Last lecture Todays class

1
Last lecture Todays class

• Materia magica
• Magic texts and text amulets
• Number magic
• Geomancy, alchemy, astrology

• A bit more on numbers and geomancy, alchemy,
  astrology
• The principles of magic according to Bogatyrev
• Principles applied to commercials

2
More numbers

• Dice versus bread, bark, and bean tossing
• Casting lots with bones, wax cubes
• Wheel of Solomon
• Book predictions, dictionary and cross references

3
More magic

• Cards
• Regular deck
• Geomancy
• Lines and dots, like MASH
• Alchemy
• Zodiac

4
Astrology

• Cult of days of the week continues, recall 12
  Fridays text
• Lunar predictions
• Celestial phenomena on holidays
• Certain days are good/bad for certain activities

5
Church, law and state

• Dont forget that the attitudes toward these
  various practices were not always good
• They changed with time
• Some people got their tongues burnt through with
  a hot iron for innocent things like possessing
  herbs or certain texts

6
Principles of Magic

• Contagious
• Objects
• Law of contact
• Folk uses
• Voodoo doll
• Body part amulets
• Commercial uses
• Celebrity endorsement
• Product placement

• Sympathetic
• Actions
• Law of similarity
• Folk uses
• Conspicuous consumption at weddings
• Commercial uses
• Gym membership

7
Principles continued

• Positive to achieve a result
• Any product that promises smoother skin in 30
  days, a better job, silky hair, freedom from zits
  

• Negative to avoid a result (taboo)
• Folk no sewing on Friday no yawning
• Smoking cessation, diet, drug use avoidance
• Hard to sell usually public service Just say
  no
• A product for smoking cessation is positive magic

8
Words taken literally, false links

• Incantation lady of video with snake charm zhalo
  and zhalovatsia
• Cooked cherries and cooked marriage
• Fly somewhere in an Acura Integra
• Pepsi Twist from last year Hallie I.Halle
  B.Barry Boswick

9
Double reality the very foundation of
advertising

• Folk eating fruit out of season deprives dead
  children of fruit in heaven
• Crying for the dead means their coffins fill with
  water
• Commercial V8 vegetable juice is healthy and
  attracts beautiful women
• Advil gets rid of your pain and helps you pitch
  like Nolan Ryan
• Aleve gets rid of pain and makes other women
  admire you
• Joe asked his doctor about Viagra

10
Motivated Unmotivated

• People know the reasons for their magic acts
• Perform egg ceremony to cure illness
• Invite lots of guests so that they will wish the
  new couple well

• People dont know why they do it, but feel it is
  important
• Crossing self at threshold, before meal
• Tree at Christmas
• Pumpkin at Halloween
• Many, if not most actions are unmotivated

11
More unmotivated acts

• Unmotivated acts can become games
• Ring Around the Rosie
• They can be entertaining
• Bargaining at wedding
• Commercials dont need to make sense
• Ask your doctor about Flonase
• Mysterious quality adds power
• Spate of funny commercials
• Pepsi Twist and Osbornes/Osmonds

12
More magic

• Using all resources (like in incantations)
• Visuals
• Jingles
• Celebrity contact
• Item potent in and of itself by association
• Self thunderstone, amber
• Association blessed water, dew at sunrise
• Commercials BE THERE mentality
• Used for concerts, sporting events, exhibits