Love magic

Love Magic is the attempt to bind the passions of another, or to capture them as a sex object through magical means rather than through direct activity [Paul C. Rosenblatt, pg. 482 ] . It can be implemented in a variety of ways such as written spells, dolls, charms, or different rituals.

Love Magic in the Renaissance

During the Renaissance (14th to 17th Century), marriage developed into a central institution for public life. This is reflected in their Love Magic: While the immediate desire was the act of intercourse itself, it was most often practiced in an attempt for a permanent union such as marriage. Magic was expensive and could cause severe damage to the caster; therefore it was not taken lightly [Paul C. Rosenblatt, pg. 482-7] . Thus, spells were not just cast upon just anyone in the Renaissance, but on those unions that held special importance. Men and women of status and favor were more often the targets of love magic. Economic or social class restrictions would often inhibit a marriage, and love magic was seen as a way to break those barriers, leading to social advancement [Matthew W. Dickie, pg. 564] .

While the spells were supposed to be kept secret, very rarely were they successful in this. However, if the victim realized that a spell was being cast upon them, believing in magic themselves, they would behave differently adding effectiveness to Love Magic [Paul C. Rosenblatt, pg. 482-7] . This communication of ones desire is essential within the concept of love magic as it enabled a timid person to approach the unapproachable.

With the dominance of Christianity and Catholicism in Europe during the Renaissance, elements of Christianity seeped its way into the magic rituals themselves. Often clay dolls or written spell scrolls would be hidden in the altar at churches, or holy candles would be lit in the rituals. The Host from a Catholic Mass would sometimes be taken and used in rituals to gain the desired result. Thus, Love magic within the Renaissance period was both Christian and pagan [Guido Ruggiero pg.225] .

Women in Love Magic

Love Magic was seen as drawing “…heavily upon what was perceived as quintessentially feminine: fertility, birth, menstruation (seen as closely related to both fertility and birth), and a woman’s ‘nature’ or ‘shameful parts,’ that is, genitals.” [Guido Ruggiero pg.114] . This feminine attribute is reflected within the literature such as the Malleus Maleficarum, and in the trials of the Holy Office in which most of the cases brought before the council were women accused of bewitching men. This illustrates the common stereotype that men did not do magic. [Matthew W. Dickie pg.564] According to both historians Guido Ruggiero and Christopher A. Faraone, love magic often was associated with prostitutes and courtesans. Women in these professions often held psychological power over their partners, sometimes leading to dramatic measures such as witchcraft accusations.

The view of women within the Renaissance can best be illustrated by the Malleus Maleficarum. In the opening section of this text it discusses the sexuality of women in relation to the devil. Heinrich Kramer wrote within his book that, "All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which in women is insatiable." [Barbara Holdrige, "Malleus Maleficarum"] The Men of the Renaissance feared the sexual power of the opposing gender. They associated it with the devil, making witches out to be sexual partners with demons. Kramer makes the case that a witch received her powers by inviting the devil to enter into carnal relations. Through her sexuality she gains her power, and thus her sexuality is seen as evil and something to be feared. In many of the witchcraft accusations brought before the Holy Office in the Roman Inquisition, men accused women of binding their passions and sexuality by the use of their own sexuality.

While within the literature females dominate the witch world, some scholars believe that reality was much different. Matthew W. Dickie, a prominent magic scholar, argues that men were the main casters of love magic. [Matthew W. Dickie, pg.563] Demographically they suggest that the largest age group that practiced love magic were younger men targeting young, unobtainable women. There are a variety of explanations for why the literary world contrasted reality in this area, but a common interpretation is that men were trying to subtract themselves from association. [Matthew W. Dickie, pg.564] Magic was no place for a man, and thus in literature they portrayed themselves as such.

Recommended Reading

- Ruggiero, Guido. Binding Passions. Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1993

- Christopher A. Faraone. Ancient Greek Love Magic. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.

Notes

References

*Matthew W. Dickie. “Who Practiced Love-Magic in Classical Antiquity and in the Late Roman World?” The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 50, No. 2 (2000), pp. 563-583. Published by: Cambridge University Press
*Olga Lucia Valbuena. “Sorceresses, Love Magic, and the Inquisition of Linguistic Sorcery in Celestina.” PMLA, Vol. 109, No. 2 (Mar., 1994), pp. 207-224. Published by: Modern Language Association
* Paul C. Rosenblatt. “Communication in the Practice of Love Magic.” Social Forces, Vol. 49, No. 3 (Mar., 1971), pp. 482-487 Published by: University of North Carolina Press
* Robert W. Shirley and A. Kimball Romney. “Love Magic and Socialization Anxiety: A Cross-Cultural Study.” American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 64, No. 5, Part 1 (Oct., 1962), pp. 1028-1031. Blackwell Publishing
*Ruggiero, Guido. Binding Passions. Oxford Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1993
*Sack, Robert David. “Magic and Space” Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 66, No. 2 (Jun., 1976), pp. 309-322 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Association of American Geographers
*Barbara Holdrige, 1430-1505 Malleus Maleficarum [sound recording] / by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger ; translated by Montague Summers. Abridged by Barbara Holdridge] Publisher Caedmon, 1974