magician
Let an agent explain the senses of magician, relay stage magic and its history from performance sources, describe ritual and folk magic practitioners across cultures with attribution and respect, describe fictional magicians, and distinguish the senses.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain the senses of magician, relay stage magic and its history from performance sources, describe ritual and folk magic practitioners across cultures with attribution and respect, describe fictional magicians, and distinguish the senses.
A person who practises magic, in the sense of a performer of illusions and conjuring for entertainment, or in the sense of a practitioner of ritual, occult or folk magic such as sorcerers, witches, necromancers who claim to communicate with the dead, Slavic volkhvy and vedmaks, Haitian Vodou bokors, and figures of fantasy fiction such as the Awakeners of the Cosmere; the two senses are distinct, and practitioners of witchcraft and occultism are described here as cultural and religious phenomena.
What it is for: Not applicable; a role.
It can be explain the senses; relay stage magic history; describe ritual and folk practitioners; describe fictional magicians.
Distinguishing features
Entertainment and occult senses
Cross-cultural roles
Historical persecution of practitioners
Fictional archetype
What it looks like
Not a visible object; performers on stage, or practitioners in ritual and story.
How it is recognised
Practitioner of magic
Stage magicians and illusionists; sorcerers, witches, necromancers, volkhvy, vedmaks, bokors; fictional magicians
A mentalist performs mind-reading effects; a priest performs religious rites; a scientist is not a magician
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms, in the ritual sense
performs - in the entertainment sense
practises - in some traditions
appears in - as an archetype
In practice
Families and kinds
stage magicians and illusionists
close-up and street magicians
practitioners of ritual and ceremonial magic
folk magic practitioners such as volkhvy, vedmaks and cunning folk
religious specialists such as bokors in Vodou
necromancers and diviners in history
magicians in fiction such as the Cosmere Awakeners
Standards and regulation
No regulation of stage magic; performers associations and codes
Historical witchcraft laws, now repealed in most countries
Fraud laws affecting claims of supernatural powers
Religious freedom protections for practitioners
Failure modes and hazards
Disrespecting religious practitioners such as bokors
Confusing entertainment and occult senses
Presenting supernatural claims as fact
Ignoring persecution history
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.magician
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Understand What a magician is.
Definition.
Definition
Senses.
Definition
Definition.
- What does magician mean in the entertainment sense and in the ritual or occult sense? definition
- Is the question about stage magic, a religious or folk practitioner, or a fictional character? boundary
Roles
Roles across cultures.
Roles
Roles.
- Who are volkhvy, vedmaks, bokors, necromancers and cunning folk in their cultures, as scholars describe? definition
- Which entry fits the specific role? action
Stage Stage magic.
Sources.
Performance
Performance.
Performance
Performance.
- How do stage magicians create illusions, and what genres exist? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
History
History of stage magic.
History
History.
- How did stage magic develop from Robert-Houdin and Houdini to modern performers? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of magic? action
Ritual Ritual and folk magic.
Attribution.
Traditions
Traditions.
Traditions
Traditions.
- How do anthropologists and practitioners describe ritual magic, Vodou and Slavic folk magic, respectfully? provenance
- Is the presentation respectful and attributed? boundary
Persecution
Persecution.
Persecution
Persecution.
- How were accused witches and magicians persecuted historically, and where do accusations persist today? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Context Fiction and culture.
Context.
Fiction
Fiction.
Fiction
Fiction.
- How do magicians appear in fantasy fiction, such as the Awakeners of the Cosmere and other magic systems? provenance
- Which entry fits magic in fiction? action
Culture
Culture.
Culture
Culture.
- How do magicians figure in folklore, tarot and popular culture? provenance
- Which entry fits the magician archetype? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should stage magician and witch be separate primary entries?
- How should performance and anthropological sources be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming cultural roles and a fictional class; should they be split off?