imitative magic

American  

noun

1. magic that attempts to control the universe through the mimicking of a desired event, such as by stabbing an image of an enemy in an effort to destroy them or by performing a ritual dance imitative of the growth of food in an effort to secure an abundant supply; a branch of sympathetic magic based on the belief that similar actions produce similar results.

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imitative magic

“Consumers use contagious and imitative magic to imbue replica instruments with power,” Dr. Fernandez and Dr. Lastovicka write in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.

From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2011

That is a belief in what is also called imitative magic: things that resemble each other have similar powers.

From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2011

Further, animals are often conceived to possess qualities of properties which might be useful to man, and homoeopathic or imitative magic seeks to communicate these properties to human beings in various ways.

From The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer

The custom of throwing blazing discs, shaped like suns, into the air, is probably also a piece of imitative magic.

From The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India—Volume I (of IV) by R. V. (Robert Vane) Russell

In Roumania, where a similar sprinkling is performed, a curious piece of imitative magic is added—the priest is invited to sit upon the bed, in order that the brooding hen may sit upon her eggs.

From Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan by Clement A. Miles

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