32 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 10, 2019
Homeopathy As a Form of Practical Magic
Jonathan Simmons
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Abstract
Homeopathy is generally thought of as a form of
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
developed in the late 1700s. Although
homeopathic medicine is little more than a
placebo from a scientific perspective, advocates
of the treatments have nonetheless influenced
medical practice, research, and public health. In
this article, I examine homeopathy and its
significance as a form of practical magic and
part of the occulture or “cultic milieu,” which
refers to a spectrum of mainstream beliefs and
practices that herald an ongoing reenchantment
process (Partridge, 2016). By focusing on
homeopathy's status as a health practice,
scholars have failed to take its more esoteric
roots seriously. This contribution is important
because, though medicine and science have both
advanced rapidly since the era of miracles and
magical cures, many consumers turn to
homeopathy instead of conventional treatments
to both imbue the everyday with spiritual
meaning and solve concrete problems left
unaddressed by conventional medicine.
Keywords: homeopathy magic occulture
religion health
In November 2009, the United Kingdom’s
House of Commons Science and Technology
Committee recommended that the National
Health Service (NHS) stop funding homeopathy,
a form of complementary and alternative
medicine (CAM House of Commons, 2010, p.
34). In 2017, despite concerns about limiting
consumers choice, the NHS decided to stop
funding homeopathic remedies, meaning that
homeopathic remedies would no longer be
available by prescription. Homeopathy is a
popular but controversial form of health
treatment with magico-religious undertones. In
what follows, I argue that we should not
understand practices such as homeopathy merely
as pseudoscience. Rather, homeopathy is an
example of a complex magical system that has
been become “scientificized” and ubiquitous
(Granholm &Asprem, 2014, p. 15). Many
scientific and medical professionals see modern
medicine as a secular and scientific activity, and
the NHS’s decision to stop funding homeopathy
was in part driven by this rationalistic worldview
(given the NHS’s desire to prioritize treatments
with robust evidence of clinical effectiveness).
Nevertheless, the NHS, like many other health
care systems, is facing significant challenges in
its attempts to secularize healing (Harrington,
2005). For example, the British Homeopathic
Association (BHA) brought a legal challenge
against the NHS’ decision to stop paying the
cost of homeopathic remedies (Donnelly, 2018).
More broadly, alternative medicines continue to
present an attractive worldview to consumers,
one that reflects “premodern conceptions of
health and the body” (Robertson, 2014, p. 19).
Although advocates for CAM embrace what
might be called a magico-religious approach to
health, many practitioners of these alternative
treatments seek out scientific credentialism and
also acceptance within the same scientific and
medical communities that decry the harms of
pseudoscience and quack medicine. More
importantly, health consumers often see the
presence of homeopathic remedies on pharmacy
shelves as an indication of the treatment’s
legitimacy, and they may not distinguish
between evidence-based medicine and its less
well-grounded alternatives.
Further complicating matters, celebrities have
substantial influence on the public’s health-
related behaviors. Consider that Steve Jobs
(1955–2011), the late founder and CEO of
Apple, apparently turned to CAMs such as
homeopathy for his relatively mild form of
cancer (Greenlee &Ernst, 2012). One need not
look far for many similar cases. Consider, for
example, actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s advocacy
of homeopathy, which she describes as “the first
line of defense” against ailments in “most
Homeopathy As a Form of Practical Magic
Jonathan Simmons
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Abstract
Homeopathy is generally thought of as a form of
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)
developed in the late 1700s. Although
homeopathic medicine is little more than a
placebo from a scientific perspective, advocates
of the treatments have nonetheless influenced
medical practice, research, and public health. In
this article, I examine homeopathy and its
significance as a form of practical magic and
part of the occulture or “cultic milieu,” which
refers to a spectrum of mainstream beliefs and
practices that herald an ongoing reenchantment
process (Partridge, 2016). By focusing on
homeopathy's status as a health practice,
scholars have failed to take its more esoteric
roots seriously. This contribution is important
because, though medicine and science have both
advanced rapidly since the era of miracles and
magical cures, many consumers turn to
homeopathy instead of conventional treatments
to both imbue the everyday with spiritual
meaning and solve concrete problems left
unaddressed by conventional medicine.
Keywords: homeopathy magic occulture
religion health
In November 2009, the United Kingdom’s
House of Commons Science and Technology
Committee recommended that the National
Health Service (NHS) stop funding homeopathy,
a form of complementary and alternative
medicine (CAM House of Commons, 2010, p.
34). In 2017, despite concerns about limiting
consumers choice, the NHS decided to stop
funding homeopathic remedies, meaning that
homeopathic remedies would no longer be
available by prescription. Homeopathy is a
popular but controversial form of health
treatment with magico-religious undertones. In
what follows, I argue that we should not
understand practices such as homeopathy merely
as pseudoscience. Rather, homeopathy is an
example of a complex magical system that has
been become “scientificized” and ubiquitous
(Granholm &Asprem, 2014, p. 15). Many
scientific and medical professionals see modern
medicine as a secular and scientific activity, and
the NHS’s decision to stop funding homeopathy
was in part driven by this rationalistic worldview
(given the NHS’s desire to prioritize treatments
with robust evidence of clinical effectiveness).
Nevertheless, the NHS, like many other health
care systems, is facing significant challenges in
its attempts to secularize healing (Harrington,
2005). For example, the British Homeopathic
Association (BHA) brought a legal challenge
against the NHS’ decision to stop paying the
cost of homeopathic remedies (Donnelly, 2018).
More broadly, alternative medicines continue to
present an attractive worldview to consumers,
one that reflects “premodern conceptions of
health and the body” (Robertson, 2014, p. 19).
Although advocates for CAM embrace what
might be called a magico-religious approach to
health, many practitioners of these alternative
treatments seek out scientific credentialism and
also acceptance within the same scientific and
medical communities that decry the harms of
pseudoscience and quack medicine. More
importantly, health consumers often see the
presence of homeopathic remedies on pharmacy
shelves as an indication of the treatment’s
legitimacy, and they may not distinguish
between evidence-based medicine and its less
well-grounded alternatives.
Further complicating matters, celebrities have
substantial influence on the public’s health-
related behaviors. Consider that Steve Jobs
(1955–2011), the late founder and CEO of
Apple, apparently turned to CAMs such as
homeopathy for his relatively mild form of
cancer (Greenlee &Ernst, 2012). One need not
look far for many similar cases. Consider, for
example, actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s advocacy
of homeopathy, which she describes as “the first
line of defense” against ailments in “most
