Zoroastrian: magic in this belief world

Zoroastrianism is among the oldest living faiths, with roots in ancient Iran. The word magic itself comes from the Greek magos, borrowed from the Old Persian maguš, a priest of the Persian religion. Fire, purity and the fight between truth and lie are central to the faith. This page looks at the rites of Zoroastrians, the history of the magi, and a small community's present. The religion has been a minority one for more than a thousand years.

The magi and the word

The magi were a priestly class in ancient Persia, and Greek writers used the word for foreign priests, later for sorcerers. The Three Magi of the Gospel of Matthew are drawn from the same word. The Greek and Roman picture of Persian magic as a dark art owes much to this borrowed label, and little to Zoroastrian practice as the faith describes it. Zoroaster, or Zarathustra, taught the worship of Ahura Mazda, and later Zoroastrian texts such as the Avesta record rites and prayers, some of which are used by priests for protection.

Fire and purity

Zoroastrian temples keep a sacred fire alight, and priests tend it with strict rules of purity. Rites for the dead have traditionally included exposure of the body in a dakhma, called a tower of silence, which some communities have since replaced because of falling numbers of vultures. The faith has rites for purification, rules about contact with the dead, and the practice of the sacred cord, the kusti. The Gathas, the oldest hymns, are attributed to Zoroaster himself, and they place weight on choice between truth and falsehood.

Priesthood, gender and conversion

Priests are hereditary in the Parsi and Irani communities, and women are barred from priesthood in most settings. Disputes over conversion and intermarriage divide the community in India. In Iran, Zoroastrians are a recognised minority and also face social and legal limits. Priests also keep the rites for the new year, Nowruz, which is widely celebrated across Iran, Central Asia, the Caucasus and South Asia, whatever people's faith. Rites such as the Navjote, a child's initiation, and the funeral prayers have been adapted in the diaspora, where cremation or burial is sometimes used.

Small numbers and survival

There are perhaps 100,000 to 200,000 Zoroastrians worldwide, with major communities in India, Iran, North America, Britain and Australia. The Parsi population of India is falling, which has prompted state-supported programmes. Scholars separate the ancient religion of the magi from later Greek and Roman ideas of magic, and community members ask outsiders to do the same. Priests wear white, and rituals involve water, fire and recitation. The yearly cycle includes seasonal festivals called gahambars, and the community keeps its own calendar.