Sorcery is called the action and art of bewitching : performing a magical practice . Whoever carries out this type of act is called a sorcerer .
Before moving forward, it is important to note that witchcraft belongs to the realm of fiction and superstition . From a scientific perspective, there is no evidence of the existence of spells or magic . Therefore, there are no real sorcerers (people with the ability to generate supernatural phenomena) either.
This implies that when someone, in reality, claims to be able to cast spells, they are lying . Unscrupulous people often present themselves as masters of witchcraft to defraud individuals who, in a situation of desperation or vulnerability, seek a miracle to overcome a difficult moment.
This view of witchcraft, generally accepted in Western societies today, was very different in ancient times and even today in certain peoples. Previously, it used to be considered that certain subjects had divinatory abilities or the possibility of establishing communication with gods , spirits or the dead , for example.
This brought with it great respect and also a certain fear towards the sorcerers of primitive societies. It was necessary to trust them since they were the only ones capable of driving away demons and breaking curses , among other supernatural tasks that provided protection to their clients. But his role was not limited to magic, so to speak, but also encompassed politics and religion; Today we would say that his profession included the following, among others: doctor, priest, minister of defense, judge, etc.
So much so, that the most relevant decisions in certain societies were made by the sorcerer. This shows us that a power greater than that of any of the aforementioned professionals today was concentrated in a single person. In more recent times, even kings feared the power of the sorcerers they had in their court, since weapons were of no use against them.
We can say that even when they submitted to the command of another person they did not miss the opportunity to remind them of the extent of their powers, so that the relationship had an unstable and distorted hierarchy .
It is still possible to find communities that, in different ways, believe in witchcraft, which usually develop rituals where shamans or spiritual leaders engage, according to their worldview, in witchcraft.
In the field of fiction , on the other hand, we can find numerous sorcerers, magicians, witches and similar characters. Like Gargamel in "The Smurfs" or Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" , to mention two well-known cases. These beings, in their stories, can do various kinds of spells.
In these last two examples we find stories that range from the children's to the youth genre , and this is another indication of the view we have of witchcraft in Western societies: it is a topic that adults "should not respect." The creator of The Smurfs was Peyo, a Belgian cartoonist, and the creator of The Lord of the Rings, the British JRR Tolkien; In short, they are two Western works, and we will not find them among the adult content.
As mentioned above, science does not have enough evidence to support the existence of witchcraft, but this does not mean that we should accept this as if it were the absolute truth , since everything could change from one second to the next if a real sorcerer did public their powers. The problem for those who want to believe in the occult arts is that famous sorcerers always end up being scammers, and in this way they only tarnish the name of the discipline they claim to practice.