Scenography of the Ptolemaic Cosmography by Loon, J. van (Johannes), ca. 1611–1686.
Public Domain through Wikipedia Commons

A Brief History of Real World Magic

I am honored to have my essay A Brief History of Real World Magic published by Author and Scientist Dan Koboldt on his ongoing series for writers and fans of speculative fiction called Science in Sci-Fi, Fact in Fiction.

I came across Dan’s blog series last fall when I entered Brenda Drake’s Pitch Wars competition. I found the content provided to be insightful and interesting. For a long while I considered contacting Dan about a submission for this series. I’m glad I finally got around to writing my essay and emailing Dan.

The core of my brief history was an Independent Study I completed as a History major in college at Capital University many, many years ago on the History of Medieval and Renaissance Magic. In researching these ancient scientists and philosophers I found many amazing links to our modern ideas about magic. From Dungeons & Dragons, to Harry Potter and most modern video games, there is a common thread weaving back through history. Sympathetic magic, talismans, dream magic, astrology, and astronomy all factor in to our modern conceptions of magic throughout fantasy culture.

I enjoyed conducting that research and I’m glad to have the opportunity to revisit it and share it now. Thanks to Dan Koboldt for allowing me to do so!