sympathetic magic

noun

magic predicated on the belief that one thing or event can affect another at a distance as a consequence of a sympathetic connection between them.

Compare contagious magic, imitative magic.

Origin of sympathetic magic

First recorded in 1900–05

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for sympathetic magic

sympathetic magic

noun

a type of magic in which it is sought to produce a large-scale effect, often at a distance, by performing some small-scale ceremony resembling it, such as the pouring of water on an altar to induce rainfall

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012