Sympathetic magic is the basis for most forms of divination .
It is also the basis for such practices as sticking needles into figurines representing enemies, as is done in voodoo . The pins and needles stuck in a doll are supposed to magically cause pain and suffering in the person the doll represents. Sympathetic magic is the basis for the claims of psychic detectives who claim that touching an item belonging to a victim gives them magical contact with the victim. Beyerstein also explains many notions of graphologists as little more than sympathetic magic, e.g., the notion that leaving wide spaces between letters indicates a proneness to isolation and loneliness because the wide spaces indicate someone who does not mix easily and is uncomfortable with closeness. One graphologist claims that a person betrays his sadistic nature if he crosses his t's with lines that look like whips.