Christian: magic in this belief world
Blessings, saints' relics, exorcism, folk charms and the long Church argument about magic.
Christianity has had a long, tense relationship with magic. The Church blessed objects, honoured saints and relics, performed exorcisms, and also condemned sorcery and witchcraft. Folk Christianity around the world mixes prayer, charms, holy water, saints' medals and healing rites. This page covers how Christian churches have defined, absorbed and punished magic, and how the story differs across continents. Christianity includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Pentecostal and independent African and Asian churches, each with its own view of magic.
Blessing and the sacramental world
Catholic and Orthodox Christianity have a rich set of blessings and sacramentals: holy water, candles, medals, icons, relics and the sign of the cross. Believers hold that these work through God and the Church, not by themselves. Protestants largely rejected this system as superstition, and Pentecostals have developed their own deliverance and healing practice. The Orthodox churches give the blessing of homes, boats and fields a central place, and Catholic practice includes pilgrimage, processions and prayer to saints for specific needs, such as St Jude for hard cases.
Exorcism, witch trials and the Church
The Church has a formal rite of exorcism, used rarely and by authorised priests. European witch trials, which involved both Catholic and Protestant courts, killed tens of thousands between about 1450 and 1750. Historians such as Brian Levack stress that most trials were run by secular authorities. Modern accusations by some churches against children in parts of Africa have led to abuse. Protestant reformers broke with this system, and from the sixteenth century the burning of witches was supported by many Protestant authorities and many Catholic ones, though other clergy and judges spoke against it.
Missions and renaming
Missionaries often labelled Indigenous religions as devil worship and fetishism, and suppressed rites. In Latin America and Africa, many practices went underground or fused with Christianity: Santeria with Catholic saints, Vodou with Catholic imagery, Andean offerings with saints' days. Independent African churches and the Brazilian Spiritists grew from these meetings. Pentecostal and charismatic churches, which have grown fast in Africa, Latin America and Asia, offer healing, prophecy and deliverance as part of their worship, and are criticised by some for demonising local traditions.
Folk practice and today
Folk Christianity includes St Anthony charms for lost items, the St Christopher medal for travel, the Orthodox Easter fire, and the Mexican cult of Santa Muerte, which the Church rejects. Prosperity preaching sells faith-linked results, and some pastors charge for miracles. Scholars note that the line between religion and magic was drawn largely by Christian writers. Historians, such as Eamon Duffy and Keith Thomas, have shown that medieval Christianity was shot through with practices that later reformers redefined as magic.
Christian on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇪🇬 EgyptCurse
A spoken wish for misfortune to befall a person or placeBelief · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇫🇷 FranceHoly GrailSaint Graal
A cup or stone from Arthurian tales that grants healing and eternal lifeFigure · Healing · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇪🇬 Egypt and 3 moreAmulet
A portable object worn or carried to ward off harm and invite fortuneCharm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomCharmer
English folk healers who used gifts or verses to treat natural ailments without chargeTradition · Healing Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreDaniel Dunglas Home
A Scottish physical medium known for levitation and spirit communication during the Victorian era.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenTorsåker witch trials
The largest mass execution of witches in Swedish history, carried out in a single day.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesDeliverance ministry
A Christian practice to remove evil spirits believed to cause personal afflictionRite · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Living
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandValais witch trials
The first systematic European witch-hunt, beginning in the Valais region of Switzerland in 1428.Tradition · Cursing and harm Historical
🇦🇷 Argentina and 2 moreSan La Muerte
A skeletal folk saint venerated in South America for protection and favorsTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreNostradamus
A French astrologer and physician known for a book of poetic propheciesText · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreMagi
Priests of Zoroastrianism and the figures who inspired the word for magicTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Power and authority Living
🇫🇷 France and 2 moreÉliphas Lévi
A French writer who shaped modern occult thought and ceremonial magic.Text · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreMojo bag
A cloth pouch holding charms for protection, luck, or love in the Hoodoo tradition.Charm · Protection · Healing Living
🇸🇩 Sudan and 5 moreIncense
Aromatic plant materials burned to release fragrant smoke for ritual, scent, or timekeeping.Substance · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇭🇹 Haiti and 2 moreHaitian VodouVodou
An Afro-Haitian religion blending West African traditions with Catholicism and FreemasonryTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇸🇪 SwedenWitch trials in Denmark
A history of legal executions and local panics against sorcery in early modern Denmark.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 5 morePrester John
A legendary Christian king and priest said to rule a lost kingdom in the East.Figure · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇺🇸 United StatesSalem Witch Trials
A colonial legal crisis where over two hundred people faced accusations of sorcery in Massachusetts.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇸🇴 Somalia and 5 moreFrankincense
An aromatic tree resin harvested for incense, perfume, and religious ritualSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇳🇴 NorwayWitch trials in Norway
A wave of executions and legal persecution for sorcery in early modern Norway.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇱 NetherlandsWitch trials in the Netherlands
A historical record of prosecutions and executions for sorcery in the Dutch Republic.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 FranceWitch trials in France
A fragmented history of legal persecution for sorcery across French regions and centuries.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 France and 3 moreReliquary
A container for sacred remains or objects, crafted across many faithsCharm · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRelic
An object or body part kept to honor a holy person and mark their connection to the divineCharm · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇺 Cuba and 2 moreSanteríaRegla de Ocha
An Afro-Cuban religion blending Yoruba beliefs with Catholicism and SpiritismTradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇪🇪 Estonia and 1 moreWitch trials in Latvia and Estonia
Early modern persecutions of sorcery and paganism by Baltic German authoritiesBelief · Cursing and harm · Cleansing and purification Historical
🇬🇭 GhanaWitchcraft in Ghana
Beliefs in harmful magic and the social violence that follows accusations in GhanaBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇺🇸 United StatesCotton Mather
A Puritan minister and writer known for his role in the Salem witch trials and promotion of smallpox inoculationFigure Historical
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the CongoKindoki
A belief in spirit possession that leads to abuse and abandonment in the Congo regionBelief · Cursing and harm Living
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSpirit possession
A global belief that spirits or demons can take control of a person's body and mindBelief · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Living
🇵🇱 PolandWitch trials in Poland
A historical record of sorcery prosecutions and executions in Poland from the 15th to the 19th century.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇲🇽 MexicoCalavera
A sugar or clay skull used in Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations.Charm · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreHamsaخمسة
A palm-shaped amulet used across North Africa and the Middle East to ward off harm.Charm · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇵🇭 PhilippinesPhilippine mythology
The indigenous myths and spirits of the Philippines, shaped by centuries of trade and colonial contact.Tradition · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Living
🇩🇲 Dominica and 1 morePrayer beads
Beaded strings used to count prayers and mantras across many world religionsSubstance · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreTetragrammatonיהוה
The four-letter name of God in the Hebrew Bible, written as YHWH.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreHidden-folkhuldufólk
Supernatural beings in Nordic folklore who live in a parallel world within the landscape.Being · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomDeath knell
A church bell rung to announce a person's death and mark the funeral.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead Fading
🇪🇸 Spain and 5 moreSt John's Eve
A Christian vigil marked by bonfires and plant gathering on the summer solstice eveRite · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Living
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreMagic and religion
A study of how ritual power and sacred belief overlap or separate across culturesBelief · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelNumber of the beastἈριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου
A biblical number linked to a prophetic figure and interpreted through ancient letter values.Belief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇳🇿 New Zealand and 5 moreFace tattoo
Marks inked on the face for spiritual protection, identity, rank, and rite of passageTradition · Protection · Power and authority Living
🇫🇷 FranceThree Books of Occult PhilosophyDe occulta philosophia libri III
A Renaissance treatise on elemental, celestial and divine magicText · Healing · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyChymical Wedding of Christian RosenkreutzChymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459
An allegorical romance and Rosicrucian manifesto detailing a seven-day alchemical initiation.Text · Change and initiation · Power and authority Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 2 moreSibylline Oracles
A mixed collection of ancient prophecies attributed to pagan prophetesses but shaped by Jewish and Christian writers.Text · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreSixth and Seventh Books of Moses
A grimoire claiming to reveal the hidden spells of Moses for controlling spirits and natureText · Power and authority · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreBelialבְּלִיַּעַל
A Hebrew term for worthlessness that evolved into a demon of darkness in Jewish and Christian texts.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇪🇸 SpainDirectorium Inquisitorum
A 14th-century manual for inquisitors on heresy, magic, and trial procedureText · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- St John's Eve: Jules Breton, Public domain, source
- Calavera: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Daniel Dunglas Home: Nadar, Public domain, source
- Torsåker witch trials: Y-näsmannen, CC0, source
- Valais witch trials: Dagalia2, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Amulet: Anonymous ( Egypt ) Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Nostradamus: After César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, source
- Magi: Colijn de Coter, CC0, source
- Éliphas Lévi: Eliphas Lévi [1810-1875], Public domain, source
- Mojo bag: Liza Khomenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Incense: nakimusi, CC BY 2.0, source
- Holy Grail: Photographed by the National Library of Wales, CC0, source
- Haitian Vodou: Sam Fentress, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Prester John: Diogo Homem, Public domain, source
- Salem Witch Trials: unattributed, Public domain, source
- San La Muerte: Sergio Serrano, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Witch trials in the Netherlands: Mathje1963, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Witch trials in France: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Reliquary: Attributed to Jean de Toul, also written Jehan de Touyl in one source, CC0, source
- Relic: MathieuGuy, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Santería: Jorge Royan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Witchcraft in Ghana: SALTN, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cotton Mather: Peter Pelham, Public domain, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Spirit possession: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Witch trials in Denmark: Rigsarkivet - Danish National Archives, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Hamsa: Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Philippine mythology: The original uploader was Rodsan18 at English Wikipedia . ( Original t, CC BY 2.5, source
- Prayer beads: ja:利用者:pack372sd, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tetragrammaton: Lakisletter.gif : derivative work: Filii Henoch ( talk ), Public domain, source
- Hidden-folk: Schorle, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Death knell: Dougsim, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Frankincense: No machine-readable author provided. Gaius Cornelius assumed (based on, Public domain, source
- Number of the beast: William Blake, Public domain, source
- Face tattoo: Gottfried Lindauer, Public domain, source
- Three Books of Occult Philosophy: Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, Public domain, source
- Sibylline Oracles: Domenichino, Public domain, source
- Directorium Inquisitorum: Nicolás Eymerich, Public domain, source