Belief in magic involves accepting events that contravene known principles of physics, biology and psychology. Travelling through space and time in an instant, flying horses, and gods that can see into people’s minds are just a few of these kinds of ideas.
A distinction is made between magical thinking and magical beliefs. Whereas magical thinking unfolds only in one’s imagination (dreams, art, fantasies), a belief in magic implies that magic might have effects in the real world. Every person who is watching a movie with magical effects or is having a dream where magical things happen is involved in magical thinking, without necessarily being a believer in magic.
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