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20 Bizarre Beliefs Europeans Had During the Enlightenment

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15. Sympathetic Magic

15. Sympathetic Magic
Bundles of dried herbs hang above a rustic table where folk healers practice sympathetic magic by candlelight. | Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels

Even in the Enlightenment, sympathetic magic fascinated Europeans. This belief held that objects or people could affect each other at a distance if they were somehow connected. A famous example: the idea that treating a weapon’s blade with a healing salve could cure the victim’s wound. Such magical thinking persisted alongside rational medicine. Learn more curious details about sympathetic magic here.

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