateros. According to Frater U.D., considerable success has so far been achieved in magical communication and healing.
The scientific approach
Modern anthropology considers magic in terms of mythical thinking, and in relation to the perception of cause and effect rooted in a given culture.
One of the anthropological functionalists, Bronislaw Malinowski, wrote in his classic work:
We find magic wherever the elements of chance and accident, and the emotional play between hope and fear, have a wide and extensive range. We do not find magic wherever the pursuit is certain, reliable and well under the control of rational methods and technological processes. Further, we find magic where the element of danger is conspicuous. We do not find it wherever absolute safety eliminates any elements of foreboding. Here psychological factors play their part. But magic also fulfils another and highly important social function. As I have tried to show elsewhere, magic is an active element in the organisation of labour and its systematic arrangement. It is also the main controlling power in the pursuit of the game. The cultural function of magic, therefore, is to bridge over the gaps and fill in those very important activities of man which he has not yet fully mastered.
Unlike the scientific approach, the popular view held by part of modern society identifies magic with superstition or folklore, and sees magical practices as ineffective or even fraudulent. Despite such negative connotations, magic has nonetheless taken root in popular culture as a fixture of fantasy literature, children’s fairy tales and marketing campaigns.
Magic and religion. Both of these forms of human activity – magic and religion – involve belief in the existence of a world beyond the senses, one that cannot be verified by experiment. In magic, as in religion, supernatural forces may be personified (for example, jinn or demons), but there is a fundamental difference in how people relate to these forces that allows religion to be distinguished from magic: in magic there is no complex psychological relationship between the person performing the rite and the spirit being addressed (the failure of a rite is blamed on the magician’s lack of skill, not, as in religion, on the whim of a deity, for instance). Another important difference is that a person guided by magical thinking, such as a shaman, assumes that magical practices give them influence over the course of events in the world around them, and if they meet difficulties, they assume they have come up against stronger magic; whereas someone guided by religious thinking (a priest) assumes that they cannot influence spiritual beings but can only appease them, for example through prayer. Magical thinking thus assumes human agency, while religious thinking assumes that the course of events in the world depends on higher beings – the gods.
A key difference between magic and religion is the soteriological aspect: the essence of religion is its focus on the idea of life after death. An important distinguishing feature of religion is therefore its concern with the fate of the soul after death. Magic also involves contact with the transcendent, but it is more pragmatic than religion. According to Malinowski, magic exists to achieve complex goals and has always been present in the minds of people in primitive societies.
Belief in magic is widespread in most ethnic belief systems – among the tribal communities of Africa and Oceania, among Native Americans, in the native beliefs of medieval Europe and among some of their modern continuers, the native faith movements. Until the 18th century, magic was punishable by death in Europe (usually by burning at the stake).
Magic according to Christianity
Acts 8:9 But there was a man named Simon who had for some time practised sorcery in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 10 All of them, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 They paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic arts. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptised he stayed close to Philip, and seeing the signs and great miracles that were performed, he was amazed. 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them; they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power too, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” The Bible, like the Qur’an, opposes magical practices:
Acts 16:16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Finally Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
Acts 19:19 And a number of those who had practised magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.
According to religious figures of some faiths (especially monotheistic ones, such as Christianity), any use of magic (whatever its classification) has an evil origin and is forbidden. Biblical scholars hold that magical practices stem from an interaction between the human will and a spiritual realm which, according to some interpretations of the Bible, is identical with the demonic sphere (from which exorcism, for example, can offer protection). A characteristic feature of such interactions is then the self-interest of the demonic forces, which is why every form of magical practice ultimately has a destructive effect, to a greater or lesser degree, on a person’s very being. According to supporters of this view, the consequences of magical practices understood in this way (in the form of demonic bondage, possession, physical or mental illness, depression or suicidal thoughts) may appear both while they are being practised and afterwards, once the person (the sorcerer) has stopped practising them.
Magic in practice
I then invoke “spirits”, namely printers, publishers, booksellers and the like, and constrain them to convey my message to those people. The composition and distribution of this book is thus an act of MAGICK by which I cause changes to take place in conformity with my Will. It should be stressed that in English, Aleister Crowley introduced the term “Magick” (adding the letter “k” to the word “magic”) to denote true magic as opposed to stage conjuring tricks. In Polish, the ordinary word “magia” is still the most common term for both concepts, although Polish translations just as often use “magija” or “magyia” (also introduced to make the distinction).
There are many organisations and individuals around the world who believe that magic can really be practised. The magician and occultist Aleister Crowley called it “Magick” and wrote of it in one of his works: MAGICK is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will. (Illustration: It is my Will to inform the World of certain facts within my knowledge.
Practitioners of magic assume that any action relating to a particular sphere of being should produce an effect on the things dependent on that action, despite the apparent lack of any cause-and-effect link between the action and its expected result. According to this way of thinking, every similar, analogous action should produce analogous effects. Magic defined in this way was termed sympathetic magic by James Frazer, who also distinguished two ways of practising it: homeopathic (imitative) magic and contagious magic. I therefore take “magical weapons”, pen, ink, and paper; I write “incantations” – these sentences – in the “magical language”, i.e. that which is understood by the people I wish to instruct.
Everyday magic
Our beliefs, which shape our experience, work in a similar way. This means that if we have been taught, had it drummed into us, or have ourselves come to believe that a certain bus is very often late, then most likely the next time we go to the bus stop, the bus will be late again. Those who believe in magic hold that we encounter it at every stage of our lives, often without even realising it. In their view, its most visible element is the power of thought. Although some aspects of this have now been partly proven by psychologists, much of it is still regarded by society at large as pure magic. Magicians (though not from every circle) openly hold it to be true that if we devote a great deal of attention to something, it is more likely to come true – whether it is a fear of something or a desire to achieve something. Esotericists often use this view, among other things, to develop paranormal abilities by changing the belief, instilled in them since childhood by their parents, for example, that supernatural abilities are impossible.
Deuteronomy 18:10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, anyone who practises divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or a charmer, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you.
Leviticus 19:31 Do not turn to mediums or to fortune-tellers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 20:6 If a person turns to mediums and fortune-tellers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.
