Magic Through A Muggle's Eyes

[MJ Spooks]

Magic Through A Muggle's Eyes
A Study of Muggle Mythology and the Implication of Magical Intervention



Written by Meredith Harlowe
Edited by Amata Harlowe

This book, written by the mother of Mythology Professor Amata Harlowe, can be found in the Library's History Section. Reading it and writing a short essay to submit to Professor Harlowe will earn her students extra credit.

 

[MJ Spooks]

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter One: The Inspiration for Muggle Myths
Chapter Two: Oracles
Chapter Three: Medicine Men
Chapter Four: Magical Creatures
Chapter Five: Jesus: Son of God, or Ancient Wizard?
Chapter Six: Magic through a Muggle’s Eyes  

[MJ Spooks]

Introduction

As a witch married to a Muggle, there have been no shortage of moments over the years where my husband would fail to see something magical happening before his eyes, and I was left wondering how he missed it. While modern Wizarding society has become adept at concealing our world from the eyes of our non-magical neighbors, there are moments where a small spark of something will make it through the cracks. Despite this, it is rare for us to have to cover up evidence of our existence, except in cases where one of our own has made a terrible error in judgment. This has never failed to astound me. One night, after a particularly obvious example of magic went right under my husband’s nose, I realized that even the initiated Muggle may still have a hard time recognizing magic when it presents itself. Mythology being my area of expertise, I was fascinated, and began digging into the myths that Muggles have passed down throughout the years. Within those tales, I was shocked to discover that there are very obvious examples of magic woven into the history of Muggles. Here I shall discuss what I believe to be a rather remarkable find, although I do concede that, without hard proof, all I, and anyone else, can do is speculate.  

[MJ Spooks]

Chapter 1: The Inspiration for Muggle Myths

In the Muggle community, any story that contains evidence of magic, no matter how truthful it might, in fact, be is written off as a myth rather than fact. While there are some truly unexplainable facets of those ancient tales, many of them might ring true in the ears of one who knows about our world. While the Muggles of the modern world might write such things off as mere stories, a witch or wizard can often find proof that those exploits are in fact completely possible. Stories abound concerning beings who could transform themselves into all manner of creatures and things, of people who could perform inhuman feats. In ancient times, anything that was not easily explained was called magic, such as the rising of the sun and the changing of the seasons. Things that were truly magical, on the other hand, were attested to be the acts of incredible creatures. Today, a modern Muggle will not believe the story of a man becoming a wolf because such an act is impossible. But in ancient times, when a man did just that, the community of non-magical people would concoct a story to explain what happened. The prevalence of the werewolf ‘myth’ is due to the fact that, even after magical folk decided to hide from the Muggle world, these beings, unable to control themselves, have continued to bite people, with no regard for whether or not they are seen or caught. Their victims can often include Muggles, who, trapped in the modern age of science and fact, are unable to explain why once a month they black out a night and are unable to explain the taste of blood in their mouths.

So what inspired those ancient Muggles to come up with tales of Gods and Faeries and magic? Truth, of course. Until the magical community closed its doors to its non-magical brethren, the stories that are now called myths were history. Anything a Muggle could not readily explain was, at the time, called magic, and when magic and Muggles became strangers, those facts became legends, that history a myth. While there are exceptions, such as the existence of a god who pulled the sun into the sky behind a chariot (Apollo, the Greek God of the sun), many such stories show plain evidence of magical involvement in the everyday lives of ancient Muggles.  

[MJ Spooks]

Chapter Two: Oracles

One of the most prevalent examples of Magical beings coexisting with their Muggle counterparts in the ancient world is the constant reference to Oracles, Prophets and Soothsayers. These people, practicing the art we now call Divination, were completely open with their abilities and trade among the non-magical community. What modern witches and wizard commonly consider being pointless magic was, at the time, regarded as a gift. Seers were lauded with precious gifts and high stations, believed to be directly linked to the Gods. Those who could offer true prophecies were believe to be the direct link between the Earth and the Heavens.

Now, as magic goes, fortune-telling is a simple art. In fact, in various respects, it can, and often is, practiced by Muggles. Tarot readings and Astrology are popular subjects among the non-magical community. While a true fortune can never be given by those without the Second Sight, they are more than capable of being taught to read cards, runes, tea leaves and the stars. It is believed that the prevalence of these arts among Muggles is due to their ancestors being taught such things by the witches and wizards of old. In almost every culture, there is evidence of some sort of divining. These arts are practiced by modern people both magical and Muggle. In many ways, this is one of the few things that still link our two worlds.  

[MJ Spooks]

Chapter Three: Medicine Men

On the same line of thought as the Oracle is the concept of a Medicine Man, Shaman or the rather appropriately named Witch Doctor. The position of the Healer is present in almost all ancient cultures, particularly those of a tribal nature. This person was considered to be the lifeline of almost every group they appeared in. Possessing the ability to heal a person with magic, they were the only person who was sought out for services when a man lay ill or dying. Often fused with the position of an Oracle, they were the ones who explained the causes of famine, who attempted to overcome a plague. While modern depictions of these ancient Healers often paint them as charlatans, one cannot argue that, in the time that they were created, their methods were by far the most effective. Modern Medicine Men are liars and failures at their art because they are Muggles, but the Healers of the ancient times were almost assuredly magical. How else could one explain the ability to cure an illness with only one’s hands? To cox life from a dying man without ever touching him? In my research, I discovered that many a remedy has roots in ancient societies, and while they have been refined, one cannot deny that their earliest incarnations were the creations of witches and wizards, potions designed by magical people to heal and replenish.

With the modern reliance on medicine concocted in a lab and the inability of Muggles to reach out to their Magical neighbors, it can hardly be a surprise that these ancient Healers are now considered to be simple men, performing actions with little to no results, and luck being the answer for the times when their actions proved successful. What was once a revered position is now laughed at and scrutinized by those who read into the past to find it. But the fact remains that these men did exist, and were successful. In fact, the failure of their practices can be traced directly to the era of secrecy, the time when witches and wizards began hiding their wands and magic. It seems obvious that this is because the true Healers were among those who went into hiding, and those who contributed to the idea of their inability to truly heal are Muggles who sought to fill that gap.  

[MJ Spooks]

Chapter Four: Magical Creatures

Of all the stories of our world that have remained both prevalent and believed among Muggles are the tales of Magical Creatures. While many of these beings are intelligent and can follow the law to keep their faces hidden, the fact is that there are also a great many that cannot. Creatures such as Unicorns, Dragons and yes, Werewolves, are often the source of great rumor among Muggles, even today. This is, of course, because such creatures are easy enough to find, and any Muggle stands a chance of happening across one. Why, then, are these also considered myths? Because they are extraordinary beings, and therefore Muggles cannot explain them. As I have mentioned, anything that cannot be explain readily is called false by modern Muggle society. To invite a Muggle to study and discover the magic of a Unicorn would be to invite them behind the veil and into the realm of magic, which we cannot do, thanks to the Statue of Secrecy.

Still, these creatures live right under the noses of our non-magical colleagues, and yet we seldom are forced to hide them or explain them. Why? Because if there is one thing Muggles are good at, it is explaining that which cannot be explained. The sight of a Unicorn confuses them, and so they decide the horn was in their imagination, and that they shimmer of their coat is a trick of the light. A werewolf was merely an incredibly hairy and malformed man, a dragon merely a statue or animatronic. They give themselves an easy answer, and then repeat it until they believe it. There is rarely cause for alarm when discovered because even if we do not interfere, they will forget it for us.  

[MJ Spooks]

Chapter Five: Jesus: Son of God, or Ancient Wizard?

One of the most fascinating characters in Muggle history is Jesus Christ, Son of the Christian God. There is often debate among Muggles as to whether or not he is, in fact, the Son of God, or if he even existed at all. A more interesting question, I think, is whether or not he, and many other characters in the Bible, is in fact Magical, rather than Mundane. While I have no doubts as to the possibility of there being a God, and of this man having been His son, I was curious to examine his history and discover if perhaps he was, in fact, a Wizard. My research astounded me. There were, of course, examples of things he did which any magical being could do, such as curing ailments and mending bones. But he did a great many extraordinary things as well. We have still not managed to find a spell to cure blindness, and yet he did so with ease. Most interestingly, he is said to have raised the dead, most notable Lazarus of Bethany. While it is entirely possible that the man in question was merely in a death-like state, the chances of Jesus coming and curing him of whatever caused that state in mere seconds is unlikely, even with magic.

Other notable examples of magic in the Bible, both that which can be explained and that which I can only assume is truly Divine, are the feats of Moses when he rescued the Jewish people from Egypt. Such simple acts as Transfiguring his own staff so that it became a snake can be done even today, but the plagues that descended Egypt are a mystery, even to the Magical Community. There is also the point that, in the Bible, several characters lived unnaturally long lives for the time, before the invention by Sir Nicholas Flamel of the Philospher’s Stone. These stories lead me to believe that, while wizards and witches are certainly among the Biblical figures, there are things within those pages that can only be attested to God. One might ask why I would relate them to a Higher Power rather than believe they are simply untrue, but the fact that I am able to find so much truth in what Muggles call Myth makes me wonder how much truth our own myths hold.  

[MJ Spooks]

Chapter Six: Magic Through a Muggle’s Eyes

As I have said repeatedly, it never fails to amaze me what can happen right under a Muggle’s nose without their notice. Those of the non-magical persuasion have an amazing gift for ignoring magic, even when it happens right in front of their faces. There are countless famous magicians who are, in fact, wizards, performing real feats of magic that their audiences write off as a trick. A witch can use a spell to levitate dozens of heavy boxes while she shops in a crowded Muggle mall, and onlookers will be shocked at first and later insert a man carrying those boxes when they think of it later. Why do they do this? Because they cannot explain it, but an explanation must exist. What interests me most about magic through the eyes of Muggles is that there rarely is any. Everything has an answer, and if they do not believe in magic, then it must be mundane. Very few will bother to believe the impossible. I think that this is perhaps why we have successfully hidden for so long.