mag.ic (maj’ik) n. [<OFr. <L. <Gr. < magikos, of the MAGI] 1.  the use of charms, spells, etc. In seeking or pretending to make things happen in an unnatural way. 2. any power or influence that seems mysterious or hard to explain [the magic of love] 3.  the art of producing illusions as an entertainment by sleight of hand, trick devices, etc. —adj.  1. of, produced by, or using magic 2. producing extraordinary results, as if by magic [ his magic playing of the violin]

Ma.gi (mā’ji) n.pl, sing. Ma’gus (-gəs) [L., pl. of magus < Gr. Per. Magus: for IE. base see MAY] 1. priests of ancient Media and Persia 2. Douay Bible the wise men from the East who brought gifts to the infant Jesus: Matt. 2:1-13 –Ma’gi-an (-jē ən) adj., n.

mag.ic (connotative definitions)
1. “Literature is dangerous, it is a kind of magic.” (Iris Murdoch)
2. “…contains an ‘irreducible element’…, something we cannot explain according to the laws of the universe as we know them.” (Wendy B. Faris; the phrase “irreducible element” is said to be taken from Young and Hallaman’s Magical Realist Fiction)
3. “I also like preparing for the change of seasons. For example, that maniacal flurry of tidying and organizing we refer to as “spring cleaning” some how seems to tug the warm weather a little close. House magic is what I call it.” (Diane Ackerman)
4. “When mandrake is dug from the earth, it should be placed in a spring immediately, for a day and a night, so that every evil and contrary humor is expelled from it, and it has no more power for magic and phantasms. But if it is pulled from the earth, and set aside with earth sticking to it, and not cleansed in the spring water, it is harmful for many injurious acts of magic and for delusions, just as many evils were at one time done with idols.” (Hildegard von Bingen)
5. “Magic often lurks where few suspect it, and, by the opposite token, that magic seldom lurks where many suspect it.” (Douglas R. Horstadter)

mag.ic (travelling definitions)
1. Magic is often thought of as the intentional use of natural energy to accomplish some specific goal.
2. Consequently, magic is usually practiced with the intent of bringing the world into line with the practitioner’s desire.
3. Yes. But. As magical training proceeds, magic becomes the practice of utilizing radical empathy to meet specific goals.
4. In my experience, because of the consequences of the development of radical empathy, the dedicated practice of magic actually ends up bringing the practitioner in line with the world.

Definitions for “magic” and “magi” from: New World Dictionary of the American Language Students Edition Prentice-Hall. David B. Guralnik, Editor in Chief. Published in 1981 by Simon & Schuster.

em.path.y (em’pə’thē) n. [<Gr. <en- in + pathos, feeling] the ability to share in another’s emotions, thoughts, or feelings

rad.i.cal (rad’i k’l) adj. [<LL. < Lm radicis, genitive of radix, ROOT] 1. a) of, from, or going to the root or source; fundamental; basic [a radical principle] b) extreme; thorough [a radical change in one’s life] 2. a) favoring basic or extreme change, as in the social or economic structure b) [R-] designating or of any of various modern political parties, as in Europe ranging from moderate to conservative –n. 1. a) a basic part of something b) a fundamental 2. a) a person having radical views b) [R-] a member of a Radical party 3 Chem. A group of two or more atoms that acts as a single atom and goes through a reaction unchanged, or is replaced by a single atom 4. Math. a) an expression showing that a root is to be figured b) same as RADICAL SIGN

rad.i.cal em.path.y
1. an emergent property of the social needs and the biological organization and limitations of the human being
2. the ability to “read” the world and assess it accurately by the way it makes the body feel
3. often felt as “moving out” from the world of “me”, into the world of “I” “we” and “it”
4. often interpreted as a “mystical experience” (and all that phrase encodes within any particular culture or group)
5. is simultaneously used as a noun describing a state (when it is perceived as subjective [as coming from within the body]), a verb when describing a task or responsibility (when it is perceived as relational [coming from the space between the relating beings]) and an ethic (when perceived objectively [coming from without the being])
6. our newest, and therefore weakest, evolutionary gift and therefore a function of training—Just as the capacity of language is coded into a child by birth, language cannot develop without socialization, so radical empathy is coded into us (probably in a rudimentary way) but can only be activated by training.

Definitions “radical” and “empathy” from: New World Dictionary of the American Language Students Edition Prentice-Hall. David B. Guralnik, Editor in Chief. Published in 1981 by Simon & Schuster.