alchemy and magic: Europe 49 own contact with a spirit world seen in dreams and manifest throughout all of reality Early European anthropologists tried to use concepts from these cultures to find universal definitions of religion and magic, but that effort has generally been discredited because they relied on Western science’s preconceptions Many peoples in Polynesia, for instance, see the whole world as permeated by manna, a sort of divine energy that animates everything; to term this belief “magic” is a Western stereotyping of the native idea that does little or nothing to explain the concept within the context of the cultures where it existed Europe by Amy Hackney Blackwell Medieval Europeans believed in magic They knew little of science and medicine, and in a complex and dangerous world magic seemed to be a reasonable explanation for natural phenomena People were willing to whatever they could to give themselves a sense of control over their lives Doing so often meant wearing relics, taking herbs, and chanting incantations, at least Some “magical” charms had real value; many herbs, for example, have medicinal properties Alchemists took basic village magical practice much further, studying the work of other scholars and performing experiments that blended science and magic Medieval Europeans engaged in many types of magical practices They used charms or rituals to protect their homes and themselves or to create other effects Many people believed in the power of relics—the physical remains of holy people, such as saints—to have physical effects on the living Pieces of what were said to be the True Cross (the cross upon which Jesus was crucified), the finger bones of saints, and fragments of the clothing of holy people were popular items for sale in medieval markets Many people purchased and wore charms to protect them from harm; these charms could be items of jewelry or the bone fragments of saints People continued to visit sites that had been sacred in pre-Christian times; although these holy sites often took on Christian identities throughout much of the medieval era, for many people the separation of Christian and pre-Christian beliefs was only partial Villages frequently had residents who specialized in the use of herbal medicines and cures These people were often women who worked as midwives and who were called on to treat various ailments Although these “wise women” were respected for their healing abilities, they were sometimes held in suspicion for fear that their powers would allow them to harm During the late medieval period this suspicion often caused people to call these women witches Because wise Red coral, popularly used to ward off ailments and for other magical purposes; Britain, ca 1500 (© Museum of London) women were frequently widows living alone, they were vulnerable to this sort of persecution Wise women and village healers made ample use of herbs in both medicines and magic potions Different herbs were said to have specific magical properties Dill, for example, was thought to protect people from falling prey to witchcraft and from losing lawsuits Some people sprigs of fennel over the doors of their houses to keep out witches Garlic, it was believed, could keep away all manner of malevolent magical creatures, from vampires to snakes; it could also enhance courage and sexual performance Some people took ginger in an effort to stave off old age Henbane could cause hallucinations that people interpreted as visions from the spirit world; witches were said to use henbane to help them fly Some people would put a new piece of horseradish in their purses every New Year’s Eve as a way to keep from running out of money during the year Love potions were extremely popular during the medieval period Herbalists, alchemists, wise women, and ordinary folk made love potions from all manner of herbs: Lovage, marigold, mallow, mustard, mint, radish, sage, valerian, hops, ginger, cloves, and basil were just a few of the substances that people consumed in order to inflame others with lust or to enhance their own sexual performance Basil, so it was said, had the additional virtue of being useful for magically breeding scorpions The more scholarly form of medieval scientific and magical inquiry was alchemy The word alchemy may have come from the Arabic term al-kimiya, meaning “the art of transformation,” which itself derives from the ancient Greek word khemeia, meaning “cast together,” which may be the etymological root of the word chemistry Alchemists practiced their art throughout the ancient and medieval worlds The most