the.com/sorcery
Magic with better PR and worse references — results demanded, methodology never explained.
means The practice of working magic through supernatural or occult power, usually implying dark or forbidden methods rather than honest craft.
from Traces back through Old French 'sorcerie' to Latin 'sortiarius' — literally one who deals in 'sortes,' or lots/fate — the same root behind 'sort.' So a sorcerer was, at bottom, someone who manipulated fate itself, a caster of lots turned caster of spells. The word drifted over centuries from fortune-telling toward the darker, more theatrical magic we picture now.
- etymology
- from latin sortiarius, one who casts lots
- vs witchcraft
- sorcery is learned, witchcraft is often innate
- legal history
- english law banned it until 1736
- modern usage
- now just means impressive tech you can't explain