Why do most people fear those who practice magic?

1. 74

   Mr. Happyposted 13 years ago

   Why do most people fear those who practice magic?
   
   I know the unknown is generally feared. The unknown makes most people uneasy, uncertain and wary but are there specific reasons why people think negatively of witches and sorcerers?

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2. 72

   dashingscorpioposted 13 years ago

   Most people don't believe in magic. The reason why they are "scared" or uncomfortable around people who "practice magic" is because they believe they are crazy.

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3. 82

   cclitgirlposted 13 years ago

   Hmmm....perhaps because it wasn't originally part of the "puritan" culture.  Unfortunately, the Conquest began after that with it the European/Colonists' version of history....

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4. 65

   4elementsposted 13 years ago

   Most people fear what they don't know or don't understand. They have also been misinformed about magic due to Hollywood movies or TV shows. Some get confused between what is real about it or what is purely entertainment. And they let others fill their heads with information instead of reading ot researching for themselves.

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5. 77

   Seeker7posted 13 years ago

   Hi Mr Happy!
   
   Mostly it's ignorance and a total misunderstanding of what magic really is all about. I think as well that there has been that much crap and misinformation written about  magic, witches, the occult and so on, that it has built up a huge myth of what it is not rather than what magic is really about. I think also books, movies and so on have a huge part to play in how people perceive magic and the occult. Let's face it, people find it much more interesting to learn about dark deeds than some goody two shoes who always plays by the rules.
   
   Another angle is of course the basic fear of the unknown. People will perceive magic as a link to the unknown and invisible forces and the person who practices these arts are themselves linked to these forces. People will believe that 'tampering' with such forces causes them to manifest in the physical world and cause harm - in many people's minds just because they are unknown must mean they are negative. There is no room to believe that invisible forces and magic could be positive. Therefore their fear is intensified because of the negative belief and because they don't know how to protect themselves or how to fight back. If the fear stems from religion, then the main suspicion is that anything outside their particular belief system is negative and evil and should be shunned. There is no real effort to try and understand the occult in anyway other than evil. When this belief is part of the main religion of a country, then these negative opinions will be indoctrinated into the collective psyche and belief systems of the majority.

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6. 82

   mikejhcaposted 13 years ago

   Magic was often used to explain bad things.  Something bad happened so lets blame magic.  The magic had to come from someone so lets say someone is a witch.  That is why a lot of women were executed as witches in the Salem witch trials.
   
   People fear the unknown and not very many people know much about magic or do not believe it.  They may be worried a witch or sorcerer is going to cast a bad spell on them or that the person is going physically do something bad.  For example kill an animal or person for a ritual sacrifice.

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7. 62

   tirelesstravelerposted 13 years ago

   Most people in the northern hemisphere don't believe in the supernatural world or they ignore the thought of it. If you come across something new it's scary. This is especially true if the supernatural has power.

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8. 0

   Sri Tposted 13 years ago

   People have been taught to fear their own power, the power of the mind by way of religion. Also some people who practice magick have been known to use the power to harm others, example, dark magick of the ancient occult. The dark side of magick has been focused on more in the media and throughout history. Some claim that they don't practice the darker occultism, but many have a huge ego about getting revenge on others using magickal powers.

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9. 77

   mattdigiulioposted 13 years ago

   I do not think most people fear those who practice magic. Maybe there are some, but certainly not most. Unless you have some evidence to back up that claim. Sorry to be so crotchety. It's bed time for this guy.

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10. 76

    jirelposted 13 years ago

    People talk about paranormal stuffs.Why do they call it 'paranormal'?It exactly means that things that cannot be understood and is also beyond the understanding capacity of people.That why they are not called normal, termed as 'paranormal'.Magic is also a subject of controversy.Some people believe in it and most don't.Among those who believe, they think that magic is dangerous and it can hurt people.We've also heard stories of evil magic being done.That's why people are scared.When the fact is, magic is completely normal but extraordinary ;but it can do good things too.Maybe they fear of the evil part of magic as it hasn't been accepted in the society till now..

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11. 60

    choboo2posted 13 years ago

    Stupidity, stereotypes and the Bible. Some people are stupid and don't want to take the time to try and understand. There are so many stereotypes out there that people think that they know it all when really they know nothing! The Bible also says that magic is NOT ok to practice. Those are the main reasons.

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12. 79

    cloverleaffarmposted 13 years ago

    They fear what they don't know, or don't understand. Most people don't understand that it is a religion, and it's their way of "praying".
    People don't understand that "witches" , or wicca came long before Christianity. Most Christian holidays stem from pagan holidays.

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13. 60

    Shawn May Scottposted 13 years ago

    I agree that it is mostly fear that keeps people of other walks of life from seeing clearly what a Witch truly is and is not. As a culture Witches have ablilities that we develop to guide ourselves and our life journies and these skills can be feared as well. I am talking about psychic mediums, intuitives, psychic dreamers etc. We work at developing these skills and believe in after lives and that there are spirits that walk with us and that the truth of many issues can be found through the crafting of spells and rituals. But for some reason or another this is still very misunderstood. I believe it is because it is difficult to prove that our methods work. Such as peolpe that are intuned with spirits and can acutually see them as orbs or in complete form, or people that can communicate with the spirits. Not only that but people that can tell the future in one form or another. These aspects of our beliefs are not part of any other religious culture and come across and unbelivable for some people. Also the method of dress for rituals is rather spooky to those who do not understand that black keeps negative energy out and when we adorn ourselves in black and wear silver jewery it gives an appeance that has been developed over centuries of negativity. Being that the negative ideas have been embedded in society for a very, very long time; it is going to take just as long to remove the stigmata that has been our "cross" to bere. So all that being said it up to us to let people know that we are acceptable people and not circus freaks as we are thought of and just as with any other social abnormality slowly we will be tolerated and then accepted as acceptance become the normal for our society.

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14. 63

    Brandon Martinposted 13 years ago

    Simply put- people fear what they have not and do not want to learn about, or know about.
    Hollywood and great story-tellers turned the world of magic into something scary....
    Supposedly people who practice magic would summon earth trolls, and other stuff into our world. Doesn't make much sense.

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15. 60

    bright_sorcererposted 12 years ago

    Short answer is religious programming, often the result of generations with the same mindset who have preceded them. Ignorance, as you have mentioned, plays a huge role, especially when any type of exploration into our innate spiritual gifts and abilities is involved. Religion, as we know in the west, has a long track record of brutally discouraging any who "dabbled" in the arts, equating it with being in league with the devil. Religion was designed to be a cohesive factor in bringing together both similar and diverse groups of people under a common banner, where each was essentially forced to accept the "truth" being preached by rabbis, imam or ministers. They did not want their "sheep" looking for insight or understanding from any source but them.
    What is quite ironic is that in every Christian home I know they celebrate a birthday by blowing out birthday candles. This is merely a simplified version of candle magic.

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