In one of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales--perhaps "The Wife of Bath's Tale"--one of the characters states that magic and fae creatures no longer work in the world because priests have spread holy water over everything. I remember some other author (I do not remember who) stated that the rush to build railroads in the 1800s across all of the continents was a means to bind the Earth in iron rails along its ley lines. I have wondered--when thinking of the Earth as an organism--if drilling oil (and burning it) is a means of depriving that massive organism of its bodily fluids, reducing its power.
Certainly, belief in magic and the fey world have significantly decreased since the colonial and industrial eras. One could definitely attribute this to an increase in education with a focus on science over superstition. Quite likely, the spread of holy water, iron rails, and oil use are coincidental partners in this move away from magical explanations in a more rational world.
Still, I think that there might be a story or two that could be found in exploring this idea.
Certainly, belief in magic and the fey world have significantly decreased since the colonial and industrial eras. One could definitely attribute this to an increase in education with a focus on science over superstition. Quite likely, the spread of holy water, iron rails, and oil use are coincidental partners in this move away from magical explanations in a more rational world.
Still, I think that there might be a story or two that could be found in exploring this idea.
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