What is imitative magic?

Imitative magic, also known as sympathetic magic or homeopathic magic, is a branch of magic that promotes the idea that actions produce results similar to those actions. Voodoo is an example of imitative magic. By stabbing the voodoo doll with a needle, the magician is attempting to cause the same effects to the person who the doll represents.

The belief behind imitative magic is that by imitating the event that someone wants to occur, the event will occur because of a link between the event and the action. A person who performs a dance simulating food growth or rainfall is performing imitative magic. Someone who stabs a picture of his or her enemy is using imitative magic to attempt to defeat his or her foe.