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Magical thinking in various forms is a cultural universal and an important aspect of religion. The word "Magic" itself originated in ancient Iranian religions as the patronym of the ancient Irano-Afghan hereditary priestly cast otherwise known as ''Zoroastrians'' in the form ''Maga'' roughly conveying the meaning "God's gift of love and the brotherhood of love."〔 "1. (Zarathushtra) — And his blessedness, even that of Ahura Mazda, shall the nobles strive to attain, his the community (Av. Maga) with the brotherhood, his, ye Daevas, in the manner as I declare it. (The Representatives of the Classes) — As thy messengers we would keep them far away that are enemies to you."〕〔 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=magic&allowed_in_frame=0 | 2001-2015 | "one of the members of the learned and priestly class," from Old Persian magush"〕 Derivative forms of this ethnic designation also appear in Greco-Roman Classics as far back as Herodotus's ''Histories'' conveying a meaning "Hagistia or Divine Art" or "quackery; illusionist" as references to the ancient Zoroastrians in the exclusive sense. Magic is prevalent in all societies, regardless of whether they have organized religion or more general systems of animism or shamanism. Religion and magic became conceptually separated with the development of western monotheism, where the distinction arose between supernatural events sanctioned by mainstream religious doctrine ("miracles") and mere magic rooted in folk belief or occult speculation. In pre-monotheistic religious traditions, there is no fundamental distinction between religious practice and magic; tutelary deities concerned with magic are sometimes called "hermetic deities" or "spirit guides." == Magical practices in prehistory == (詳細はaboriginal tribes in Australia and New Zealand to rainforest tribes in South America, bush tribes in Africa and pagan tribal groups in Western Europe and Britain (as personified by Merlin, based on Welsh prophet Myrddin Wyllt), some form of shamanism and belief in a spirit world seems to be common in the early development of human communities. According to Joseph Campbell, the ancient cave paintings in Lascaux may have been associated with "the magic of the hunt." Much of the Babylonian and Egyptian pictorial writing characters appear derived from the same sources. Although indigenous magical traditions persist to this day, very early on some communities transitioned from nomadic to agricultural civilizations, and with this shift, the development of spiritual life mirrored that of civic life. Just as tribal elders were consolidated and transformed into monarchs and bureaucrats, so too did shamans and adepts evolve into a priestly caste. This shift is not in naming alone. It is at this stage of development that highly codified and elaborate rituals, setting the stage for formal religions, began to emerge, such as the funeral rites of the Egyptians and the sacrifice rituals of the Babylonian, Persian, Aztec, and Maya civilizations. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Magic and religion」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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