Counterspell

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Counter-magic (also Widerzauber , French contrecharme , English counterspell , countermagic ) is a spell to combat another spell or an evil thought to be the effect of supernatural powers. Its purpose is to neutralize their harmful effects or to direct them to another object. The counter-spell can also include measures that are intended to track down the author of the harmful spell, drive away or cause him damage and thereby render him harmless.

Containment

The counter spell is a special type of defense spell . While this is primarily intended as a preventive measure against a harmful effect feared for the future, the counter-spell is intended to subsequently combat a harmful effect that is presented as already occurred or initiated in the past. Since the means used are largely the same, the difference between preventive defense spells and subsequent counter-spells is often not clear or only recognizable from the context in the sources on magic practice.

On the one hand, there is an overlap with the term harmful spell , provided that the counter-spell is intended to direct the harmful effect on another object or to damage the author of the spell being fought. However, there are also overlaps with counter-spells and healing spells, weather spells, fertility spells and other magical practices that are intended to combat an evil (illness, storms, sterility, etc.) thought to be the effect of a harmful spell or other evil forces. Exorcistic rituals intended to break the rule of the devil or a demon over a person can also be regarded as counter- spells , even if from the ecclesiastical point of view the exorcism of baptism and the great exorcism to expel a demon are not spells, since they are used to combat the Evils do not, for their part, take refuge in evil forces.

History and dissemination

Counter-spell is widespread in most cultures, in which the belief in harmful magic or generally the belief in the harmful effects of evil forces is widespread and then the fear of it in turn evokes magical practices to combat them. Thanks to Homer still best known counter charms of ancient Greece is the magic herb Moly , with Odysseus against the magic power of Kirke protects and transformed by it into pigs companions turned back into humans. Counter-spells play an important role in medicine and in the magical practices of the Middle Ages and the early modern period , where they also make use of Christian invocations and symbols, and have shaped customs in European countries in many ways to this day. An example is knocking on wood or spitting it out three times or quoting it onomatopoeically “ Toi, toi, toi ”, which is intended to counteract the occurrence of a fear expressed at the same time or immediately beforehand. Where the belief in the magical effect, which is to be assumed for the concept of magic, is missing, this is then only a means of non-verbal communication that is intended to underline the speaker's attitude to the feared event.

Counter-spell can have its place in the context of the priestly exercise of magic, as for example in the ancient Egyptian religion , for which magical practices are documented that are supposed to neutralize or limit the power of another deity with the help of a deity. The fear of harmful magic leads in some societies to the development of a certain social type of specialized healers and helpers who are used to combat the feared magic and as “witch banners” to track down and neutralize the alleged causer. In the witch trial of the early modern period , the counter-spell is also one of the magical practices of judges and executioners who use such practices to track down and convict witches and for personal protection from their harmful spells. In the legal assessment, the counter-magic in secular law of the Middle Ages and early modern times is judged more leniently or even exempted from punishment, while in church law it remains punishable as a violation of the First Commandment , the prohibition of foreign gods.

Counter-magic still plays an important role in voodoo and in some African cultures, in which the social effects of the fear of harmful magic are also reflected in legislation: a law was first announced in Zimbabwe for July 2006, which generally made witchcraft a punishable offense but then, under the pressure of traditional healers , the criminal offense is restricted to witchcraft that has a harmful effect. In Western cultures, counter-magic has its meaning in the continued existence of traditional superstitions and the emergence of new esoteric movements, there then also in connection with relevant advisory literature, to which on the German book market, among other things, a "counter-magic set" for "first aid magical attacks ”. The younger generation is now familiar with counter-magic mainly from fantasy literature and role-playing games.

literature

  • Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli (ed.): Concise dictionary of German superstition . W. de Gruyter, Berlin 1927–1942, Ndr. 1987, ISBN 3-11-016860-X , Art. Abwehrzauber , Gegenenzauber .
  • Robin Briggs: Witches and Neighbors: the Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft. Viking Books. New York 1996, ISBN 0-670-83589-7 , ISBN 0-14-014438-2 ( review by Charlotte C. Wells; review by Euan Cameron, with the author's reply ).
  • Christoph Daxelmüller: Magic Practices . A story of ideas of magic. Zurich 1993, ISBN 3-7608-1077-2 .
  • Johannes Dillinger: The magical dish. Religion, magic and ideology. In: Herbert Eiden, Rita Voltmer (Hrsg.): Witches trials and judicial practice. (= Trier witch trials, 6). Spee Verlag, Trier 2002, ISBN 3-87760-128-6 , pp. 545-593 ( abstract ).
  • Karl-Sigismund Kramer: Damage and counter-magic in everyday life in the 16-18. Century according to archival sources from Holstein. In: Christian Degn, Hartmut Lehmann, Dagmar Unverhau (eds.): Witches trials. German and Scandinavian contributions (= studies on folklore and cultural history of Schleswig-Holstein, 12). Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1983, ISBN 3-529-02461-9 , pp. 222-239.
  • Tamara Multhaupt: Witchcraft and Anti-witchcraft in Africa. Trickster Wissenschaft, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-923804-35-0 .
  • Jutta Nowosadtko: Job description and professional conception of the witch executioner. In: Gunther Franz, Franz Irsigler (Hrsg.): Methods and concepts of historical witch research (= Trier witch trials, 4). Spee Verlag, Trier 1998, ISBN 3-87760-126-X , pp. 193-210.
  • Christoph Auf der Horst: healing magic. In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , pp. 555-561.