One of Michael Crawford's "animal magnetism" cartoons in The New Yorker some time ago, made me do a double take.
Originally, I'd heard the term animal magnetism in a Christian Science Sunday School when I was a teenager. I understood vaguely that it referred to evil. But over the years, as I grew to appreciate Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and to read it for answers to questions about my life, I became convinced that Mary Baker Eddy had to be right: Evil could not possibly proceed from good.
Eventually, I came to think of animal magnetism as evil at its most perversely "creative." For me, it is evil in the guise of good—evil that tricks. The illustration on the cover of this month's Journal gives us a bold metaphor for this kind of deception. A quick glance at the artwork offers a patterned beauty, rhythm of line, harmony of color. It's only with a second, closer look that the viewer realizes this is a picture of a serpent—hidden within the beauty of the form.
