On May 11th a round table discussion was held on the subject "The Interactions of Science and Art under the Conditions of the Revolution in Science and Technology ," organized by the editorial boards of the journals Voprosy filosofii and Voprosy literatury.

This paper is about misfortune as elaborated in the narratives of (counter-) witchcraft practitioners and consultants. Their statements can be read from different perspectives, and I choose here to look at them specifically in terms of 'passions' and their control.