In our world science and magic are light years apart, but in the Elizabethan world they were commonly one and the same. Discover the subtleties of Elizabethan magic, try your hand at alchemy and test out some age old magical tricks at home.

Early Science

The earliest records of science come from the ancient Greeks, around 600 BC. Other cultures, such as ancient Babylonians (present day Iraq) and Egyptians were forerunners in technological capability. But, neither of these cultures tried to understand their world outside of their practical needs.

We can think of the ancient Greeks as the first scientists because it was they who began to try to understand their world, and advance the first theories. The first rumblings of science and philosophy begin in the Greek provincial cities, and flourished in Athens in the 4th century BC, under the great philosophers Plato and Aristotle.

A list of Greek scientific figures from this period is a true celebrity list, even today.

• Hippocrates: The father of scientific medicine
• Pythagoras: Mathematician and astrologer
• Euclid: Developed geometry
• Archimedes: Physicist, builder and mechanic
• Galen: Doctor and medical researcher
• Ptolemy: Astronomer

The Romans, who succeeded the Greeks in much of the Mediterranean, were more practically oriented. They were great builders of bridges, roads and cities, and their military technology was second to none. They were less interested in philosophy and theory than the Greeks, and were doers not thinkers.

Stagnation

After the fall of the Roman Empire around 500 AD, science in Europe went through a period of relative stagnation, though some technological advances were made. As organised Roman society dissolved, the monasteries were the only centres of learning. The monks kept a knowledge of ancient science alive, but tended to treat the works of the ancients as the final word on science. They saw their task as making ancient wisdom fit with Christianity, rather than creating new scientific knowledge.

Revival

At the time of the crusades around the 13th century there was something of a revival in learning. The crusades brought the English into contact with Arabic culture in which Greek scientific ideas had really been moved forward. The Renaissance - literally the re-birth - beginning around 1350 gave an enormous boost to science as well as art. New facts, ideas and even new continents were discovered. There was a renewed confidence in the fact that the ancients had not known everything and there was a great deal more out there to be discovered. The Renaissance also saw a revival of interest in natural magic, which was at its pinnacle in the Elizabethan period.

Origins of Magic

Virtually all tribal societies have had some form of magic, so magic is likely to be as old as the first human tribal society. The origins of the sort of magic that has been a part of Western society come from three main sources.

There were the pagan religions that existed prior to Christianity, and were loaded with magical beliefs, especially around healing and fertility. Some pagan practices find an echo even today. Giving Easter eggs, maypole dancing and harvest festival are all Christianised versions of pagan fertility rituals and celebrations.

The practical origins of many Western magical beliefs lie with the ancient Babylonian and Egyptian cultures. These cultures were pioneers of astrology and alchemy, and they also developed magical healing techniques.

The theory behind astrology, alchemy, healing and indeed many magical practices was handed down from the ever thoughtful Greek philosophers.

Magic and Science

Prior to the scientific revolution of the 17th century, which established the modern scientific view of the world, magic and science had a different relationship from today. Instead of being opposed, they often complemented each other and the line between magic and science was not at all clear. Ancient astrology and ancient alchemy were both much broader disciplines than their modern counterparts.

Ancient astrology dealt with the influence of the heavenly bodies on the earth in general, not just on the lives and fates of human beings. Queen Elizabeth I was advised by astrologers on the date of her coronation and many sea-going vessels were held in port until astrological influences were thought to be favourable.

Ancient alchemy dealt not only with the attempt to transmute base metals into gold, but more generally with any process which added usefulness and value to raw materials.
The Elizabethan world view was far removed from our modern view of atoms, forces and mechanisms. Alchemy and astrology and magical healing practices were thought to work without the need to invoke anything mystical, supernatural or unexplainable.

We should also bear in mind that the word science was not used in the way that we understand it today. The word 'science' - literally knowledge - didn't come into common parlance until the 19th century.

The Natural and the Supernatural

When thinking of magic it is important to take on board the distinction between natural magic and supernatural magic. Supernatural magic relied on something beyond or above the natural. Practitioners used spells that summoned spirits or demons. The Elizabethan magus John Dee has become renowned for his conversations with angels.

Natural magic did not require anything supernatural. Rather, it worked with what was natural but was hidden from science. Science, sometimes referred to as natural philosophy, dealt with what was evident to the senses. Natural magic dealt with what was hidden, the occult. The word occult at this time did not have any sense of evil as it does today - it simply meant hidden.

Magnetism was considered an occult phenomenon and was the province of natural magic. Magnetic forces were considered as 'sympathetic ties' existing between magnetic objects. A sympathy or harmony that cannot be seen was hidden or occult. In natural magic there was common belief that there were many more of these hidden forces, or sympathies. The job of magic was to uncover them.

A natural magic world-view emphasises the idea that God had put the world together using these natural sympathies, and natural harmonies. Man was a microcosm (little world) in a macrocosm (greater world or universe) and there were lots of interesting magical relations between microcosm and macrocosm.

Natural Magician Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1534) writes:

Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615), Natural Magick

The Church and Magic

The other major influence on Western magical thinking has been Christianity. Christianity took the view that only God could do anything above or beyond nature. Only He was able to work miracles through Christ or the saints and humans did not have magical powers of their own. The only source of magical power other than God was the devil. This was the idea that set in train the great witch hunts from the 15th to 17th centuries.

Those interested in magic then were very keen to say that theirs was a natural magic, working purely with what God had created. But, it was a fine line to tread and many magicians of the Elizabethan period were accused at some time or other of dealing with the devil - including Giambattista della Porta, who writes emphatically in the first page of his book 'Natural Magick':

Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615), Natural Magick

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