Chronomancy is divination of the best time to do something, the determination of lucky and unlucky days, especially popular in ancient China .
124-620: The term "chronomancy", stemming from the Greek word chronos (meaning time ), and the word manteia (meaning divination ) is also used in fiction to refer to a school of magic involving supernatural manipulation of time . In modern fantasy role-playing games , such as Dungeons & Dragons and other games set in the Forgotten Realms universe, chronomancy refers to a school of magic related to moving through and manipulating time. This article related to Chinese mythology
248-523: A 'k' to distinguish ceremonial or ritual magic from stage magic. In modern occultism and neopagan religions, many self-described magicians and witches regularly practice ritual magic. This view has been incorporated into chaos magic and the new religious movements of Thelema and Wicca . The English words magic , mage and magician come from the Latin term magus , through the Greek μάγος, which
372-536: A benevolent pagan religion that had survived the Christianization of Europe. This has been discredited by further historical research. From the 1930s, occult neopagan groups began to emerge who called their religion a kind of 'witchcraft'. They were initiatory secret societies inspired by Murray's 'witch cult' theory, ceremonial magic , Aleister Crowley 's Thelema , and historical paganism. The biggest religious movement to emerge from this
496-490: A category did not exist in ancient Mesopotamia, and a person legitimately using magic to defend themselves against illegitimate magic would use exactly the same techniques. The only major difference was that curses were enacted in secret; whereas a defense against sorcery was conducted in the open, in front of an audience if possible. One ritual to punish a sorcerer was known as Maqlû , or "The Burning". The person viewed as being afflicted by witchcraft would create an effigy of
620-514: A cure was not to be regarded superstitiously and there has been the widespread practice of medicinal amulets, and folk remedies ( segullot ) in Jewish societies across time and geography. Although magic was forbidden by Levitical law in the Hebrew Bible , it was widely practised in the late Second Temple period , and particularly well documented in the period following the destruction of
744-528: A form of early protective magic called incantation bowl or magic bowls. The bowls were produced in the Middle East, particularly in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria , what is now Iraq and Iran , and fairly popular during the sixth to eighth centuries. The bowls were buried face down and were meant to capture demons . They were commonly placed under the threshold, courtyards, in the corner of
868-501: A great number of societies worldwide. Most of these societies have used protective magic or counter-magic against witchcraft, and have shunned, banished, imprisoned, physically punished or killed alleged witches. Anthropologists use the term "witchcraft" for similar beliefs about harmful occult practices in different cultures, and these societies often use the term when speaking in English. Belief in witchcraft as malevolent magic
992-422: A man with his patron deity or to reconcile a wife with a husband who had been neglecting her. The ancient Mesopotamians made no distinction between rational science and magic. When a person became ill, doctors would prescribe both magical formulas to be recited as well as medicinal treatments. Most magical rituals were intended to be performed by an āšipu , an expert in the magical arts. The profession
1116-409: A minor tradition in Jewish history. Its teachings include the use of Divine and angelic names for amulets and incantations . These magical practices of Judaic folk religion which became part of practical Kabbalah date from Talmudic times. The Talmud mentions the use of charms for healing, and a wide range of magical cures were sanctioned by rabbis. It was ruled that any practice actually producing
1240-550: A minority of the accused in any area studied". Likewise, Davies says "relatively few cunning-folk were prosecuted under secular statutes for witchcraft" and were dealt with more leniently than alleged witches. The Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1532) of the Holy Roman Empire , and the Danish Witchcraft Act of 1617, stated that workers of folk magic should be dealt with differently from witches. It
1364-641: A minority of those accused. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment . Many indigenous belief systems that include the concept of witchcraft likewise define witches as malevolent, and seek healers (such as medicine people and witch doctors ) to ward-off and undo bewitchment. Some African and Melanesian peoples believe witches are driven by an evil spirit or substance inside them. Modern witch-hunting takes place in parts of Africa and Asia. Today, followers of certain types of modern paganism identify as witches and use
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#17327827326331488-805: A multi-phase journey influenced by culture , spirituality , and societal norms. Ancient witchcraft in the Near East intertwined mysticism with nature through rituals and incantations aligned with local beliefs. In ancient Judaism , magic had a complex relationship, with some forms accepted due to mysticism while others were considered heretical . The medieval Middle East experienced shifting perceptions of witchcraft under Islamic and Christian influences, sometimes revered for healing and other times condemned as heresy . Jewish attitudes toward witchcraft were rooted in its association with idolatry and necromancy , and some rabbis even practiced certain forms of magic themselves. References to witchcraft in
1612-460: A non-modern phenomenon. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Western intellectuals perceived the practice of magic to be a sign of a primitive mentality and also commonly attributed it to marginalised groups of people. Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), a British occultist , defined " magick " as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will", adding
1736-401: A particular society, such as foreigners, women, or the lower classes. In contrast to these negative associations, many practitioners of activities that have been labelled magical have emphasised that their actions are benevolent and beneficial. This conflicted with the common Christian view that all activities categorised as being forms of magic were intrinsically bad regardless of the intent of
1860-520: A person's soul could only survive in the afterlife for as long as his or her physical body survived here on earth. The last ceremony before a person's body was sealed away inside the tomb was known as the Opening of the Mouth . In this ritual, the priests would touch various magical instruments to various parts of the deceased's body, thereby giving the deceased the ability to see, hear, taste, and smell in
1984-533: A soothsayer ( מְעוֹנֵ֥ן ) or a sorcerer ( וּמְכַשֵּֽׁף ) or one who conjures spells ( וְחֹבֵ֖ר חָ֑בֶר ) or one who calls up the dead ( וְדֹרֵ֖שׁ אֶל־הַמֵּתִֽים ) are specifically forbidden as abominations to the Lord. Halakha (Jewish religious law) forbids divination and other forms of soothsaying, and the Talmud lists many persistent yet condemned divining practices. Practical Kabbalah in historical Judaism
2108-536: A substantial corpus of texts which are products of the Egyptian tradition. While the category magic has been contentious for modern Egyptology, there is clear support for its applicability from ancient terminology. The Coptic term hik is the descendant of the pharaonic term heka , which, unlike its Coptic counterpart, had no connotation of impiety or illegality, and is attested from the Old Kingdom through to
2232-613: A wax or clay image (a poppet ) of a person to affect them magically; or using herbs , animal parts and other substances to make potions or poisons. Witchcraft has been blamed for many kinds of misfortune. In Europe, by far the most common kind of harm attributed to witchcraft was illness or death suffered by adults, their children, or their animals. "Certain ailments, like impotence in men, infertility in women, and lack of milk in cows, were particularly associated with witchcraft". Illnesses that were poorly understood were more likely to be blamed on witchcraft. Edward Bever writes: "Witchcraft
2356-406: A wide range of practices, with belief in black magic and the evil eye coexisting alongside strict prohibitions against its practice. The Quran acknowledges the existence of magic and seeks protection from its harm. Islam's stance is against the practice of magic, considering it forbidden, and emphasizes divine miracles rather than magic or witchcraft. The historical continuity of witchcraft in
2480-499: A witch (m. kaššāpu , f. kaššāptu , from kašāpu ['to bewitch'] ) was "usually regarded as an anti-social and illegitimate practitioner of destructive magic ... whose activities were motivated by malice and evil intent and who was opposed by the ašipu , an exorcist or incantation-priest". These ašipu were predominantly male representatives of the state religion, whose main role was to work magic against harmful supernatural forces such as demons . The stereotypical witch mentioned in
2604-600: A witch, what makes a woman more likely than a man to be a witch, how to put a witch on trial, and how to punish a witch. The book defines a witch as evil and typically female. It became the handbook for secular courts throughout Europe, but was not used by the Inquisition, which even cautioned against relying on it. It was the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, after the Bible. Islamic perspectives on magic encompass
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#17327827326332728-463: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to a European folklore is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This fantasy -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Magic (paranormal) Magic , sometimes spelled magick , is the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed in the belief that they can manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces. It
2852-531: Is a branch of the Jewish mystical tradition that concerns the use of magic. It was considered permitted white magic by its practitioners, reserved for the elite, who could separate its spiritual source from qlippothic realms of evil if performed under circumstances that were holy ( Q-D-Š ) and pure ( Biblical Hebrew : טומאה וטהרה , romanized: tvmh vthrh ). The concern of overstepping Judaism's strong prohibitions of impure magic ensured it remained
2976-508: Is a category into which have been placed various beliefs and practices sometimes considered separate from both religion and science. Connotations have varied from positive to negative at times throughout history. Within Western culture , magic has been linked to ideas of the Other , foreignness, and primitivism; indicating that it is "a powerful marker of cultural difference" and likewise,
3100-462: Is a crime punishable by death and the country has executed people for this crime as recently as 2014. Witchcraft-related violence is often discussed as a serious issue in the broader context of violence against women . In Tanzania, an estimated 500 older women are murdered each year following accusations of witchcraft or accusations of being a witch, according to a 2014 World Health Organization report. Children who live in some regions of
3224-540: Is a major component and supporting contribution to the belief and practice of spiritual, and in many cases, physical healing throughout the Middle Ages. Emanating from many modern interpretations lies a trail of misconceptions about magic, one of the largest revolving around wickedness or the existence of nefarious beings who practice it. These misinterpretations stem from numerous acts or rituals that have been performed throughout antiquity, and due to their exoticism from
3348-452: Is a practitioner of witchcraft. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic or supernatural powers to inflict harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to Encyclopedia Britannica , "Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination", but it "has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world". The belief in witchcraft has been found throughout history in
3472-455: Is attested from ancient Mesopotamia , and in Europe , belief in witches traces back to classical antiquity . In medieval and early modern Europe , accused witches were usually women who were believed to have secretly used black magic ( maleficium ) against their own community. Usually, accusations of witchcraft were made by their neighbors and followed from social tensions. Witches were sometimes said to have communed with demons or with
3596-802: Is from the Old Persian maguš . (𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁|𐎶𐎦𐎢𐏁, magician). The Old Persian magu- is derived from the Proto-Indo-European megʰ- *magh (be able). The Persian term may have led to the Old Sinitic *M ag (mage or shaman ). The Old Persian form seems to have permeated ancient Semitic languages as the Talmudic Hebrew magosh , the Aramaic amgusha (magician), and the Chaldean maghdim (wisdom and philosophy); from
3720-569: Is more complex, involving lengthy and detailed rituals as well as sophisticated, sometimes expensive, paraphernalia. Low magic and natural magic are associated with peasants and folklore with simpler rituals such as brief, spoken spells. Low magic is also closely associated with sorcery and witchcraft . Anthropologist Susan Greenwood writes that "Since the Renaissance, high magic has been concerned with drawing down forces and energies from heaven" and achieving unity with divinity. High magic
3844-424: Is no consensus as to what constitutes white, gray or black magic, as Phil Hine says, "like many other aspects of occultism, what is termed to be 'black magic' depends very much on who is doing the defining." Gray magic , also called "neutral magic", is magic that is not performed for specifically benevolent reasons, but is also not focused towards completely hostile practices. The historian Ronald Hutton notes
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3968-549: Is particularly used for women. A male practitioner of magic or witchcraft is more commonly called a ' wizard ', or sometimes, 'warlock'. When the word witch is used to refer to a member of a neo-pagan tradition or religion (such as Wicca ), it can refer to a person of any gender. Witches are commonly believed to cast curses ; a spell or set of magical words and gestures intended to inflict supernatural harm. Cursing could also involve inscribing runes or sigils on an object to give that object magical powers; burning or binding
4092-654: Is that witches cause harm by introducing cursed magical objects into their victim's body; such as small bones or ashes. James George Frazer described this kind of magic as imitative . In some cultures, witches are believed to use human body parts in magic, and they are commonly believed to murder children for this purpose. In Europe, "cases in which women did undoubtedly kill their children, because of what today would be called postpartum psychosis , were often interpreted as yielding to diabolical temptation". Witches are believed to work in secret, sometimes alone and sometimes with other witches. Hutton writes: "Across most of
4216-414: Is the usual name, some are also known as 'blessers' or 'wizards', but might also be known as 'white', 'good', or 'unbinding witches'. Historian Owen Davies says the term "white witch" was rarely used before the 20th century. Ronald Hutton uses the general term "service magicians". Often these people were involved in identifying alleged witches. Such helpful magic-workers "were normally contrasted with
4340-413: Is therefore a special gift from God , while the latter is achieved through help of Jinn and devils . Ibn al-Nadim held that exorcists gain their power by their obedience to God, while sorcerers please the devils by acts of disobedience and sacrifices and they in return do him a favor. According to Ibn Arabi , Al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yusuf al-Shubarbuli was able to walk on water due to his piety. According to
4464-411: Is to use protective magic or counter-magic , often with the help of magical healers such as cunning folk or witch-doctors . This includes performing rituals , reciting charms , or the use of talismans , amulets , anti- witch marks , witch bottles , witch balls , and burying objects such as horse skulls inside the walls of buildings. Another believed cure for bewitchment is to persuade or force
4588-446: Is tolerated or accepted by the population, even if the orthodox establishment opposes it. In these societies, practitioners of helpful magic provide (or provided) services such as breaking the effects of witchcraft, healing , divination , finding lost or stolen goods, and love magic . In Britain, and some other parts of Europe, they were commonly known as ' cunning folk ' or 'wise people'. Alan McFarlane wrote that while cunning folk
4712-400: Is usually performed indoors while witchcraft is often performed outdoors. Historian Owen Davies says the term "white witch" was rarely used before the 20th century. White magic is understood as the use of magic for selfless or helpful purposes, while black magic was used for selfish, harmful or evil purposes. Black magic is the malicious counterpart of the benevolent white magic. There
4836-495: The Age of Colonialism , many cultures were exposed to the Western world via colonialism , usually accompanied by intensive Christian missionary activity (see Christianization ). In these cultures, beliefs about witchcraft were partly influenced by the prevailing Western concepts of the time. In Christianity , sorcery came to be associated with heresy and apostasy and to be viewed as evil. Among Catholics, Protestants, and
4960-468: The Indo-European root from which it may have derived. Another Old English word for 'witch' was hægtes or hægtesse , which became the modern English word " hag " and is linked to the word " hex ". In most other Germanic languages, their word for 'witch' comes from the same root as these; for example German Hexe and Dutch heks . In colloquial modern English , the word witch
5084-603: The Middle Kingdom , commoners began inscribing similar writings on the sides of their own coffins, hoping that doing so would ensure their own survival in the afterlife. These writings are known as the Coffin Texts . After a person died, his or her corpse would be mummified and wrapped in linen bandages to ensure that the deceased's body would survive for as long as possible because the Egyptians believed that
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5208-574: The Tanakh , or Hebrew Bible, highlighted strong condemnations rooted in the "abomination" of magical belief. Christianity similarly condemned witchcraft, considering it an abomination and even citing specific verses to justify witch-hunting during the early modern period. Historically, the Christian concept of witchcraft derives from Old Testament laws against it. In medieval and early modern Europe, many Christians believed in magic. As opposed to
5332-400: The accuser's estate was handed over instead. The Maqlû ("burning") is an ancient Akkadian text, written early in the first millennium BCE , which sets out a Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft ritual. This lengthy ritual includes invoking various gods , burning an effigy of the witch, then dousing and disposing of the remains. Witchcraft's historical evolution in the Middle East reveals
5456-456: The devil ; and he comes to them in the likeness of the man that is buried there, as if he arises from death." Most societies that have believed in harmful or black magic have also believed in helpful magic. Some have called it white magic , at least in more recent times. Where belief in harmful magic is common, it is typically forbidden by law as well as hated and feared by the general populace, while helpful or apotropaic (protective) magic
5580-676: The jinn —comparable entities in Islamic mythology —were perceived as more ambivalent figures by Muslims. The model of the magician in Christian thought was provided by Simon Magus , (Simon the Magician), a figure who opposed Saint Peter in both the Acts of the Apostles and the apocryphal yet influential Acts of Peter . The historian Michael D. Bailey stated that in medieval Europe, magic
5704-434: The secular leadership of late medieval/early modern Europe, fears about witchcraft rose to fever pitch and sometimes led to large-scale witch-hunts . The fifteenth century saw a dramatic rise in awareness and terror of witchcraft. Tens of thousands of people were executed, and others were imprisoned, tortured, banished, and had lands and possessions confiscated. The majority of those accused were women, though in some regions
5828-612: The British Isles. Historian Ronald Hutton outlined five key characteristics ascribed to witches and witchcraft by most cultures that believe in this concept: the use of magic to cause harm or misfortune to others; it was used by the witch against their own community; powers of witchcraft were believed to have been acquired through inheritance or initiation; it was seen as immoral and often thought to involve communion with evil beings; and witchcraft could be thwarted by defensive magic, persuasion, intimidation or physical punishment of
5952-670: The Devil , though anthropologist Jean La Fontaine notes that such accusations were mainly made against perceived "enemies of the Church". It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by white magic , provided by ' cunning folk ' or 'wise people'. Suspected witches were often prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. While magical healers and midwives were sometimes accused of witchcraft themselves, they made up
6076-630: The Hellenistic period, when Hellenistic authors categorised a diverse range of practices—such as enchantment, witchcraft , incantations , divination , necromancy , and astrology —under the label "magic". The Latin language adopted this meaning of the term in the first century BCE. Via Latin, the concept became incorporated into Christian theology during the first century CE. Early Christians associated magic with demons , and thus regarded it as against Christian religion. In early modern Europe , Protestants often claimed that Roman Catholicism
6200-563: The Middle Ages more powerful than the singular commoner, the Christian Church, rejected magic as a whole because it was viewed as a means of tampering with the natural world in a supernatural manner associated with the biblical verses of Deuteronomy 18:9–12. Despite the many negative connotations which surround the term magic, there exist many elements that are seen in a divine or holy light. The divine right of kings in England
6324-468: The Middle East underlines the complex interaction between spiritual beliefs and societal norms across different cultures and epochs . During the 20th century, interest in witchcraft rose in English-speaking and European countries. From the 1920s, Margaret Murray popularized the ' witch-cult hypothesis ': the idea that those persecuted as 'witches' in early modern Europe were followers of
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#17327827326336448-535: The New Testament as well. Some commentators say that in the first century CE, early Christian authors absorbed the Greco-Roman concept of magic and incorporated it into their developing Christian theology , and that these Christians retained the already implied Greco-Roman negative stereotypes of the term and extended them by incorporating conceptual patterns borrowed from Jewish thought, in particular
6572-506: The Persian Empire. In this context, the term makes appearances in such surviving text as Sophocles ' Oedipus Rex , Hippocrates ' De morbo sacro , and Gorgias ' Encomium of Helen . In Sophocles' play, for example, the character Oedipus derogatorily refers to the seer Tiresius as a magos —in this context meaning something akin to quack or charlatan—reflecting how this epithet was no longer reserved only for Persians. In
6696-505: The Quran 2:102, magic was also taught to humans by devils and the angels Harut and Marut . The influence of Arab Islamic magic in medieval and Renaissance Europe was very notable. Some magic books such as Picatrix and Al Kindi 's De Radiis were the basis for much of medieval magic in Europe and for subsequent developments in the Renaissance. Another Arab Muslim author fundamental to the developments of medieval and Renaissance European magic
6820-460: The Roman era. heka was considered morally neutral and was applied to the practices and beliefs of both foreigners and Egyptians alike. The Instructions for Merikare informs us that heka was a beneficence gifted by the creator to humanity "in order to be weapons to ward off the blow of events". Magic was practiced by both the literate priestly hierarchy and by illiterate farmers and herdsmen, and
6944-475: The afterlife. The use of amulets ( meket ) was widespread among both living and dead ancient Egyptians. They were used for protection and as a means of "reaffirming the fundamental fairness of the universe". The oldest amulets found are from the predynastic Badarian Period, and they persisted through to Roman times. In the Mosaic Law, practices such as witchcraft ( Biblical Hebrew : קְסָמִ֔ים ), being
7068-401: The alleged witch to lift their spell. Often, people have attempted to thwart the witchcraft by physically punishing the alleged witch, such as by banishing, wounding, torturing or killing them. "In most societies, however, a formal and legal remedy was preferred to this sort of private action", whereby the alleged witch would be prosecuted and then formally punished if found guilty. Throughout
7192-457: The alleged witch. It is commonly believed that witches use objects, words, and gestures to cause supernatural harm, or that they simply have an innate power to do so. Hutton notes that both kinds of practitioners are often believed to exist in the same culture and that the two often overlap, in that someone with an inborn power could wield that power through material objects. One of the most influential works on witchcraft and concepts of magic
7316-425: The ancient Greeks—and subsequently for the ancient Romans—"magic was not distinct from religion but rather an unwelcome, improper expression of it—the religion of the other". The historian Richard Gordon suggested that for the ancient Greeks, being accused of practicing magic was "a form of insult". This change in meaning was influenced by the military conflicts that the Greek city-states were then engaged in against
7440-427: The body are believed to grant supernatural powers, the substance may be good, bad, or morally neutral. Hutton draws a distinction between those who unwittingly cast the evil eye and those who deliberately do so, describing only the latter as witches. The universal or cross-cultural validity of the terms "witch" and "witchcraft" are debated. Hutton states: [Malevolent magic] is, however, only one current usage of
7564-410: The broader category of superstitio ( superstition ), another term borrowed from pre-Christian Roman culture. This Christian emphasis on the inherent immorality and wrongness of magic as something conflicting with good religion was far starker than the approach in the other large monotheistic religions of the period, Judaism and Islam. For instance, while Christians regarded demons as inherently evil,
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#17327827326337688-413: The choices which lay outside the range of cults did not just add additional options to the civic menu, but ... sometimes incorporated critiques of the civic cults and Panhellenic myths or were genuine alternatives to them. Katadesmoi ( Latin : defixiones ), curses inscribed on wax or lead tablets and buried underground, were frequently executed by all strata of Greek society, sometimes to protect
7812-499: The commoner's perspective, the rituals invoked uneasiness and an even stronger sense of dismissal. In the Medieval Jewish view, the separation of the mystical and magical elements of Kabbalah, dividing it into speculative theological Kabbalah ( Kabbalah Iyyunit ) with its meditative traditions, and theurgic practical Kabbalah ( Kabbalah Ma'asit ), had occurred by the beginning of the 14th century. One societal force in
7936-574: The concept of "witchcraft" as one of the ways humans have tried to explain strange misfortune. Some cultures have feared witchcraft much less than others, because they tend to have other explanations for strange misfortune. For example, the Gaels of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands historically held a strong belief in fairy folk , who could cause supernatural harm, and witch-hunting was very rare in these regions compared to other regions of
8060-712: The employment (or presumed employment) of some occult means of doing harm to other people in a way which was generally disapproved of. In this sense the belief in witchcraft can be defined as the attribution of misfortune to occult human agency". Emma Wilby says folk magicians in Europe were viewed ambivalently by communities, and were considered as capable of harming as of healing, which could lead to their being accused as malevolent witches. She suggests some English "witches" convicted of consorting with demons may have been cunning folk whose supposed fairy familiars had been demonised . Hutton says that magical healers "were sometimes denounced as witches, but seem to have made up
8184-407: The entire polis . Communal curses carried out in public declined after the Greek classical period, but private curses remained common throughout antiquity. They were distinguished as magical by their individualistic, instrumental and sinister qualities. These qualities, and their perceived deviation from inherently mutable cultural constructs of normality, most clearly delineate ancient magic from
8308-528: The first century BCE onwards, Syrian magusai gained notoriety as magicians and soothsayers. During the late-sixth and early-fifth centuries BCE, the term goetia found its way into ancient Greek , where it was used with negative connotations to apply to rites that were regarded as fraudulent, unconventional, and dangerous; in particular they dedicate themselves to the evocation and invocation of daimons (lesser divinities or spirits) to control and acquire powers. This concept remained pervasive throughout
8432-497: The first century BCE, the Greek concept of the magos was adopted into Latin and used by a number of ancient Roman writers as magus and magia . The earliest known Latin use of the term was in Virgil 's Eclogue , written around 40 BCE, which makes reference to magicis ... sacris (magic rites). The Romans already had other terms for the negative use of supernatural powers, such as veneficus and saga . The Roman use of
8556-554: The flight of birds and astrology. He also mentioned enchantment and ligatures (the medical use of magical objects bound to the patient) as being magical. Medieval Europe also saw magic come to be associated with the Old Testament figure of Solomon ; various grimoires , or books outlining magical practices, were written that claimed to have been written by Solomon, most notably the Key of Solomon . In early medieval Europe, magia
8680-418: The following centuries. Since the nineteenth century, academics in various disciplines have employed the term magic but have defined it in different ways and used it in reference to different things. One approach, associated with the anthropologists Edward Tylor (1832–1917) and James G. Frazer (1854–1941), uses the term to describe beliefs in hidden sympathies between objects that allow one to influence
8804-466: The fourth added by Christina Larner : Witch-hunts, scapegoating, and the shunning or murder of suspected witches still occurs. Many cultures worldwide continue to have a belief in the concept of "witchcraft" or malevolent magic. Apart from extrajudicial violence , state-sanctioned execution also occurs in some jurisdictions. For instance, in Saudi Arabia practicing witchcraft and sorcery
8928-435: The general public in at least four ways. Neopagan writer Isaac Bonewits proposed dividing witches into even more distinct types including, but not limited to: Neopagan, Feminist, Neogothic, Neoclassical, Classical, Family Traditions, Immigrant Traditions, and Ethnic. The word is over a thousand years old: Old English formed the compound wiccecræft from wicce ('witch') and cræft ('craft'). The masculine form
9052-553: The gods, snnw ntr (images of the god), the same power to use words creatively that the gods have is shared by humans. The interior walls of the pyramid of Unas, the final pharaoh of the Egyptian Fifth Dynasty, are covered in hundreds of magical spells and inscriptions, running from floor to ceiling in vertical columns. These inscriptions are known as the Pyramid Texts and they contain spells needed by
9176-524: The guilt for all their misdeeds onto various objects such as a strip of dates, an onion, and a tuft of wool. The person would then burn the objects and thereby purify themself of all sins that they might have unknowingly committed. A whole genre of love spells existed. Such spells were believed to cause a person to fall in love with another person, restore love which had faded, or cause a male sexual partner to be able to sustain an erection when he had previously been unable. Other spells were used to reconcile
9300-592: The helpful magic of the cunning folk , witchcraft was seen as evil and associated with Satan and Devil worship . This often resulted in deaths, torture and scapegoating (casting blame for misfortune), and many years of large scale witch-trials and witch hunts , especially in Protestant Europe, before largely ending during the Age of Enlightenment . Christian views in the modern day are diverse, ranging from intense belief and opposition (especially by Christian fundamentalists ) to non-belief. During
9424-405: The homes of the recently deceased and in cemeteries . A subcategory of incantation bowls are those used in Jewish magical practice. Aramaic incantation bowls are an important source of knowledge about Jewish magical practices. In ancient Egypt ( Kemet in the Egyptian language), Magic (personified as the god heka ) was an integral part of religion and culture which is known to us through
9548-456: The label drew arbitrary lines between similar beliefs and practices that were alternatively considered religious, and that it constituted ethnocentric to apply the connotations of magic—rooted in Western and Christian history—to other cultures. Historians and anthropologists have distinguished between practitioners who engage in high magic, and those who engage in low magic . High magic, also known as theurgy and ceremonial or ritual magic,
9672-477: The last decade of the century, however, recognising the ubiquity and respectability of acts such as katadesmoi ( binding spells ), described as magic by modern and ancient observers alike, scholars have been compelled to abandon this viewpoint. The Greek word mageuo (practice magic) itself derives from the word Magos , originally simply the Greek name for a Persian tribe known for practicing religion. Non-civic mystery cults have been similarly re-evaluated:
9796-541: The law codes also prescribed the death penalty for those found guilty of witchcraft. According to Tzvi Abusch, ancient Mesopotamian ideas about witches and witchcraft shifted over time, and the early stages were "comparable to the archaic shamanistic stage of European witchcraft". In this early stage, witches were not necessarily considered evil, but took 'white' and 'black' forms, could help others using magic and medical knowledge, generally lived in rural areas and sometimes exhibited ecstatic behavior. In ancient Mesopotamia,
9920-556: The magician Osthanes , who accompanied the military campaigns of the Persian King Xerxes . Ancient Greek scholarship of the 20th century, almost certainly influenced by Christianising preconceptions of the meanings of magic and religion , and the wish to establish Greek culture as the foundation of Western rationality, developed a theory of ancient Greek magic as primitive and insignificant, and thereby essentially separate from Homeric , communal ( polis ) religion. Since
10044-550: The magician, because all magical actions relied on the aid of demons. There could be conflicting attitudes regarding the practices of a magician; in European history, authorities often believed that cunning folk and traditional healers were harmful because their practices were regarded as magical and thus stemming from contact with demons, whereas a local community might value and respect these individuals because their skills and services were deemed beneficial. In Western societies,
10168-444: The majority were men. In Scots , the word warlock came to be used as the male equivalent of witch (which can be male or female, but is used predominantly for females). The Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for 'Hammer of The Witches') was a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was used by both Catholics and Protestants for several hundred years, outlining how to identify
10292-506: The masses did not accept this and continued to make use of their services. The English MP and skeptic Reginald Scot sought to disprove magic and witchcraft altogether, writing in The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), "At this day, it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, 'she is a witch' or 'she is a wise woman'". Historian Keith Thomas adds "Nevertheless, it is possible to isolate that kind of 'witchcraft' which involved
10416-499: The modern Pagan religion of Wicca ; or as a symbol of women resisting male authority and asserting an independent female authority. Belief in witchcraft is often present within societies and groups whose cultural framework includes a magical world view . Those regarded as being magicians have often faced suspicion from other members of their society. This is particularly the case if these perceived magicians have been associated with social groups already considered morally suspect in
10540-564: The opposition of magic and miracle . Some early Christian authors followed the Greek-Roman thinking by ascribing the origin of magic to the human realm, mainly to Zoroaster and Osthanes . The Christian view was that magic was a product of the Babylonians, Persians, or Egyptians. The Christians shared with earlier classical culture the idea that magic was something distinct from proper religion, although drew their distinction between
10664-448: The other. Defined in this way, magic is portrayed as the opposite to science. An alternative approach, associated with the sociologist Marcel Mauss (1872–1950) and his uncle Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), employs the term to describe private rites and ceremonies and contrasts it with religion, which it defines as a communal and organised activity. By the 1990s many scholars were rejecting the term's utility for scholarship. They argued that
10788-555: The particular societies with which they are concerned". While most cultures believe witchcraft to be something willful, some Indigenous peoples in Africa and Melanesia believe witches have a substance or an evil spirit in their bodies that drives them to do harm. Such substances may be believed to act on their own while the witch is sleeping or unaware. The Dobu people believe women work harmful magic in their sleep while men work it while awake. Further, in cultures where substances within
10912-511: The people a magician ... should be apprehended in my retinue, or in that of the Caesar, he shall not escape punishment and torture by the protection of his rank. Magic practices such as divination, interpretation of omens, sorcery, and use of charms had been specifically forbidden in Mosaic Law and condemned in Biblical histories of the kings. Many of these practices were spoken against in
11036-477: The pharaoh in order to survive in the afterlife . The Pyramid Texts were strictly for royalty only; the spells were kept secret from commoners and were written only inside royal tombs. During the chaos and unrest of the First Intermediate Period , however, tomb robbers broke into the pyramids and saw the magical inscriptions. Commoners began learning the spells and, by the beginning of
11160-450: The practice of magic, especially when harmful, was usually associated with women. For instance, during the witch trials of the early modern period, around three quarters of those executed as witches were female, to only a quarter who were men. That women were more likely to be accused and convicted of witchcraft in this period might have been because their position was more legally vulnerable, with women having little or no legal standing that
11284-481: The presence of four distinct meanings of the term witchcraft in the English language. Historically, the term primarily referred to the practice of causing harm to others through supernatural or magical means. This remains, according to Hutton, "the most widespread and frequent" understanding of the term. Moreover, Hutton also notes three other definitions in current usage; to refer to anyone who conducts magical acts, for benevolent or malevolent intent; for practitioners of
11408-531: The present. According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions there is "difficulty of defining 'witches' and 'witchcraft' across cultures—terms that, quite apart from their connotations in popular culture, may include an array of traditional or faith healing practices". Anthropologist Fiona Bowie notes that the terms "witchcraft" and "witch" are used differently by scholars and
11532-413: The principle of heka underlay all ritual activity, both in the temples and in private settings. The main principle of heka is centered on the power of words to bring things into being. Karenga explains the pivotal power of words and their vital ontological role as the primary tool used by the creator to bring the manifest world into being. Because humans were understood to share a divine nature with
11656-468: The religious rituals of which they form a part. A large number of magical papyri , in Greek , Coptic , and Demotic , have been recovered and translated. They contain early instances of: The practice of magic was banned in the late Roman world, and the Codex Theodosianus (438 AD) states: If any wizard therefore or person imbued with magical contamination who is called by custom of
11780-412: The sorcerer and put it on trial at night. Then, once the nature of the sorcerer's crimes had been determined, the person would burn the effigy and thereby break the sorcerer's power over them. The ancient Mesopotamians also performed magical rituals to purify themselves of sins committed unknowingly. One such ritual was known as the Šurpu , or "Burning", in which the caster of the spell would transfer
11904-415: The sources tended to be those of low status who were weak or otherwise marginalized, including women, foreigners, actors, and peddlers. The Law Code of Hammurabi ( 18th century BCE ) allowed someone accused of witchcraft (harmful magic) to undergo trial by ordeal , by jumping into a holy river. If they drowned, they were deemed guilty and the accuser inherited the guilty person's estate. If they survived,
12028-460: The spirits of those they had wronged, they would leave offerings known as kispu in the person's tomb in hope of appeasing them. If that failed, they also sometimes took a figurine of the deceased and buried it in the ground, demanding for the gods to eradicate the spirit, or force it to leave the person alone. The ancient Mesopotamians also used magic intending to protect themselves from evil sorcerers who might place curses on them. Black magic as
12152-492: The temple into the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries CE. During the late sixth and early fifth centuries BCE, the Persian maguš was Graecicized and introduced into the ancient Greek language as μάγος and μαγεία . In doing so it transformed meaning, gaining negative connotations, with the magos being regarded as a charlatan whose ritual practices were fraudulent, strange, unconventional, and dangerous. As noted by Davies, for
12276-663: The term maleficium applied to forms of magic that were conducted with the intention of causing harm. The later Middle Ages saw words for these practitioners of harmful magical acts appear in various European languages: sorcière in French, Hexe in German, strega in Italian, and bruja in Spanish. The English term for malevolent practitioners of magic, witch, derived from the earlier Old English term wicce . Ars Magica or magic
12400-459: The term "witchcraft" for the actions of those who inflict harm by their inborn power and used "sorcery" for those who needed tools to do so. Historians found these definitions difficult to apply to European witchcraft, where witches were believed to use physical techniques, as well as some who were believed to cause harm by thought alone. The distinction "has now largely been abandoned, although some anthropologists still sometimes find it relevant to
12524-684: The term "witchcraft" or " pagan witchcraft " for their beliefs and practices. Other neo-pagans avoid the term due to its negative connotations. The most common meaning of "witchcraft" worldwide is the use of harmful magic. Belief in malevolent magic and the concept of witchcraft has lasted throughout recorded history and has been found in cultures worldwide, regardless of development. Most societies have feared an ability by some individuals to cause supernatural harm and misfortune to others. This may come from mankind's tendency "to want to assign occurrences of remarkable good or bad luck to agency, either human or superhuman". Historians and anthropologists see
12648-511: The term to servant spirit-animals which are described as a part of the witch's own soul. Necromancy is the practice of conjuring the spirits of the dead for divination or prophecy , although the term has also been applied to raising the dead for other purposes. The biblical Witch of Endor performed it (1 Samuel 28th chapter), and it is among the witchcraft practices condemned by Ælfric of Eynsham : "Witches still go to cross-roads and to heathen burials with their delusive magic and call to
12772-700: The term was similar to that of the Greeks, but placed greater emphasis on the judicial application of it. Within the Roman Empire , laws would be introduced criminalising things regarded as magic. In ancient Roman society, magic was associated with societies to the east of the empire; the first century CE writer Pliny the Elder for instance claimed that magic had been created by the Iranian philosopher Zoroaster , and that it had then been brought west into Greece by
12896-433: The two in different ways. For early Christian writers like Augustine of Hippo , magic did not merely constitute fraudulent and unsanctioned ritual practices, but was the very opposite of religion because it relied upon cooperation from demons , the henchmen of Satan . In this, Christian ideas of magic were closely linked to the Christian category of paganism , and both magic and paganism were regarded as belonging under
13020-482: The witch archetype. In some parts of the world, it is believed witches can shapeshift into animals, or that the witch's spirit travels apart from their body and takes an animal form, an activity often associated with shamanism . Another widespread belief is that witches have an animal helper. In English these are often called " familiars ", and meant an evil spirit or demon that had taken an animal form. As researchers examined traditions in other regions, they widened
13144-464: The witch who practiced maleficium —that is, magic used for harmful ends". In the early years of the European witch hunts "the cunning folk were widely tolerated by church, state and general populace". Some of the more hostile churchmen and secular authorities tried to smear folk-healers and magic-workers by falsely branding them 'witches' and associating them with harmful 'witchcraft', but generally
13268-404: The word. In fact, Anglo-American senses of it now take at least four different forms, although the one discussed above seems still to be the most widespread and frequent. The others define the witch figure as any person who uses magic ... or as the practitioner of nature-based Pagan religion; or as a symbol of independent female authority and resistance to male domination. All have validity in
13392-497: The world, accusations of witchcraft are often linked to social and economic tensions. Females are most often accused, but in some cultures it is mostly males. In many societies, accusations are directed mainly against the elderly, but in others age is not a factor, and in some cultures it is mainly adolescents who are accused. Éva Pócs writes that reasons for accusations of witchcraft fall into four general categories. The first three of which were proposed by Richard Kieckhefer , and
13516-555: The world, such as parts of Africa, are also vulnerable to violence stemming from witchcraft accusations. Such incidents have also occurred in immigrant communities in Britain, including the much publicized case of the murder of Victoria Climbié . Magic was an important part of ancient Mesopotamian religion and society, which distinguished between 'good' (helpful) and 'bad' (harmful) rites. In ancient Mesopotamia , they mainly used counter-magic against witchcraft ( kišpū ), but
13640-401: The world, witches have been thought to gather at night, when normal humans are inactive, and also at their most vulnerable in sleep". In most cultures, witches at these gatherings are thought to transgress social norms by engaging in cannibalism, incest and open nudity. Witches around the world commonly have associations with animals. Rodney Needham identified this as a defining feature of
13764-680: Was wicca ('male sorcerer'). According to the Oxford English Dictionary , wicce and wicca were probably derived from the Old English verb wiccian , meaning 'to practice witchcraft'. Wiccian has a cognate in Middle Low German wicken (attested from the 13th century). The further etymology of this word is problematic. It has no clear cognates in other Germanic languages outside of English and Low German, and there are numerous possibilities for
13888-654: Was Ahmad al-Buni , with his books such as the Shams al-Ma'arif which deal above all with the evocation and invocation of spirits or jinn to control them, obtain powers and make wishes come true. These books are still important to the Islamic world specifically in Simiyya , a doctrine found commonly within Sufi - occult traditions. Witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of alleged supernatural powers of magic . A witch
14012-533: Was E. E. Evans-Pritchard 's Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande , a study of Azande witchcraft beliefs published in 1937. This provided definitions for witchcraft which became a convention in anthropology. However, some researchers argue that the general adoption of Evans-Pritchard's definitions constrained discussion of witchcraft beliefs, and even broader discussion of magic and religion , in ways that his work does not support. Evans-Pritchard reserved
14136-435: Was a "relatively broad and encompassing category". Christian theologians believed that there were multiple different forms of magic, the majority of which were types of divination , for instance, Isidore of Seville produced a catalogue of things he regarded as magic in which he listed divination by the four elements i.e. geomancy , hydromancy , aeromancy , and pyromancy , as well as by observation of natural phenomena e.g.
14260-601: Was a term of condemnation. In medieval Europe, Christians often suspected Muslims and Jews of engaging in magical practices; in certain cases, these perceived magical rites—including the alleged Jewish sacrifice of Christian children —resulted in Christians massacring these religious minorities. Christian groups often also accused other, rival Christian groups such as the Hussites —which they regarded as heretical —of engaging in magical activities. Medieval Europe also saw
14384-678: Was devised, taught, and worked by demons would have seemed reasonable to anyone who read the Greek magical papyri or the Sefer-ha-Razim and found that healing magic appeared alongside rituals for killing people, gaining wealth, or personal advantage, and coercing women into sexual submission. Archaeology is contributing to a fuller understanding of ritual practices performed in the home, on the body and in monastic and church settings. The Islamic reaction towards magic did not condemn magic in general and distinguished between magic which can heal sickness and possession , and sorcery. The former
14508-463: Was generally passed down from generation to generation and was held in extremely high regard and often served as advisors to kings and great leaders. An āšipu probably served not only as a magician, but also as a physician, a priest, a scribe, and a scholar. The Sumerian god Enki , who was later syncretized with the East Semitic god Ea, was closely associated with magic and incantations; he
14632-436: Was independent of their male relatives. The conceptual link between women and magic in Western culture may be because many of the activities regarded as magical—from rites to encourage fertility to potions to induce abortions —were associated with the female sphere. It might also be connected to the fact that many cultures portrayed women as being inferior to men on an intellectual, moral, spiritual, and physical level. Magic
14756-535: Was invoked in many kinds of rituals and medical formulae, and to counteract evil omens. Defensive or legitimate magic in Mesopotamia ( asiputu or masmassutu in the Akkadian language) were incantations and ritual practices intended to alter specific realities. The ancient Mesopotamians believed that magic was the only viable defense against demons , ghosts , and evil sorcerers. To defend themselves against
14880-408: Was magic rather than religion, and as Christian Europeans began colonizing other parts of the world in the sixteenth century, they labelled the non-Christian beliefs they encountered as magical. In that same period, Italian humanists reinterpreted the term in a positive sense to express the idea of natural magic . Both negative and positive understandings of the term recurred in Western culture over
15004-549: Was particularly likely to be suspected when a disease came on unusually swiftly, lingered unusually long, could not be diagnosed clearly, or presented some other unusual symptoms". A common belief in cultures worldwide is that witches tend to use something from their target's body to work magic against them; for example hair, nail clippings, clothing, or bodily waste. Such beliefs are found in Europe, Africa, South Asia, Polynesia, Melanesia, and North America. Another widespread belief among Indigenous peoples in Africa and North America
15128-672: Was suggested by Richard Horsley that 'diviner-healers' ( devins-guerisseurs ) made up a significant proportion of those tried for witchcraft in France and Switzerland, but more recent surveys conclude that they made up less than 2% of the accused. However, Éva Pócs says that half the accused witches in Hungary seem to have been healers, and Kathleen Stokker says the "vast majority" of Norway's accused witches were folk healers. Societies that believe (or believed) in witchcraft also believe that it can be thwarted in various ways. One common way
15252-402: Was the patron god of the bārȗ and the ašipū and was widely regarded as the ultimate source of all arcane knowledge. The ancient Mesopotamians also believed in omens , which could come when solicited or unsolicited. Regardless of how they came, omens were always taken with the utmost seriousness. A common set of shared assumptions about the causes of evil and how to avert it are found in
15376-421: Was thought to be able to give them " sacred magic" power to heal thousands of their subjects from sicknesses. Diversified instruments or rituals used in medieval magic include, but are not limited to: various amulets, talismans, potions, as well as specific chants, dances, and prayers . Along with these rituals are the adversely imbued notions of demonic participation which influence of them. The idea that magic
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