#my library got a copy of this :3 so yk what that means. scrapbooking

[pasdetrois]

Magic itself is hardly a repudiation of God, rather such practices are confirmation of the supernatural, no matter how distasteful or torrid more rational theologians might find incantations and conjurations to be. Observing the similarities and continuities between magic and religion is not to denigrate either; far from it, it's to note that a transcendent realm amenable to intervening in the affairs of humanity is an axiom of both systems. There's much that Simon Magus shares with later iterations of the Faust myth—the overweening hubris, the prideful desire, the violent conclusion, and even women named Helen. What's different is that despite his reputation for necromancy, nowhere does Simon Magus interact with Satan. Read together, there's a suggestion that there's not much difference between abusing the grace of the Lord or the Devil's magic. Whether or not you sell your soul to Satan or to God, you've still sold your soul. The numinous realm, the astral plane, the transcendent dimension—the sacred—is a terrifying kingdom, defined by its difference from everything that is safe and familiar and human. What distinguishes Peter and Simon, the Apostles and the magicians, is less what supernatural reality they're interacting with than their reasons for doing so.

Ed Simon, Devil’s Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain