Tag Archives: Magic

PROMPT: Magic Genie

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Daily writing prompt
You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for?
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For any wish number one, wish number two always has to be that one suffer no adverse consequences of the law of unintended consequences (i.e. like Midas who turns his food and even his daughter into solid gold.) Wish number three should be that the receipt of wish number one does not rob one of any experience that makes one a better version of oneself in the long-run (e.g. like the lottery winner who had been chugging along through life just fine and then ends up broke and suicidal because of both the additional pressures and the lack of need to be frugal and satisfied with simple things.)

Personally, I don’t know that it’s worth it. The bill always comes due.

But, if forced:

1.) To be contented with what is.

2.) Healthfulness all around.

3.) To die a good death (in due time.)

BOOK: “Tell My Horse” by Zora Neale Hurston

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Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and JamaicaTell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica by Zora Neale Hurston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author’s Book Site — Zora Neale Hurston Trust

This is a beautifully written and fascinating look at Jamaica, Haiti, Voodoo, Zombies, and the sinews that run between them. The first half of the book reads largely like a travelogue of, and introduction to, Jamaica and Haiti, respectively. In this half, Voodoo is only mentioned here and there as an aside. There is much more discussion of culture, race, and politics, notably the disheartening politics of Haiti. (I should point out for those unfamiliar with Harlem Renaissance figures, this book dates to the 1930’s — so current affairs are not addressed, but — unfortunately — Haiti has a long history of troubles.) The second half of the book delves much more intensely into Voodoo and the supernormal happenings broadly connected to it. Hurston’s exploration is neither as a tried-and-true believer, nor as a hardcore sceptic; rather she takes a more journalistic objectivity.

The language of this book is splendid, and Hurston produces many a quotable line. It is true that the subject matter, Voodoo, is extremely compelling, but this book is more than just a collection of tales of magic, superstition, and the weird. It also offers depth of insight into the cultures of these countries and their peoples. Hurston frequently mentions the differences between classes on the matter of Voodoo, the upper-class rejecting it as mere superstition and the lower classes often engaging with it as a way of life.

I’d highly recommend this book, not only for those interested in learning more about Caribbean Voodoo practices, but also for travelers with an intense curiosity about culture.

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BOOK: “Zatanna” by Paul Dini, et. al.

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ZatannaZatanna by Paul Dini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — DC Comics

Zatanna is a magician, both in the sense of being a professional stage illusionist and in the sense of making real magic offstage. The stories contained herein are about her heroic use of the latter magic, though they are often set to the backdrop of her professional life, i.e. clubs and other entertainment venues. Daughter to a deceased legend of stage prestidigitation, The Great Zatara, Zatanna makes magic through verbal spells.
 
This sixteen-issue run consists mostly of standalone stories. There are a couple story arcs that span three or four issues, but for the most part the stories are wrapped up within an issue. Some of these stories dedicate panels to what’s happening with Zatanna’s long-running nemesis, Brother Night, even when the main story is unrelated to him (presumably so as to keep the readers ready to receive some larger arc.)

The stories are good, light-hearted escapism — even – perhaps – when they don’t mean to be. By that I mean that the subject matter is often dark, dealing in demons and nightmares personified, but Zatanna is usually so overpowered compared to her enemies and the book attempts to maintain a quippy comedic effect, and so the reader never feels their heroine is at risk of true danger. That said, the authors do put Zatanna in dire situations, and so the stories often do hook one into a state of wonder about how she will escape some awful fate (even while not doubting for an instant that she will.) Zatanna does have weaknesses and there is some attempt to suggest that magic has risks and consequences (otherwise, the stories would devolve into lukewarm absurdism rather quickly.)

I enjoyed this run. The art is crisp and imaginative, and the stories are often clever — if rarely taut.

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BOOKS: “Magic: A Very Short Introduction” by Owen Davies

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Magic: A Very Short IntroductionMagic: A Very Short Introduction by Owen Davies
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – OUP

The first thing that a potential reader should be aware of is that this book isn’t about stage magic or sleight of hand, and that form of magic — in which all parties are aware that techniques are being used to exploit perceptual limitations so as to create the illusion of a supernatural occurrence — doesn’t even really come up as an aside. This book is about magic that (at least some) people believe is a demonstration of actual supernatural happenings in the world.

The book looks at the topic largely from a historical viewpoint; though special emphasis is given to the relationship between religion and magic, in both its congruous and adversarial aspects. That said, for the most part, it’s not arranged historically but rather topically. It does have one chapter on historical perspectives (ch. 3) and one that addresses the ways and degrees to which magical thinking still exists in the modern world (ch. 6.) But it also has chapters on the anthropology of magic (ch.1,) the shifting landscape of thinking about what magic actually is (given that it’s clearly something to many people but isn’t likely the actual exploitation of loopholes in the laws governing the physical world that believers feel it to be — ch. 3,) the role of language in magic (ch. 4,) and the practices of magic (ch. 5.)

The book does focus heavily on the Abrahamic world (Judeo-Christian-Islamic) and its Janus-faced relation to magic over time, but not exclusively so. It brings in African, Chinese, Caribbean, and Native American traditions here and there as well.

I found this book interesting and thought-provoking and would highly recommend it for anyone looking to gain a better insight into how humanity has thought about magic over time and how those beliefs have aligned – or conflicted with – religious beliefs and practices.

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BOOKS: “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio” by Pu Songling [Trans. by John Minford]

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Strange Tales from a Chinese StudioStrange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Penguin

This is a collection of short stories, almost entirely speculative fiction, dating from the Qing Dynasty (specifically, the late 1600’s to early 17oo’s.) Ghosts, folkloric creatures, and Taoist magic all feature prominently in the stories. The stories average about five pages, but with a wide deviation from stories scarcely longer than today’s micro-fiction to extensive pieces. The Penguin edition collects 104 out of a much larger collection of stories.

The best of these stories are clever and highly engaging, and there are many such tales. Being from Qing Dynasty China, the stories offer a perspective different from one’s typical horror and fantasy short stories. Many of the stories prominently feature eroticism, but not graphically so.

As for the weakness of the volume, even though it selects only a portion of Pu Songling’s original, there are many stories that blend together, failing to distinguish themselves. This is most notable among the fox-spirit stories, of which there are just so many. [A number of them are fantastically unique, but others are just variations on the same.] So, the book can seem a bit repetitive in that sense. However, before you get to the point where you feel you can’t read one more fox-spirit story, you’re quite likely to read a tale that blows your mind.

I greatly enjoyed many of the stories herein. Perhaps, the volume could have benefited from further abridgement, but it’s well worth the read.

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A Spell [Free Verse]

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Write me a spell:
   A tiny bit of magic --
      Nothing massive
       Or mind-blowing --
   Just a simple piece
      Of Magic.

BOOKS: “Taoism: An Essential Guide” by Eva Wong

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Taoism: An Essential GuideTaoism: An Essential Guide by Eva Wong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Site

This book offers the reader clarity about the scope of Taoism, a daunting challenge given Taoism’s long history and how it overlaps with other schools of philosophy as well as with Traditional Chinese Religion, more broadly. The book is divided into three parts: history, specialties (magic, divination, ceremony, inward training, and karma yoga,) and practices (meditation, somatic practices [e.g. qi gong and taijiquan,] and rituals and ceremonies.) The history section covers a period from pre-Taoist shamanic practices of 5,000 years ago, practices that would inform early Taoism, to a period during which Taoism became entwined with Buddhism and Confucianism. The specialties and practices sections attempt to give the reader a broad overview while avoiding discussion of “how-to.”

I found this book to be informative and interesting. It did feel more effectively geared toward someone with an interest in Taoism as religion rather than Taoism as a philosophy. The discussion does sometimes get into the weeds on issues like ceremonies and talismans (again, not in a how-to fashion, but with some arcane detail nevertheless,) but — at the same time — besides some discussion of the teachings of the Tao Te Jing and some exploration of Taoist metaphysics in the Divinational Taoism chapter, there’s not a lot of insight into Taoism as philosophy. That said, it does end each chapter with a “Further Reading” section that can point readers interested in a specific topic elsewhere.

If you’ve ever been overwhelmed at one of those bright and complicated Chinese temples and would like some insight into what Taoists do and how it’s different (or not different) from what Confucianists, Traditional Chinese Religion practitioners, and Zen Buddhists do, this is a good book to check out. If you’re solely interested in Taoism as a school of philosophy or otherwise have a specific focus such as qi gong and breathwork practices, you can probably find books that are better tailored to your needs.

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Introduction to Spellcasting [Lyric Poem]

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We cast our spells by way of words --
 Each sound, sacred. Its magic blurred
 By mundane ways and untrained ears --
 Failure to feel one's way to tears.

So, we're lost upon silent seas
 Even when one could hear with ease:
 Because boundless is speech's spread,
 And boundless, still, within one's head.

Some seek their way to the magic
 By means that are truly tragic,
 When all they really need to do
 Is listen as it passes through.

BOOKS: “Constantine, Vol. 1: The Spark and the Flame” by Ray Fawkes & Jeff Lemire

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Constantine, Vol. 1: The Spark and the FlameConstantine, Vol. 1: The Spark and the Flame by Ray Fawkes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

This is your basic “race to acquire the components of a multi-part MacGuffin” story line. There is a magic compass that John Constantine is eager to keep out of the hands of a shadowy organization of powerful magicians. Why do we care? First of all, because this is a vaguely but extremely powerful artifact that can rain utter destruction on the world in some ill-defined way. Secondly, because Constantine is just such an intriguing character. Mostly the latter, because the former is ill-defined and doesn’t merit much emotional traction.

That’s mostly what the story is about, but there are various seemingly haphazard story elements (probably too many for the first volume in a series.) This being marketed as a “Volume One” is where much of the book’s problems lie. We pick up pretty much in medias res and when an event occurs that we’re supposed to care about enough to want to see a resolution late in the volume, it’s really hard to care about because it’s been raced through. If you are picking this up after reading the previous series, it’s undoubtedly much more satisfying as a story. Picking up the story with this “Volume 1” is a bit chaotic and lacking in emotional resonance.

That said, John Constantine is one of the most interesting characters in comics and he’s written and drawn well in this book. (Not to mention supporting characters like Papa Midnight.) The story is fast-paced and the broad brushstrokes of it are comprehensible.

If you’ve read the previous Hellblazer / Constantine works, you’ll probably enjoy this volume. Taking it on as a standalone may leave one a bit befuddled.

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A Feather in Flow [Free Verse]

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How do I roll like a
   feather in flow?

The one that can't be
   pulled from the pool.
 It slips around the 
   lifted hand,
 Retreating back into 
   the water that it never
     really left.

It's like sleight of hand
   one plays upon oneself:
     at once magician & mark.

The faster one snatches at it, 
   the greater the miss.
 The slower one moves,
   the more frustratingly
     one sees one's failure. 

How to roll like a feather in flow?