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| | sympathetic magic |
 | | The lines, shapes and patterns in entrails, stars, thrown dirt, folded paper, the palm of the hand (the longer the lifeline, the longer the life), etc., are believed to be magically connected to the empirical world--past, present and future. |
 | | Sympathetic magic is the basis for psychometry, the claim of psychic detectives that touching an item belonging to a victim gives magical contact with the victim. |
 | | Beyerstein also explains many notions of graphologists as little more than sympathetic magic, e.g., the notion that leaving wide spaces between letters indicates a proneness to isolation and loneliness because the wide spaces indicate someone who does not mix easily and is uncomfortable with closeness. |
| skepdic.com /sympathetic.html (400 words) |
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