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.
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreMay Day
A European spring festival marking the start of summer with flowers, poles and fire.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMedieval European magic
A broad category of ritual and natural practices in the Middle Ages, blending healing, divination, and religious belief.Tradition · Healing · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 4 moreWinter solstice
The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked by rites of solar returnTradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreCunning folk
European practitioners of folk medicine and helpful magic from the Middle Ages to the twentieth centuryTradition · Protection · Healing Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreVotive offering
Objects left in sacred places to honor a deity or fulfill a vow, never to be recovered.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇫🇷 France and 5 moreYule log
A large wooden log burned in the hearth during winter festivals across Europe and North America.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇸🇪 Sweden and 5 moreMidsummerJāņi; Joninės; Jaanipäev; Enyovden; Litha; Juhannus
A summer solstice festival marked by bonfires, maypole dancing, and feasting across Europe.Tradition · Protection · Luck and prosperity Living
🇬🇧 United KingdomEnglish folklore
The myths, legends, and customs of England passed down through generations.Tradition · Protection · Cursing and harm Living
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreScottish folkloreBeul-aithris na h-Alba
The myths, creatures and beliefs of the Scottish people, recorded from ancient times to the present.Tradition · Seeing and foretelling · Protection Living
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreEuropean witchcraft
Historical beliefs in harmful magic and the resulting trials across EuropeBelief · Cursing and harm · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMagic in Anglo-Saxon Englandgaldorcræft
Healing charms and protective rituals practiced by early English tribesTradition · Healing · Protection Historical
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreAetherius Society
A new religious movement blending theosophy, UFO claims, and spiritual healing to aid humanity.Tradition · Protection · Healing Living
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSegen
A German term for blessing, charm, or spell rooted in Christian and folk traditions.Belief · Protection · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 ItalySegnature
An Italian folk healing rite using gestures and prayers to cure illness and remove cursesRite · Healing · Protection Living
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Yule log: Pehr Arvid Säve (1811—1887), Public domain, source
- Bald's Leechbook: Unknown, the Internet Archive scan is low quality, and some of the tex, Public domain, source
- European witchcraft: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Midsummer: Kora27, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- English folklore: J. R. Skelton, Public domain, source
- Medieval European magic: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Segnature: SeAnstapa, CC0, source
- Aetherius Society: Hjamesberglen, CC0, source
- Cunning folk: Midnightblueowl at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Votive offering: Walter J. Pilsak, Waldsassen ( W.J.Pilsak at de.wikipedia ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- May Day: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0, source