One must remember during the Salem Witch Trials when 6 men, the rest women were accused of witchcraft and questions the women (all imprisoned and some died in prison awaiting execution by hanging or tied to a stake to burn to death) only said that they were tortured and tormented. Unlike today the women accused of being witches were unable to say how they were tortured, but one can only guess.

Researchers who have read documents, etc., have come up with a few clear statements of torture to try and make the accused admit they were witches and all refused.

• The accusers would tie up the accused and cast them into a water hole, such as a river or a pond. If the accused floated, they were considered to be in collusion with Satan, on the other hand, if they sank, they were cleared of the charges of witchcraft. The innocent women of course would fight for their lives and none sank, all floundered.
• Those women who were pregnant were allowed to give birth before they were executed. There is some speculation that during imprisonment that some were raped.
• A 'Witches Cake' would be made from human urine mixed with rye flour and once the cake was baked a dog was brought in and fed the cake. If the dog ate it the accusers assumed that each bite the dog took would send the so-called witch accused into great pain and groans and howling.
• 1 of the 6 men Giles Cory who was 80 years old refused to condemn any women in the village of witchcraft and refused to admit he too was a witch so they laid him out in a field and piled heavy stones on him hoping that he would admit to being a witch. He did not and he died.

To this day researchers re Salem Witch Trials are still trying to trace back what really happened and what would cause such mass hysteria. One theory is that the rye that the villagers used was often moldy which would cause fevers, chills, stomach aches and sometimes death, but there has been little proof of this.

"Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord , and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you" (Deuteronomy 18:10-13).

"When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn" (Isaiah 8:19-20).

"All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. Here are no coals to warm anyone; here is no fire to sit by" (Isaiah 47:13-14).

"So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.' They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish" (Jeremiah 27:9-10).

"Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. … Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:20-23).

"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew 12:30).

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21)

Answer

Since the God who said that witchcraft and other magic practices were forbidden and HE is JESUS' DADDY, it is safe to assume that you are not to harlot yourselves with demonic spirits or their power regardless if you are a Jew or Christian. It depends on what kind of magic you are referring to. If it's parlor tricks, slight of hand, or illusion then there is nothing wrong with it. It is just entertainment. It isn't the acts of magic, it is the mind set behind the acts that really matters.

Answer

This is a rather controversial subject for many reasons. One is that there are no universally accepted definitions of magic. Another is that magic is typically an umbrella term used to classify multiple practices both light and dark such as necromancy, demonism, natural healing, alchemy, voo doo, blessings and others. The Bible never forbids against "magic" but uses words like "sorcery" and "witchcraft" which are two subclasses of magic, both of which are typically seen as coming from evil deities such as demons. One could argue that while these types maybe sinful, others such druidism and shamanism, which involve using the natural energy found in God's green Earth are not sinful. One must realize there are very few absolutes in Christianity and magic is no exception. Use your own logic and morals to come to a consensus, but do not expect a straight answer from anywhere because in truth there isn't one.

You must also realize that the Bible, and I loathe that I must say this, has been twisted and corrupted and changed because of translation, political and spiritual propaganda and agendas, and simple human error. What you read may be totally different from what was originally written so long ago. You may be reading the words of a false religious leader, a Roman emperor, a crusader, an evil dictator, or some average joe at the Bible company. It's disgusting, yes, but it is the truth. Just remember that, at its base, Christianity is founded on God's love for all men, both sinners and sinless, and that we know him to be eternally compassionate, wise, loving, and caring. Use that to find his real message.

Another View:

That depends... (forgive me if I go on my undergraduate dissertation was on the distinction between magic and religion).

There are certain prohibition in the Bible against "magic" on the other hand there are also legitimate acts that cause the same results viz the staves of Moses and Aaron turn into snakes in the same manner as those of the "magicians" of Pharoh, the dead are walk in the valley of the dry bones, astrologers are shown the way to the birth of Christ, sortilege (divination by lot) is used to select the successor to Judas, and oneriomancy (divination by dream) is used by Jacob and St Joseph and others.

As a result of these problems the Church decided that the key to supernatural power was its source and this was held to be from either two or three places. The two upon which most writers agree are God and the Devil (this provides the standard dycotomy of Chritianity's view on the subject) however several writers, including St Albertus Magnus the teacher of St Thomas Aquinas, hold that certain results can take place as a result of natural occult (hidden) properties in certain plants animals minerals etc (see Book of Minerals of Albert the Great).

With regard to supernatural power from the Devil (or from the airy spirits called demons who were angels who had supported neither Lucifer nor God) this was divided into explicit pact (your Hammer Horror deal with the devil) and implicit pact. Implicit pact was the idea that although it is not the intent of the practitioner to deal with the devil the nature of what they are trying to do is automatically carried out through the power of evil.

For a fuller description of the actions of a sorcerer see the Handbook for the Inquisitor of Heretical Depravity (published as Manuel pour le Inquisitor) of Bernard Gui.

Opinion & answer

Opinion: On par with the answer above, parlour tricks and illusions and slight of hand are not condemned by the bible. ANSWER: Literally speaking, they aren't magic either. The magic condemned by the bible is the kind that comes from the Devil or evil means..etc.

Magic does not exist. Magic is an idea, nothing more. for example, I could make up a word like, winyosadorf, and say that winyosadorf is the belief that pigs can fly, but only when nobody's watching, or recording with a camera. Point being, that magic is an idea and does not exist and can not be forbidden.

The earliest knowledge regarding Shamanism comes from Russian anthropologists when they studied tribal nomadic herders in Siberia in the 19th century. Their detailed descriptions of the spiritual practitioners the tribesmen called Shamans, led to the term being continued by anthropologists and historians.

A wonderful book detailing the origins of this, and other primitive practises, is Dawn Behind the Dawn: A Search for the Earthly Paradise, by Geoffrey Ashe.