The conquest of magic over public space: Discovering the face of popular magic in contemporary society

Abstract

Although magic is today visible in many new forms and is expressed differently in different social groups, it is not, however, a novel element in contemporary Western society. Magic as a form of knowledge‐control of reality has never completely disappeared, and maintains today, at a symbolic level, a close link between past and present in local cultures. Although magic refers to meaning and beliefs that are restricted to the select few, some mysteries are revealed to a large number of people, a process through which its clandestine nature is profoundly altered and its character sui generis is strengthened, especially in times of rapid social change. Where magic assumes a less fragmentary and more visible character, stepping out of the private sphere to occupy public space, its social presence is extended not only to the ‘in‐between spaces’, but also to more institutionalised environments. Magic is as present in the daily interaction between individuals as it is in wider contexts, such as the fashion‐industry and product‐consumption, where it assumes forms that are at times more visible, at other times more ‘covert’. The present diffusion of magic beliefs is not, however, an indication of ‘a return to primitivism’, but a revival of a form of knowledge‐control of reality. Rather than offering a means of escape from reality, magic provides a reassuring mechanism through which to confront both concrete as well as spiritual problems to which the more traditional institutions often cannot provide satisfactory solutions.