Magic Circles: Material, Ritual, Social

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Societas Magica

Organizer Name

David Porreca

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of Waterloo

Presider Name

Frank Klaassen

Presider Affiliation

Univ. of Saskatchewan

Paper Title 1

"Walk Like an Egyptian": Magic Circles in Ancient Egypt from Mehen to Ouroboros

Presenter 1 Name

Mark Roblee

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Univ. of Massachusetts-Amherst

Paper Title 2

Magic Circles: What's Inside? What's Outside? (PGM, Picatrix, Munich Handbook)

Presenter 2 Name

David Porreca

Paper Title 3

John of Morigny and His Circle

Presenter 3 Name

Claire Fanger

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Rice Univ.

Start Date

13-5-2017 3:30 PM

Session Location

Bernhard 204

Description

From ancient Orphic rituals and Homeric descriptions to the woodcuts in the works of Athanasius Kircher and much in between, circles have been an integral component of magical practice physically in terms of gestures and inscriptions, conceptually in terms of cosmological models, and socially in terms of groups of like-minded people with a common interest in magic. The geometrical conciseness of the circle (or sphere) appealed to both the religiously devout and the magically devoted, providing a potent metaphorical tool for explanations theological, magical, philosophical, astrological, alchemical, and cosmological. The use of circles in magical ritual also reveal patterns of use in tems of protection, containment, summoning, among a panoply of other purposes.

David Porreca