Magic and Religion

"Magic and Religion" is Volume 2, Number 1 (Winter 2015) of the Walking the Worlds journal. This issue explores the ambiguities and tensions between the categories of religion and magic in polytheistic traditions. On the one hand, magic and religion often go hand in hand in these traditions, and it can be difficult to determine where religion ends and magic begins; on the other, the perspective of outsiders upon a religious practice often emphasizes its 'magical' or instrumental character. This issue directly engages the interaction between these categories within contemporary and historical polytheistic thought.