Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter L — Of Fascination, and the Art Thereof · 1 of 1 · tr. Henry Morley; L. W. de Laurence ed.
Chapter L, Section 1
CHAPTER L. Of Fascination, and the Art Thereof . Fascination is a binding, which comes from the spirit of the witch, through the eyes of him that is so bewitched, and entering to his heart. Now the instrument of fascination is the spirit, viz., a certain pure, lucid, subtile vapor, generated of the purer blood by the heat of the heart. This doth always send forth, through the eyes, rays like to itself. Those rays, being sent forth, do carry with them a spiritual vapor, and that vapor a blood (as it appears in swollen and red eyes), whose rays, being sent forth to the eyes of him that looks upon them, carry the vapor of the corrupt blood together with itself; by the contagion of which it doth infect the eyes of the beholder with the like disease. So the eye, being opened and intent upon any one with a strong imagination, doth dart its beams (which are the vehiculum of the spirit) into the eyes of him that is opposite to him; which tender spirit strikes the eyes of him that is bewitched, being stirred up from the heart of him that strikes, and possesseth the breast of him that is stricken, wounds his heart and infects his spirit. Whence Apuleius saith, "Thy eyes, sliding down through my eyes into mine inward breast, stir up a most vehement burning in my marrow." Know, then, that men are most bewitched when, with often beholding, they direct the edge of their sight to the edge of the sight of those that bewitch them; and when their eyes are reciprocally intent one upon the other, and when rays are joined to rays and lights to lights, the spirit of the one is joined to the spirit of the other and fixeth its sparks. So are strong ligations made, and so most vehement loves are inflamed with only the rays of the eyes; even with a certain sudden looking on, as if it were with a dart or stroke, penetrating the whole body, whence then the spirit and amorous blood, being thus wounded, are carried forth upon the lover and enchanter, no otherwise than the blood and spirit of the vengeance of him that is slain are upon him that slays him. Whence Lucretius sang concerning those amorous bewitchings The body smitten is, but yet the mind Is wounded with the darts of Cupid blind. All parts do Sympathize i' th’ wound, but know The blood appears in that which had the blow. So, great is the power of fascination, especially when the vapors of the eyes are subservient to the affection. Therefore witches use collyries, ointments, alligations, and such like, to affect and corroborate the spirit in this or that manner. To procure love they use venereal collyries, as hippomanes, the blood of doves, or sparrows, and such like. To induce fear, they use martial collyries, as of the eyes of wolves, the civet cat, and the like. To procure misery or sickness, they use Saturnine things, and so of the rest.
Themes
◆Cosmic Sympathycosmology
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The passage explicitly states 'All parts do Sympathize i' th’ wound' and describes how rays from one eye infect another through contagion.
All passages →Related passages · 3 parallels
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 360
“Section 40 40. But magic spells; how can their efficacy be explained? By the reigning sympathy and by the fact in Nature that there is an agreement of like forces and an opposition of unlike, and by the diversity of those multitudinous powe…”
Both passages discuss the concept of fascination and the power of the eyes to influence others, describing a form of magical or spiritual connection between individuals. They explore the idea of sympathetic magic and the natural forces that enable such connections, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|6. Magical Equilibriumc
“Love is one of the great instruments of magical power, but it is categorically forbidden to the Magus, at least as an intoxication or passion.
Woe to the Samson of the Kabalah if he permit himself to be put asleep by Delilah!
The Hercules…”
Both passages discuss the concept of spiritual or magical influence exerted through the eyes, involving the transmission of a subtle, vaporous spirit or energy that affects the heart and mind of the beholder. They share a structural parallel in the idea of a powerful, almost tangible force emanating from the eyes that can bewitch or influence others.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi)|16. Witchcraft And Spellsb
“They are persuaded, and often rightly, that the victim of their infamous operations experiences as many tortures as if his own heart had been pierced at all points.
He begins to waste away and dies after a time of an unknown disease.
Anot…”
Both passages discuss the concept of bewitchment through the use of magical practices and the power of the imagination. They share the idea that the victim experiences real physical and mental torment due to the actions of the sorcerer, whether through the use of images, animals, or the evil eye.