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Eric Hinkle's avatar

I have read a few books that went into detail on the medieval and early modern grimoires like A.E. Waite's 'Book of Ceremonial Magic', which is a fine resource by the by (it's history, not a how-to). I recall him mentioning that many of the grimoires stated that conjuring demons wasn't actually evil if you did it for 'the right reasons'. After all, didn't Jesus himself say that 'In my name you will command demons'? Waite himself was unconvinced as i recall.

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Sean Valdrow's avatar

Magic is a metaphor for madness. Wizards are nutters, people who've gone too far into the chaos for too long and returned as madmen.

As far as R. E. Howard's Conan stories, in The Hand of Nergal, Conan had the enchanted amulet The Heart of Tamusz (implying a goodly sorcerer made it or it was a gift from the Gods). Also, there was a sorcerer on Conan's side in that story who used a scrying crystal to track events. While the scrying was not directly to Conan's benefit, it was an indirect aid.

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