Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > sympathetic magic

A magical practice based on the principle that like causes like. For those who believe that this works, it would be possible to cause another person or animal harm by making an image of them and doing something to harm the image such as painting a spear sticking into the body. The animal of whom the image is a likeness would supposedly suffer the same effects. The Cro-Magnon cave paintings of animals being wounded or pregnant was very likely attempts to use sympathetic magic to cause the same effects on the real animals. Sympathetic magic is also called imitative magic.