Imitative magic
Rites that act out a wished-for result, such as rain, a good hunt or a safe birth, in the belief that the acting helps bring it about.
Also: mimetic magic, magic by imitation
Imitative magic is Frazer's other name for the law of similarity at work in performance. The practitioner mimics what is wanted: a hunter's dance that enacts the kill, a ritual pouring of water to invite rain, a mock battle to secure a harvest. Many such rites are repeated every year and are bound up with festivals and the seasons. Scholars in the Malinowski tradition read them as a way to give confidence and organise group effort before a risky task. Critics of Frazer point out that those performing them rarely treat the rite as a substitute for practical work, since the planting and the hunting still have to be done.