Purification in Magic:

Discipline, Belief, or Habit?

In almost every text on magic, whether ancient or modern, purification appears as an indispensable requirement. The stated aim is to remove any disharmonious influence that could interfere with the work, though this process operates on several distinct levels.

Let us begin with the most external practices.

It is common to observe a fast on the day before an important ritual, though its form varies: some traditions prescribe total abstinence, while others restrict specific foods. Emphasis often falls on avoiding meat, an idea closely associated with Eastern philosophical traditions, and this rests on a simple line of reasoning: meat is dead, and by consuming it we introduce that condition into the ritual unless we abstain.

The argument is not entirely consistent, since unless one has the digestive abilities of the stone-eating creature in The Neverending Story, everything consumed becomes lifeless within the body, yet ancient thinking did not apply this logic to plants, which were excluded because they did not display movement in the way animals or insects do.

Some systems extend these restrictions to beans and other legumes, partly to avoid the rather undignified possibility of bloating during ritual work, which could lead to extinguished candles, becoming a flamethrower, or saturating the environment with a not-so-pleasant aroma.

One of the most interesting forms of purification is sexual abstinence. Everyone has heard the usual explanation about conserving energy before the magical act, since no one wants to waste it, but there is another layer to this idea. Even in ancient times, semen was understood to contain life, much of which would perish, and so its emission was seen as an act that involved death.