Thaumaturgy
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Thaumaturgy (from the Greek words θαῦμα thaûma, stem thaumat-, meaning "miracle" and ἔργον érgon, meaning "work") in Eastern Orthodoxy is the capability of a saint to work miracles.
Thaumaturge
The English name for a practitioner, thaumaturge, implied in the adjective thaumaturgical (recorded in 1621), derives from thaumaturgus, the Latinized form of the Greek word thaumatourgos, meaning wonder-worker.
In its original Greek form, the name was ascribed to a number of Christian saints. In that sense, it carries no associations with magic, and is usually translated into English as "wonder-worker". Famous ancient Christian thaumaturges include Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea, also known as Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus, and Saint Nicholas of Myra. The Carmelite Bishop of Fiesole Saint Andrew Corsini (1302-1373) was also considered a thaumaturge during his lifetime.
Magic
In medieval times, miraculous powers such as healing were ascribed to persons (as well as things) on account of various superstitions. Some survived long after Christianisation, such as the belief in the healing power of the hand of the Merovingian kings or Jesus Christ.
The word was first anglicized and used in the magical sense in John Dee's book Mathematicall Praeface to Euclid's Elements (1570), about an "art mathematical" called "thaumaturgy... which giveth certain order to make strange works, of the sense to be perceived and of men greatly to be wondered at."[relevant?] While thaumaturgy is generally distinguished from theurgy, the branch which concerns itself with purely spiritual matters, this is not always the case. Thaumaturgy deals with producing a desired effect within the material world, but it is not necessarily opposed to or distinct from theurgy in that the material effect produced may simply be a theurgical result caused to emanate downward from the more subtle, ethereal realm into the dense, material sphere. In this way, thaumaturgy may simply be considered the visual manifestation of theurgy.
Kabbalah
In contexts of magic, this term [citation needed]can be used in conjunction with such emanationist systems as the Kabbalah in order to explain how changes can be wrought in the created, material realm by making subtle changes in the higher, more subtle realms from which the physical sphere emanates. For instance, if a Magician made slight changes in the world of formation (Olam Yetzirah), such as within the Sefirah of Yesod upon which Malkuth (the material realm) is based and within which all former Sephiroth are brought together, then these alterations would emanate into the world of action (Olam Assiah). This idea is explained in light of the Hermetic Kabbalah and not the traditional Jewish Kabbalistic concepts as expressed within Chassidut.
In fiction and popular culture
- Thaumaturgy is often used as a name for the magic in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels.
- Magic is almost always referred to as thaumaturgy in China Miéville's Bas-Lag books, set in a fictional world that contains the city of New Crobuzon, the setting of Perdido Street Station.
- Thaumaturgy is also a magical discipline in White Wolf's role-playing game, Vampire: The Masquerade.
- Thaumaturgy is mentioned and used in the home made RPG Maker XP series Akasha Seal.
- In the roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons the Thaumaturgist is a prestige class which specifically summons outsiders.
- In the roleplaying game GURPS and Isaac Bonewits' roleplaying aid Authentic Thaumaturgy Thaumaturgy is defined as the physics of magic.
- In EverQuest, Thaumaturge is a title granted to a magician who has completed his epic weapon, proving the mage's mastery of the elements.
- In the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, Harry Dresden is a thaumaturgist.
- Tay al-Ard is the name for thaumaturgical teleportation in the Islamic religious and philosophical tradition.
- In Type-Moon's games and visual novels, Thaumaturgy is used to describe lesser forms of magic, which performs miracles possible within science with sufficient time and resources, as opposed to "true" magic, which performs miracles beyond the capabilities of scientific knowledge.
- In The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, written by Stephen R. Donaldson, Kasreyn of the Gyre is a thaumatugist with insidious plans for the main character.
- In Magic: The Gathering there is a creature named "Dwarven Thaumaturgist" who can temporarily flip other creatures' power and toughness values.
- In Dominions, by Illwinter Design, it is one of the branches
your god can research.
This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. - In the Rogue-like Angband variant T.o. M.E., players can choose to play as a Thaumaturgist, although the spells they are able to use have little to do with the true meaning of the word.
- In the Elder Scrolls games Daggerfall and Battlespire, thaumaturgy is a character skill, which is loosely defined as "focus[ing] on manipulating known forces and objects within their natural laws." Increased character skill in thaumaturgy enhances a character's abilities to buy, learn and cast spells.
- In Lyndon Hardy's Magics trilogy, thaumaturgy is one of the five disciplines of magic. It figures most prominently in the first book, Master of the Five Magics.
- In Arcanum by Troika Games the character can choose to become a thaumaturgist.
- In Ultima 8: Pagan, thaumaturgy is one of four magics that can be learned.
Sources and references
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Addition: In his The Gift of Death, Derrida refers to Philosophy as thaumaturgy. (P. 15) His reading is based on a deconstruction of the origination of the concepts of responsibility, faith, and gift.