Psychology Wiki

Sympathetic magic

34,142pages on
this wiki



Sympathetic magic, also known as imitative magic, is a type of magic based on imitation or correspondence. Imitation involves using effigies to affect the environment of people. Correspondence is based on the idea that one can influence something based on its relationship to another thing.


In 1933, Leo Frobenius, discussing cave paintings in North Africa, pointed out that many of the paintings did not seem to be mere depictions of animals and people. To him, it seemed as if it was an acting out of the hunt before the hunt began, as well as a consecration of the animal to be killed. In this way, the pictures served to secure a successful hunt. While others interpreted the cave images as hunting accidents or representations of ceremonies, Frobenius believed it was much more likely that "...what was undertaken [in the paintings] was a consecration of the animal effected not through any real confrontation of man and beast but by a depiction of a concept of the mind."

However, as with all prehistory, it is impossible to be certain due to the relative lack of material evidence and the many pitfalls associated with trying to understand the prehistoric mindset with a modern mind.


  • Campbell, Joseph (1991). The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology, Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-019443-6.
  • Frobenius, Leo (1993). Kulturgeschichte Afrikas. Prolegomena zu einer historischen Gestaltlehre (A Cultural History of Africa) (in German), pp. 131-132, Zurich: Phaidon-Verlag.

Around Wikia's network

Random Wiki