Is astrological magic compatible with Christian doctrine?
(See reading section (p).) (i) This astrological magic is presented to help and heal the sick. (ii) Ficino claims he is not recommending magic, only describing it. (iii) The magic presented here is not demonic or spiritual magic, but natural magic — and the aim of ‘natural magic’ is to “subject natural things to natural causes to be formed in a wonderful way,” and to use “natural things … to obtain the services of the celestials.” (iv) A magus is really just like a farmer: as a farmer cultivates plants in soil, the magus cultivates the world by adjusting “the lower parts of the world to the upper.” This is an answer to the critic of magic (mentioned above) who says that the magician is subverting God’s plan for the world: The magician is subverting God’s plan no more than the farmer.
