THE SINGAPORE FREE PRESS

London, England

23 February 1957

(page 1)

BLACK MAGIC.

Second in a great new series

of articles on Malay magic.

One of the most surprising things about Black Magic is the universal similarity of its form and ritual.

This is particularly apparent in what is known as sympathetic magic, which is the ability to strike at, or maim, a victim at a distance by means of an effigy.

Still exists

The belief of the efficacy of this magic was so strong at one time that all over the world great care was taken to ensure that hair cuttings and mail parings could not pass into anyone’s possession lest they should be used in the preparation of an effigy.

That belief still exists. There are many cases on record which are difficult to discredit on the grounds of mere coincidence.

Used effigy

Furthermore the belief is not confined to uneducated people, for Aleister Crowley, although undoubtedly a charlatan in many ways, firmly believed in his ability to use sympathetic magic.

Crowley was a brilliant scholar who wrote Greek plays and was the author of an outstanding book, The Scented Garden.

It was when he was an undergraduate at Cambridge that he first became interested in Black Magic, and there, by the use of an effigy, he attempted to injure the Master of his college.

The figurine was prepared and the necessary incantations were intoned but just as he was about to plunge a needle into the heart of the model someone jogged his arm.

The needle missed its target and, instead, punctured the figurine’s ankle.

The very next day his “victim” fell down a flight of steps and broke his leg.

Coincidence?

So much for England. Here in Malaya . . .