Black magic

I think most of the people who claim to have magical powers are con jobs who are out to take advantage of the weak minded, ignorant and uneducated. In Singapore, we've had to issue warnings to old ladies not to give their money away to perfect strangers who tell them that they have magic stones that will do this and that to them. However, its hard to stop them when many of these little old ladies don't have that much schooling and are superstitious by nature.

It is actually quite amazing what people will believe. I guess I live in a Chinese dominated society but the Chinese are gamblers and like gamblers they seem to have an addiction to wanting to control luck and chance. I think this aspect of the Chinese character makes them particularly vulnerable to people who will promise them that they can manipulate their luck.

However, having said all that, I think Shakespear's Hamlet got it right when he said, "There are more things in heaven and hell that are dreamt of in your philosophy." Simply put, not everything in life can be explained by a rational, scientific process. And although I don't give much credence to magic or the supernatural in my day to day life, I tend to pay the necessary respects to these things.