How does science relate to magic, are they opposites?
Magick, as we know it in Western cultures, arises from the gnostic religious philosophies. “Gnosis” means “knowing”. Instead of simply believing or accepting the workings of the universe on faith, a student and practitioner of magick seeks to “know” them, to experience them directly and to seek some consistency to their operation, and, through this knowledge, to exert control over them. In the realm of observable phenomena, the most refined way to do this is the scientific method. “Science” also means “knowing”. So science is a form of magick, refined into a high degree of reliability where it is applied to physical phenomena. There is nothing in science that contradicts the operation of magick. However, since magick also addresses experiences and events not independently observable, the methods of science do not always apply to it with any conclusive results. Hard science advocates a causal materialism to be the proper paradigm for explaining and understanding events in reality. Of co
