If you look at this attached PDF of a secrtion of the Sylva Sylvarum by Francis Bacon, chapter 10(called century 10 in the book) you can see Francis Bacon discuss something called "the force of imagination" which is another term for "parapsychological influence".
Jose Herrou Aragon discusses the dynamics of parapsychological influence in his book forbidden parapsychology.
PDF attacked is a few pages of Francis Bacons book and the link below is to Aragons book forbidden parapsychology
http://www.theforbiddenparapsychology.com
Parapsychologist Stanley Krippner would use the term "mental intention" to mean "parapsychological influence".
All this amounts to using the imagination, prayerful intentions, chanting, rituals, etc in order to influence others by means of effecting the aether which is currently called "the quantum field".
In the attached pdf bacon mentions that the pythogoreans believed the earth was a single organism and that the movement of the tides was thr breathing of the earth. Since the earth and its creatures are an organism the thoughts of a creature can have influence over other creatures due to the interconnectedness of all things.
Quantum physicists call this spooky action at a distance and quantum entanglement. Runes may work this way, one practitioner of runes called runes "visual prayers"