In this episode, Dr Angela Puca unpacks one of the most fascinating questions in the study and practice of magic: how does magic actually work? Drawing on both historical and contemporary scholarship, she explores the six major explanatory models: the spirit, psychological, natural or energetic, information or cybernetic, sociological, and transcendent or mystical frameworks. Each reveals a different way magicians and scholars have tried to understand the mechanisms of ritual power, from relationships with spirits and manipulation of subtle forces to consciousness engineering and divine realisation. Whether you’re a practitioner, scholar, or simply curious about how magic makes sense of the impossible, this episode will deepen your understanding of what really happens when magic works.
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RECOMMENDED READINGS
REFERENCES
Asprem, E. (2014). The problem of disenchantment: Scientific naturalism and esoteric discourse, 1900-1939. Brill.
Asprem, E. (2013). Programmatic models of esoteric science: The case of chaos magick. In E. Asprem & K. Granholm (Eds.), Contemporary esotericism (pp. 283-300). Equinox Publishing.
Bell, C. (1992). Ritual theory, ritual practice. Oxford University Press.
Berger, H. A. (1999). A community of witches: Contemporary neo-paganism and witchcraft in the United States. University of South Carolina Press.
Carroll, P. J. (1987). Liber null & psychonaut. Weiser Books.
Crowley, A. (1997). Magick: Liber ABA, Book 4 (2nd rev. ed.). Weiser Books. (Original work published 1912-1936)
De Martino, E. (1959). Sud e magia. Feltrinelli.
Fernández Olmos, M., & Paravisini-Gebert, L. (2011). Creole religions of the Caribbean: An introduction from Vodou and Santería to Obeah and Espiritismo (2nd ed.). New York University Press.
Grant, K. (1972). The magical revival. Muller.
Greenwood, S. (2009). The anthropology of magic. Berg.
Hanegraaff, W. J. (1996). New Age religion and Western culture: Esotericism in the mirror of secular thought. Brill.
Harner, M. (1990). The way of the shaman (3rd ed.). Harper & Row.
Hine, P. (1995). Condensed chaos: An introduction to chaos magic. New Falcon Publications.
Jung, C. G. (1969). The archetypes and the collective unconscious (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.; 2nd ed.). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1959)
Kripal, J. J. (2022). The superhumanities: Historical precedents, moral objections, new realities. University of Chicago Press.
Luhrmann, T. M. (1989). Persuasions of the witch’s craft: Ritual magic in contemporary England. Harvard University Press.
Luhrmann, T. M. (2012). When God talks back: Understanding the American evangelical relationship with God. Knopf.
Pike, S. M. (2001). Earthly bodies, magical selves: Contemporary pagans and the search for community. University of California Press.
Regardie, I. (1989). The tree of life: A study in magic. Weiser Books. (Original work published 1932)
Tambiah, S. J. (1990). Magic, science, religion, and the scope of rationality. Cambridge University Press.
Taussig, M. (1993). Mimesis and alterity: A particular history of the senses. Routledge.
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00:00 Support Angela’s Symposium
00:34 How Magic Works
02:57 The Six Primary Models of Magic
05:10 The Psychological Model: Magic as Consciousness Engineering
06:32 The Natural or Energetic Model: Magic Through Cosmic Forces
09:23 The Information or Cybernetic Model: Magic as Reality Programming
11:34 The Sociological or Cultural Model: Magic Through Collective Belief
13:22 The Transcendent or Mystical Model: Magic as Divine Realisation
15:16 Navigating Contradictions: The Challenge of Model Conflicts
17:13 Historical Debates and Schisms
18:31 The Reality of Practice: Pragmatism Amid Contradiction
20:31 Why it matters
23:09 Support Angela’s Symposium
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Published on November 23, 2025
